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Ask Slashdot: How To Secure My Life-In-A-Briefcase?
An anonymous reader writes "I used to travel with a book and some clothes in a backpack, and now my entire life fits into my briefcase. I have a laptop, a tablet, and a cell phone with access to all of my documents through Dropbox, and all the books I own are on my kindle. Aside from having about four grand in electronics, the bag has everything of value that I own. If that bag is stolen while I'm traveling, it will be more trouble than if my apartment burns down (while I'm not in it). What can I do to secure my life-in-a-briefcase?"
Change your briefcase from 12345...
Whatever you do don't handcuff your briefcase to your hand. At least not if you value your hand :)
then all you need to do is insure the physical items and ensure that anyone stealing them would be unable to get information of value.
Personally I don't trust the internet that much.
Of course you should take as many steps as possible to ensure you DON'T need to do damage control, but if you, Prey or something like it could be invaluable.
So, the editors are trolling us now?
What is the problem you want to secure yourself against? The loss of 4k$? The loss of your data? The theft of your data?
The 4k$ cannot be secured other than through old fashioned don't let them steal it and/or (travel) insurance
The loss of your data is secured by diligent backing up, but if you rely on 'cloud' services that should be fine (I am sure that Amazon has some way of redownloading your books if your kindle is lost, no? DropBox certainly works as a backup plan). Make sure that the required configuration / passwords etc are somewhere.
The theft of your data is also not so difficult. DropBox copies the files locally, but if you just encrypt the whole drive that is works on you should be fine. If your device (tablet/cell phone) doesn't support that, and you fear theft, don't use dropbox on it or get a better device.
Get a rider on your home insurance policy that covers replacement of the hardware.
Automate regular backups to the Internet to protect your software.
Encrypt your data to protect your passwords, identity and privacy.
Am I missing anything?
Cheap laptop for travelling, good desktops at home and work, all synced via Dropbox, office desktop with Citrix. Also, spare laptop kept at the office and booted periodically to get updates.
What's the tablet? Is its data synced?
Kindle - can't help there.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
The kindle is replaceable from a backup on your harddrive, and so is your cell phone (with something like iCloud to remote wipe).
The only substantial issue that you have is the harddrive in the laptop, which is a pretty easy fix. Strap it to your body.
No, really. If you're actually paranoid about someone stealing your information, just get an external laptop harddrive that you can boot from, and just use that for the whole system. Seems like a reasonable solution to me. I'd also keep my laptop on me as well.
If it can be separated from you, that means you don't have positive control over it at all times.
with access to all of my documents through Dropbox
Yeah, I noticed.
Some suggestions:
1) Back up your stuff. To the cloud, if you expect to write a lot on your travels and/or expect to be able to replace and reprovision stolen devices.
2) Keep details of your account credentials somewhere separate, where you can get to them easily via the web. Properly secured, of course. Use an online password vault or encrypted cloud data store that lets you access files via the web. Also store details of the devices and SIM cards themselves, as well as URLs or phone numbers of the services used to remote wipe/block those devices (if applicable). If your stuff is stolen, you'll want to be able to take quick action and have everything blocked.
3) Properly secure the devices themselves, of course. Use screen locks / pin codes, and set any password vault software so that you have to key in the pass-phrase every time you use it (or per session).
4) If you travel, it helps if you have a credit card with a high enough limit to replace your devices, if you need replacements right away.
5) Check with your cell provider if you can get a separate (spare) SIM, or how you would go about getting a stolen SIM replaced and delivered to your address away from home. Do this before you travel.
If construction was anything like programming, an incorrectly fitted lock would bring down the entire building...
Passwords and insurance. And strippers. When your shit gets stolen, file a claim and console yourself with the strippers.
what the heck kind of high-powered applications are you running that require that kind of expensive hardware?
Seriously, if it's that important, encrypt it and back it up in a dozen places.
Contemporary fitness-use heart rate monitors with some flavor of very low power wireless connection are pretty cheap. One of those, plus a suitably sized explosive device, will allow you to ensure that your briefcase stays with you at all times. Or else. If you are feeling polite, scale to ensure the destruction of the contents. If not, scale to ensure the destruction of the would-be new owner of the briefcase.
