heeroyuy
12 Jan 2005, 05:47 PM
I am not one who is usually bothered by the prospect of death, as I've already dealt with that a long time ago, but I have an intersting proposition. After reading an article on how Yahoo! is refusing to release the account of a soldier who was killed in action to his next of kin, I have several questions to ask everyone here, as well as what I think below.
1) Where do you want your data, all of it, or none of it, to go after your death. This includes all the files on your computer, your emails, etc.
2) How would you go about insuring this happens. Some measures, such as making sure those you wish to have access to your personal files are willed the computer, are simple, others more complex. For instance, how do I securely give access to my email account or...my private key after death. I cannot compromise security while I am alive, as even though I trust those who would need to have them, I wouldn't violate security while I was alive, as one slip up and everything I control can be compromised.
3) Many of us are very active on internet. Be this activity in development of projects, communities such as INTP Central, IRC, or any other thing. Is there anything you would want done on your behalf after you demise within these communities?
My thoughts on the first is that I'd want certain people to be given access to certain emails and documents which I have stored. I would want all my passwords to be given to several trusted friends who would be capable of being 'executors' of my 'digital will'. Alot of my data I would want erased, and the hard drives scrubbed then destroyed.
As to the second question, I think that possibly a program to dispatch the appropriate emails to people upon losing contact with me, but the issue is that this "dead man's switch" could be tripped by me forgetting about it. Perhaps something such as a set of PGP keys, and I encrypt a file containing my 'digital will' as well as a set of passwords with these keys. Each key can be placed in my _real_ will, and will be given to each person upon my death. All these people, together, can load the private keys and decode instructions and information.
I would want those same people to announce my death, preferably in a humorous way, over the internet to the various groups which I am a part of.
1) Where do you want your data, all of it, or none of it, to go after your death. This includes all the files on your computer, your emails, etc.
2) How would you go about insuring this happens. Some measures, such as making sure those you wish to have access to your personal files are willed the computer, are simple, others more complex. For instance, how do I securely give access to my email account or...my private key after death. I cannot compromise security while I am alive, as even though I trust those who would need to have them, I wouldn't violate security while I was alive, as one slip up and everything I control can be compromised.
3) Many of us are very active on internet. Be this activity in development of projects, communities such as INTP Central, IRC, or any other thing. Is there anything you would want done on your behalf after you demise within these communities?
My thoughts on the first is that I'd want certain people to be given access to certain emails and documents which I have stored. I would want all my passwords to be given to several trusted friends who would be capable of being 'executors' of my 'digital will'. Alot of my data I would want erased, and the hard drives scrubbed then destroyed.
As to the second question, I think that possibly a program to dispatch the appropriate emails to people upon losing contact with me, but the issue is that this "dead man's switch" could be tripped by me forgetting about it. Perhaps something such as a set of PGP keys, and I encrypt a file containing my 'digital will' as well as a set of passwords with these keys. Each key can be placed in my _real_ will, and will be given to each person upon my death. All these people, together, can load the private keys and decode instructions and information.
I would want those same people to announce my death, preferably in a humorous way, over the internet to the various groups which I am a part of.