It being January (the month of renewal), I’ve turned to thinking* about how to better organise our domestic life. One of those areas is paperwork. We have too much of it and don’t manage it efficiently. So there’s now a programme of shredding out-of-date stuff.

Now I’m wondering about whether it would be a good idea to scan important documents, effectively as a back up copy (there’s another digital backup plan in place to store a backup copy of the computer away from home).

Anyone do this? Anyone brave enough to entrust this stuff to the cloud (if so, which provider – obvious candidates for us are dropbox and icloud)? What don’t you scan?

Yeah, not the most exciting topic of the day….

*about time they say.

I don’t know why I haven’t previously considered this

I do so as I can access them on my phone on the weird occasions someone asks for my passport number or NHS number randomly.

Also makes it easier just printing copied for people to certify when that’s needed to.

Rarely scan “important” docs. Although scans of our passports have been handy to be accesible online when away from home without the passport.

What do you call “important” docs?

all pdf bills are saved to google drive directly from the inbox.

Some docs like deeds/leases need to stay in paper form if executed docs.

Key info (such as banking details etc) are kept in an encrypted file.

google drive is very good for managing online docs and having access to those docs through both internet browser and android apps on phone or tablet is very handy.

I wouldnt try and scan all out docs without a big sheet-feeding machine anyway. Pain in the arse doing it page by page on the printer.

scanning seems silly to me

just take a picture with your phone!

I often just snap them with the phone.

What do you call “important” docs?

Good question. I guess identification – passport, birth cert, NHS number info, driving licence (no marriage cert in our house…).

How about financial stuff – pensions, etc.?

But then there’s other stuff – insurance docs. I like the idea of using google drive (though Mrs North is a heavy dropbox user, so that would make more sense for her).

I have access to a desktop sheet feed scanner I can use.

Just seen the phone comments. Fair enough. Have only just ditched a blackberry in favour of an iphone, so photos of docs have always been dire in the past.

You still use paper?

Some docs like deeds/leases need to stay in paper form if executed docs.

True. All executed docs should be kept in hard copy, but taking certified copies (which can be scans) is a good idea – get a friendly lawyer to certify the copies (easy for me – just get a colleague to do it).

Yes Drac. I’m a lawyer so rarely move outside the 19th century….

I take a photo of important receipts

Scanning digital copies sounds like a handy idea.
Not sure I’d store personal documentation on Dropbox or anywhere similar, without encrypting them first.
NAS at a relatives, with an encrypted folder, maybe, where you can also back up a lot more stuff.

Good question. I guess identification – passport, birth cert, NHS number info, driving licence (no marriage cert in our house…).

Perhaps an obvious point, but that is an identity thief’s dream.

If you are scanning these things and uploading them then make sure you are using a really strong password that you don’t use elsewhere and you are using a service with proper two-step verification.

I photograph or scan most docs that don’t arrive in a digital file.
iPhone apps for Dropbox / Flickr means you can ping the stuff straight to somewhere safe if you use the encryption / restriction options.

Passports, driving licenses, EHIC cards and travel insurance docs are all on line in a safe place should we need them.

Oh and this might be useful – http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-50gb-free-storage-box-by-downloading-ios-app

I take a picture with my iPhone.

Surprisingly clear and means its saved on my phone and automatically backed up to my MacBook, NAS and the Cloud.

I should really think about making them more secure though!!

I’ve always kept scanned copies of things like passports on the PC. I’ve recently also started keeping copies of some of them on Barclay’s cloud service (other banks are available and may have similar services) so that they can be accessed away from home if necessary.

I’d be very vary of using iCloud, Google etc for storing these unless they’re encrypted first, apart from the security issues I don’t want Google knowing any more of my personal details than they already have!

Isn’t this what the drawer in the kitchen is for? Next to the cling-film and paracetamol goes ‘important documents’ and receipts, no?
I should let me wife know about this straight away…!

DrP

Interestingly, my business is a scanning bureau (for business mainly) I don’t actually scan much of our personal stuff – should think ahead more!!
With regards to cloud storage, we use Amazon S3 for some client work and that works very well (Dropbox uses it).

Keeping a picture of important docs on your phone sounds scary to me.

Keeping a picture of important docs on your phone sounds scary to me.

There are some ahem special apps for the careful encryption of sensitive photographs.
I’m not sure what their main purpose is though 8)

I have a friend who scans and uploads all important documents, warranties and receipts and uploads them to google docs.

I keep thinking it’s a great idea and keep intending to start doing the same (as I am awful at losing documentation), but I never do and just file everything in that special circular filing system in the corner of the room.

There are some ahem special apps for the careful encryption of sensitive photographs.
I’m not sure what their main purpose is though

I use them to encrypt all the penis pics I send Darcy.

Dropbox encryption is their encryption, and they (and NSA?) have the keys?
Unless you create the key pair locally on your machine and the encryption happens there.

Don’t know about other services, but I’d guess they are much the same.

(and NSA?)

Pretty sure there are easier ways for the gummint men to find out your passport number 😉

Unless you create the key pair locally on your machine and the encryption happens there.

Thing is, a large part of the point of uploading them is to be recoverable in case of an emergency, in which case I wouldn’t want to be relying on a key that could be lost in the case of said emergency.

Pfft just upload the keys as well. Somewhere else obviously.

OK, so veering slightly off topic – but taking the point about ID theft – which are some good encryption software?

oh, and @ geoffj – are you on commission? (and what’s the catch?)

I am self employed so everything is backed up on an external HD, as well as my accountant having scans of everything.

Having worked in a place that used Amazon cloud and it was hacked, I don’t have a lot of faith in that.

just take a picture with your phone!

I have copies of my passport on my phone, makes it a bit simpler if I have to get a new one at a consulate if mine goes missing etc. As for security the number of consulates which have had my passport pass through for Visas and the countries / high commissions I’ve had to email PDF copies to for letters of invites, means that I’ve long since stopped worrying about who knows all the details.

Pretty sure there are easier ways for the gummint men to find out your passport number

If you’ve travelled to the US, or any country they’ve sold the same immigration system to (e.g. Kenya), then the NSA and GCHQ already have your fingerprints, photo and a copy of your passport……

oh, and @ geoffj – are you on commission? (and what’s the catch?)

I wish!

@footflaps… and your credit card info (and hence any subsequent financial transaction e-papertrail) thanks to ESTA registration thingy.

in hindsight, the encryption thing is probably not such a good idea. i’ve lost count of the number of users who thought they were clever, and saved the keys on 1 HDD (along with pass phrase), only for that to fail. not such a big deal for scanned copies. massive deal when you’ve lost everything.

only thing i keep online, like that, are photos of bike, and photos of the serial numbers. spose I really ought to put some more up (photos of laptop, TVs, etc. serial numbers). Have actual photocopies of passport in various locations.

OK. So first task is to finish the shredding. Next task is to identify what we want to keep digi copies of. After that, it’s all about storage (encrypted portable hdd, encrypted cloud).

Cheers all..!

I’d make the digi copies before the shredding phase.

Yes I do.

I have quite a few important private documents in “the cloud” I thought bout the security implications but to be honest there’s probably lots of other things to worry about more than that.