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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 :)
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?
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...
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.)
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.
Prey isn't very useful if the device doesn't have true GPS built in, so scratch it for a laptop and some tablets. Cell phones indoors to some degree as well. "Good news, we've narrowed down your stolen phone. It's somewhere indoors in a 1000 meter radius of cell tower XYZ"
Plus, how intelligent is your average thief? If I was going to steal a laptop/tablet/cell phone, the very first thing I'm going to do is turn it off and/or remove the battery, rendering Prey and the like useless. The 2nd thing I'm going to do is wipe/reformat the device the first chance I can safely do so, rendering Prey and the like uninstalled.
Kind of hard to get through airport security with a .45 on your person. Just sayin'.
Nitewing '98
Everything works...in theory.
But that IS living. I do the same - everything I own fits in a bag and laptop case. I travel around the world, seeing places, hanging around, and generally living while traveling. I have been doing this for 3-4 years and have had tons of great experiences and girlfriends around the world. Maybe some day I see a place where to settle down.
Oh yeah, I still like to do some gaming so I have an expensive laptop for that.
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.
How about leaving your hardware behind and accessing your files remotely? Make use of SSH, a service like LogMeIn, or use the cloud with strong encryption with iTwin.
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.
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?
Huh, have you ever installed Ubuntu during the last years? It asks you if you want to encrypt (encfs) your home (and of course you can change the password later on, although it won't help you if an attacker had access to the machine in the meantime).
"Whole-disk" encryption is also available in the alternate installer (and it looks and probably is identical with the one that exists by default in the debian installer). However for some reason the recent versions of the "alternate" are a mess, at least in my experience.
Upgrades/reinstalls are also no problem (if all goes well) although I hope it's obvious that backups are a must.
Especially for something like remote desktop.
Depends what you're using for remote desktop... I've been able to run a browser or a word processor through NX/SSH on a laptop wirelessly tethered to a cell phone with 3G turned off... 115kbit/s is more than enough bandwidth to handle a word processor or a spreadsheet when you're using the right protocols. VNC, particularly VNC with compression turned off, or worse, RDP6 or earlier, however, and you'll never get anything done.
My father used to do full desktop remote access over a 28.800 dialup connection, when I was in high school, using a piece of software called ReachOut, by Stac, Inc. It wasn't the very high resolution desktops that we have now, but that was enough for an 800x600 display on an NT4 client, and was quite usable.
Of course, if you have no Internet access at all, you're still screwed.
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
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.
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
Pelican cases often attract more attention than they should. Stuff inside may or may not be expensive, but from personal experience it is rarely marketable. We have one cases with over $50k of instruments, but good luck getting more than the value of a laptop on the street.
Generally speaking though, the right decals can protect a pelican box pretty well.