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Ask Slashdot: How To Back Up Physical Data?

Posted by Soulskill on from the can't-sync-your-stone-carvings-over-dropbox dept.

An anonymous reader writes "After many years I now have a backup of all my digital data in (at least) two physical locations. But what do people recommend to back up my physical data? And then how to prove my identity? I call it the 'gas leak problem,' because a gas leak in my town caused an explosion that leveled a house. If it had been my house, it would have destroyed all my paperwork that proves who I am. If I'd come home from work and found my house was now a pile of rubble, how would I prove I lived there, knowing my key no longer fits the smoldering lock? If I'd left my wallet at home, my bank cards would have been destroyed so I couldn't withdraw money or book into a hotel. Or if I'd left my phone at the office, I wouldn't know anyone's number to call, or get anyone to vouch for me. What preventative steps can you take? Since having this nightmare, I've exported my phone's VCF file to an online repo, made online notes of all my bank account numbers and passport ID, I keep ICE numbers with me at all times (separate from phone/wallet), and I've hidden a spare mobile phone and house key in a box in a nearby field. But there must be more to do!"

29 of 245 comments (clear)

  1. Well.. by Zembar · · Score: 5, Funny

    You could start working from home, because then proving your identity will be the coroner's problem, not yours.

    1. Re:Well.. by Old+Fatty+Baldman · · Score: 2

      He mentioned ICE papers. Do you want *your* tax dollars paying for the disposal of some unidentifiable foreigner's charred remains?

  2. Overly Paranoid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    When they issue a photo I.D. for someone the state also keeps a record. The same goes for Passports(federal), they want your picture in a database.

    Loosing credentials happens to travelers in foreign countries all the time. You go the embassy and request new credentials.

    1. Re:Overly Paranoid by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Then why does the DMV insist you need to prove your ID before they will issue a replacement ID. They will, of course, want your SS card. Hope you didn't lose that too, because SSA wants your picture ID to replace your SS card.

      Look, this is very simple and you're making it more complicated than it really is. You keep an official copy of your birth certificate in your safety deposit box, perhaps the original on the assumption that it's safer there than in your house. You can get a duplicate social security card before you even need it, and put that in there as well. Neither of these things ever expires. If you want to save yourself some money, get two copies of each thing and stash them with someone you trust more than a bank. Who trusts banks, anyway? With your BC and your SS you will certainly be able to get an ID.

      Obviously, another option is to get a passport and keep that around. It's valid ID for replacing any and all of this stuff.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Overly Paranoid by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Requesting a replacement Social Security card does not explicitly *require* photo identification. All they ask for is "evidence of identity" and specifically mention scenarios where you may lack government-issued photo ID (ex. license, state-issued ID card, or passport). The government-issued photo ID just makes the process quicker/easier for them, that's all, else you're asked to provide alternate forms of identification: military record, certificate of naturalisation or certificate of birth, employee ID card, medical record or immunization record, Medicaid card, or even a life insurance policy or adoption papers. I had to do this several years ago as I lost my original social security card (I had copies, just not the actual paper card provided by the SSA).

      It works the same way when getting a US passport, actually -- if you can't provide either a driver's license or state-issued ID card, you're given about 20-25 alternate forms of proof (the more you have of these the better; call the State Dept. if you want the full list, the website doesn't list off all of them). You can also fill out a DS-71 form (witness validation -- someone who's known you for 2+ years, is a US citizen or permanent resident, has valid ID (see above), and must be there with you physically at the time of passport submission).

      How do I know all this crap, especially passports? Because a few months ago I went through trying to get a US passport at the local post office (a few blocks from here) -- solely for use as a form of ID -- resulted in irritation and humiliation. I do not have a driver's license (I don't drive nor have I ever) and cannot go to a DMV to get a state-issued ID card due to medical problems (hence why I wanted a passport). I'm a US citizen and was born here. The "reviewer" at the post office, despite being provided with 7 alternate forms of permitted ID, *and* with a witness (someone I've known for over 15 years who has a valid US passport and driver's license), rejected accepting my passport submission citing "the circumstances were weird [that I had no plans to travel abroad yet were asking for a passport]", speculated that "I could have found some random dude and paid {said friend} to act as a witness for a DS-71", and told me to come back "when I had a doctor's note to prove I couldn't go to the DMV to get a state ID card". To be clear: it was not a passport agency which rejected me, it was some jackass at an official "passport acceptance facility" (i.e. post office).