(In all seriousness, though, there really isn't too much that one can do to protect small luggage. There are a few mostly-obvious behavioral tips, don't put it down behind your chair where you can't see it, don't leave it in the cab, try to avoid using bags that have giant steal-me logos advertising the electronics within, etc. but that is about it. Your main focus should be on two things:
1. If the bag falls into the possession of somebody else, have you taken measure to ensure that they can't get data access? Hardware can be insured, and really isn't all that expensive in the grand scheme; but if somebody has both your data and the oh-so-conveniently-stored-locally credentials for your 'cloud backup' you have a problem... 2. Backups, do you have them? Bags get lost, bags get stolen, bags get crunched by luggage handlers. If you can't restore yourself to what you had in the bag if I were to hand you equivalent-or-newer models of the laptop, tablet, and phone and internet access, you aren't prepared. If you can, then you are.)
Carry 2 briefcases duh.
If you lose 1, you only lose half your stuff.
You could always lojack it ;)
I travel around the world, and this is the best case I have ever used. Well, my Pelican 1514 is a close second. :)
It is waterproof, you can drop it or impact it and you don't need to worry about it, and it just works.
You can also lock it, or lock it to something (in your apt when you are away). Don't lock it someplace at an airport and leave...
I envy you in that you can fit everything in one case, I am trying to get down to one small car load with about 5-6 cases.
Just remember to set your briefcase password to "12345"!
Just spend about $600 and put a .45 on your hip. Should be perfectly secure against theft then, unless you leave your briefcase somewhere.
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
If your books are DRM free then make a copy and put it in a safe place (perhaps in a safe deposit box or with a friend). If you supported DRM technology when you bought the books, then you agreed to and deserve what will happen when they are eventually lost.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
this is the main reason, why I do not have important things only on the laptop, nor use cloud services. Both are vulnerable. The former since a laptop can so easily disappear, the later because the company could go belly up or lose the data. Backing up on hard drives and store regularly encrypted versions in a safe place looks still like the best option. My personal backup has not changed since decades: sync regularly (via cron scripts) between multiple desktop machines at multiple locations, retire old harddrives regularly and have physical harddrive backups at multiple locations too which are not overwrritten. (Adding a mac desktop in the sync loop allows to use time machine also when primarily working in linux). I also work more and more on a laptop but always sync before and after using it for some work. Yes, it is a bit expensive but the financial pain pales when comparing to the agony to lose old work.
Sounds like you need smart underwear. Of course, this security technology is vulnerable to social engineering.
Get a few evil looking stickers with text like "don't try to steal, can be tracked via gps".
That way it's strapped to you so you don't have to set it down to use your hands (e.g. when paying a cashier, peeing in the urinal, defending yourself, etc). Aside from that make sure your data is encrypted, backed up, and that your electronics are insured.
Password protection is not enough. If someone has access to your hardware, encryption is the best protection you have.
Remote location and data wipe features on your notebook and phone will help too.
As mentioned above, the answer depends on what you are trying to secure against.
For the laptop:
* Data loss: I would combine an always running network backup (CrashPlan is my favorite) with a periodic backup to an external hard drive (Time Machine, or also CrashPlan). Dropbox is not really good enough for this, although it mitigates some of the problem.
* Data theft: There is no substitute for the simplicity of full-disk encryption (TrueCrypt, PGP Whole Disk Encryption, or the newer FileVault in OS X Lion). There is some subtlety regarding key management when your laptop is asleep, although simply requiring a screensaver password will foil most unsophisticated thieves who will try to reboot the laptop to bypass it. A better approach, though less convenient, is to simply shut down your laptop when carrying it through high-theft situations.
For the tablet and cell phone:
* Data loss: If you have iPhone/iPad, then iTunes backups cover you here (and these are in turn protected by your laptop backup strategy). I have no idea what are good solutions for Android.
