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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?

#151

Post by ThePowerOfFuet »

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?

If you can prove your identity to the bank and have lost your key, they will drill the lock to get you into your box. For a fee, of course.

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

#152

Post by Dylan16807 »

0cf8612b2e1e wrote: post #35
kylehotchkiss wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've broken into Physical Safes using nothing more than a drill with a half inch bit (I was young and didn't want to drag myself to harbor freight to sacrifice a more suitable tool). Enough boreholes and I had access. In hindsight, looking harder for the key would probably have been fruitful.

Nothing says you cannot trivially encode the paper password. Those in the know understand that you need to append “BoomShakalaka”, replace “A” with “Q”, or some other super simple modification to what is recorded. Maybe the NSA would be willing to brute force the infinite variations from that starting seed, but it is still effectively locked for mortals.

If you add an explicit reminder to check the email where you explained the modification, then the idea seems solid. Tough at that point put half the password on paper and send the other half to a whole bunch of trusted people.

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

#153

Post by TacticalCoder »

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?

Bank vault can be key+combination (eg three letters) or dual key or others. For example in a dual key: one key from the bank and one key being your own key.

If a key is lost, you go and prove your identity (easier if any bank employee is familiar with you) and ask for a new key. A date is set and a locksmith shall come, you are next to him and next to the bank employee while he uses the bank's key and lockpicks your lock. Then he configures it for a new key (or replace the lock).

It's cost you something like $300 or whatever.

Source: been next to locksmith opening a bank vault, twice, in two different countries. Once for a bank belonging to a deceased family member (we had the key but not the three-letters combination) and once not because I lost my key but because the bank's lock (on my vault) went defective.

So it's not "my key from the my vault at the bank melted during a housefire, so I can never access my vault at the bank anymore" nor is it "I forgot my three-letters combination, so until the end of the universe that bank vault shall stay locked".

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

#154

Post by mawax »

karussell wrote: post #96
Yodel0914 wrote: post #84

We use Vaultwarden and Bitwarden to share passwords with the family. My wife has my master password and I have hers. The bigger issue if I drop dead is all the nontrivial tech crap I have set up (self hosted Vaultwarden included…).

Honest question: what is the benefit of such a specialized service compared to just an encrypted file with all your passwords that you share via some common file sharing service (hosted or self-hosted)

A few years ago I switched from KeePass, with the database stored in Dropbox, to a SaaS password manager. My primary reasons where:

- No more sync conflicts when using multiple devices

- Backups are taken care off

- It's harder to steal the database

- Slightly better browser and mobile extensions for auto-filling passwords

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

#156

Post by wafflemaker »

kwanbix wrote: post #129
munk-a wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alternative - my partner and I (and also two other close contacts) have password managers that contain each of the other one's secret. This was less an effort to help with the memory loss scenario and more of an effort to deal with death and access to services (especially to cease subscriptions and the like). In a lower trust scenario you could probably use a lawyer as a broker of the secret (potentially even as part…

So if you and your partner die, whoever is part of your family is fck.

Bitwarden allows a quite large number of emergency contacts.

There are two rules: 1. You need to be a paying customer when setting up. 2. The other person needs to have a Bitwarden account.

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

#157

Post by konha »

procaryote wrote: post #155

A lower tech version would be to pick a very long recovery passphrase, cut it in two or three and give it to two or three friends. It doesn't give you N out of M, but it will be good enough for a lot of real world scenarios

I don’t know. Depending on how much time passes between now and the moment you try to recover the key I bet at least one of your friends will have misplaced or lost that piece of paper.

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

#158

Post by sjducb »

This could be a useful tool for putting self hosted Bitcoin in a will.

If you self host then die no one can access your coins. Lawyers don’t want to be trusted with copies of secret phrases because of liability if the bitcoin gets stolen. If you encrypt the bitcoin recovery info across several files you can give part to the lawyer and part to different beneficiaries.

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

#160

Post by croisillon »

lucb1e wrote: post #100
eljojo wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

lol i'm so neurodivergent i had to read this 5 times to understand 3M didn't just get into the encryption business

Want to clue a brother in? Edit: wait, sticky notes maybe? I thought they were a tape company (I'm not sure they're active in my country) but it just occurred to me that maybe they sell other office supplies as well

Yes, Post-It™, where people famously write passwords down
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