I have to suddenly be out of town for over a month. How do I quickly secure all PCs?
Dec 16, 2021, 3:49 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2021
Posts: 178
I have to suddenly be out of town for over a month. How do I quickly secure all PCs?
Due to a family emergency, I have to suddenly be out of town for over a month.
I have 3 PCs at home... not encrypted and only requires a Windows password to log-in... plus several portable hard drives, none of them are encrypted. Yes, me being old and stupid.... I kept a lot of sensitive personal and financial data on them. Yes, I deserve to be judged for my stupid, after I finish dealing with this family emergency.
Short of yanking all the nvme M.2 SSDs out of the computers and take them with me, is there a quick way to secure them? (just in case my home is broken into and someone steals my PCs) As for the large 3.5" portable hard drives, I'm thinking of just taking them to self-storage unit where I keep most of my family's old junk and leaving them in a beat-up old leather couch?
My house has a security system, several Blink cameras, as well a couple of nosy neighbors.(who didn't even mange to stop a recent porch)....
I have 3 PCs at home... not encrypted and only requires a Windows password to log-in... plus several portable hard drives, none of them are encrypted. Yes, me being old and stupid.... I kept a lot of sensitive personal and financial data on them. Yes, I deserve to be judged for my stupid, after I finish dealing with this family emergency.
Short of yanking all the nvme M.2 SSDs out of the computers and take them with me, is there a quick way to secure them? (just in case my home is broken into and someone steals my PCs) As for the large 3.5" portable hard drives, I'm thinking of just taking them to self-storage unit where I keep most of my family's old junk and leaving them in a beat-up old leather couch?
My house has a security system, several Blink cameras, as well a couple of nosy neighbors.(who didn't even mange to stop a recent porch)....
Dec 16, 2021, 4:58 pm
#2
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I leave my house for four weeks every summer. Never gave it a thought. Don't even have security cameras or an alarm system. Then again, I live in a super low crime area of the suburbs--but it does help I live on a cul-de-sac.
Dec 16, 2021, 8:32 pm
#3
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How high-crime is your area? If it's just "normal," then shutting all PCs down (assuming your Windows password isn't "password" or some way-too-easy guess) and engaging your security system should be plenty.
The 3.5 inch hard drives: Triple bag or quadruple bag them in Ziplocs and drop them in the toilet tank. Or shove them in a return air vent of your HVAC system, back far enough so they're invisible. No casual burglar is going to look there.
The 3.5 inch hard drives: Triple bag or quadruple bag them in Ziplocs and drop them in the toilet tank. Or shove them in a return air vent of your HVAC system, back far enough so they're invisible. No casual burglar is going to look there.
Dec 16, 2021, 9:48 pm
#4
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 3,786
Unless it is some kind of high tech enhanced security storage unit, I really don't think a normal storage unit with a pad lock is any safer than home? I think if OP is really that worry about his house being burglarized, just hide the drives somewhere in the house like another poster suggested. Although I don't think I would put them in the toilet tank... LOL.
Dec 16, 2021, 11:23 pm
#5
Join Date: Aug 2005
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Can you turn on BitLocker for the drives before you go? That will start the encryption process but it may not complete before you go and there's a risk that Windows reboots itself (Windows loves to reboot itself to install upgrades, at the least opportune moments), after which I am not sure whether the process automagically restarts (I assume it does but I am not 100% sure).
Dec 16, 2021, 11:43 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2021
Posts: 178
Update:
I used my cat's spare, never-used litterbox. I put all the hard drives in plastic bags at the bottom of the litterbox. (my cat is being boarded at a pet hotel, so nobody will be using it) I dumped a new bag of cat litter over the hard drives and filled them to the usual amount that I give my cat. Since it's clumping cat litter, I also just the right amount to simulate cat pee. (which created several authentic-looking clumps that my cat usually made) I also made the area around the litterbox very messy, exactly like how my cat does it all the time. Was thinking about using the real clumps that my cat made, but I don't want to imagine what uncleaned litterbox will smell like in a month.
If a burglar wants to scoop up all the cat litter to look for stuff in my house... well... all I can say is that he is in the wrong profession.
Now I just have to remember where they are after I come back.(or after I pick up my cat from the pet hotel) If I forget the litterbox, my cat will probably head there and make my hard drives smell FOEVER!(yes, even through the heavy-duty plastic bags that I used)
I used my cat's spare, never-used litterbox. I put all the hard drives in plastic bags at the bottom of the litterbox. (my cat is being boarded at a pet hotel, so nobody will be using it) I dumped a new bag of cat litter over the hard drives and filled them to the usual amount that I give my cat. Since it's clumping cat litter, I also just the right amount to simulate cat pee. (which created several authentic-looking clumps that my cat usually made) I also made the area around the litterbox very messy, exactly like how my cat does it all the time. Was thinking about using the real clumps that my cat made, but I don't want to imagine what uncleaned litterbox will smell like in a month.
