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Show HN: If you lose your memory, how to regain access to your computer?

eljojo.github.io

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Re: Show HN: If you lose your memory, how to regain access to your computer?

#141

Post by Brajeshwar »

cyode wrote: post #140
Brajeshwar wrote: post #127

Start treating the Future-You like a Stranger. Write for that stranger, your Future-You will thank you. We think we will remember, but we won’t. So, don’t be too harsh on yourself and make it easier for your future-you. If that stranger finds it easier, it will also be for others; your relatives, kids, etc. Unless your work and life need to be very secretive, or involve matters of national or international importance…

This comment right? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=41220059 (Funny how I can remember this comment from many months ago after never implementing the bowls, but I currently can’t remember where my car keys are. Should have implemented the bowls…)

Oh God, Yes. Now, in my favorited posts and comments.

For keys, there is only one place: the Keyholder wall-mounted near the main door, while still visible from the main Hall. Not easy to pick and go by “guests” without being seen by someone, but easy for residents to just walk out with one. I got the exact same ones from Amazon and wall-mounted them in all the homes where I serve as Printer-Repair Guy. 10+ years, I kinda have trained every family member’s muscle memory, “Keys go there and only there.” ;-)

Add/Edit: I also have a sticker I printed stuck to the Keyholder, in Monica’s words from Friends, “Got the Keys?”

Re: Show HN: If you lose your memory, how to regain access to your computer?

#142

Post by Stratoscope »

nerdsniper wrote: post #79
Eduard wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Gelsenkirchen_heist In December 2025, items worth an estimated €30 million were stolen from a Sparkasse bank in the Gelsenkirchen suburb of Buer, Germany. The thieves used a large drill to break into the bank's underground vault and proceeded to crack over 3,000 safe deposit boxes.

Don’t need events that extreme. Regular branch banks have stuff go missing from the safety deposit boxes shockingly regularly. The locks aren’t particularly secure and various people are able to access them. It can be hard to find articles about them because they don’t make the news like the more remarkable incidents do. Examples of boring security box failures (but that were noteworthy in other ways so they did make…

> Regular branch banks have stuff go missing from the safety deposit boxes shockingly regularly. The locks aren’t particularly secure and various people are able to access them.

My late wife had a safe deposit box in the Almaden Valley (San Jose) branch of US Bank. Her key to the box was nowhere to be found. So I had to get the box drilled open.

This would normally require a hefty fee. But the branch was moving to a new location, so they invited customers to make an appointment to show up a Saturday with proper ID for a lock drilling party.

I showed my ID and the death certificate, and we went into the safe to have the lock drilled.

But there was no real drilling involved. The locksmith had a little handheld gadget that she pushed into the lock, gave it a little twist, and the door came right open.

The ironic part? All that was in there were a few pieces of costume jewelry, worth maybe $50 in total.

She was paying more than that per year for the box rental, and if I'd had to pay for the "drilling" it would probably be more than that.

Re: Show HN: If you lose your memory, how to regain access to your computer?

#143

Post by tempestn »

bitexploder wrote: post #7

Low tech: I put my secret manager password in a physical journal that is locked in a fire proof, water proof vault and hidden somewhere only my partner and myself know where it is. I use a password manager. Everything else goes in the password manager.

I'd advise sharing that knowledge with one trusted person outside your household too, especially if you and your partner have dependants.

Re: Show HN: If you lose your memory, how to regain access to your computer?

#144

Post by ddtaylor »

lucb1e wrote: post #97
ddtaylor wrote: post #3

I suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) related to an e-bike accident two years ago. I woke up in the ICU after a short coma-like thing and the nurses/doctors asking me questions and it was clear I was answering for the 10th time or more, like we had all done this before, but I couldn't remember anything. Thankfully my very long password I use for an encrypted Borgbackup I have was somewhere deep or untouched, but,…

Wow, it both surprises me but also makes me feel justified in that I keep telling people to make backups of things they care about including something like a Spotify account (if your song lists are dear to them, at least the titles and other metadata that they could rebuild from) and other "cloud" or SaaS services. Anything one cares about, back it up! (Not to you but as a PSA) Still, it's weird that Google doesn't a…

It accepted the backup code and my correct password and then wanted to verify more stuff, which there was nothing, and just said "Sorry, we can't give you access to your account right now".

