How can I give my wife emergency access to logins, passwords, etc.?

http://superuser.com/questions/514558/how-can-i-give-my-wife-emergency-access-to-logins-passwords-etc

by joeyespo • 14 years ago

6 4 14 years ago

flexxaeon• 14 years ago

Deadmansswitch was the first thing I thought about, though my idea was to keep the info somewhere off the net (thumb drive) and have the email contain instructions

kevinconroy• 14 years ago

Deadmanswitch or other electronic services are all fine and well, but what you're trying to do is add fault tolerance for a non-techie to access your stuff after you're dead. What happens if the hard drive crashes right after you're gone? Or the online service you swear by closes shop a few months later?

Low-tech is the most reliable solution here. Print out key passwords, instructions, etc and store them with your will. You can include instructions in here about how to access stuff like Deadmanswitch, LastPass, etc, but for everyone's sanity, print out key passwords as well.

Yes, this creates a security hole. You need to weigh that against the desire to ensure that your significant other can easily access this information in case of your demise.

(If you want to make this a bit more foolproof, print out a simple ciphered version where you agree to replace one character with another (e.g. replace the last initial of your name with the first initial) but then again, if your significant other can figure out a simple cipher, they can probably handle the electronic systems...)

cupcake-unicorn• 14 years ago

I will probably get some backlash for this but...

Why not take this as a learning opportunity and teach your wife how to be secure in her own personal accounts, using SuperGenPass and LastPass? She'll learn about how to make her own accounts secure, and will go on with that knowledge if she were to create any further more sensitive accounts for financial institutions etc.

She is safer and more secure using the internet, now and hopefully in the future, and then you just give her the master passwords for SuperGenPass/LastPass, and there you go! Problem solved?

segmond• 14 years ago

i see people saying deadmansswitch, but if you are in a coma, or go to jail, kidnapped, etc, not dead, but in a condition where you are restricted, but can still make it out.

How can I give my wife emergency access to logins, passwords, etc.?

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