Fraser Baker
RIKKI, DON’T LOSE THAT NUMBER!
We often go far afield in our articles for the WATERLINE to topics that are only tangential to paddling.
OK. “I” often go far afield in my articles. What can I say?
Anyway, one of our revered fellow paddlers passed to happier waters recently, and I had hoped to collect some of the Canoe Club photographs he had accumulated.
Fraser Baker, May he Rest In Peace, was a skilled computer tech, and had a business in developing software packages for small medical clinics to digitize and maintain their records in digital format. He also developed and maintained the original Houston Canoe Club website and bulletin board. He had voluminous records and photographs about the canoe club, going back many years.
When I went by his place to try to gather some of those records for the upcoming 60th Club Anniversary Celebration, I discovered he had at least 4 separate computers in his office. His wife, Janice, had left them undisturbed.
There is a problem.
Fraser, being the organized and security conscious person he was, left all of them protected by passwords. Which, in keeping with the best digital security practices, he hadn’t written down anywhere. Nor told anyone what they were.
Whatever is on those computers is currently unreachable by normal means.
There are ways to recover stuff, if someone is willing to spend the time and the money, but it is time consuming and expensive.
Probably not going to happen.
If you have computers with important information, PHOTOGRAPHS, MUSIC, or programs on them, such as photos of paddle trips, do yourselves a favor: password protect them. Make a backup on separate media, maybe an external hard drive. Make a list of the passwords. Then follow the next instruction in the song: Send them off in a letter to yourself.
Maybe give a copy to a good friend. I have a list, but have added a second wrinkle: I have a code that I use to encrypt the passwords, so if I lose the list, which happens, anybody that finds it won’t be able to use them to get into my computer, unless they have the secondary code. Much like the clue to the treasure in the movie: “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly,” the treasure isn’t in the grave with the name on it, but the grave NEXT to the grave with the name on it. Or, for instance, in the movie: Rent, the number: 525,600 features prominently. If the password clue on the list is: Rent, the true password would be 525600.
Be safe out there. But take care to pass on your treasures to your family, too.
See you On The Water
Harmon