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This is Leo Notenboom for askleo.info.
It's no secret that we are all becoming more and more dependent on technology in its various forms in our daily lives. It's also no secret that we all place a very high value on our privacy and security, as we should.
But there's at least one scenario where that high level of privacy and security can cause some major problems.
To put it bluntly, what happens if you die? What happens if you're somehow incapacitated and unable to do what it is you do? What happens if you're no longer there to enter your password to get at your family's online financial records or the highly sensitive and encrypted work you've been doing for your company? If you're the techie in your family, who'll figure all this stuff out if you're not around for some reason?
Who backs up you?
I occasionally get heart-breaking requests from families who've just lost a loved one and need to get into their email or other account of some sort. Depending on the specific situation, it's quite possible that they're simply out of luck. Yes, your bank will eventually get you connected - but what about data on your computer that you've taken care to encrypt for security? What about all that important email and/or contact information that was left on your mail server? In fact, the most common request I get in this vein is that of family members wanting to preserve their loved one's last days in the form of their last emails. I have no answer for them.
But you and I can prevent this scenario for our families and businesses.
Take me for example. As you might expect, I'm the geek in the family, and my day-to-day usage of technology both personally and professionally certainly makes use of that.
So, in a physically secure location known only to my wife and a trusted friend or two is an envelope with the passphrase to my master TrueCrypt volume. On that encrypted volume is both a RoboForm database of accounts and passwords and a document. Should something happen to me, my wife, with the help of those friends, has access to everything.
That envelope, those friends, and making sure my wife is at least somewhat familiar with both TrueCrypt and RoboForm are my backup.
Your needs might be different. Your solutions might be different. A CD in a safety deposit box might be enough. Or simply sharing a password with a trusted friend could be appropriate, or perhaps keeping certain information with a family lawyer.
My view is that as the "keeper of the technology" for your family or for your business, you have a responsibility to make sure that if something happens they're protected.
I'd love to hear what you think. Visit askleo.info and enter 11216 in the go to article number box and leave me a comment. While you're there, browse over 1,000 technical questions and answers on the site.
Till next time, I'm Leo Notenboom for askleo.info.
Article C2952 - March 4, 2007
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
I keep a list of all my financial accounts, passwords, insurance policies etc. on a USB thumb drive in a password protected XL spread sheet. I keep a backup copy of it on and old camera memory card. It's portable, small and easy to access if you know the password. If anything happens to me the kids know where to find it and what the password is. I carry it with me when I travel in case I forget a password.
My computer is backed up on a USB external hard drive, kept in my safe, with that combination on the thumb drive. This system is simple enough that I really do use it and keep it up to date.
Posted by: Lee Kline at July 21, 2007 6:34 AMI feel your "in case of death" backup should be on paper as well as on a CD - both stored in a safety deposit box. The people you trust may well have little or no PC experience, or know nothing more than how to do their brand of email, or play a music CD or video game. Such people still exist, and the older your trusted people are, the more likely this is to be true.
Posted by: chesscanoe at January 29, 2012 10:46 AMI took all your "what happens if you die" advice to heart.
Posted by: Johnsee at February 28, 2012 2:37 AMAs a result I produced a four page spreadsheet containing all my sensitive data. This is now encrypted using Truecrypt - I even sent them a donation! The master password is well placed.
Not the brightest bunny in the warren,-I WROTE a list of all my passwords to my critical accounts and gave it to my solicitor to keep with my will.
Posted by: Jan at March 11, 2012 4:19 AMFeel free to castigate me, but my wife wouldn't know where to start..!
@Jan
Posted by: Mark J at March 11, 2012 5:40 AMIt's actually not a bad idea to do something like that. If for some reason you no longer trust that solicitor, you can change your passwords.
What happens when I die?