"One Delta Ten Tango"
I have it on good authority that the One Delta Ten Tango issue was identified as being a clear-cut case of Papa Echo Bravo Kilo Alpha Charlie with special emphasis on the papa. Not much you can do about that except remove all user rights and turn it off and on again. Anyway, onto more pressing matters...
Things to consider when planning your backup strategyEveryone says to "make a backup". Make sure you understand how to do this and to make an informed decision on storage mediums and the need for risk management. A few rules of thumb:
- always keep encrypted wallets
- keep multiple copies of your data in multiple (SECURE!) physical locations. It's not much good having a wallet.dat file backed up in three places if they're:
- all on the same hard drive, as it may fail or suffer logical or physical damage.
- all on the same computer, as it may suffer electrical damage, be destroyed in a fire, or be stolen.
- all on the same desk with a copy on your computer and a copy on your external hard drive or USB flash drive/s, as fire and theft remain a consolidating risk.
- all in the same house, as fire and theft remain unaccounted for.
- if using an automated process for your backups, make sure you periodically test your backups! No use running daily backups if it's failing to save it where you think it is, or not at all!
Where to keep your backupsIt's fine to keep one on your computer and one on your locally-connected external hard drive, as you're budgeting for the possibility of failure, corruption/accidental deletion, and so on. However, it is a good idea to also keep at least another copy:
- in a bank vault, which is expensive but pretty safe; and/or,
- on a backup tape that is stored in a safe deposit box somewhere; and/or,
- on an encrypted USB flash drive that you keep on your car key-ring or person at all times; and/or,
- on a paper copy in a lock-box or safe place that isn't in your house; and/or,
- in a locked/fire-proof box in your locked shed or garage; and/or,
- in a locked drawer at work or at a trusted family/friend's home or workplace; and/or,
- in an online, encrypted folder (if your philosophy allows such trust in cloud storage); and/or,
- scrawled in your own personal obfuscated or encrypted code in invisible/UV marker on the back of your outhouse door; and so on.
All of the above have various risks, expenses and inconveniences associated with them. Each person's situation is a little different so the idea is to consider the risks to your own data and the budget and resources you have to safely keep multiple copies of your most important data, including off-site backups in most cases.
In short, keep your wallet backups encrypted, safely stored and geographically separate as budget and resources allow.
) and can then log into your own account with your passphrase. Simple when you get the hang of it!
