All this lecture about preservingdigital legaciesgot me thinking : What about the bit we do n’t need to leave behind ? Y’know , the risqué material ? Do n’t act you do n’t have it away what I ’m talking about .
This seems like a complicated subject . It ’s not . There ’s some data that ’s private , both in terms of message as well as the very fact of its existence , and your viewing of it . Let ’s say you look at porno . ( You do . ) This fact — not just the artistic production porn itself — belongs to you . There ’s no need for it to be a discoverable part of your digital life , or , god forbid , your digital legacy . Here ’s how to verify your secret collections are in order , and our of sight .
Level One: Obfuscation
Who has n’t created a folder call “ Business ” only to fill it with an entirely otherwise sort of business sector ? It ’s a hallowed custom , love by nearly everyone who ’s used a computer in the last 20 years . And as ridiculous and inept as it sounds , it in all probability crop — then .
There was a time when hiding a folder deep within an operate arrangement ’s filing cabinet structure actually hid it . household members and spouses never had a understanding to explore C:/Windows / System32 , much less the “ Nrop ” folder you foxily lay away there . And unless anyone lead out of their way to search for inculpate capacity , it just would n’t come up .
Today , things are different . Both major OSes have deeply integrated and everpresent search feature — Spotlight in OS X and Start menu search in Windows 7 — which bring the depth of your file arrangement bubble to the surface with alarming informality and frequency . They prioritise file types over file locating , so your buried videos are just about as discoverable as if they were store your “ My Videos ” folder . As far as shroud your bullshit , and keeping your grief-stricken category from discovering your bizarre - but - harmless - but - still - pretty - gonzo video collection , this offers only the slightest protection .
The section age - quondam variation on pornfuscation is the trustworthy file rename . Here ’s how it goes : store your files , change their public figure to something innocent , and change over their file extensions to something deep . LadiesEatingFriedPigsFeetInLingerie.avi becomes lefpfil.dat . And it helps to sew together a piddling cipher , too . Something like :
.avi=.dat
.mpeg=.dll
.mp4=.lib
.jpg=.docx
While this will plausibly attain your goals with almost no initial effort , it ’s pretty unwieldy in the tenacious term , and far from failsafe .
Level 2: Encryption
The word “ encryption ” evokes undercover agent films , funny government agencies and more than anything , nerds . But here ’s the thing : It ’s actually passing easy . It ’s also well-nigh 100 % effective , unless someone very serious is looking very seriously for something seriously incriminating on your computer , in which case I probably do n’t want to help oneself you out anyway . So !
Mac OS X : make a password - protected archive is your best option here . It ’s dead simpleton , consolidate your file cabinet , and place your stuff one spare level of abstraction further away from search indices and the like . To make a passworded .DMG Indian file ( an image / archive file that you’re able to open with a simple click ) from an live folder , just do this :
• Open Disk Utility ( spot search Disk Utility )
• File > New > Disk Image from Folder
• Select the folder , click effigy
• Select encryption ( 128 - bit AES will do )
• pick out a alone password
And that ’s it ! Now you have a whateveryouwant.dmg file that ca n’t be watch , opened or blue-pencil by anyone but yourself . Your very own little lockable porn capsule ! ( Ugh . )
Windows
To create a password - protected archive in Windows Vista or 7 , you ’ll want to download a tertiary - political party archive utility , like WinZip or WinRAR . And by like WinZip or WinRAR , I mean just downloadPeaZip . It ’s barren , and good than the computer software you ’re used to . Then :
• Open PeaZip
• File > Create Archive
• Select the data file you want in the archive
• Click the Lock ikon under the Output selector
• Select “ Encrypt Also File Names ”
• Select archive eccentric “ PEA ” ( the fact that you ’re using this programme ’s proprietary data format , as defend to something like ZIP , mean that it ’ll be even less identifiable as , well , what it is . )
And there you go .
Level 3: Liquidation
earnestly , multitude , stop storing incriminating material on your calculator . You ’re already getting this stuff from the cyberspace , so just go away it on the net . current videos online , and look at pictures without download them . It ’s promiscuous .
Firefox , Chrome , Safari and even Internet Explorer have private browsing modes , which do n’t accumulate chronicle , cookies , or local cache of any kind . Use them . Your digital ego will give thanks you .
EncryptionForeverHow ToMemory forever
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