[greasetrap]

Have you backed up all your info such as important documents? Have copies of you licenses, cc permits, marriage licenses? Just wanted to share this with others, I just did mine and it took less than an hour to do with a handy iphone app called "Turboscan". It uses your phone to take 3 pictures, allows you to crop the pic then you can send the pic to your email so you can throw it right onto a flash drive or print (in PDF format too) all without having to use a cumbersome computer scanner. so easy to have. Just as an FYI, I had to adjust some flashes, colors and such for some of the enhanced antifraud/counterfit protections such as on drivers licenses and other important original documents. Now I have a flash drive for my every day work bag, lock box at home and my BOB. Even wrapped them in tinfoil to help protect in the case of a EMP. Threw on there the Army field manuals in PDF too so they are there just incase.

 

[djack]

Call me paranoid but i really dont want digital copies of my personal information.

 

[SamboRoberts]

Call me paranoid but i really dont want digital copies of my personal information.

Compress them into a .rar file, have that file password protected with a strong password or passphrase, have the drive protected with Truecrypt. :thumb:

Ain't no one accessing your files without your permission under those circumstances.

 

[djack]

Compress them into a .rar file, have that file password protected with a strong password or passphrase. :thumb:

I am familiar with this. Definitely something that needed to be said on the subject emailing yourself pics of your docs without them being at least in a compressed password protected folder is just asking for trouble. There are countless e-mail accounts compromised every day I would hate for someone to have their identity stolen because they were being cautious in one aspect and not securing the data online.

Password protected rar files are crackable but not by your every day troublemaker.

 

[searching4itnc]

I just got a new smart phone last Friday and still playing with it. But it comes with a program called "DROPBOX". It's basically a free site that allows you to transfer stuff from you phone to computer and vice versa, using a server for storage.

I also have a program called "POCKET" where I can password lock all my own passwords in a multitude of categories I can choose or create. The cool thing is I can use the "DROPBOX" to store it in case I break this phone and have to use another.

 

[SamboRoberts]

And when there's no Internet access, what then?

 

[USJudo]

Dropbox and emails are one way to transfer documents back and forth. I would propose it is a terrible idea to use this method to store or transfer sensitive personal data. Having electronic backups is great but I would do this in house only. There should be NO need to "cloud" your SS number or driver license.

 

[SamboRoberts]

I've got no problem using the cloud to store sensitive information, but there's no way I'd rely on such methods entirely.

 

[rgswaim]

I actuallt did this at one time. Then I lost my thrub drive one day at work. I was in a panic for a few hours. Lucky, I found it instead of someone else. I stopped that. If I were to put my info on one of these I would then store the unit in a safe deposit box or somewhere that only I would likely find it. I would never carry it around in my pocket again.

 

[neovenus]

My husband backs EVERYTHING up. We have drop box and something else. He also changes his passwords constantly.

As far as birth certificates, marriage license and such we keep it in a fireproof lock box.

We just moved in a rental house that has a floor safe in the closet but no key. Would love to get in there and put stuff in that.

 

[jetroop2k1]

I back up everything for me and the old lady, my epson printer ($30) has a scanner on it and the software allows for scanning holographic images (Drivers licenses, passports etc..) that turn out very well. Everything is on flashdrives, 4gb drives ($3) and have truecrypt encryption on the drives. Nothing went through the internet and was never saved to an unsecured portion of the hard drive. Keep one in the fireproof safe, deposit box, and each bag. I feel much better, but I never considered my CC, now I'll have to do that as well.

 

[djack]

I just got a new smart phone last Friday and still playing with it. But it comes with a program called "DROPBOX". It's basically a free site that allows you to transfer stuff from you phone to computer and vice versa, using a server for storage.

I also have a program called "POCKET" where I can password lock all my own passwords in a multitude of categories I can choose or create. The cool thing is I can use the "DROPBOX" to store it in case I break this phone and have to use another.

microsoft skydrive is the best free cloud storage i have used. especially with windows phone and windows 8 on home pc.

 

[yappat]

Yes, our information is backed up. It's called multiple paper copies stored in various locations. I thought there was an excellent scene in Revolution where the Google guy asks the British woman why did she keep her iPhone? And she says because it has all her pictures of her kids on it.

I don't want to rely on electronics for things that important.

 

[WarHammerFiveFive]

All my important documents are scanned and backed up to my Dropbox in an encrypted TrueCrypt container file. Really important things like the pics of "special time" with me and the wife are encrypted once with AxxCrypt then dropped into a TrueCrypt container. Priorities.

 

[hedley]

Really? Entrusting important files to an unknown far off server? lmao. That's not security that's foolish. May as well put everything in a safety deposit box at your local bank.

 

[WarHammerFiveFive]

Really? Entrusting important files to an unknown far off server? lmao. That's not security that's foolish. May as well put everything in a safety deposit box at your local bank.