* Data theft: This is more tricky. Here you want a passcode to unlock the phone and some kind of remote wipe utility. The assumption is that you will notice fairly quickly that your phone is gone and can wipe it. (In practice, this might not be so easy if your laptop and phone are stolen at the same time.) The "Find My iPhone" feature lets you remotely wipe the phone, and I assume there are equivalent Android tools, although a full wipe might require a rooted phone.
This is good enough for the generic traveller trying to guard against opportunistic thieves who are primarily interested in stolen hardware for resale, and so won't try very hard to extract any data. If you are in an industry where you might the target for more sophisticated data thieves, then you will need to probably find a consultant to identify good security practices to follow. (Rules about what data can be stored on portable devices, suggestions about encryption of specific directories on the laptop with a different key than the full-disk encryption, switching to managed Blackberries with better security features, etc.)
CHL and a pistol. Yes, I'm from Texas. We pass out guns at the exit from DFW airport.
We're assuming that you're referring to your own post.
I'm follwing the cult of less myself, and while not all of my important stuff fits in a briefcase, it does fit into one room without it looking cramped or stuffed with junk - and I plan to reduce my stuff even more in the next few years.
Here's what I do: ... all my current work of the last year)
My Hardware: MB Air, Mac Mini, HTC Flyer, HTC Desire HD
My local storage: 2 HDDs for TimeMachine, 2 HDDs for redundant backup, storage and archiving
My remote storage: Virtual Debian Server for word stuff versioned and synced with Git via SSH (roughly ten projects currently
Disaster recovery via TimeMachine, Backup via two extra redundant external USB 3 2.5" HDDs, FS is HFS non-journaled for easy access from linux. Regular offsite versioning, archiving and backups via Git or SCP for the stuff I work on, Backup from Computers to HDDs via rsync. I rely on the Mac OS X AES 128bit encryption of the MB Air SDD for data security. My calendar is on Google and syncs with both HTC devices (anonymous/fake account) and iCal on the MB, my contact data is only in my phone. Still thinking about wether a fresh copy of 'Missing Sync' is worthwhile.
I store all my notes in Evernote. I have the Evernote client hooked to my Evernote account on all devices.
My next move will be an rsync setup with some low-power netbook/nettop PC running linux that pushed the contents of the HDDs to my server (rented virtual server running debian).
If my stuff gets stolen I've got my backups. If someone breaks into my room and steals the HDDs aswell I'm in deep shit - until I get my off-site routine running that is. I've been consolidating my data handling for about a year now and it will take another year or two until I've got it all in place, i.e.: Full and total off-site backup and desaster recovery preperation, fully redundant local backup, archiving and storage, zero-fuss cross-device automatic project syncing and fail-safe, secure contacts and calendering. ... I'm not to picky with encryption, the 128bit AES is enough for my taste. It's not that I work for the CIA or something.
Hope that helped.
We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
Kudos to Apple for creating a need that doesn't exist really but what are people doing nowadays carrying both a tablet and laptop?!
Now I somehow understand the "couch surfing" use for a tablet but really carrying a laptop and a tablet seems to be overkill (and still done by many people).
You can check something quickly on your phone (which is easier to access than the tablet and most likely it runs precisely the same OS) and for anything serious you still need the laptop. So, why the tablet?
And it's not some case of "why not if I can afford it". There's a big price to be paid in having an extra device apart from original cost and the extra weight: you need to take care of it, not to lose it, to recharge it, to install stuff on it, debug it if it doesn't work (even sending it back to manufacturer if it fails), etc.
If you are very young (or very poor) and a little bit geeky you probably welcome anything that works on electricity, from a 1GB USB stick to a nice used laptop. But there is a point where it's just too much and even if it's free it's just not worth it for the extra complexity.
Go back to the backpack, and wear it all the time.
There's a company called PacSafe that makes what are essentially collapsible wire cages you can wrap your bag in, and then chain the bag to something solid, like a drain pipe: http://pacsafe.com/ That being said, I went around the world a couple of times without one of these, and did just fine. They tend to draw attention.
