> **rsync** is a utility for efficiently [transferring](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File\_transfer) and [synchronizing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File\_synchronization) [files](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer\_file) between a computer and an external hard drive and across [networked](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer\_network) [computers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer) by comparing the [modification times](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timestamping\_\(computing\))and sizes of files.[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rsync#cite\_note-man\_page-3) It is commonly found on [Unix-like](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unix-like) [operating systems](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operating\_system). The rsync algorithm is a type of [delta encoding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta\_encoding), and is used for minimizing network usage. [Zlib](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zlib) may be used for additional [data compression](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data\_compression),[\[3\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rsync#cite\_note-man\_page-3) and [SSH](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure\_Shell) or [stunnel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stunnel) can be used for security.
**An rsync module is essentially a directory share**. These modules **can optionally be protected by a password**. This options lists the available modules and, optionally, determines if the module requires a password to access**:**
Notice that it may be some **shared names** being listed where you need some (different) **credentials** to access. So, not always all the listed names are going to be accessible and you will notice it if you receive an _**"Access Denied"**_ message when trying to access some of those.
Once you have the **list of modules** you have a few different options depending on the actions you want to take and whether or not authentication is required. **If authentication is not required** you can **list** a shared folder:
This **recursively transfers all files from the directory**`<shared_name>` on the machine `<IP>`into the `./rsync_shared` directory on the local machine. The files are transferred in "archive" mode, which ensures that symbolic links, devices, attributes, permissions, ownerships, etc. are preserved in the transfer.
You could also **upload** some **content** using rsync (for example, in this case we can upload an _**authorized\_keys**_ file to obtain access to the box):
Inside the config file sometimes you could find the parameter _secrets file = /path/to/file_ and this file could contains usernames and passwords allowed to authenticate to rsyncd.