If a burglar wants to scoop up all the cat litter to look for stuff in my house... well... all I can say is that he is in the wrong profession.
Now I just have to remember where they are after I come back.(or after I pick up my cat from the pet hotel) If I forget the litterbox, my cat will probably head there and make my hard drives smell FOEVER!(yes, even through the heavy-duty plastic bags that I used)
Dec 17, 2021, 12:05 am
#7
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Due to a family emergency, I have to suddenly be out of town for over a month.
I have 3 PCs at home... not encrypted and only requires a Windows password to log-in... plus several portable hard drives, none of them are encrypted. Yes, me being old and stupid.... I kept a lot of sensitive personal and financial data on them. Yes, I deserve to be judged for my stupid, after I finish dealing with this family emergency.
Short of yanking all the nvme M.2 SSDs out of the computers and take them with me, is there a quick way to secure them? (just in case my home is broken into and someone steals my PCs) As for the large 3.5" portable hard drives, I'm thinking of just taking them to self-storage unit where I keep most of my family's old junk and leaving them in a beat-up old leather couch?
My house has a security system, several Blink cameras, as well a couple of nosy neighbors.(who didn't even mange to stop a recent porch)....
I have 3 PCs at home... not encrypted and only requires a Windows password to log-in... plus several portable hard drives, none of them are encrypted. Yes, me being old and stupid.... I kept a lot of sensitive personal and financial data on them. Yes, I deserve to be judged for my stupid, after I finish dealing with this family emergency.
Short of yanking all the nvme M.2 SSDs out of the computers and take them with me, is there a quick way to secure them? (just in case my home is broken into and someone steals my PCs) As for the large 3.5" portable hard drives, I'm thinking of just taking them to self-storage unit where I keep most of my family's old junk and leaving them in a beat-up old leather couch?
My house has a security system, several Blink cameras, as well a couple of nosy neighbors.(who didn't even mange to stop a recent porch)....
Update:
I used my cat's spare, never-used litterbox. I put all the hard drives in plastic bags at the bottom of the litterbox. (my cat is being boarded at a pet hotel, so nobody will be using it) I dumped a new bag of cat litter over the hard drives and filled them to the usual amount that I give my cat. Since it's clumping cat litter, I also just the right amount to simulate cat pee. (which created several authentic-looking clumps that my cat usually made) I also made the area around the litterbox very messy, exactly like how my cat does it all the time. Was thinking about using the real clumps that my cat made, but I don't want to imagine what uncleaned litterbox will smell like in a month.
If a burglar wants to scoop up all the cat litter to look for stuff in my house... well... all I can say is that he is in the wrong profession.
Now I just have to remember where they are after I come back.(or after I pick up my cat from the pet hotel) If I forget the litterbox, my cat will probably head there and make my hard drives smell FOEVER!(yes, even through the heavy-duty plastic bags that I used)
I used my cat's spare, never-used litterbox. I put all the hard drives in plastic bags at the bottom of the litterbox. (my cat is being boarded at a pet hotel, so nobody will be using it) I dumped a new bag of cat litter over the hard drives and filled them to the usual amount that I give my cat. Since it's clumping cat litter, I also just the right amount to simulate cat pee. (which created several authentic-looking clumps that my cat usually made) I also made the area around the litterbox very messy, exactly like how my cat does it all the time. Was thinking about using the real clumps that my cat made, but I don't want to imagine what uncleaned litterbox will smell like in a month.
If a burglar wants to scoop up all the cat litter to look for stuff in my house... well... all I can say is that he is in the wrong profession.
Now I just have to remember where they are after I come back.(or after I pick up my cat from the pet hotel) If I forget the litterbox, my cat will probably head there and make my hard drives smell FOEVER!(yes, even through the heavy-duty plastic bags that I used)
David
Dec 17, 2021, 12:21 pm
#8
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Update:
I used my cat's spare, never-used litterbox. I put all the hard drives in plastic bags at the bottom of the litterbox. (my cat is being boarded at a pet hotel, so nobody will be using it) I dumped a new bag of cat litter over the hard drives and filled them to the usual amount that I give my cat. Since it's clumping cat litter, I also just the right amount to simulate cat pee. (which created several authentic-looking clumps that my cat usually made) I also made the area around the litterbox very messy, exactly like how my cat does it all the time. Was thinking about using the real clumps that my cat made, but I don't want to imagine what uncleaned litterbox will smell like in a month.
If a burglar wants to scoop up all the cat litter to look for stuff in my house... well... all I can say is that he is in the wrong profession.
Now I just have to remember where they are after I come back.(or after I pick up my cat from the pet hotel) If I forget the litterbox, my cat will probably head there and make my hard drives smell FOEVER!(yes, even through the heavy-duty plastic bags that I used)
I used my cat's spare, never-used litterbox. I put all the hard drives in plastic bags at the bottom of the litterbox. (my cat is being boarded at a pet hotel, so nobody will be using it) I dumped a new bag of cat litter over the hard drives and filled them to the usual amount that I give my cat. Since it's clumping cat litter, I also just the right amount to simulate cat pee. (which created several authentic-looking clumps that my cat usually made) I also made the area around the litterbox very messy, exactly like how my cat does it all the time. Was thinking about using the real clumps that my cat made, but I don't want to imagine what uncleaned litterbox will smell like in a month.