Re: Show HN: If you lose your memory, how to regain access to your computer?

#146

Post by utopiah »

Ah, I actually did something similar years ago. I basically hashed individual pages of my wiki and I think I published the hash of hashes on the Blockchain. Anyway I didn't need it and stop maintaining that system but definitely interesting explorations.

To clarify the hashing was to verify that the pages were indeed modified by me, to prevent tempering.

Damn, found it back, was in 2011!

in English https://fabien.benetou.fr/Slideshows/MemoryLoss

in French https://fabien.benetou.fr/Slideshows/MemoryLossPES

Re: Show HN: If you lose your memory, how to regain access to your computer?

#147

Post by eastbound »

Loughla wrote: post #119
paulgerhardt wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just went through this. Sample size one: While the fire resulted in the total loss of the house it was actually the water from the fire department not the heat that did proportionally more damage. As a mental model you shouldn’t think of it as “what if my house burns down?” so much as “what if nice strangers roll up to my windows and chainsaw through my roof and spray 50,000 gallons of water in here?” Yes everything…

We did that with major hail damage a few years ago. I learned that in a disaster, you should count on everything being junk, and you're lucky if you can salvage anything. We also learned the value of itemized lists. 1500/piece for 20 junk windows I was building a greenhouse with that I dug out of the trash the year before. $250 for a bird feeder because they couldn't find one outside of specialty stores. $40k instead…

How do you open the bank vault? Key? Passcode?

Re: Show HN: If you lose your memory, how to regain access to your computer?

#148

Post by 8n4vidtmkvmk »

repiret wrote: post #44
bitexploder wrote: post #7

Low tech: I put my secret manager password in a physical journal that is locked in a fire proof, water proof vault and hidden somewhere only my partner and myself know where it is. I use a password manager. Everything else goes in the password manager.

This is what I do too, but be warned about “fire proof” - a fire that results in the total loss of your house will create enough heat for enough time that fireproof gun safes and smaller fireproof lockboxes will be destroyed, or even if not, their contents will get hot enough to combust anyway. A bank safe deposit box offers a different security profile that’s probably more robust against fire because banks burn less…

Yes but your house has to burn down and you have to simultaneously lose your memory.

If your house and PC burn, restore from online backup.

If your brain burns, spouse restores from vault.

Re: Show HN: If you lose your memory, how to regain access to your computer?

#149

Post by ThePowerOfFuet »

paulgerhardt wrote: post #104
repiret wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what I do too, but be warned about “fire proof” - a fire that results in the total loss of your house will create enough heat for enough time that fireproof gun safes and smaller fireproof lockboxes will be destroyed, or even if not, their contents will get hot enough to combust anyway. A bank safe deposit box offers a different security profile that’s probably more robust against fire because banks burn less…

Just went through this. Sample size one: While the fire resulted in the total loss of the house it was actually the water from the fire department not the heat that did proportionally more damage. As a mental model you shouldn’t think of it as “what if my house burns down?” so much as “what if nice strangers roll up to my windows and chainsaw through my roof and spray 50,000 gallons of water in here?” Yes everything…

>put in a ziplock bag in a fireproof, waterproof safe

In the event of a fire, the bag will melt and coat everything in plastic. This may be undesirable.

Re: Show HN: If you lose your memory, how to regain access to your computer?

#150

Post by tgsovlerkhgsel »

eastbound wrote: post #147
Loughla wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We did that with major hail damage a few years ago. I learned that in a disaster, you should count on everything being junk, and you're lucky if you can salvage anything. We also learned the value of itemized lists. 1500/piece for 20 junk windows I was building a greenhouse with that I dug out of the trash the year before. $250 for a bird feeder because they couldn't find one outside of specialty stores. $40k instead…

How do you open the bank vault? Key? Passcode?

In general, identity (the bank checking who you are) is often involved in regular unlocking and there will be an identity-only recovery procedure that will work even if you lose your usual credential (key, passcode, card, whatever). This may involve drilling a lock and the bill for that.
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