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Question

Desperately Need Help: How To Store Personal Notes Safely?

Jun 16, 2017 9:49AM PDT

Hi guys,

This community seems to have many experts in the field of computing so it seemed like the best place for me to ask for help!

I'd like to know how I can store my own very personal notes that contain my credit card details and personal thoughts in a way that I'm the only one that can read them?

I'm very new to this forum so I'm sorry if I'm breaking any rules with this thread!

Thank you!

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Well one way you could do it is to
Jun 16, 2017 10:01AM PDT

compress them into a .zip with a password. You could also hide the folder and when you need to update unhide it.

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Which app should I use to create my notes?
Jun 16, 2017 10:39AM PDT

Thanks, but how can I choose an app that I know is safe and cannot contact the Internet at all?

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Re: app
Jun 16, 2017 11:07AM PDT

To tell that, we need to know if you're talking about a smartphone, a Windows 10 computer or whatever else.

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I want to create these notes on my Windows 10 Pro PC
Jun 16, 2017 11:25AM PDT

I don't have any other devices I want to create notes on.

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I Do It This Way...
Jun 16, 2017 12:02PM PDT

First, I create a document with all the information, passwords, etc. It can be text file or a Word document or anything else.. Next, I use a free zip file creator such as 7zip or CAMunzip or any of the other Zip file creators. I create the zip file which contains the document, then I password protect the zip file with a complicated password that I can remember easily. After that, I give the zip file a name which wouldn't leave anyone to want to try to open it.. Then I leave the original in somewhere other than "My Documents", like System32 folder or any other strange directory on the computer, yep a strange place I know, and I keep a copy of the password protected zip file on a flash drive which is in my safety deposit box.

Hope this helps.

Grif

Post was last edited on June 16, 2017 12:03 PM PDT

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Answer
Remember we are going with safely and not absolute security
Jun 16, 2017 12:04PM PDT
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Answer
Go physical.
Jun 17, 2017 9:51AM PDT

Notebook, locked away. That truly is your safest option.

Second best, esp. should you have surplus hardware lurking somewhere in the corner: Standalone, strictly offline machine with full disk encryption and Linux OS.

Privacy, and W10? Oh, my! Fire and ice, fire and ice:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEBzc1GHUQE

If you are a fan of horror stories, look up Wikileaks Vault 7. All your computer-recorded personal thoughts belong to ... whoever sits at the end of the line.

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Re: Notebook
Jun 17, 2017 10:07AM PDT

As in, paper, right?

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USB-stick
Jun 18, 2017 3:44AM PDT

Use any text editor or word processor or whatever you like, but store the file on a USB-stick or SD-card, that you store on a safe place when not needing it. Encrypt for extra safety.

But maybe you find only encrypting (with a program like fort from https://www.cryptoextension.eu/ ) enough.

Post was last edited on June 18, 2017 3:46 AM PDT

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How can I stop the text editor from contacting the Internet?
Jun 21, 2017 7:45AM PDT

Kees_B, your idea is great, but how do I prevent the text editor/word processor app from contacting the Internet?

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Re: not contacting the Internet
Jun 21, 2017 8:17AM PDT

As far as I know, a basic editor like Notepad (coming with Windows 10) doesn't connect to the Internet.

If you don't believe that, disconnect from Internet (by removing the Ethernet cable, not connecting to WiFi or turning of the modem or router) and do what you want.
Or configure your firewall in such a way that the program you use to edit, is not allowed to connect. Since you didn't tell what firewall you're using I can't be more specific.

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Answer
Blocking The App From Accessing The Internet?
Jun 21, 2017 7:39AM PDT

I appreciate the ideas!

I love the idea of putting a password or encrypting the file that contains my personal notes, however, how can I stop the app I'm using to create those personal notes(say Microsoft Word) from contacting the Internet?

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Actually this is not the problem I see here.
Jun 21, 2017 7:54AM PDT

If you worry about the app, then maybe the problem is that any app could send any file across the internet. I wonder why you asked about Word since I've yet to read any report it sends your files to the internet.

Maybe, just maybe if someone stored their file on a Dropbox folder or used OneDrive, but Word? Nope. It doesn't do that. What article told you it did?

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Ever Hear of Shadow Copy?
Jun 25, 2017 8:12AM PDT

The issue is not an "app" possibly communicating via the web; it is your very own OS that presents the biggest risk to privacy.
(See above. What´s not to understand about "strictly offline"?)