I do not want someone stealing my laptop on a train ride potentially being able to have all of that data.
With a proper real backup strategy, i have everything save. I do not need easy access to a hard drive from a broken computer.
But hey you do you :)
Everyone's threat model is different, but some are better than others, and maybe we shouldn't equate taking time to explain why with throwing stones.
The Snowden leaks revealed that the NSA is flummoxed on how to tackle variable character lengths. However, they've cracked rot26 using custom ASIC supercomputers, so it should be considered insecure even though it's twice as good as rot13.
Every machine is encrypted, unlocked per login.
Encryption is basically free so.
I want the crypto-shredding retirement of each storage device. I don't assume I can delete/scrub/overwrite at the time a device goes out of service. I have a box of older HDDs that I still have to get around to destroying properly, because they exist from before the days of practical FDE.
The good thing though: the effort is low. You think through it once and you have your encryption and backup strategy for a long time.
I have a NAS System which only runs when i need it, i scrub every month and that basic setup is the same for the last 12 years.
Then where do you have it? Notes on a post-it? Or is this a very specific definition of "computers"?
An advantage of encryption is that it makes it easier to give away or resell devices. With recent encryption schemes (well the ones on Linux, given this article), I feel confident that overwriting the encryption keys gets me close enough to not leaking my data once I get rid of an old hard drive.
But I'm sure that some of the millions of things that I've missed as windows has become what it has become makes this simplicity seem like a scifi absurdity. I don't think that they can even log into their own computers without asking Microsoft for permission over the network. I'm sure the idea of encryption must have been overcomplicated to the point of absurdity in order to trap customers too, I just don't know about it.
I suppose you should just count your blessings (of ignorance) and be available to help your friends with cryptsetup if they decide to flee windows.
* Your preferred memorized passphrase and will never be written down anywhere.
* A random key you can print and store in a box somewhere.
Then if your backup paper gets lost, you can revoke/replace it without having to abandoned your memorized favorite.
Just choose a good quality one....
* Split the recovery key in two, store each half with a different friend. (If you're feeling fancy, XOR the halves and store that with a third friend, then any two out of three will work.)
* Sneak the key into something you know friends/family won't throw away while you're still alive, like stuck to the back of a sentimental photo in a frame.
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That said, I think I'm wandering from the original "accumulating dusty old drives in a box" scenario, which has a simpler solution: Keep a growing old_drives_keys.txt file on your current (encrypted) main device.
If you keep it in a dark environment that's not super humid the ink should last a really long time. Even in non-optimal conditions (NY summers with high humidity, etc.) I've had regular pen ink last for decades with no signs of fading away.
I suppose this makes some sense for home computers (burglars and police raids are rare) but for a laptop, you really don't want thieves getting all your details.
Ironically -- this probably was paranoid a few years ago, but now -- "ChatGPT, use this prepared prompt to extract all useful info from this hard drive"