      Because I kept questioning myself ("What did I do wrong? What forms of secondary ID weren't compliant?"), I made a call to the State Dept., which resulted in an investigation -- they were particularly interested in the fact that I was told to get a doctor's letter, since that has no bearing on anything relating to a passport and is a very tricky subject here in California. Two managers at the State Dept. both told me that the doofus should have accepted everything I had -- the DS-71 wasn't even necessary, so they say -- and sent it off to Los Angeles where it probably would have been approved. I haven't gone back there post-investigation since there's apparently no way to guarantee I'll see someone different (I worry I'll get the same guy, despite the investigation, and he'll just be an even bigger dick), and going up to San Francisco to the official passport agency isn't an option given my health.

      Sorry for the long story there, but this "ID verification" thing is still fresh in my mind.

      The one place that does require state-issued photo ID to get something is -- are you ready? -- a library card from a local library; they won't accept anything else, which is probably what you were getting at (you can actually use a local library card as a form of alternate ID when applying for a passport, but how do you

    3. Re:Overly Paranoid by rioki · · Score: 2

      My father had this sort of. While visiting his mother in California, his bag was stolen while at the beach and this included his passport and wallet. The result was he had absolutely no ID whatsoever. The solution to the problem was to get two people that where related to him, with ID to swear he was how he claimed to be. End of story, yes it was a huge hassle, but in the end it worked out.

    4. Re:Overly Paranoid by azadrozny · · Score: 2

      I agree, there is way too much over thinking going on here. Many states will issue second birth certificates. I ordered duplicates when my children were born. I now keep one copy at home in a fire resistant box, and the second in a safe deposit box. An insurance rep. recommended to me that you keep your fire resistant box next to something large, like a washing machine, the reason being that large steal items will be easier to locate, especially if the structure around it were to collapse. This would hopefully expedite the return of your important papers.

    5. Re:Overly Paranoid by omnichad · · Score: 2

      That would certainly be a large steal, but it would be a difficult steal.

  3. Have you ever heard the phrase "off-site backup"? by SeaFox · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If it had been my house, it would have destroyed all my paperwork that proves who I am.

    There's this marvelous service called a safe deposit box that banks offer...

  4. papers, please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    all my paperwork that proves who I am

    If you live in a society that requires papers to prove who you are, you have a bigger problem.

    Back in the 1960s, we had a saying. "I am not a number, I am a free man!" Apparently the popular saying in the 2010s is, "How may I obey today?"

    Hint: you are the problem.

  5. Say hello to your neighbour. by StoneCrusher · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Surely there is one person in your street or at work that you can ask to crash on a couch for a night. Not every problem is solved by the cloud. Human interaction will get you a long way.

    FYI: Banks, courts, and the Government issued ID have processes for people who have lost everything. It generally involves someone signing a document that vouches for your identity. It's not a big deal. If you really want to speed the process, a couple of scans of your documents emailed to yourself will help them simply look up a record and reprint the documents.

    Also for the hotel problem. If you really don't have a neighbour that would let you spend the night (just what did you do to them?) the fire department and police department have contacts of places you can stay and worry about the bill later.

    TLDR; You live in a society, when your house blows up, it is time to redeem your credit. Relax.

  6. You're not the first person to think of this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If I'd come home from work and found my house was now a pile of rubble, how would I prove I lived there

    Oddly enough I had a conversation with my parents a week or two where they said they'd paid off all but £100 of their mortgage years ago. I asked why they hadn't done the the last bit, and they said there was an arrangement with the bank: you keep £100 on the mortgage indefinitely, pay interest on that and in return they keep all of the deeds and other paperwork related to the house in a safe, off-site location. As long as you have photo ID and a bank card to prove you're their customer (you carry your driving license and bank card around, right?) you can then still get hold of the deeds no matter what happens to your house.

