Neat email trick..am I the last to know this?

[remydiva]

As I get ready to leave home and board the Star Princess for the Western Caribbean Mar 13, I was maddly xeroxing all my documents including passports and credit card info. I remember having read either at this site or TripAdvisor that the safest place for your info was in cyberspace.

So I scanned all my info including emerg contact numbers for lost credit cards and emailed them to myself!

Viola! There, god forbid, they are should I ever need them. After that thread detailing that couple having no ID and being left behind in Venezuela, this seemed like a good back up plan to my back up plan. I'll still take photocopies to have on hand as well.

Am I the last to know this trick?:confused:

[Nancyquilts]

Nope. Thanks for posting this idea. Nancy

[Perky1]

I didn't know either... but rest assured I will be doing that. Thanks for the info

[SaylorGirl]

I would think twice about doing this. Your e-mail is not a secured site and your personal information might just fall into the wrong hands. I think making copies and leaving them with a trusted person at home and having them fax the information if needed is a much better option.

[CaroleLee]

I would think twice about doing this. Your e-mail is not a secured site and your personal information might just fall into the wrong hands. I think making copies and leaving them with a trusted person at home and having them fax the information if needed is a much better option.

 

Or scan and copy onto a "thumb drive" also good for any medical info( Rx,

allergies etc ) and emergency contact info

 

CaroleLee

[AlainBob]

I'll bring every thing I need (passport copy, Rx copy, hotel reservation, cruise ticket, airplane ticket etc...) with me all the time as I will save it on a USB memory key. It is small and easy to carry.

 

So, if I need it (hope not !), I'll have it handy ! I'll just have to find a computer with an USB port and Bingo ! All the information I need is there...

 

Alain R.

[FredS]

That is so right. Do not send any personal information you want kept secure over the interent unless you are sending it through a secure site. You would see a small padlock on the status bar at the bottom of your internet browser and the site in the address bar at the top would have https:// the "s" means secure, non-secure sites only have an address starting with http://. People troll the interenet looking for unsecured messages.

[Pam in CA]

Fred is correct... the internet and email is NOT secure. You should really think twice before sending personal and confidential information that if it got into the wrong hands, could be devasating.

[flamomo]

What is a "thumb drive" and how is it used?

I'm a computer dummie.

Thanks

[AlainBob]

What is a "thumb drive" and how is it used?

I'm a computer dummie.

Thanks

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it is a USB memory key.

 

You can find them in different capacity sizes: from 16 Meg up to 2 Gig... And they get cheaper and cheaper almost every week. I bought a 256 Meg USB memory key for 80$ a few month ago and now, I can get a 1 Gig key for the same price... That's four time the capacity for the same price ! :cool:

 

Alain R.

[meluvtogocruise]

I'll bring every thing I need (passport copy, Rx copy, hotel reservation, cruise ticket, airplane ticket etc...) with me all the time as I will save it on a USB memory key. It is small and easy to carry.

 

So, if I need it (hope not !), I'll have it handy ! I'll just have to find a computer with an USB port and Bingo ! All the information I need is there...

 

Alain R.

 

Wonderful use of technology. Just a tip. DH and I found one of these in our cabin safe - turned it in to the purser's desk.

 

mel:p

[remydiva]

Thanks Fred for the reminder..I forgot to look at the http// vs https//. Are any webmail servers secure? I use a phone company one and hotmail and neither have the 's'.

 

So much for what I thought was a brill idea! The USB memory stick is a good tho.

[c_galle]

Read an article in a traveling magazine about ID Theft. 97 percent of the cases were from paper docs and only one percent was online. Fact, most emails have a better security layer than your trashcan or your mailbock. A thumbdrive is good, but then again you are putting all of your eggs in one basket too. Loss or failure of the device is catastrophic.

 

I choose email.

[AlainBob]

A thumbdrive is good, but then again you are putting all of your eggs in one basket too. Loss or failure of the device is catastrophic.

You're wright. That's why I also have a copy of my important information on an SD card I have in my Palm handheld. I also have another SD card in my GPS. That is three different places where I have my information... I can't believe I won't be abble to retrive it from one of them ! :eek:

 

Alain R.

[Tater1800]

I have a spare camera card that will suit this purpose.

[c_galle]

You're wright. That's why I also have a copy of my important information on an SD card I have in my Palm handheld. I also have another SD card in my GPS. That is three different places where I have my information... I can't believe I won't be abble to retrive it from one of them ! :eek:

 

Alain R.

 

What about an EMP strike? I love having my PDA and Camera have the SD Cards. I usually bring my laptop anyway. But hard copy is the best.

[maryr65]

It is secure as long as you are using "ssl" the small lock at the bottom of your screen. This means your data is being encrypted as you send it. You must use a major e-mail server such as msn, gmail etc. As long as you send it to yourself it cannot be intercepted. If you're still really concerned, encrypt your files before you send them to yourself using AxCrypt. A free program that you can find online.

[nvrealtor]

In my previous life I was a systems administrator. I knew Unix, MACS and Windows and specialized in credit card transaction security. There is no such thing as a secure anything on the internet. Some data is hard to crack but given time it gets cracked. Do not email anything that you would not like to see pasted on a billboard.

[remydiva]

Ok now i'm totally bewildered. I think all this discussion, and it's all been good, has left me with the feeling that we all need to be microchipped like my dog!

I need a holiday!

[hill6]

great idea

[Pam in CA]

For years, I worked for a major online service and we never, ever sent sensitive or personal information via email, even using our own service.

 

Since you have to designate a contact in your booking, you should tell them where to find the information. You can then always call them for the info.

[flamomo]

Sorry to sound so stupid, but how does one use a memory key (thumb drive). I have never read anything about them.

[AlainBob]

Sorry to sound so stupid, but how does one use a memory key (thumb drive). I have never read anything about them.

That does not sound stupid at all... Many people don't know about them...

 

It is a little device that can be connected to a computer via a USB port (USB = Universal Serial Bus). For some years now, all new computers come with a certain number of USB ports (some in the back, some in the front, many in both the front and the back). And many peripherals (mouse, keyboard, printers, scanners, digital cameras etc...) now connect via a USB port.

 

For the memory key, wich is also called "USB Flash Drive". Many companies make them. When you connect it to a computer, the computer will see it as an external disk drive. You can copy things on it just as you did with diskettes except that it can contains many many more information than a simple diskette.

 

Use a search engine over the Internet (like Google or Yahoo! ) and search for "USB flash drive". You will find a ton of information about them. You can also go to your local electronics store, they all have them. Even Wall-Mart have them !

 

Hope this help !

 

Alain R.

 

PS: don't ask me what I do for a living... I'm a programmer... ;)

[Mmm...coffee!]

Or scan and copy onto a "thumb drive" also good for any medical info( Rx,

allergies etc ) and emergency contact info

 

CaroleLee

 

That is a GREAT idea! It's so much easier than having stacks of paper, and you can protect your information with a password. I'm annoyed at myself for not having thought of it before. Thanks for a great tip. :)

[Pam in CA]

That is a GREAT idea! It's so much easier than having stacks of paper, and you can protect your information with a password. I'm annoyed at myself for not having thought of it before. Thanks for a great tip. :)

This is a great idea but one thing to keep in mind is that if you're onboard the ship, you won't have access to a USB port unless you bring your own computer.