What is Digg?26 Comments
- Agrabah, on 10/11/2007, -2/+26My uncle passed away tonight - for the past three nights everything has been hectic and crazy because noone knew what was going on or who to contact. I guess it is a twist of the knife that this story is up about an hour after I heard. Even sadder was that I watched the Star Trek: TNG episode today where Tasha Yar dies and they had her funeral. I almost cried :(.
Eh, sorry guys. Guess I just wanted to type something out. - jasonwc, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4Also, if you're going to put it on a USB dongle, you better encrypt the data (preferably with something decent like Truecrypt rather than some proprietary crap). Otherwise, you're just asking to be a victim of identity theft if your USB dongle is ever lost or stolen, which is a significant possibility considering their size and usage.
- siszam, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Having everything organized and simplified is a good idea not only when someone dies but in any emergency. I keep things sorted and filed in one small, easily scooped up container. In an emergency we can quickly grab our computers, all the family pictures and important papers in under five minutes. Don't forget to list and file all account info, sites, passwords etc. You tend to forget things when you're under stress.
My house caught on fire once. My system worked well. - fkr3, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3I have no will + live in a foreign country + bank in a 3rd country.
/clicks the link - dgconley66, on 10/11/2007, -2/+4digg user: sounds like a good idea, but I'm twenty something so what do i care?
- smb3d, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2That's pretty much my system as well. I have one of those fireproof folder box things with all my important papers in it, pretty close to the door. I've never had to use it fortunately.
- Poco, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3You don't, unless you are married or have kids.
- andshewas, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2@kvark
I seriously doubt this article is in any way trying to capitalize on our fears. It is a great reminder to those who intend to die someday, no matter what the cause. I'm sure you don't fear walking down the street each day, or driving to work, but you could very easily be killed doing those things. This article is not asking you to fear death, just be prepared for death or a debilitating injury to yourself or someone you are close to. I'm the queen of skeptics, but this is just a helpful reminder to get your life in order so you can live more comfortably, WITHOUT worrying too much about the future. - antdude, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3You don't care about your parents, relatives, etc.?
- zippy757, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Even if you're young (and naive) and believe bad things will never happen to you, it would be very nice of you to assist your parents, or even an elderly friend, with this type of effort...
- nhtahoe, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1The youdeparted service uses 256 bit AES to encrypt every users account. Each account is encrypted with a separate key, so its very secure. You can even go a step further by using a personal encryption program before you put things on the service, then they will be double encrypted. The idea behind the service is to actually get important information to your survivors, so it is a good idea to use it.
- wiremonkeymommy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1weird, I'm doing this chore right now too... found all I needed by searching for apps that run from a USB drive, aka, 'portable apps'
- atbnet, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1I try to scan as much stuff as possible to eliminate paper filing. I also sign up with paperless statements with my credit cards and save the pdfs of my statements in an encrypted drive. I've been trying to get my mom to start some sort of filling by giving her some filing crates I didn't need and a shredder because she thinks sticking all her past statements, tax fillings, etc should go in paper garbage bags in the basement.
I would suggest ultimately to take advantage of anything you can get online. This will make sure you don't have to deal with a heaping stack of papers. And scanning stuff is time consuming but so much nicer when you need to find something. Just make sure you keep it secure whether its a external drive you disconnect, encrypted partitions, burning CD/DVDs, etc. By making things convenient for you, you can also make it too convenient for someone to steal your vital information. - m00dy, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1http://www.yepthat.com/
^^^^
(for mac) iPhoto like software I use for documents.
PDF copies of everything from passports to ids to insurance cards to receipts to car maintenance reports got them all over there with proper keywords for fast access (such a geek) - eddx, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1A great reminder from the Lifehacker crew that death is around the corner for all of us and our relatives!
Its true though, I bet 99% of us have hardly even thought about where things like insurance paper work and wills and spare keys are etc.
Thanks for the reminder, I will get right on it. - Daiken, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Anyone else feel like doing a lot of this would leave you extremely vulnerable to identity theft or something of the sort? I mean write down bank accounts and passwords? Store your information on the web? As important as having these documents might be, they need to also be given extreme security. Encrypt everything. Find good storage places. Do not write down passwords or pin numbers anywhere for your bank accounts. If you're giving papers to other family members, make sure they store them somewhere safe. You might wish you were dead if a lot of this information ends up getting stolen.
- nhtahoe, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Great article considering how difficult a process it can be to sort everything out after a loved one's death. A new site actually addresses this problem directly by helping people organize and save everything for their family. Definitely worth checking out: www.youdeparted.com
- oobuntu, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1my friend's gmail account was hacked the other week. he couldn't get access because they changed all of the passwords, secret question etc. How would you like your identity stolen and then not be able to get it back? I vote to store it in a safer place, plus give a usb key to parents, etc.
- siszam, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1kvark, speaking of meds........are you off yours? Yeeesh!!
- eddieo, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Sorry to hear that. Death totally sucks, but unfortunately it is something we have to live with. Quick prayer coming your way.
- 2rood, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0Scott Hanselman, a geek's geek, has an article about making one of these USB keys:
http://www.hanselman.com/blog/PermaLink.aspx?guid=a56742ce-7fc6-4909-ba5e-170125a92531
There's some overlap but it's very good, like most of his articles. - tanto, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1At the scene of emergencies, sometimes we see people screaming and getting panicky. Because of delays and lack of knowledge, people die. Here’s what paramedics and ambulance officers say everyone should know about handling an emergency:
Learn CPR, Make Sure You Survive, Call for Help, Help the Rescue Team Find You
Basic knowledge to handle emergency
http://orangtuamurid.info/blog/?p=243 - dpritch15, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0One of the things I did for my wife in the event of emergency was I put all my passwords to all my investment accounts, 401k/health, IRA, etc into an excel file. I then password protected it with a common password we both know and housed on our computer. In the event of my incapacitation or death, I'd want her to be able to access these files/funds quickly. For more tips on personal finance, investing and rants/commentary, visit me at:
http://www.everydayfinance.blogspot.com - kvark, on 10/11/2007, -5/+0Yeah, sure, organize to the craziest detail this, organize that, organize your TV so that the news channels are easy to find in case of a terrorist attack, organize your clothes... I mean, where does it end? You have to have some organization, but not that obsessively! I think Prozac, Zoloft etc. makers are loving this. Long live the fear powered culture.
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