Paper or Cloud?

Unless you live under a rock, you most likely have read the front page news about a 29 year old computer technician named Edward Snowden, a whistleblower of epic proportions.  The hot topic? Cybersecurity, leaks, and intelligence secrets.  People watching people; people getting your data; people listening in on your conversations- whether you like it or not. It would be safe to say that I don’t trust on-line banking.  As a matter of fact, I don’t really trust the internet in general.  I will never, ever, store my list of passwords in the Cloud” or store my private information or intentions where it’s not really safe or private.  Why? Well, apparently because nothing is truely private anymore on cellphones and the internet. Turns out the National Security Agency is tapping into Facebook servers and possibly your tracking cookie records. Edward Snowden just validated why people should be wary of revealing and storing private information and matters on the internet. What you choose to post or “like” on social websites are not private and can in fact be used against you in the future.  If you choose to post some inappropriate messages or images, they may resurface when you had hoped they were long forgotten by time or somehow erased in cyberworld. So what does this have to do with planning for death?

It’s all about trust and privacy. There appears to be two opposing viewpoints when it comes to the “safe” storage of  your private information and personal matters. Paper or Cloud? Paper people are those who prefer to write private matters down on paper. Here are some of the pros and cons: Pros:

  • You eliminate the risk of your information being “hacked”, “leaked” or “posted”
  • You can store information safely in your own home or in a safe deposit box or under your mattress
  • You can choose the trusted recipients who might need access to your highly personal data

Cons:

  • Your loved ones may have trouble finding, reading, or interpreting your written notes
  • Your information could be out dated when the time comes for those “notes” to be of some use
  • If you hide this infomation somewhere and don’t tell anyone, your wishes and intentions may never be found or honored

Cloud people are those who prefer to store everything in cyberspace.  Here are some of the pros and cons: Pros

  • There are a multitude of Apps available that offer “safe or protective” storage of various types of personal data and private information-including passwords
  • You can access this information using most platforms-IPad, Personal Computer, Smartphone 
  • If you don’t care about 100% privacy, you can store vast quantities of data in the Cloud

Cons

  • This information is really not 100%  “private” and can be accessed by others.  If the Pentagon can be hacked so can your storage in the Cloud
  • Are security tools really secure? Every on-line devise has a network address that may uncover your identity
  • When you die, if you have not provided your passwords or access codes to your stored information to a trusted person, there will be a multitude of problems left for your loved ones to deal with, both getting to that information in a timely matter and then the tasks of closing down social media websites adn  your digital footprint

Unless you do live in a cave, there is simply no way to completely eliminate the differnet types of electronic surveillance that is all all around us.   For both personal and private information, I am a paper girl. Which type of person are you for storing your private information? Paper or Cloud? And why?

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