The prompt for this post came from an unlikely source. Taking passwords to the grave (via Bruce Schneier) which talks about the problem of accessing a person’s assets after they are gone. We will come to that at the end.
My problem was an ageing memory and dozens if not hundreds of passwords to remember together with other important information. This had to be kept securely but readily accessible, even when away from my desk. The solution I came up with is as follows.
- Store all of the passwords and related information in a database. I chose one that is designed for the purpose and had a good encryption scheme. This is PINS. It is a freeware product which seems to have minimal support but it works well so no matter. The encryption is blowfish and it comes with a useful random password generator.
- Put the database and the software on a USB flash drive. To some extent this steers the selection of the software above because it has to be capable of running without being installed on the PC. It does however limit it to the Windows platform.
- Take regular backup copies of the database. To do this I use “Pen Drive Manager.” This is not free but very low cost. What it does is every time you plug in your flash drive it synchronises it with a copy on the PC hard drive. I run a copy on my home machine and my office machine so I have two backup copies of the database at all times.
To run this successfully you must make sure that the database that you update is always the one on the flash drive so that it is the master copy. I install a copy of PINS on each machine for convenience but you don’t have to. Also you must have a good password for the encryption of the database. Once you have got it running, all you need to remember to do is update the database copy of the passwords when you change them in real life. Of course the password you cannot store on there is the password to the database itself. You don’t even have to remember the passwords to get into your own PCs because, if pushed, you can borrow someone else’s, plug in your flash drive and run the copy of PINS loaded on there.
If I forget my flash drive, firstly, PINS locks down after a few minutes so no one can access the database. Also I can still access the passwords on the other machine by pointing at the backup database. All I have to remember to do is not update anything and also switch it back to the portable copy as soon as possible. If I lose the flash drive completely then not only is it secure but I have all the information I need to recreate it.
You don’t have to just have passwords in the database. I have network configuration details, software activation keys, credit card numbers and PINs, web upload addresses, and any other information that I mustn’t forget. There are a couple of minor bugs in the software but nothing to stop me using it which I have for over two years now.
And back to the problem that prompted the post. Give your executors a copy of the database password, perhaps in a sealed envelope (and some instructions). This will give them access to all your other passwords and the further instructions and information on the database. That way, if you are lucky, your web site will be kept online containing your life’s work, they will be able to access your email and online banking accounts and anything else they need to manage your estate. Of course if you want to take anything to the grave with you, then keep the password somewhere else.
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