What software personal records??

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rob
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What software personal records??

Post by rob »

I have the usual software for password mgt & portfolio tracking etc. but looking for something different....

- SECURE (meaning encrypted & password) to organize electronic copies of passports, certificates etc.
- Supports various image types, pdf etc.
- Something that links to password mgt or an extension of that functionality would be great.
- Not cloud based prefered, although not completely against this.
- Reasonable UI.
| Rob | Its a dangerous business going out your front door. - J.R.R.Tolkien
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rob
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by rob »

Bueller.... Bueller.... Anyone use an app to store images of important documents??
| Rob | Its a dangerous business going out your front door. - J.R.R.Tolkien
ticklestar
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by ticklestar »

You could use Veracrypt to create an encrypted volume and store your documents there. Using a good folder structure in that volume should suffice for most situations. If needed look into nuxeo, xnview or other tagging / digital asset management tools but that’s most likely more than what you’d need.
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CalPoppy
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by CalPoppy »

1Password works for this. I’m not sure if local (non-cloud based) vaults are still an option. Otherwise, it meets all your other requirements.

https://1password.com/
AlohaJoe
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by AlohaJoe »

I just Cryptomator and then put copies on Dropbox and Backblaze B2.

Not using cloud storage means you need to come up with your offsite backup strategy, which is kind of a pain, to be honest.
SnowBog
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by SnowBog »

OneDrive has a "personal vault" that adds extra encryption/protection.

I keep digital images of everything in my wallet, passports, IDs, credit cards I don't carry with me, etc.

I can get to it from any of my devices (that have OneDrive installed). It requires MFA (usually my finger print or face scan) to access.

The only downside (some might argue benefit) is that content in the vault cannot be shared. For example, I used to keep tax documents in the vault, but moved them out (into just normal OneDrive) so I could put them in a location shared with spouse.
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Kagord
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by Kagord »

AlohaJoe wrote: Fri Oct 29, 2021 12:19 am I just Cryptomator and then put copies on Dropbox and Backblaze B2.

Not using cloud storage means you need to come up with your offsite backup strategy, which is kind of a pain, to be honest.
+1, I use Cryptomator, but with Google Drive for desktop (requires Yubikey for access). I like the idea of the encryption/decryption mechanism being entirely separate from the storage platform provider.

Except for legal documents (estate planning, titles...etc), I'm entirely paper free, anything I want to save goes in there (tax returns/backup, bank statements...etc). I have a Fujitsu ScanSnap as well, which makes scanning a breeze.
NYCaviator
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by NYCaviator »

The only concern with proprietary software is how long will it stick around? Especially if it's not on a subscription model.

Your best bet is using tried and true file formats (PDF, JPEG, Word) and putting them in an encrypted folder. One Drive has the vault. Macs have the encrypted container. That is going to be the best way to ensure that some developer just stops updating or supporting a program with all of your info in it.
BHRob999
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by BHRob999 »

If you're using OSX, you can use Disk Utility to create an encrypted disk image and store everything there. UI is simple, and it is free. The .dmg could live on your harddrive or on an external drive.
marklar13
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by marklar13 »

I use KeePass as password manager as well as storing some ID numbers and a few documents. It is an open source application, and there are a couple mobile implementations that are developed separately. I'm using the vanilla KeePass on desktop and Keepass2Android on my phone.

It is a pretty vanilla UI, which I like. It allows you to add a decent amount of arbitrary data including tags for searching which is very useful. You can store pretty much anything in there as far as I know.

I've been using it for a couple years with no complaints. I keep the database on Google drive, which also syncs to my phone and keeps everything seamless so I can access or add new entries any time -- but that is an optional step.
Second Round
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by Second Round »

+1 on keepass. I like that it's not in the cloud too. My password database is about the only thing I bother to encrypt.

Of the tried and true file formats, I'd not list MS Word - I have found it to be incompatible between versions of itself at times (even within the same OS). Maybe it is better of late, but I gave up on it long ago. I suspect the file format with the most longstanding compatibility is a plain text file, and I am making increasing use of them for word processing.

