In article , Ken Springer
wrote:

Sometimes, I just don't understand people. PG&E, and I suspect other
companies, turn off electricity in an area so a wildfire isn't caused by
their equipment, potentially saving homes, and people complain.

only pg&e is stupid enough to do that ****.

people complain because the shutdown was done purely for political
reasons, not for safety.

the shutdown put millions of people at risk, particularly those who
need power for medical equipment to stay alive, such as supplemental
oxygen.

it also caused substantial financial losses for many, many businesses
and families.

not surprisingly, pg&e cannot be sued for recovery.


Some factor in that may be the electric utility is "customer owned".

A fault in the overhead line is easy to fix, but relatively likely. The
buried cable is less likely be damaged, but expensive to fix.

True, viewed in money only. Now much money do you put on the value of a
human life?

Er, we're talking about phone lines. Where's the relevance?

Doing it the "cheap" way potentially puts more people's lives at risk,
due to increased possibility of no means for emergency notifications.

yet another reason why a power shutdown was a really stupid idea.


Anything can be lost... Virtually anything.

True, but a single, small device is far more likely to be lost than a
duplicated, backed up online file.

True, if you're willing to put your data in the hands of someone else.
In my case, I prefer to keep all my data in my hands, not someone
else's. If I lose something, I bear 100% of the responsibility, no one
else to accuse or wonder about. And I'm willing to accept that
responsibility.

except that is a substantially higher risk.

Obviously, an individual has no control over data stored by others.
Since I have no control over that data, I don't worry about it.

false. people have full control over it.

There is no perfect system
of protections, just the ones that are best for an individual.

I'd argue the spreadsheet on a stick is the least best option.

There's at least one least best option, a spiral notebook in the desk,
the book has a half-dozen passwords for a site, and the user doesn't
know which one is current. shaking head But as I said, users will do
what fits them, regardless of what we recommend.

that is by far, the worst possible option.

there are no backups of a paper notebook, and if it's destroyed in a
fire or flood or even mistakenly thrown away, you will be instantly
locked out of everything.




If
you have the answers for those security questions before setting up a
system, you don't need a spreadsheet or password manager.

How will you remember the answers when you need to recover your password,
then? Needing password recovery is not a common situation so forgetting the
recovery answers is a very real prospect.

My original questions had to do with the OS installation, not passwords
to individual's accounts at a bank, school, etc. The security questions
are all personal, such as "What's your mother's maiden name?", and if
you can't remember those answers, maybe you should crush the computer
with a bulldozer. G

using real answers is an incredibly stupid idea.

mother's maiden name is public record and one of the *easiest* things
for someone to find.

*always* use fake answers and put them in a password manager.