When you say you're in deep shit, what do you mean?
If it's a matter of just losing the data, then all you need are backups and travel insurance to cover the cost of the gear. You'll be inconvenienced for that trip, but once you get home you can replace/restore. For example, IIRC, all your kindle purchases are recorded in your account, so you're a new kindle away from restoring everything.
If you are concerned that the data you carry could be used by others to destroy your life (eg: identity/credit theft), then the single best thing you can do is to not put yourself in that position in the first place.
If you're concerned about losing your equipment, leave your good stuff at home and bring a lower quality equivalent instead. For stuff like your laptop, leave it at home, turned on, and either running hamachi (very easy) or set up tomato/ddwrt on your router and configure it for VPN (more complicated). Assuming you have easy internet access, your a link away from any data you might need.
If you HAVE to have instant access to sensitive data, then encrypt. All the major operating systems now have either full disk encryption built in or have it available via third party (such as truecrypt). That way even if something important IS stolen, then at least they'd have a really hard time making use of the data.
Additionally, there are tools you can get such as Prey, which will serve as a location service to help you locate stolen gear. I believe it works for mac, windows, linux, android and ios.
The only big concern that I'm not sure how to deal with would be to remote data-wipe your cell phone. If it's a big concern, you may wanna do the phone equivalent of what I mentioned earlier: temporarily use a spare cell phone that doesn't have all the critical data on it. Alternatively you could research the possibility of remote data wipe services.
Incidentally, a number of the above items could (and probably should) also be used on your equipment for day to day activities. Being at home, but having your laptop stolen during a break in, could be just as devastating as if someone nabbed your stuff while abroad.
First thought, you need a redundant provider to dropbox. Get Amazon or another provider to also sync your data. You sound like a road warrior and having been a road warrior your data is your life. Second thought, how are you going to survive a complete loss of your briefcase on the road? What have you done to encrypt your data? What have you done to have your devices home phone so that you can try to have police recover them?
You can replace tools like a phone or laptop, what is your gameplan to do so? Do you have credit capacity to replace everything on the spot? Insurance is a pain and can take weeks in a best case scenario to send a check. How are you going to document tat you secured your belongings in your room? If you can't prove use of a cable or the like and a police report no insurance company will replace your belongings?
Where is your password vault? It should not be in your briefcase?
What about using micro sd cards and keep them some where else... in the wallet etc?
Anybody have any tips regarding using whole-disk (or home directory) encryption using Ubuntu?
What about re-installs of the OS (an unfortunate necessity)?
Do you have to continue using the same password in order to keep being able to decrypt the home directory?
I'm not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet. Blog
people still use briefcases?
intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
"I've got all my eggs in one basket. How can I secure that basket from harm?"
Don't put all of your eggs into the same basket - same answer as it's always been.
If your life can be packed into a briefcase, you are missing somebody important in your life. Oh wait, this is slashdot...
I am highly mobile and also carry my laptop and tablet in my briefcase. However, I chose the sturdiest, most versatile briefcase I could find. At 7.5lbs empty, it weighs nearly 20lbs with my gear in it and is not something a thief could easily run off with. The leather it's comprised of is 1/8" thick and has only 3 seams, and being leather, keeps the contents at a moderate temperature, which is excellent for electronics which may be heat sensitive.
My laptop, tablet and cell phone are all Apple products, which have the "FInd my Mac" feature allowing the devices to be located whenever they access a network. While not an anti-theft tool, the "Find my iPhone" and "Find my iPad" features have been shown to be quite useful in recovering lost and stolen iDevices. The "Find my Mac" feature is more questionable since most Macbook Pro users with even a hint of a clue will have their user accounts secured, meaning there is likely no way to associate the computer with your iCloud account even if a user logs in via the Guest Account. But if your briefcase is stolen with your iPad in it, the chances are pretty good that you can recover your iPad and briefcase. However, you'd be better off not placing your briefcase in a position where it could be stolen. If I were more paranoid, I would likely buy a GPS or RF transponder to stash in the deep recesses of my briefcase so that I could recover it regardless of net connectivity.
