Storj is not a proof of concept or and ICO promising innovation down the road but is already operational. Storj has their own ERC-20 token, currently operating on the Ethereum blockchain. Pay-outs are done in their native STORJ token, and the token can then be used to buy storage on the Storj network. Due to the fluctuation of the value of the STORJ token, prices are set in dollars. Storage costs $0.015 per GB per month, and $0.05 per GB downloaded file.
What problem does STORJ solve
The removal of central controls potentially mitigates most traditional data failures and outages, as well as significantly increase security, privacy, and data control. Existing cloud storage solutions rely almost exclusively on large storage providers acting as trusted third parties in transferring and storing data and is fully based on trust.
Encryption for cloud storage
Using client-side encryption is nonstandard when using existing cloud storage services, the traditional cloud is vulnerable to a variety of security threats, including man-in-the-middle attacks, malware, and application flaws that expose private consumer and corporate data. The Equifax hack, where hackers have stolen personal information from 143 million US consumers, including names, Social Security numbers, birthdates, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and some credit card numbers, shows this is a real problem.
Files as Encrypted Shards
A ‘shard’ is a portion of an encrypted file to be stored on this network. This system protects the content of the data from the storage provider storing the data. The owner of the data retains complete control over the encrypted key, and hence has full control over the data.
These proofs are used to guarantee that certain data is stored on a remote host within the network. These proofs are verified through a standard challenge / response process on the Storj network called audits or “heartbeats”.
These audits are conducted with a cryptographic principle called Merkle trees and proofs. These are in themselves quite complicated but you can read more about these partial Merkle tree audits in the whitepaper.
What is important to understand though, is that the Farmers are required to prove that they still have all the shards that were sent their way. They have to cooperate with the audit if they intend to get paid for their storage.
The data owner will send a short challenge in the form of a hash to the farmer. If the farmer still has the data that it was sent then it can answer this request with the Merkle proof. This verifies that the file shard is still on the local node.
Storj's protocol implemets sharding as part of its ecosystem.
There are many reasons why one would want to shard the data. Firstly, having the data distributed through a host of different nodes means that they can send and recall all of the shards at the same time. This will increase speed on the network.
Another benefit of sharding is that no “Farmer” on the network will hold all of the contents of your file. This means that even if they had the ability to decrypt the file (very unlikely) they could not read everything in the file.
Further adding to the privacy of the user with the Storj network is where the shards are stored on the network. There should be only one person who knows exactly where the shards have been stored and this is the person who has encrypted and uploaded it onto the network.
All peers on the network communicate via a standarized protocol. The framework requires that this protocol:
The storage node’s role is to store and return data. Aside from reliably storing data, nodes should provide network bandwidth and appropriate responsiveness. Storage nodes are selected to store data based on various criteria: ping time, latency, throughput, bandwidth caps, su cient disk space, geographic location, uptime, history of responding accurately to audits, and so forth. In return for their service, nodes are paid.
Storj was one of the first projects to tackle storage on the blockchain. They use client-side data encryption and file sharding to store the files in a secure manner on a peer-to-peer network.
They also want to make is easy to use with an Amazon S3 compliant gateway. This will allow users to easily interact with the Storj network with a familiar user experience. Moreover, given that it will be decentralised, there is very little risk of data loss. Decentralized cloud storage represents a fundamental shift in the efficiency and economics of large-scale storage. Eliminating central control allows users to store and share data without reliance on a third-party storage provider. Decentralization mitigates the risk of data failures and outages, while simultaneously increasing the security, read performance and privacy of object storage. Decentralization also allows market forces to optimize for less expensive storage at a greater rate than any single provider could afford.
Credit card and bank transfer options for STORJ are fairly limited. We'd suggest you buy some ETH or BTC through Coinbase and then exchange it for ELF on either Huobi or Bittrex.
Bittrex
Bittrex is a US based exchange founded in 2013 and headquartered in Seattle Washington. The company was founded by Bill Shihara, Richie Lai and Rami Kawach, all three previously worked at Microsoft.
A 0.25% flat commission is applied to all trades. Trading fees are slightly higher on Bittrex compared to the industry average. Additionally, there are neither rebates for higher-volume trades nor incentive models for takers and makers.
Huobi
Founded in 2013, Huobi is a cryptocurrency exchange with over a million users and more than $1 billion in assets under its custody. Headquartered in Singapore, the company has an international presence. Huobi offers competitive trading fees when it comes to its commissions, as the broker charges 0.2% on major crypto pairs such as BTC/USDT, whether your order is helping to create liquidity or take it away.
As we already mentioned, STORJ is an ERC-20 based token, meaning it can be stored both on the Ledger and Trezor.
Ledger
As for using the Nano Ledger S, the first step towards setting up your device is unboxing and checking if you have received all the accessories coming with it. Once you have unboxed your device, you need to configure it and initialize it before being able to use it. The process is quite simple and will hardly take about 20-30 minutes post which you will be set to use your Ledger Nano S device.
Setup guide video: here
Trezor
As for Trezor, installing is really simple. To properly install it users should attach the unit to the computer. After that continue with installing the bridge which allows the Trezor to join with the computer. The first step is to connect the Trezor to device’s USB slot with the cable given in the box. After that, go to myTrezor.com and proceed with installing the browser extension. Trezor can also be used on Android or an iPhone, or on a Windows or Mac computer. Now, initiate the extension and myTrezor will direct you to pick a PIN. After this, you will notice nine buttons but the numbers are hidden. After this, users should check the Trezor’s screen to recognize which numbers are in which place because it switches every time. Now set the PIN. Shortly after, Trezor should present a 24-word wallet “seed”. In short, one word at a time. Note down this seed and save it carefully. If your Trezor device malfunctions or is lost, you can utilize the seed to reconstruct the complete wallet.
Setup guide video: here
Exodus
First, we have Exodus, which supports a ton of other cryptocurrencies along with STORJ and is pretty straightforward and easy to use. Just download the app from the official site(exodus.io) and get straight into creating your wallet. Exodus stores your Private Keys on the machine you choose and not on any server, providing you with a relative peace of mind when it comes to the security of your coins.
Atomic Wallet
Another option is Atomic Wallet.
Atomic Wallet is a desktop wallet built with security, anonymity and decentralization in mind. Atomic Wallet was designed to leverage the potential of atomic swaps and become part of a fully-fledged decentralized cryptocurrency ecosystem. The “physical” wallet itself is a PC application that can be downloaded onto your computer. Your private keys and other data will then be stored on your PC in an encrypted form. This means you hold your own keys, which are encrypted and kept only on your own device, control your own funds and can efficiently swap tokens without needing to go through a centralized exchange.
This application then interacts with the blockchains of supported coins. For example, if you check your transaction history in the program, it looks it up on the blockchain and then shows it to you, rather than storing this potentially sensitive information somewhere.
Our number one choice when it comes to online wallets is of course MyEtherWallet(MEW). The wallet offers a brilliant combination of speed, trustworthiness and simplicity, making it the most popular online wallet for ether and any ERC20-based tokens.
MyEtherWallet
Simply visit myetherwallet.com and set up your wallet with a method of your choosing, just make sure to store your private key somewhere safe. It's wise to have it written down on paper in case your PC/notebook malfunctions.
The only downside to using an online wallet like MEW is that there are literally hundreds of phishing scams out there to get your eth, so you better double check the address everytime and make sure to watch out for any malicious activity on your browser or PC.
