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I have a NAS server running Linux, and I want to map it as a network drive on my Windows PC. Additionally, I want the connection between my Windows PC and NAS box to be secure (e.g. encrypted).

Normally, my first thought would be to run an FTP server on the NAS and just set that up as a network drive, but basic FTP doesn't encrypt files during transit, and even if it did Windows doesn't seem to support adding FTP servers as network drives (you can add them as network locations, but that's not the same thing, as it's not transparent to other applications on my computer).

Is there a way to do this? Currently I'm running Windows 8.1 Basic on my PC, but a solution which will also work on other recent versions of Windows is prefered.

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  • Considering that all the traffic will be on your local LAN and assuming a switched network, why do you think you need to encrypt your NAS connection? It seems like a big hit to take on what should be fast connection. Jan 29, 2015 at 18:11
  • @DigitalChris Good point. I guess I don't really need the connection to be secure as long as my LAN is secure. I am actually doing the transfer over WiFi at the moment (though I'm planning to run some cables to get a wired connection working soon), but WPA2 should make that sufficiently secure, correct?
    – Ajedi32
    Jan 29, 2015 at 18:15
  • Wifi WPA2 is good enough for general use, but not as secure as a physical switched network (I am making a lot of generalizations here... if your roommates are all hackers actively trying to sniff your connections and they have physical access, the game changes. But you haven't mentioned any use case). As long as your NAS isn't full of international espionage, you should be fine. Jan 29, 2015 at 18:31

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Dokan SSHFS can make a system accessible via SCP/SFTP via a Windows drive letter. It's been awhile since I used it.

If your NAS supports some form of WebDAV over HTTPS you can try that, but my experience with it has not been successful.

If you can set up OpenVPN on your NAS, you can encrypt Samba or FTP traffic between you and the NAS that way.

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  • The NAS is controlled by me, so I can install whatever software on it that I want. WebDav looks promising, as it seems to be supported by Windows. I'll definitely look into it.
    – Ajedi32
    Jan 28, 2015 at 20:41
  • Okay, so it turns you can access WebDav servers with Windows Explorer, but you can't mount them as network drives. I'll look into Dokan...
    – Ajedi32
    Jan 29, 2015 at 18:10

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