[X4U] shipping hard drives: tips?

[David Ledger]

At 17:33 -0700 19/8/13, cat wrote:
>I would like to ship a hard drive, but before I do, wanted to gather 
>opinions on the best practices for this. mostly, they are files of 
>things I've created..portfolio type stuff, but there are other 
>things like information, and maybe scans of tax stuff, so perhaps 
>I'd want to make an archive with  password of those things in case, 
>who knows..the drive got swiped by somebody wanting to check out my 
>boring life..but to protect sensitive information certainly.
>
>Am I better off passwording certain folders, or should I create a 
>passworded folder for the whole contents of the drive?
>
>Also, are special anti-static shipping baggies necessary for safe 
>transit, above and beyond cushiony packing material?

I would ship as new and as small (in capacity) drive as possible, 
encrypting the entire content.

Packaging needs to protect from shock and major damage. New bare 
drives are shipped in an anti-static bag, in a firm foam cradle that 
keeps the drive in the middle of a tough cardboard box that is 
significantly larger than the drive. The foam density is carefully 
designed for the job. If you were to buy a new drive of the same 
dimensions you would have the ideal packaging (as well as a backup 
drive). As it has data value as well as drive value I would then wrap 
the whole thing in bubble-wrap and bag or box the result.

If the journey would take it under the eyes of any security people 
who might suspect an encrypted disc, make sure your contact details 
are on a label on the anti-static bag. That way, if they suspect 
undesirable content, you're not hiding from them.

David


-- 
David Ledger - Freelance Unix Sysadmin in the UK.
david.ledger at ivdcs.co.uk
www.ivdcs.co.uk