However, what happens if your briefcase is stolen with your laptop and tablet in it and they can not be recovered? Fortunately, iCloud helps alleviate this -- but only for app data and iTMS purchases. For my Document data and Software projects, I use an AWS Micro instance with Gitolite, which aside from allowing me to share and stage my development projects with other developers, it allows me to sync my entire Documents folder to the server. And being Git, it's easy to add certain files and directories to my .gitignore. To me at least, AWS Micro instance is the ideal remote backup solution since you can image your instance, effectively making a backup of the backup, it's on the cloud, so you can back up from anywhere you have a net connection and a Micro instance is free for the first year, $15.00/month after that, which is pretty cost effective.
So to sum it up for the tl;dnr crowd:
Get a hefty, durable briefcase that will both protect your gear and hinder theft
Buy products that enable tracking in case of loss/theft
Get a serious backup solution and use it
The TSA is rife with thieves; even the rich and famous are not safe in this regard.
Contribute to civilization: ari.aynrand.org/donate
A briefcase is a terrible place to hide a horcrux.
Anti-theft briefcase:
http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2012/03/british_anti-th.html
...if you've only got $4K in equipment in your briefcase, you obviously aren't an Apple fanboi.
I have a laptop, a tablet, and a cell phone with access to all of my documents through Dropbox, and all the books I own are on my kindle. Aside from having about four grand in electronics, the bag has everything of value that I own.
No extra clothing? Your socks must stink horribly!
9/11 Eyewitnesses to Explosive WTC Demolition 1 of 2
How about one of these?
http://jr-international.fr/100-000v-electrified-briefcase_ELALOC_itm_english.html
"Try not to lose it so quickly this time, 007."
http://bluenio.com/
and a small cable lock
http://tinyurl.com/7sndu6r
The reason we subjugate ourselves to law is to better procure justice. If law does not accomplish this purpose then it m
Accept that life is insecure, and there is more to it than stuff. Seriously, I can't read your post without thinking of Fight Club, so get over it.
Even if you chain it to your wrist, other things can happen beyond theft, such as damage from carelessness or accident. And tech can just fail.
Keep $4K in a bank account at all times so you can immediately replace it. When I was living out of a case this saved my bacon more than once. Keep remote backups (encrypted, naturally) so you can get back your data.
Get insurance as well, but don't expect it to pay out in every situation or in a timely manner.
Use an ugly, battered briefcase that looks like it would contain nothing of value. Camouflage is a time-honored method of defense across multiple species. Not foolproof of course, but there's usually lots of potential targets for a thief to nab and they have to make their choice at a glance, try to convince them that someone else's bag would make a more profitable target.
It can also help to write contact info "If found please call ......" in a clearly visible location in indelible ink on both the case and your most valuable stuff so that if it finds its way into the hands of an honest person you've got a chance of recovering it. Offering a reward may boost the chance even higher. Especially handy if you're concerned about the non-resalable stuff, a thief may well grab out the high-dollar items and then dump the rest where someone honest may find it.
--- Most topics have many sides worth arguing, allow me to take one opposite you.
http://pacsafe.com/
The combination of backing up everything, encrypting everything, and insurance that other posters have mentioned should work. One thing to make sure of, though, is that you can get access to all your data back. If you're using a password manager, make sure the encrypted file is backed up to somewhere you'll have access to without the briefcase. Make sure the master key is backed up somewhere else -- like a USB drive kept in your apartment or a safety deposit box. Along with that you'll probably want to keep passwords and information you'll need quickly; your main email account password and your backup service password for instance.
I also have a life on the road. I have had many things stolen. This is my philosophy now.
I don't spend a lot on technology anymore. I only buy what I think will be useful and what I need for work. The laptop I use is very old, my phone is quite old. I find I don't need much more.
I looked at the Galaxy Note and said to myself "Yes, that would be very useful in that I can use it for ebooks, as a phone as well as some light tasks when I've left the laptop at the hotel... but...
it was ~$800!" How am I going to be able to use that when I want to? How am I going to pull that out on the underground in Columbia?
