What Happens To Your Data When You Die?

dacarr writes "Your data - that is, the personal web pages and projects you have worked on to make the 'net a better place - are presumably password protected. But sooner or later the time will come when you take that last breath, and with you goes your passwords, but not your data. It's still there for your benefactors to deal with. And while many famous people who are no longer with us (e.g., Douglas Adams or Chuck Jones) have a staff for this, well, many of us don't. As such, have you planned for the hereafter, and if so, how?"

spirit in the sky?

[Anonymous Coward]

It goes to the spirit in the sky, of course.

To be released upon the event of my death..

[stratjakt]

Fuck you, you whiny douchebags! .. remember, this doesnt apply 'till I'm dead.

Aw, shucks.. You can have it now.

Simple

[Anonymous Coward]

I just use my first name and digit 1 for all the accounts I have that require passwords.

Sooner or later they will discover a vulnerability.

As is consistent with my beliefs...

[Adlopa]

...mine goes to the Recycle Bin.

Re:Rest In Peace

[Tackhead]

> My advice to anyone reading this would I guess be to keep encrypted anything that you don't want anyone to see after you are gone, and for anything else, don't worry about it.

"Dad. Mom. I'm only gonna say this once. For the sake of your children, please encrypt your pr0n. We really don't wanna know."

Script

[Anonymous Coward]

I have a script that if I don't use my computer for longer than 5 hours it assumes I have died and sends / to /dev/null.

Re:Simple

[chimpo13]

I just use "password" for all my passwords.

My solution

[bigbbri]

I eat a vial with all my passwords. In my will I state that the Medical Examiner has to remove it from my gut. Every few days I pass it, wash it and swallow it again. :)

Sorry, gotta do it

[RustyTaco]

When you get busted, we split your warez.

- RustyTaco

Easy

[0xC0FFEE]

I don't have a life already and I'm doing just fine.

Re:It will take care of itself...

[MikeXpop]

That said, I have a little fire safe that I keep important stuff in, like car titles, contracts and cd-rom backups of my computer files.

You are such a geek. I say that as a compliment though. I salute you.

The Great Modem in the Sky

[rock_climbing_guy]

Don't worry, the Great Modem in the Sky will see to it that your data gets safe passage across the River Styx, so don't worry about your data.

The answer is quite clear

[burgburgburg]

Become very, very, very rich.
Adopt a favored staff member.
Post-mortem involuntary brain transplants (IANAL, but this could be deemed illegal in your jurisdiction. One of the places where that fabulous wealth will help to smooth things over.)
Use your new body as the plaything that it is.
Repeat after it is worn and haggard.

Re:Rest In Peace

[VistaBoy]

Suicide is the coward's way out. Why kill yourself and end up in Hell when you can get sweet vengeance for the same price?

Re:Simple

[dicepackage]

Not all of your passwords. I tried to log in to your slashdot account with "password" as the password and couldn't get in.

Of course I have a plan . . . .

[theparanoidcynic]

My data knows exactly what to do when I die. Oh my yes. Ever vigelant it stands waiting for word that I am no longer living. When that day come you will know. You will all know. MWHAHAHAHA!!!

With apologies to Mr. Cobaine

[MikeXpop]

Where do bad files go when they die?
They don't go to heaven where the angels fly.
They go to a folder of /dev/null/ to wait,
Won't see em again 'till 2038.

Re:Service related to this

[duckpoopy]

This service has a free 3 month trial. Act now if you plan on checking out soon!

Re:Find a porn erase buddy! Seriously.......

[dillon_rinker]

Linda who literally busts her butt to run everything

Really? In the course of administering her father's estate, she's broken her pelvis or torn her gluteals? Wow. That's dedication.

"ive fallen and I can't get up"

[digitalgimpus]

remember those commercials?

Perhaps someone could rig one of those devices and get it running Linux. Then when you die, it connects to your website using XML-RPC, and posts your death announcement.

It could work.

Re:Simple

[trentblase]

That's because I got there first and changed it to something reasonable... you know... for his own protection.

Re:It will take care of itself...

[jumpingfred]

Those smug bastards in the future can go screw thems selves what have they done for me?

Contact me through John Edwards...

[Prototerm]

...if I die and you need a password. If I'm not available, just leave a message at the sound of the heavenly choir, and I'll get back to you.

Re:Dead man's handle

[Anonymous Coward]

From this [wired.com] article from the above posted link:

But some who have used the program advise caution.

"I went on vacation, and forgot all about the switch," said Kenny LaGuardia, a Web designer from Los Angeles. "When I returned home, the program had posted, 'So I guess I'm dead' messages to all the newslists I subscribe to, and destroyed all my adult entertainment files."

OMG, My 6 GB RAID Array! It's empty!

Re:Rest In Peace

[Anonymous Coward]

Ahem, just hope my grandfather doesn't read slashdot... Not much danger in that though.

That's what you think... sonny!

Re:Rest In Peace

[cemaco]

At least you didn't have to go to the video store with your hearing impaired grandfather and help him buy his porn. Now that was embarrassing. The guy at the counter yelling the titles to the dirty old man while the old ladies where eying him up and down. It got worse when the clerk whispered in my ear that my grandfather had great taste in porn.