Foolish, you say? Well, unless you've figured out a way to crack two levels of AES (that is with two completely different strong keys), your analogy falls flat big time. Safe deposit boxes have been brute forced in the past. AES has never been broken, and unless you have a billion, billion, billion, billion years (Doubled from the original "billion billion" since I encrypt twice) to spend doing it just to get at my personal goodies, I ain't worried too much. Your analogy is apples and oranges. Encryption isn't like locking a document in a safe deposit box. It's like shredding it down to microscopic particles, then distributing those particles all over the universe by reciting a combination of words only you know. The only thing that will re-assemble it is you:
A) Knowing that the document ever existed at all and
B) Using your magical incantation to put it back together.

The difference is that I secure my files before they ever touch the Dropbox server. Dropbox of course also will encrypt my files against outsider theft, but if they wanted to they could give all my files to the FBI, cops, etc... (even though there would be nothing of interest anyway) Wouldn't do them any good. Even if they could figure out that my 500 meg ISO file isn't really an ISO but is a TrueCrypt container, they wouldn't be able to break it. And if they somehow obtained the 64 character random key that I use and decrypted it, they'd find that they'd have nothing on their hands but files that were still encrypted inside of the container. You want to know the REAL kicker? Even if they DID have my Truecrypt key, unless they know which (and how many) keyfiles I assigned then the actual password is going to give them bupkis. There is literally no limit to the amount of security you can throw on your files. It's all very easy and free to do. I don't have to worry about anybody snatching my files from the server.

I've included a link to help you understand the issue better: http://www.eetimes.com/design/embed...ow-secure-is-AES-against-brute-force-attacks-

AND: http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1824611&postcount=6

 

[hedley]

If they have a server problem of any kind it could mean a loss of data. Plus with the loss of the internet what are you gonna do anyways? You're better off burying it as handing it to someone else somewhere else if you're so worried to begin with. Encryption is a given and has nothing to do with anything.

 

[WarHammerFiveFive]

If they have a server problem of any kind it could mean a loss of data. Plus with the loss of the internet what are you gonna do anyways? You're better off burying it as handing it to someone else somewhere else if you're so worried to begin with. Encryption is a given and has nothing to do with anything.

I see your point, but I'm not assuming a loss of the internet. In addition Dropbox not only stores my data on their servers, but it backs it up to any and all computers I have it set up on. So as I work on a document at home and save it in my "Dropbox" folder on my machine, it automatically saves the most recent copy to the server AND to the "Dropbox folder" on my work computer and any other computers I want, so in essence I'm creating a "cloud" backup and another local file copy on another machine. Sorry if I didn't make that clear before. So if the internet did go down, I'd still have my most recent files from the last sync up before it went down.

 

[hedley]

Who needs dropbox? Any internet connected and running pc can serve a folder up. Granted, most don't run a server or leave their pc on 24/7, but the idea of safekeeping data is not so much to do with where you are nor encryption, but rather if it's simply safe. In a true major emergency, access to my data would be the least of my worries. In a complete burn to the ground house fire all you need is a simple fireproof safe. I do wish I had enough money to have backup hd's for the hd's I own. There goes that expensive home server thing again. I would never pay to rent hd space though. Cheaper just to buy your own. I have terabytes of data which I consider important. Not just my birth cert or ins policies. I would suggest sharing hd space among those you trust so that their pc's may have a copy for safekeeping too. If you had enough friends with the right resources close enough you could make your own vpn that doesn't even need the internet, potentially.

Oh wait, the govt has already done this but we are stuck with wondering how to share files over the internet with granny in windows, or relying on some pay as you go cloud server that requires a pay as you go internet connection. I don't like the 'cloud', & I never will. I already pay for the internet and any pc can act as a server. What good is dropbox really other than a predatory business model? I don't see it myself. I know they have free accts but I can do that and more all by myself by just leaving my pc on. Bottom line is if your data is undamaged and you know where it is that's peace of mind. Doesn't really matter if it's in the 'cloud', buried in your backyard, or stashed at the neighbors down the street.

 

[WarHammerFiveFive]

Who needs dropbox?

Nobody "NEEDS" it. That wasn't my point.

What good is dropbox really other than a predatory business model? I don't see it myself.

I'm using their free 2GB account, it doesn't cost me one red penny.

I know they have free accts but I can do that and more all by myself by just leaving my pc on. Bottom line is if your data is undamaged and you know where it is that's peace of mind. Doesn't really matter if it's in the 'cloud', buried in your backyard, or stashed at the neighbors down the street.

So to clarify, I'm "foolish" for using Dropbox in one post, and then in the other post it "doesn't matter" where your files are (including Dropbox). Got it. The issue isn't "is Dropbox the only way to share files across PC's", anyway. The issue is it makes it easier for the common person to do it and it's a good way to back up files across multiple PCs with minimal effort.