So instead for a long time I went with a Nokia E71. When that broke instead of getting a new Android I went with an old Galaxy S1 at about £100. If this gets stolen I have a backup and I can buy locally. I always buy within the limit of 'would I cry if I lost it' now. This is actually a relaxation on my strategy. Before I went with things that didn't attract attention because I didn't want to go through the psychological aspect of getting mugged - now I just go with things I can afford to lose as long as it's not every month.
Cloud backup doesn't work for me. The bandwidth just isn't there. This makes things complicated and messy. For the phone the best I can do is copy SD cards and upload as and when I can. Need to improve a system there, to create a habit.
As for the hard drive, this is a problem. It's just a lot of data, too much for cloud storage. Only about 10gb of the 300gb 2.5" HD is important but this needs to be organised. However, even 2gb is too much bandwidth in some places to backup regularly. What to do? It's difficult. When you got a lot of data you need a lot of space extra with which to move it round and organise it.
As an interim I treat the hard drive with a lot of care:
- put just the hard drive in the hotel safe
- take the hard drive out of the laptop and hand carry through airports
- back up selected things when I can (but this is too infrequent...)
I had another phone stolen last year. It had everything on there. Thankfully encrypted but because I decrypted that file almost daily to remember things like bank account numbers I couldn't use a password to match the level it should have done. This is a problem I have even now. Somewhere out there there's a SD card with enough stuff to cripple me. The thing is, because I didn't have a recent backup I'm not entirely sure if I've changed all my passwords. Let this be a lesson to you! Thank god I encrypted. You only have to put the lightest protections to reduce the risk by 95% but really I wish I'd done more.
I find a lot of this security advise can be crippling in a working environment. Convenience is critical. You have to assess your risk and strike the balance. If you overprotect then the cure can be worse than the problem. For example, if your password takes you 20 seconds to type, and you get it wrong 1 in 5 times how much is that costing you on productivity and is it worth it for that particular thing you're protecting? I would say protect that data but don't worry too much on hardware and instead cut the cost of replacing it. The typical thief just wants your phone but the info on it usually takes a bit longer to be a problem.
2 factor authentication is very useful on the road. If you had your laptop stolen you might need to login to your home ssh server via some shady internet cafe. Think about this. Have one time passwords as an optional extra. Think about 2 factor auth for your phone like Google Authenticator. Have some backup codes listed somewhere. Can a relative available by phone have a copy? Don't label it and they most likely won't even know what it's for.
If you lose your phone have a number remembered that you can call to get to a backup of your stuff including bank etc.
Writing this is all very useful. I will have to have another look at this because I've seen some holes now.
Finally, what would happen if all the banking system went tits up like it did for people in Argentina? If you went to the ATM and it didn't work and also you couldn't make any purchases? I happened to me for 2 weeks and it was pretty humbling.
A blog I run for the wealth
The hardware is replaceable.
It is the data that is the issue.
To protect the data back it up incrementally regularly and then mirror occasionally:
1) to a USB or other removable memory you store elsewhere on your body. Actually, use two, or more, memory chips and rotate between them. Even by day of the week, etc.
2) to a web server somewhere every night.
3) to another web server somewhere else regularly.
Encrypt everything
When you shutdown/close go the machine should go into lock mode.
Use trace software to track hardware in case of theft.
Get a dog. A big dog. A big, mean looking dog that smiles a lot but doesn't wag its tail or accept treats from strangers.
If this is really a life and death situation then also get a gun. While the stupid mugger messes with the dog (only a stupid assailant messes would mess with a big, mean, guardian dog) you shoot the mugger. Some people would suggest a tazer instead but those can kill someone.
Get some sheep, pigs or cattle. This gives the dog something else to do and confuses assailants. Ninja pigs are ideal.
The Pelican 1514 case shouts, "I've got something expensive!"
When I travel, I try not to attract attention.
If you are worried about losing it you should have those items insured. On top of that keep your data encrypted and make regular backups (I would avoid Dropbox while you're at it, there are better services).