Good thing I wasn't the one who had to go through his personal effects when he passed.

Re:It will take care of itself...

[pizzaman100]

Future historians may in some sense have less to work with due to problems preserving digital data.

Scotty will find a way.

Re:Simple

[Patik]

I just type a bunch of asterisks.

Re:maybe

[Txiasaeia]

That's why a true geek keeps all his important data on punch cards. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go rearrange my basement, the safe.

post-it note

[brysnot]

Doesn't matter to me. All my passwords are on a yellow post-it note attached to my monitor.

Re:How about...

[DAldredge]

Get a sexy sounding woman to record your outgoing message.

That should make her stop, or it may drive her insane.

what happens to my data when I die?

[nomadic]

It is entombed along with me in gold CD-Rs, along with my wife, secondary wives, concubines, treasure, and guards in a vast pyramid of my own design. They shall all accompany me to the afterlife.

I'll do it for free!

[Wescotte]

It's a big job and somebody has to do it! So I'll take on the task. Simply email me all your passwords and personal information such as credit card numbers and whatnot. I'll even get started early by familiarizing myself with your data so when die I'll know what's worth using err sharing with the world.

Re:How about...

[Anonymous Coward]

People roasting in Hell don't think about computer files.

Re:My solution

[NegativeK]

I eat a vial with all my passwords. In my will I state that the Medical Examiner has to remove it from my gut. Every few days I pass it, wash it and swallow it again. :)

You know.. I just had this really weird vision of a medical examiner removing a glass vial from your windpipe.

"Cause of death? He choked on his passwords.."

It's ok

[skinfitz]

It's ok - someone once came up with a "dead mans switch" that automatically deletes your pr0n collection if you don't reset it periodically. The name escapes me.

Re:Simple

[Anonymous Coward]

Hey - give me back my account! I can't seem to get in now. Some twit changed my password!

chimpo13 - annoyed ...

I just have to ask

[Scrameustache]

my grandfather had great taste in porn.

Good thing I wasn't the one who had to go through his personal effects when he passed.

So, who did inherit his porn collection?

Re:Always be prepared

[devilspgd]

Wouldn't a butt plug solve the problem?

It's been 11 seconds since you hit 'reply'! Yay

Easy

[brewin]

"As such, have you planned for the hereafter, and if so, how?"

Three words- Windows Task Scheduler. I've got it set to format the day after I die.

Re:I just have to ask

[cemaco]

Probably my uncle. Never did hear about them at the time.

Easy...

[Anonymous Coward]

Bury me with my hard drives.

Re:It will take care of itself...

[teamhasnoi]

DEY DOOK AR JODS!

An excerpt

[Jack Schitt]

To my dearest brother, I bequeath all of the binary "ones" stored within the hard drives of my home computer, to be delivered sequentially, one page per day, 5,000 "ones" per page, over a period of ten years.

To my dearest friend, I bequeath all of the binary "zeros" stored within the hard drives of my home computer, to be delivered sequentially, one page per day, 5,000 "zeros" per page, over a period of ten years.

After dissemination, the hard drive is to be digitally "erased" and shall be bequeathed to my dearest father, to whom I shall also bequeath the computer that is attached to said hard drives.

Re:Simple

[AvantLegion]

<blockquote><i> That's because I got there first and changed it to "something reasonable"... you know... for his own protection.</i></blockquote>
<p>
Liar. Spaces aren't allowed in passwords.
<p>

Re:software

[g0_p]

Heck, if you are really good you can write the program to simulate your daily digital life.

Heck thats real easy on Slashdot. I am going to write a script that posts the following posts randomly in various discussions:
1. Cowboy Neal jokes
2. In Soviet Russia jokes
3. 1-2-3-profit jokes

My karma will keep improving (even after I am dead!). And with my amazing Karma I will be reborn as Neo in my next life.

Re:Find a porn erase buddy! Seriously.......

[System.out.println()]

Or better yet, store your porn on an encrypted disk image with a password that doesn't match any of your other passwords. They could spend hours going through your computer and never know you had a thing for horses...

Re:Find a porn erase buddy! Seriously.......

[System.out.println()]

In retrospect I probably shouldv'e posted that anonymously :/

I'm going to post it all on /.

[dnahelix]

eom

A definition

[jc42]

literally: (adj) figuratively

Ciphers and riddles

[Sowelu]

Why does death have to be depressing for all involved? Craft an elaborate game in your data that's complex enough to take (at least) weeks to fully unravel, such that if anyone starts getting into it while you're still alive, you'll know about it.

My organic computer's data

[Satan's Hand Puppet]

The only personal data I really care about when I die is my organic computer's (aka brain).

Instead of wishing or hoping that it gets ftp'd by wireless connection to the big sysop in the sky (if he's there), I'd instead rather have it copied and placed on a new machine.

Re:It will take care of itself...

[0x12d3]

I'm from the future, and the women are not nearly as hot after the nuclear winter you insensitive clod!

GPW

[j3110]

What, no one else uses the GNU Public Will?

RMS would probably insist that my proper title would be GNU/Sam.