Ask Slashdot: How To Back Up Physical Data? 245
An anonymous reader writes "After many years I now have a backup of all my digital data in (at least) two physical locations. But what do people recommend to back up my physical data? And then how to prove my identity? I call it the 'gas leak problem,' because a gas leak in my town caused an explosion that leveled a house. If it had been my house, it would have destroyed all my paperwork that proves who I am. If I'd come home from work and found my house was now a pile of rubble, how would I prove I lived there, knowing my key no longer fits the smoldering lock? If I'd left my wallet at home, my bank cards would have been destroyed so I couldn't withdraw money or book into a hotel. Or if I'd left my phone at the office, I wouldn't know anyone's number to call, or get anyone to vouch for me. What preventative steps can you take? Since having this nightmare, I've exported my phone's VCF file to an online repo, made online notes of all my bank account numbers and passport ID, I keep ICE numbers with me at all times (separate from phone/wallet), and I've hidden a spare mobile phone and house key in a box in a nearby field. But there must be more to do!"
You're not the first person to think of this (Score:5, Interesting)
Oddly enough I had a conversation with my parents a week or two where they said they'd paid off all but £100 of their mortgage years ago. I asked why they hadn't done the the last bit, and they said there was an arrangement with the bank: you keep £100 on the mortgage indefinitely, pay interest on that and in return they keep all of the deeds and other paperwork related to the house in a safe, off-site location. As long as you have photo ID and a bank card to prove you're their customer (you carry your driving license and bank card around, right?) you can then still get hold of the deeds no matter what happens to your house.
My Dad also gets a bit paranoid about this sort of thing, so when they travel they make up a "disaster kit": copies of all important data and documents, contacts, etc. on a USB drive and given to one of us kids.
Like others have said, off-site storage if you're paranoid.
Scan everything (Score:4, Interesting)
Quite aside from your important personal documents, it's good practice to keep scanned copies of every bit of potentially-useful correspondence, and throw them in a Dropbox. The sizes aren't huge even for passable quality. If you have - or have access to - a good sheet-feed scanner, it's not even a particularly arduous process. These days I have a rolling two-year buffer of things like utility bills; each month the new one goes through the scanner, and the oldest one goes through the shredder.
Well, when I can be bothered, but you know what I'm getting at.