    My Dad also gets a bit paranoid about this sort of thing, so when they travel they make up a "disaster kit": copies of all important data and documents, contacts, etc. on a USB drive and given to one of us kids.

    Like others have said, off-site storage if you're paranoid.

    1. Re:You're not the first person to think of this by RandomFactor · · Score: 3, Insightful

      And in return they retain a lean on the property. I'm not sure how but I suspect that every now and then this works out in the bank's favor dramatically somehow...

      --
      --- Mercutio was right.
    2. Re:You're not the first person to think of this by nine-times · · Score: 2

      I wonder what happens if they stop making the mortgage payments on that £100 debt.

    3. Re:You're not the first person to think of this by the+eric+conspiracy · · Score: 2

      By paying off my mortgage the bank did me the favor of sending a letter to the county records office showing that they disclaim their lien on the title for my home.

      Given this records office has deeds and records going back to 1637, and physical copies in a second location I am fairly confident of their ability to maintain this information without loss. I also have a backup copy in my personal records.

      I would definitely prefer to have no liens on my property and rely on long standing government institutions than take my chances with a bank.

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  7. Smoldering lock by nospam007 · · Score: 4, Funny

    If the lock is smoldering that doesn't matter. Your house is a pile of rubble, you can get into that from 5 directions.

    You need a weapons cache in a different field, fake IDs in another one, foreign money in still a different one, a few other houses in different locations, summer homes in different countries.
    A numbered account in Switzerland an the Caiman's, you can store paper copies in your planes and yachts.
    Hide a tele-operated submarine with copies and money somewhere an install a hidden fortress in the arctic.

    That should do it.

    Or just store copies of your personal papers at a friend's.

  8. tin foil hat by photonic · · Score: 4, Funny

    Since having this nightmare, I've exported my phone's VCF file to an online repo, made online notes of all my bank account numbers and passport ID, I keep ICE numbers with me at all times (separate from phone/wallet), and I've hidden a spare mobile phone and house key in a box in a nearby field. But there must be more to do!

    I think the only thing left to do is buying loads of a aluminium foil.

    --
    karma police: arrest this man, he talks in maths; he buzzes like a fridge, he's like a detuned radio. [radiohead]
  9. Scan everything by Sockatume · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Quite aside from your important personal documents, it's good practice to keep scanned copies of every bit of potentially-useful correspondence, and throw them in a Dropbox. The sizes aren't huge even for passable quality. If you have - or have access to - a good sheet-feed scanner, it's not even a particularly arduous process. These days I have a rolling two-year buffer of things like utility bills; each month the new one goes through the scanner, and the oldest one goes through the shredder.

    Well, when I can be bothered, but you know what I'm getting at.

    --
    No kidding!!! What do you say at this point?
  10. Re:um... by JWSmythe · · Score: 3, Informative

    Well, I know the DMV in Florida keeps them. A little while back, I asked what my file looked like. It was a slow day, so they turned the monitor so I could see it. They had every drivers license photo I've had since the 80s.

    I thought the passport office asked for two. It's been a long time. travel.state.gov says one photo now. I guess they figured out how to scan them finally. :)

    --
    Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
  11. Lastpass by lemur3 · · Score: 2

    While it's not the best idea to keep all your eggs in one basket, Lastpass (a firefox, chrome, opera addon, plus a standalone app) is an OK way to store this kind of data.

    It is all encrypted/decrypted locally .and then uploaded to the DREADED cloud! ...the lastpass folks never have access to your data.. so theres nothing to 'steal'..

    While primarily a place to keep your passwords it does have a handy feature for what they call Secure Notes, with premade forms to filling out all of your personal private info, allowing pictures/scans to be added.

    and... while that might be creepy for uploading to Facebook..... with lastpass they cannot decrypt the data, because they dont have your password and cant change it if you 'forgot' it..... because it was all encrypted before even being sent to them...including your password..

    then you export a copy of the encrypted database, upload it all over the place in various email accounts, put it in safe deposit boxes on DVDs and flash drives..all stored with a copy of the standalone app that will show you the data, so even if the internet explodes too, youll be good to go!

  12. Not to worry... by NoKaOi · · Score: 3, Funny

    Facebook and the NSA know what you look like, and Google can identify you by your browsing habits.

