Is there any difference between the two following strategies for backing up files to a remote system:-
1 Mount the remote destination directory using sshfs/fuser Copy the files to the 'local' directory just mounted using rsync, rdiff-backup or whatever.
2 Copy the files directly to the remote system using rsync or rdiff-backup.
Strategy 1 has the significant advantage that the remote system doesn't have to have anything other than ssh available. You don't run into any issues with mismatched versions of rdiff-backup or anything like that. Both strategies require that you set up some form of 'passwordless' login to the remote system or you need to enter the password (or passphrase) when the backup is run.
I was thinking that I can run either of these from my .xprofile so that by the time they are run the required passphrase has been entered.
I was even thinking that I could run the backup to one remote system from my wife's desktop .xprofile and to the other from my desktop .xprofile so they'd be at different times and to different remote systems, most unlikely to get both damaged at the same time.
Only someone breaking into my working X environment would get access to the backups, just breaking into my home systems wouldn't do it. They might of course break into the remote systems I use for backup but then I have my home backups that haven't been compromised.