If a burglar wants to scoop up all the cat litter to look for stuff in my house... well... all I can say is that he is in the wrong profession.
Now I just have to remember where they are after I come back.(or after I pick up my cat from the pet hotel) If I forget the litterbox, my cat will probably head there and make my hard drives smell FOEVER!(yes, even through the heavy-duty plastic bags that I used)
Dec 17, 2021, 2:32 pm
#9
Join Date: Mar 2009
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This may be a good idea. Thieves may use metal detectors so just covering the item with kitty litter would not be a deterrent; in fact may be the opposite.
Dec 17, 2021, 2:58 pm
#10
Join Date: Feb 2017
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im calling BS on any thief breaking into a personal residence with a metal detector. That’s over the top. And please don’t put your stuff in a toilet tank. Also over the top. The air vent is a good idea and the cat litter even better.
Dec 17, 2021, 3:32 pm
#11
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: SFO
Posts: 1,754
What it the thieves read Flyertalk, break into your house, and see the unused litter box? By removing the drives you have made it super easy for them to just attach to a USB cradle and pull your data.
What if they break in, install a keylogger on your keyboard, and come back after you returned but have left to go to Target to get groceries.
Or what if they kidnap your cat and hold it hostage until you turn over your checkbook?
What if they break in, install a keylogger on your keyboard, and come back after you returned but have left to go to Target to get groceries.
Or what if they kidnap your cat and hold it hostage until you turn over your checkbook?
Dec 17, 2021, 4:02 pm
#12
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A big metal flower pot’s soil as a hiding spot is suggested for reasons not limited to the extremely unlikely chance of an unauthorized break-in by thieves having so much time as to use a metal detector.
Dec 17, 2021, 5:55 pm
#13
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Dec 17, 2021, 6:09 pm
#14
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Just tape down the sealed hard drives to the bottom of a container of organic oats left on the kitchen counter, place them inside a stuffed teddy bear in a child's bedroom, or stuff them down -- or up, if up for more of a challenge -- a carved hollow on an inside door that is left open if not wanting to tape them into the bottom of a metal flower pot and repot the plant. Odds are that even a thorough burglar group doing a full dump won't mess around closely with these kind of things. Some may tape valuables into a carved out hollow within a book, but when books/book shelves are dumped there's a chance that it goes thump in a way that becomes noticed.
https://unitedlocksmith.net/blog/10-...t-burglars-use
Some thieves who targeted South Asian heavy neighborhoods in the UK on major temple going days may have used metal detectors to make grabs for home gold stuff.
Some thieves who targeted South Asian heavy neighborhoods in the UK on major temple going days may have used metal detectors to make grabs for home gold stuff.
Last edited by GUWonder; Dec 17, 2021 at 7:37 pm
Dec 17, 2021, 6:28 pm
#15
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 2,918
Update:
I used my cat's spare, never-used litterbox. I put all the hard drives in plastic bags at the bottom of the litterbox. (my cat is being boarded at a pet hotel, so nobody will be using it) I dumped a new bag of cat litter over the hard drives and filled them to the usual amount that I give my cat. Since it's clumping cat litter, I also just the right amount to simulate cat pee. (which created several authentic-looking clumps that my cat usually made) I also made the area around the litterbox very messy, exactly like how my cat does it all the time. Was thinking about using the real clumps that my cat made, but I don't want to imagine what uncleaned litterbox will smell like in a month.
If a burglar wants to scoop up all the cat litter to look for stuff in my house... well... all I can say is that he is in the wrong profession.
Now I just have to remember where they are after I come back.(or after I pick up my cat from the pet hotel) If I forget the litterbox, my cat will probably head there and make my hard drives smell FOEVER!(yes, even through the heavy-duty plastic bags that I used)
I used my cat's spare, never-used litterbox. I put all the hard drives in plastic bags at the bottom of the litterbox. (my cat is being boarded at a pet hotel, so nobody will be using it) I dumped a new bag of cat litter over the hard drives and filled them to the usual amount that I give my cat. Since it's clumping cat litter, I also just the right amount to simulate cat pee. (which created several authentic-looking clumps that my cat usually made) I also made the area around the litterbox very messy, exactly like how my cat does it all the time. Was thinking about using the real clumps that my cat made, but I don't want to imagine what uncleaned litterbox will smell like in a month.
If a burglar wants to scoop up all the cat litter to look for stuff in my house... well... all I can say is that he is in the wrong profession.
Now I just have to remember where they are after I come back.(or after I pick up my cat from the pet hotel) If I forget the litterbox, my cat will probably head there and make my hard drives smell FOEVER!(yes, even through the heavy-duty plastic bags that I used)