This ought to do it
I have a backup set of hardware since its cost is trivial as compared to the inconvenience of waiting for a replacement effort of any kind. It allows any settings changes made, but forgotten due to obscurity, to be enabled within a couple days of making them and preserving them if the hardware is lost or crashed. Offsite backup and now cloud backup make the most recent save more recent, but you will always lose something. I value email more than most tings so I have it set to save on the server till I actively delete it which I do on backup day.
I have lost backup data twice to hard break-ins. Presumably by someone I know. The stuff they wanted was encrypted.
JJ
I call BS on "Tablet: read ebooks comfortably".
A tablet is way to heavy to hold. The backlit, glossy screen is terrible to read on, especially outside.
There's nothing comfortable about reading on a tablet. E-ink devices are a different story.
If you said the tablet was to look cool and pick up chicks at starbucks, or play angry birds, sure. I would've believed that.
If everything is in 'the cloud' the electronics are just dumb terminals - buy a spare of each, ship the spares to a mail forwarder (like a mailbox etc.) and leave the spare there. With one phone call your electronics will be replaced in 24 hours.
Ken
...you will never see them again....even if they parade through your city!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtR2m20C2YM
My God can beat up your God. Just kidding...don't take offense. I know there's no God.
Seriously, sounds like you're putting them all into one. Not a good idea.
To protect your investments, stop putting them all into one thing. I know it sounds arcane nowadays, but buy books. Nobody steals them. Also, use memo pads and other non-digital means to store or backup your data.
It sounds like you're living the dream (so far) by having a totally digital lifestyle, but nothing beats having ink on paper documents when the need arises to prove your identity, or simply avoid electronic ID theft.
get another 4k copy of your life at a box store that syncs all your life to a backup laptop and phone and they'll send it to every place in the world on your command when needed.
stay simple.
The hardware isn't important, in that you can replace it. Get rid of the tablet, as others have said--the laptop is much more useful. The cell phone should be a dumb voice/sms-only model, smart phones are just yuppie toys. That leaves the laptop. People keep saying to back it up online but that's harder than it sounds due to non-ubiquitous net access when you travel. You probably don't really need terabytes of data on it though, a few dozen gigabytes used to be an awful lot of storage. You can put that on a USB stick that you keep on a necklace under your shirt most of the time, so back up to that. Make sure the USB stick is encrypted. Heck, bring several USB sticks so you can mail one home every so often.
Really - it'll be a plane crash, robbery, airline stupidity ("Sir, we think your briefcase is in Delhi, but it might be in Tokyo") or your own stupidity.
Work on recovering from it's loss, rather than making sure it doesn't get lost.
"The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes" - Winston Churchill
You are an Apple Zealot. You could have mitigated some of the risk by simply purchasing tech that got the job done without the 'showing off' part. Everyone of those electronic items in there would have phone home software. Tagged. And of course insured.
Really this all boils down to 3 points.
1. Encryption. Prevent the thief from getting at your private data.
2. Backup. Don't loose the only copy of your data.
3. Insurance. Replace the tangible.
I'm pretty much the same, but I don't carry a tablet.
First off the only thing that's valuable is your data. I have an insurance plan on my phone and the only important information on it is either in the cloud to begin with or is photos and videos - which are automatically synced (Ubuntu one, dropbox, etc.). My notebook I use the cheapest ultrabook out there... which is also a surprisngly nice machine. It's the smaller Asus Zenbook - an i7 with 4GB of RAM in a ~11 inch thin, nice case. I sync my data to a home serever which then in turn is backed up off-site. Home folders and backups are all encrypted. You could take my phone and notebook and break them right now and I'd be out like $500 and two days waiting for replacements.
Why are you traveling with your "life" in a briefcase? That's dumb. Get a safe deposit box and put your "life" in it. That's what they're there for (i.e. valuable stuff).
The article indicates, and most UAV's are remotly controled by a human operator. The title says Automated implying that the drones will fly by themselves.