I've played with Veracrypt but I'm not quite ready to have my only backups encrypted. Also, by byte count, the vast majority of my personal files on my computers are photos and video - they do not need encryption, and using Veracrypt on them adds massive amounts of time both encrypting and decrypting. So if you encrypt stuff, I'd suggest being selective about it, and maybe have critical files backed up unencrypted, off-site, under lock and key.
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Watty
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by Watty »

They make encrypted USB flash drives. I use one of those to keep some information like that on. Some of them have a program to enter the passwords you need to run every time you put the USB drive in the computer. Others have little keypads on the flash drive that you use. Once you have entered the password it is drive in the file explorer that you can put anything into.

I also use one of these when I am traveling to keep copies of things like passports and credit cards.

One thing to be aware of is that on mine if you enter an incorrect password ten times then it wipes all the information on the flash drive.
Last edited by Watty on Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
Ramjet
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by Ramjet »

rob wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 3:46 pm - Not cloud based prefered, although not completely against this.
I put everything in PCloud. Known for their security
Last edited by Ramjet on Fri Oct 29, 2021 12:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
9liner
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by 9liner »

Just use Windows 10's built-in Bitlocker encryption program and be done.
dak
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by dak »

Since you indicated that cloud based is not a deal breaker, look into FidSafe. This is online document storage run by a part of Fidelity. Has nice organization for documents, sharing capability, and the ability to name a successor for your documents when you pass.

I use this as just one way of ensuring that my docs are available to the interested parties ( e.g. wife, kids).
Gryphon
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by Gryphon »

CalPoppy wrote: Thu Oct 28, 2021 11:53 pm 1Password works for this. I’m not sure if local (non-cloud based) vaults are still an option. Otherwise, it meets all your other requirements.
Local vaults are still an option with the current version of 1Password, but the next major release (v8) will drop support for that & require everything to be stored on 1Password's cloud service. So if someone is looking for non-cloud storage I wouldn't recommend 1Password at this point, it's a dead end.

I'll second the recommendations to use the built-in encrypted storage offered by the operating system (Bitlocker on Windows, encrypted disk image on Mac). They're fairly simple and free to use.
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whodidntante
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by whodidntante »

Not your keys, not your data. Separation of concerns is sensible. You need a) a backup solution and b) an encryption solution. There are many such combinations to choose from.
futureman
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by futureman »

I use SpiderOak instead of Onedrive, Google Drive or Dropbox. It is fully encrypted and you can share between devices. Store all of our important documents there. They don't yet have two factor authentication, but should soon.
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zincTwo
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by zincTwo »

dak wrote: Fri Oct 29, 2021 12:00 pm Since you indicated that cloud based is not a deal breaker, look into FidSafe. This is online document storage run by a part of Fidelity. Has nice organization for documents, sharing capability, and the ability to name a successor for your documents when you pass.

I use this as just one way of ensuring that my docs are available to the interested parties ( e.g. wife, kids).
+1. This is a great service.
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WoodSpinner
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by WoodSpinner »

rob wrote: Tue Oct 26, 2021 3:46 pm I have the usual software for password mgt & portfolio tracking etc. but looking for something different....

- SECURE (meaning encrypted & password) to organize electronic copies of passports, certificates etc.
- Supports various image types, pdf etc.
- Something that links to password mgt or an extension of that functionality would be great.
- Not cloud based prefered, although not completely against this.
- Reasonable UI.
1Password7 does all of this for me.
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anon_investor
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by anon_investor »

ticklestar wrote: Thu Oct 28, 2021 10:57 pm You could use Veracrypt to create an encrypted volume and store your documents there. Using a good folder structure in that volume should suffice for most situations. If needed look into nuxeo, xnview or other tagging / digital asset management tools but that’s most likely more than what you’d need.
I use Veracrypt, works well.
GAAP
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Re: What software personal records??

Post by GAAP »

KeePass and VeraCrypt for me, depending upon the need. Smaller things (passports, drivers license) go in KeePass, big things (tax returns, health records) go in VeraCrypt. Both are cross-platform, including mobiles, so you can safely store something in the cloud and have access from multiple devices if so desired.

I'm still thinking about FidSafe as a way to give heirs my KeePass password, since that is all they would really need.
“Adapt what is useful, reject what is useless, and add what is specifically your own.” ― Bruce Lee
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