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Arranging Electronic Access For Your Survivors?
smee2 writes "In the past, when a family member died, you could look through their files and address books to find all the people and businesses that should be notified that the person is deceased. Now the hard-copy address book is becoming a thing of the past. I keep some contact information in a spreadsheet, but I have many online friends that I only have contact with through web sites such as Flickr. My email accounts have many more people listed than my address book spreadsheet. I have no interest in collecting real world info from all my online contacts. The sites where I have social contact with people from around the world (obviously) require user names and passwords. Two questions: 1. How do you intend to let the executors of your estate or family members know which online sites/people you'd like them to notify of your demise? 2. How are you going to give access to the passwords, etc. needed to access those sites in a way that doesn't cause a security concern while you're still alive?"
'To who it may concern. Please use the below username and password to inform the other posters at AlbinoAmazonAmputeeLovers.com of my sad demise.'
a USB drive in the fireproof safe next to any important papers. Passwords for things they don't need to see are not on that drive. If you are worried even more, get a safety deposit box at the bank. Keep it updated and all will be ok. Then, on the other hand, some people don't care... the world can figure it out on their own.
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You write a will. Just as you list ALL financial accounts, you also list ALL social networking accounts. Including your passwords for these sites. Instruct your executor to email/post as you to all about your death. Yeah, I know, writing down passwords is not the brightest idea, but hey these are social networking accounts, not truly important things. I.E. Don't give out the key to your house, but do give out the key to your mailbox. Your account number and similar financial information that you have already given to your will is FAR more important. Therefore if you are trusting your executor with all that financial info, you should be able to trust them with a password. If you are truly paranoid, give them a key to a safe deposit box instead of your actual passwords, then keep a copy of the passwords in the safe deposit box.
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He passed away in August, bout 16 days after my birthday. A few months back when he was still within his wits, he sent me a text file called "Bob's favorite things.txt". In it was a list of sites with his user name and associated passwords with the instructions, "Please archive and terminate these after I'm gone. Notify any friends on this list of my passing." It wasn't the happiest email I ever received from him but I understood. Most were just social networking site stuffs, a few email addresses he kept, an FTP site to some of his attempts at digital photography and so on.
Thankfully it was a small list and when he finally passed away I got on his laptop a few days later and followed his requests. Sent out emails to his contacts notifying them of what happened and that I will keep the accounts open for one month to await a response and provided a link to the obituary so that way they wouldn't have to search to confirm.
Not sure if this answers your question but I guess when all else seems to complicated, just mail a text file to someone you trust.
I've notified all of my Myspace friends that if they don't hear from me for a 48 hour period, it is likely that I am dead and they should just assume that is the case.
Write everything important in a TrueCrypt file system, email it to those who you would want to have it. Then pay for a safe deposit box, in the box put the password(and keyfiles as you see fit). The executor of your estate will be able to gain access to the box and if you add them as a signer it would be trivial, just don't let them have the key until you are dead.
This was actually part of a business idea of mine about 8 years ago. A type of death notification service. The idea was that you'd periodically give the service an updated list of people you'd like contacted if you die, along with any special messages / instructions (within reason). The company would know where you live (city and state at a minimum), and would do a daily check of the obituaries / death notices / etc. If you came up potentially dead, the company would attempt to contact you. Assuming you're dead, the messages would be sent out as requested. This is a great idea for people who have many online or non-local contacts, secret second families, etc.
I don't plan on leaving any survivors. I plan on taking everyone out in one fell swoop.
Incidentally, related questions have been the topic of previous "Ask Slashdot" stories:
What Does Your Dead Man's Switch Do
Your Digital Inheritance
What Happens To Your Data When You Die
I think the take-home message from most of those discussions is that you need to make preparations. Just like with everything else in your life, you should ideally keep things organized enough so that your survivors can deal with it, both in terms of wrapping up your estate, and keeping the things that matter. So this means keeping a list of passwords and encryption keys somewhere (e.g. in a safe deposit box), and even instructions about what to do with various accounts. Your data should also be organized so that your family can make copies of things like photos and find nostalgic things that you've written.
