Can This Man Make Using an External Hard Drive Interesting?

Excuse me, do you have a moment to talk about backing up your data in three different locations, using three different methods?

No?

Oh. Ok.

I'll just sit here and read "Slouching Towards Bethlehem" on my Kindle then.

Yes. I know. I need to stop using the Kindle. We'll talk about how to de-Amazon your life later.

All I'll say right now is that, if you can, you should cancel Amazon Prime.

Right after you cancel your subscription to Paramount Plus.

Those new episodes of Strange New Worlds can viewed by other means.

Privacy Tip: You Should Back Up Your Stuff In 3 Different Places

In the original edition of Stupid Sexy Privacy, we talked about how the cloud is actually The Bad Place. You shouldn't put anything down there.

If you have, you're going to want to download it all, and then have your stuff removed from those accounts.

"And put my stuff where?"

For most people in most cases, we recommended using an external hard drive like the Western Digital My Passport Ultra 5TB Hard Drive.

Using an external hard drive means you've now backed up your data in at least two places.

(You should also encrypt your laptop's hard drive; and set it up so that, if you ever step away from your computer, a password is needed to access it.

We'll explain how to do that later.)

Now, listen ...

HOW you get your data from your laptop or your phone to your external hard drive is going to vary based on what kind of device and what kind of OS you use.

For most people, in most cases, the best laptop is a Macbook Pro for reasons we'll talk about throughout the series.

For those seeking "MAXIMUM PRIVACY!!!" any device purchased from System76 running Pop!_OS is the thing you want to use.

And if you're using Windows? That's ok. But. Of the three options, Windows is the worst.

If you're using Windows, we recommend you try Ubuntu and see how you like it.

Ubuntu is a popular, and more customer friendly, version of Linux.

You don't have to commit to this.

In fact, you can download Ubuntu to a flash drive, pop it into your Windows computer, and give it a test run to see if you like it first.

If you don't? You can go right back to using Windows.

(Yes. We'll also talk about how to do that later.)

The best tool to move your files from your device to an external hard drive is FreeFileSync.

Ok. But What About That Third Method?

Let's say you got a MacBook Pro and FileVault is turned on.

And now you got a Western Digital My Passport Ultra 5TB Hard Drive.

What's the third place to back up your data?

This is where your friends, family, or a trusted third party like an attorney come in.

What you want to do is back up your most important data on an additional device — like a 1TB Micro SD card.

Then give that to your friends or family members for safe keeping.

You can also have a lot of fun with this.

For example, Privacy & Security expert, Michael Bazzell, recommends using a 1TB Sandisk Micro SD card and placing it inside of a hollow nickle that he covertly placed inside a friend's home.

Occasionally, you'll want to retrieve the Micro SD card and make sure it has the latest information stored on it.

So I don't know if I'd suggest what Mr. Bazzell does.

But the point here is, if you have someone you trust, you can give them this Micro SD card.

If you don't, you can place this Micro SD card in a fireproof safe.

But.

The only way to defeat the fascists and weirdos is by building strong, offline connections and community.

So if you don't have someone you can trust right now, that's ok.

We're going to help you find your people, and one of those people can be trusted with your Micro SD card.

-BJ