Use the Internet to Save Your Trip

You’re on vacation and you just lost your driver’s license and/or other important papers.  You no longer have the federal or state issued photo ID to expedite getting through security. What do you do? 

In today’s world you can save copies of important documents on the internet. Whether it be from your smartphone, iPad or another computer, you have the ability to get copies of important papers should a travel emergency occur. Note that should a situation arise at home as well, having this information on the internet can make life easier for you as well.

Evernote is one good place to put this information. You can store pictures as well as writing notes about important information. Need to keep a copy of your driver’s license and passport?  Evernote is a good option.        

Before I got my smartphone I found it to be a good idea to scan all except the credit cards and then save it to a Microsoft Word (MS Word) file.  As for credit cards, I make a list of that using MS Excel. I have the name of the card in one column, the card number in another column and a contact number in a third column. You can also do a list in MS Word.  Using MS Excel is a personal preference as I find it easier to work with this information using MS Excel. Today I would take a picture with my smartphone and upload it before saving it as an MS Word file.

When saving these files I make sure to password protect them. I then email the file to myself. What I am doing here is adding an extra layer of security to information that if it fell into the wrong hands would make me more susceptible to identity theft. One would need to know both my email password as well as the password I am using to protect the respective files that contain this sensitive data. I would suggest making the passwords for your email and files different.

One does not have to limit this to just credit cards, passport and drivers license. Scanning current drug prescriptions you are using and saving them to MS Word is another good idea where you have a copy of the prescription. If you were to lose the prescription drugs you had packed, you should have an easier time refilling it. You can also put the numbers of your travelers checks in a file as well. My contacts list in my email account is my phone book. Should I need a number I can get it wherever I have an internet connection which includes my smartphone. While we are on the subject of prescription drugs, it is a good idea to have a picture of the case, box, etc with the drug information on your phone. If you are seeing a doctor who is not familiar with you and asks for a list of the drugs you take, this will come in handy.

Doing all of these is not a magic bullet should you have a loss. It will however make it easier to travel and in the case of a passport get a replacement more easily. I would also suggest that you avoid using an unsecured public wireless network to obtain any of this.

Hopefully you will never need to access these files in an emergency.  However, having them should the need arise will make your life easier.

There is no one correct way to be proactive here.  I have just given 2 ways.  Please feel free to mention how you store this information online and if you would put any additional information out there.

If you have additional questions about storing information on the internet, I can be reached at (917) 572-3468 or email me at mike@computerconciergeny.com 

My Facebook page provides information on the current goings on in the technology field. There are tips to better use your technology. For timely information, please visit and "Like" my page.

Computer training and many types of computer repairs can be done remotely. If you or someone you know needs either training to better use your computer or repairs I am now doing it on a remote basis in addition to in person locally.

http://computerconciergeny.com/3/post/2012/10/joinme-how-to-use-to-allow-someone-to-remotely-view-and-control-your-computer.html takes you to a narrative to use Join.me. It is a very user friendly site and it is easy to temporarily allow control of your computer. I also did an online video as well which is on the following link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyRSqpYNVQY



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Back Up Back Up Back Up

Every year, 43% of computer users lose their music, photos, documents, and more. – PC World 2010.  A March 2012 article in Gigaom noted that 60% of 640 small and medium businesses surveyed have not even budgeted for backups. Only 15% of those surveyed have an automated backup plan in place. These numbers are even worse for consumers where 29% have never backed up their computers per Backblaze.com.  I find this to be very disturbing. In the event of a hard drive failure, these people could lose things such as pictures of loved ones, letters, notes, spreadsheets, memories, etc. that are not stored anywhere else and are at risk.  Businesses not backing up are in danger of losing important information for their business such as financial records, important correspondence, etc.


Backing up is a cheap insurance policy against data loss. It does not take long (backing up data to a DVD takes less than ½ an hour) and to purchase a 10 pack of rewritable DVDs at Staples costs under $18 on their website. To recover data on your hard drive from a data recovery service will run about $500 minimum up to a few thousand. Recovery is not guaranteed however. One service also prices out by emergency service which is 24 hours; priority service which is 3 days; and standard service which is 2 weeks turnaround time. You want 24 hour turnaround and you will pay for that level of service. Many who have a computer for personal use will find using a DVD to back up your files adequate.

On a personal note, when I have had to reinstall data from my backup, I was up and running with the essential files and programs within about 4-5 hours. I can be surf the internet in a lot less time. Note that you should have your program disks in a safe place. The cost, not in the hundreds or thousands of dollars but less than $100 which was the cost of my external hard drive.


My question to you then is what scenario would you rather have when your data is lost? Personally I prefer my inexpensive insurance policy so to speak of backing up my data should I ever need it. Several years ago in about a 3 week span, 2 friends of mine lost data on their computer. One was due to a flood in their office and the other was due to a hard drive crash. They did not have backups. Confidential client data and irreplaceable family pictures were lost. Had my friends backed up their computer, any loss would have been minimal. If you think this could never happen to you, think again. As they say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Further, I also have copies of backups away from my home. Should the unforeseen happen, I still can get my data. Hopefully that scenario will never happen but if it does, I am prepared.

You can use different media to back up your data. A USB drive (although I do not recommend that you use this method), DVD drive, external hard drive, online backup service. Prices will vary of course. If you are using an online service, some also offer a free version. These versions are not as good as the paid versions. A free service may meet your needs so do keep that in mind. If you choose a paid service, Carbonite offers a plan with unlimited space for as low as $59 per year per computer. For those that need to back up more than 1 computer, they also offer other plans. I have only heard good things about them.

In the end the choice is yours. Before deciding that you will not back up your data, think about what would happen if you don’t and you have a hard drive crash, a virus that destroys your data or some other mishap.

If you have additional questions about backing up your computer(s) please call me at (917) 572-3468. I can determine the backup plan that is best for you. Think of it the same way you think of auto insurance, homeowners insurance or any other type of insurance. You hope you do not have to use it but should you ever have to use it you are glad you have it. I also can back up your files for you so that in the event of a hard drive failure you will have files as of the date of backup.