  13. The lottery winner problem by jeffasselin · · Score: 2

    Planning for such an event is like planning for winning the lottery: it is almost certain will win the lottery, and it's almost certain it won't be you.

    Likewise, such catastrophic events happen to someone sometimes, but you don't have to worry about it happening to you. Really. Stop worrying so much.

    If you live in a tornado-targeted area, you should prepare for a tornado to hit your house.

    If you live in a flood area, prepare for a flood.

    It's all about statistics and the Bernoulli equation: examine the chance of something happening and the effect it could have on your life, and prepare for the events that pose a significant danger.

    --
    If he explores all forms and substances Straight homeward to their symbol-essences; He shall not die.
  14. Safe by Jon+Peterson · · Score: 5, Insightful

    An inexpensive fire-proof and waterproof safe will survive a gas explosion just fine.

    But you are overestimating the importance of identity documents. A few sworn statements will have you up and running again in no time.

    --
    ----- .sig: file not found
  15. Re:If you owe money to someone.. by RabidReindeer · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Really? do you honestly believe that everyone on this planet owes someone or some company money?

    You really need to get out of your mom's basement from time to time.

    Personally, I owe no one any money. sure I have Credit Cards but I clear the bill before the statement is issued, otherwise I owe no one anything.
    Before anyone asks, I own my own home and don't have a mortgage. I cleared that years ago. If I can't afford to pay for something in full, I simply don't buy it.
    It might do a few more people to follow that advice.

    You also have a crap credit score, if that's true.

    I'm generally not "in debt" by most people's standards - even pay cash on a new roof, but every few years I'll buy something financed or run a balance or something that keeps my score up.

    Because life isn't predictable and some day having a good credit rating may make the difference between being able to maintain my lifestyle and property over a period of interrupted income or losing things I'd rather keep. Or at least paying lower interest while I'm recovering.

  16. Re:Have you ever heard the phrase "off-site backup by msauve · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There's this marvelous service called a safe deposit box that banks offer...

    Your bank lets people into safe deposit boxes without showing any ID?

    --
    "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
  17. Well by koan · · Score: 2

    Safe deposit box or storage facility, copy of your passport, birth certificate and other data.

    I keep a small water tight aluminium box with my passport, other records, several thousand in cash, some 1/10 ounce gold coins, a pocket pistol and a joint secure and ready to go.

    You just never know.

    --
    "If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
  18. Re:Have you ever heard the phrase "off-site backup by Threni · · Score: 4, Funny

    Ah - but I keep my ID in a second safe deposit box!

  19. Re:Have you ever heard the phrase "off-site backup by rogo78 · · Score: 4, Informative

    My bank doesn't require an ID. Just the key, box number, and a signature they compare with what they have on file.

  20. Re:If you owe money to someone.. by Algae_94 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Really? do you honestly believe that everyone on this planet owes someone or some company money?

    You really need to get out of your mom's basement from time to time.

    Personally, I owe no one any money. sure I have Credit Cards but I clear the bill before the statement is issued, otherwise I owe no one anything.
    Before anyone asks, I own my own home and don't have a mortgage. I cleared that years ago. If I can't afford to pay for something in full, I simply don't buy it.
    It might do a few more people to follow that advice.

    You also have a crap credit score, if that's true.

    I'm generally not "in debt" by most people's standards - even pay cash on a new roof, but every few years I'll buy something financed or run a balance or something that keeps my score up.

    Because life isn't predictable and some day having a good credit rating may make the difference between being able to maintain my lifestyle and property over a period of interrupted income or losing things I'd rather keep. Or at least paying lower interest while I'm recovering.

    You absolutely do not need to run a balance periodically to keep a high credit score. The age of your credit is a factor, so just holding those credit cards through the years will help. The current amount of your available credit that you have used is a factor as well. Using more of your available credit is a negative. I assure you that what you are talking about doing is not needed to have a credit rating over 800. No one would consider an 800+ rating to be crap. It is an old wives' tale that you need to be paying finance charges to have good credit. It's just common sense that someone with the discipline to pay off their credit charges every month is a better credit risk than someone that carries a balance and takes months to pay off some charges.