Another point to consider is the things that you don't want your survivors seeing. If you have any secrets you want to take to your grave, be sure to encrypt them. And for the sake of your children's sanity, hide your porn! (Or label it so they can avoid it!)
And before you security nuts go crazy about telling other people your passwords, keep in mind this is a person I trust above anyone else...even my own close relatives. If I can't trust him, then I must live a truely miserable life of denial full of people who dislike me.
Not to burst your bubble, but have you ever considered your BFF might be tortured to have your passwords extracted from him?
Not that you'd be keeping information that the CIA maybe interested in but honest and trustworthy people can be made to divulge information either through duress or intoxication.
Its like giving your loved ones a bank account pin and someone holds them up at gunpoint and now they have to decide whether to break your trust or keep their lives. I personally don't like to let people deal with that scenario.
Not that you or I have anything worth that valuable... But people have been beaten up over stupid things like account credentials to online games. Might as well not burden other people with it.
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
To your will (you do have a will, don't you?) attach a printed list of user id/passwords for websites, email accounts, etc. Update semi-annually. Also useful is a financial disclosure listing all of your bank accounts, utility accounts, mortgage information, credit cards, etc. Add a note with the location of your KeePass database (or equivalent), and the master password for it. File all of this (in paper and electronic form) in a very safe but accessible location - a home safe, a lawyer's office, a bank's trust office. DO NOT PUT IT IN YOUR SAFE DEPOSIT BOX. If you are deceased the bank is not supposed to grant access to anyone until your estate is in probate, which will be tough if your will's in the box.
The reason you need the lists in paper form is that you cannot be sure of the technical skill or emotional state of those who will be dealing with the aftermath of your death.
-- "Never underestimate the power of human stupidity." - R.A.H.
Kill yourself in such a spectacular fashion that it will make the rounds on the net. Then anyone you would have wanted to inform about your demise would see the video, say "Oh, that's so you," and thus be informed.
Kwisatz Haderach
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This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
I'm relatively young, so I haven't put a lot of thought into this, but my best friend knows all the personal account names and passwords I use for everything. He would be able to get into any of my accounts with a few guesses. I don't have a comprehensive list of everything, but the main stuff would get worked out.
And before you security nuts go crazy about telling other people your passwords, keep in mind this is a person I trust above anyone else...even my own close relatives. If I can't trust him, then I must live a truely miserable life of denial full of people who dislike me. I also don't tell him any of the admin passwords at work, as A) other people have acces to those, and B) They aren't my passwords to give out, even though I know he would do no harm (hell he'd probably manage the network better than half our admins...)
Oh, I also know pretty much all his passwords too...so...yeah, he better not try anything :-)
You really expect us to believe that? How do we know this isn't him posting?
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Just put in my will: Please update my facebook status....question being, what would it say...? "Joe is wormfood, see ya soon".
CS: It is all sink or swim...oh and did I mention there are sharks in that water?
I thought about this a couple of years ago when I had a health scare, this is what I came up with.
USB stick (or whatever it will be in x years) in a safe at home.
I have a paper will, with the usual stuff, plus an email address, and what to write in the subject and body.
The person that receives my will is instructed to email this address upon my death.
I have a rule on my mail account that matches the specified text in the email.
This email then triggers a whole load of actions:
Unsubscribes from mailing lists.
*Emails a personal message to people on my contact list.
*Sends an email with the relevant passwords to the relevant people.
*Sends an email with my finances, spreadsheets, important information to the sender.
*Sends an encrypted key to specified person which can access my harddisk.
*sends a list of things to shred!
This pretty much covers everything I need, including getting the relevant passwords to the right people, and auto emailing a personalised message to my contacts.
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I can't even think how long the list of possible 'failure points' to your system.
you go missing- airplane crash- fall under a road paver- into a wood chipper- vat of acid- really unlucky gun shot while you were holding out your hands begging for your life...
You have to be freaking kidding if that is your i'm dead- you are covered methodology.
it'd be like having your life insurance policy in your wallet at all times.
every day http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
I guess you aren't aware of the true meaning of BFF. I'm sure Kamokazi's friend would gladly die before giving out his Facebook password.
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