Protecting one's EMERGENCY KIT?

jmjm

I have one printed off and at home.

But I can see it would be good to have an electronic copy as well. But as it is a PDF it should be (password) protected?

If I keep a copy on a USB key is there an easy way to either password protect the entire USB key or the EKit file alone?

(Specifics will be helpful)

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jmjm

(I guess I could open it in Word and PW protect the corresponding Word Document?)

DanielP

@jmjm:

You could password protect the document itself, or you could put it on an encrypted USB drive, as you prefer. If you are on Windows Pro, you can use Bitlocker for this, while if you are on macOS, you can encrypt your USB drive directly in the Disk Utility.

(I guess I could open it in Word and PW protect the corresponding Word Document?)

I personally would not do this. Not that it wouldn't be possible I think, but Word doesn't really handle PDFs in a magnificent way.

jmjm

Thanks for the post @DanielP .

(I don't have Bitblocker in my "lesser" version of Windows 10.)

Correct if I am wrong but the only piece of crucial info found on the EMERGENCY KIT is the secret KEY (as I don't care to memorize it). (One doesn't need the "Setup Code" if one has the S KEY and M Password...right?)

So easiest for me could be to have a simple Word Document with only the secret key (and maybe the MP) and password protect it.

DanielP

@jmjm:

(One doesn't need the "Setup Code" if one has the S KEY and M Password...right?)

That's right. The Setup Code is simply a more convenient and quicker way to enter your login credentials without having to type them manually (or copy and paste them), but you can certainly avoid using it if you know your credentials and would like to enter them in a more traditional way.

jmjm

So I think I will just simply type out the secret key into a Word Document and password protect that document and save it to a USB key.

Thanks again @DanielP.

DanielP

@jmjm:

So I think I will just simply type out the secret key into a Word Document and password protect that document and save it to a USB key.

There might be an easier way. Typically, the quickest way to retrieve your Secret Key is from inside the 1Password app. If you have access to one of your devices where 1Password is installed, and you have logged in to that 1Password app with your account, the Secret Key will be visible for you in the settings.

jmjm

And the way you describe @DanielP allows me to, without error (copy and then paste) put the Secret Key into a document that can be saved and (password) protected?

DanielP

@jmjm:

My previous post was meant as a suggestion on how to avoid doing that process altogether, but to answer your question directly: yes, you can copy the Secret Key from there without error, and paste it in a document that you can then password protect.

Note that if all you want to do is password protect your Emergency Kit, you should probably password protect the PDF document itself, instead of copying part of it in a Word document, and protecting that file.

jmjm

Note that if all you want to do is password protect your Emergency Kit, you should probably password protect the PDF document

(I dont think this is possible with any free version of Adobe A)

DanielP

I am not an Adobe expert, so I won’t claim to have the answer to that. But you have several options you can choose from and that we mentioned in this discussion, so I am confident that you will find something that works for you.

jmjm

Of course. I just wanted to point out the issue, for many who dont have a "fuller" version of Acrobat, the difficulty in password protecting a PDF.

XIII

Funny given the discussion above, but this article suggests using Word to create a password protected PDF for free:

https://www.lifewire.com/password-protect-pdf-4149687

They give other options as well.

(Please don’t use an online service for a document with confidential data, like an Emergency Kit)

DanielP

Importing a PDF in Word can definitely work, but the results are not always perfect, especially with more complicated documents that are not made of simple text. That is why I recommended password protecting the PDF itself if possible.

If this not possible, Word can be an alternative. As long as the resulting PDF includes all information in a readable format, the design of the end document might not be that important.

MerryBit

The simplest way to password-protect a PDF file without a paid version of Adobe Acrobat is to zip the PDF document and password-protect (encrypt) the ZIP file. Most zip utilities provide this functionality out-of-the-box.

jmjm

Thanks @MerryBit. I had opened it in Word and then password protected the resulting document.

(I guess I was kind of wondering what others do in saving the electronic version of the "Emergency Kit")

XIII

I guess I was kind of wondering what others do in saving the electronic version of the "Emergency Kit"

I have saved it in a VeraCrypt container with a strong password that I can still remember.

DanielP

I have one copy on an encrypted USB drive, and one copy in my 1Password Families account's Shared vault. Should I ever need my Emergency Kit, or lose access to it, any other member of the Families account would be able to retrieve it for me.

jmjm

Thanks for that @DanielP and @XIII

DanielP

You are welcome :)

williakz

@DanielP:

I recently discussed access to family members' Private vaults with @Lars. If I'm not mistaken, your locating your Emergency Kit in the family's Shared vault allows any family member access to your Private vault by using your credentials to sign into 1Password. Whether you'd be notified of the intrusion, I don't know. I just bring this up so others understand the security implications of sharing their Emergency Kits with others.