Keep your used underwear in it. Guaranteed any would be burglar will drop with uncontrollable vomiting withing seconds.
Okay, since you are young and stupid, let me clue you in.
Possession don't mean shit. They come and go. Your $4k in electronics? Don't fucking matter.
But insurance that for your items when you travel. Backup all fucking data.
Have a "care" package, like an old laptop, with current backups of your data, etc, and when you go on trips, package it up and give it to a family member. That way, if you get mugged, etc. You can have someone ship you you're "care" package, so you can resume your work.
Shit happens. You can't control that. You could travel, get the flu, pass out, and all your possession is gone. So plan for if that happens, so you can finish your work.
But honestly, if you have to come to slashdot to ask this question, there is no hope for you, imo.
Be seeing you...
I think I saw somebody on Hardcore Pawn try to pawn those exact same items. Les offered about three hundred bucks. Just sayin' Enjoy.
This ain't no upwardly mobile freeway This is the road to hell
Get yourself a second briefcase (which should - like the first one - look old and battered).
Fill it with the exact same stuff: laptop, tablet, call phone and kindle.
The first one you always carry with you, the second one is somewhere safe.
In the evening, you simply pick up your second briefcase, and bingo.
If flying somewhere - have one case with you, the second one in the belly of the plane.
Free PC version of ChipWits at http://www.breueronline.de/klaus/chipwits/
It won't secure 'everything' but if it is nabbed you've got at least some hope of actual recovery.
Can't believe this wasn't mentioned/modded up yet.
A good solution would be a blue-tooth proxtmity alarm. Not to expensive and work rather well. If the two devices get seperated by a set distance a loud alarm sounds....
Maybe carry a lot of your stuff on you or hidden. Like these clothes with multitudes of pockets. http://www.scottevest.com/
--The Programming goddess from Gorflaz
Soon: "I have my whole life in this briefcase, and I have to have it in front of me at all times for fear of losing it. As you might expect, it makes going out in public embarassing, and my girlfriend left me because I tried to lay it on her back during sex." I've named my briefcase "Sally" is this a good name for a briefcase with my life in it? Protip: don't put your whole life in a briefcase.
I keep my lunch in a biohazard bag in the refrigerator at work. Things sometimes disappear there, but not my lunch.
If your stuff was in a container that suggested unpleasant contents, it might be a bit safer.
Consider advertising the contents as a live organ. Back up your deception by wearing a lab coat, thick glasses and a pocket protector.
...omphaloskepsis often...
Yes shameless plug coming (but its the right answer) -- use a product such as ReachIPS.com 'A-Connect Desktop' (disclosure: a company I am associated with), whereas your valuable 'data' is out on the cloud is backed up and is always available on any/all devices you can use. Then it doesn't matter if your equipment gets pinched as it is not locally stored 'ever' stored locally on your in-hand technology. Not your normal Slashdot answer, but tis the right business answer to your query as whats valuable is your data not the equipment... Just my 2 cents. //GH
When you say "life in a briefcase", what are we talking in percentage terms?
The solution would vary depending on if you're just out of the office for a few days every month, or one week out one week back, or one of those fellows who sees his apartment every second weekend for just long enough to do laundry.
If your entire "life" fits in a briefcase - you don't have a life. Lose the briefcase and get a life - you won't regret it.
I can't believe you guys rated me down... I was clearly kidding around.
humorless pricks to a man apparently... :-D
I've decided to stop wasting my time responding to AC trolls/sockpuppets... so if you want a response from me... login.
Infinit can propose you a full solution by which you can aggregate the storage across your devices for access (like Dropbox), offer you sharing capabilities integrated into your file management system. What makes it really awesome though, is that you can connect the network or private cloud that you have created with those of your colleagues, friends, etc. so that you can backup your data across a larger, trusted network os that you never have to pay anything to backup your data. You can choose the replication rate as well. If ever you were to lose a device or a fire burnt down your apartment, you would buy new devices, download Infinit and everything will appear as if it was untouched. The beta will be available this summer. You can sign up at infinit.io so you can access it when it's released.