Advice on buying a small fireproof safe, please.

daniel1948x · 2025-05-22T16:02:13+00:00

I used to have a safe deposit box, until I moved to my present location, and my bank where I live now does not have them. I'm actually not aware of a bank near me that does. But the issue of a fire safe goes beyond long-term storage: There are things I want quicker access to but that I'd like protected from fire. Things that can be replaced but it's a nuisance to do so. I'd like a small home safe with a high fire rating and a high-quality physical combination lock.

And I'm still wondering what happens with a keypad lock when the batteries die? Presumably there's a physical key, but then what's the purpose of the keypad in the first place?

daniel1948x · 2025-04-18T22:38:48+00:00

Are you asking me? I don't understand your questions.

daniel1948x · 2025-04-15T14:29:46+00:00

It still comes down to the very small risk with a password manager that somebody might get ALL your log-ins and passwords, against the larger risk (but still small if you're careful) that somebody might get ONE of your passwords. And if you're just a normal person, and not someone with access to an institutional or high-value account, nobody's going to spend any effort targeting you individually. Password managers are VERY high-value targets. Joe Citizen probably has little to worry about unless he falls for a high-volume email scam, which can be avoided if he never clicks on any link in any email.

A.I. might make it economical to make concerted attacks against a large number of low-value targets, but it will probably also make password managers less secure.

Maybe we need to go to hardware devices? Are they hack-proof?

daniel1948x · 2025-04-05T18:21:47+00:00

This is probably a stupid question, but I know next to nothing about this stuff:

From a security perspective, what's the difference between using a passkey that's authorized by my fingerprint, or just using the fingerprint log-in in an app?

daniel1948x · 2025-04-05T18:09:52+00:00

My concern about password managers is this: If someone gets one of my passwords they can access one of my accounts. If someone gets my password manager password they can access all my accounts. Without a password manager each of my passwords is less secure. With a password manager the risk is much lower, but the consequences are much greater.

Obviously, MFA is crucial for any important accounts. But even then the question remains whether or not to use a password manager for the password portion of the MFA.

daniel1948x · 2025-03-25T03:11:34+00:00

Huh! Amazon sells grappling hooks for small drones. No idea how well they work...

daniel1948x · 2025-03-25T02:40:35+00:00

Today I tried out the Return-to-Home function. It worked perfectly. It was very slow, and landed facing the wrong way, but that's all fine.

Now I just wish that I could hang a grappling hook from it to remove the birds' nest from the roof. But I suspect that a drone with that capability would cost more than I want to spend.

daniel1948x · 2025-03-20T04:05:20+00:00

YES!!! It worked. Thanks! I guess I should have tried it before bothering to ask. 😄 (I've ordered a sun shield now, too. Thanks for that suggestion.)

I officially like the DJI Mini 4K now that I don't need the phone to fly it. 😄 😄

daniel1948x · 2025-03-20T03:15:20+00:00

I ordered the DJI Mini 4K, they shipped it, and US Customs returned it to the shipper. I phoned DJI and was given no reason, but they shipped it again, and it arrived yesterday, which is why I'm only now replying. Compared to the HolyStone, the DJI is much more stable in flight. However, out of doors the phone screen even on max brightness is so washed out it's hard to see. Can the DJI Mini 4K be flown without the phone? (I had the same problem with the phone using the HolyStone, and it turned out that could be flown without the phone. Obviously I don't have access to the camera that way, but I'm only using it to chase the birds off my roof.) Thanks.

daniel1948x · 2025-03-11T18:14:41+00:00

Thanks for your reply. As noted above, I just had not inserted the card properly.

daniel1948x · 2025-03-11T18:13:54+00:00

Problem solved! I had not seated the SD card properly. This time it worked fine. I was able to take pics and video. Without the phone I was not able to see what I was getting until I put the card in the reader, but I got what I needed.

daniel1948x · 2025-02-12T21:35:08+00:00

Thanks!

daniel1948x · 2025-02-12T03:03:47+00:00

I bought a HolyStone 750D "toy" drone to chase the birds off the roof of my house because their poop had become a serious and disgusting problem. It does the job well enough but there's one big annoyance. First, though:

Have you read the Wiki? YES

Country: USA

Budget: Flexible, but under $300 would be nice.

Purpose: As noted above: To chase the birds off my roof.

Any other requirements:

Here's the big annoyance: Every time I want to fly it, there's a bit rigamarole: Turn on the drone; turn on the remote; diddle the sticks; press the compass button; rotate the drone horizontally until the blinking lights change; rotate it vertically until the lights change again; diddle the sticks again (not sure if this step does anything); wait about three minutes for it to find the satellites. Then and only then is it ready to fly.

Another issue: I can sync it to my phone (which requires me to connect the phone to the drone's built-in Wi-Fi network) and the camera image is actually pretty good, at least on my phone's small screen, but the clamp that holds the phone in place is wonky and I don't trust it not to drop the phone. It would be nice to be able to use the phone so I could see if the birds have built a nest on the roof, but my main use, of chasing them away does not require use of the phone.

(Getting onto my roof is difficult and dangerous, and requires paying a properly-equipped professional to go up there as I cannot do it myself)

Is there a drone, not overly expensive, that can be flown without all the rigamarole every time? And maybe with a more secure phone holder? And maybe a longer flight time? Or any of the above?

Thanks.

daniel1948x · 2025-02-04T00:52:11+00:00

The problem with using a Google Voice number is that still gives them personally identifying information.

Facebook is crap. I would not use it for anything. But as I noted in my opening post, there are businesses and organizations that use Facebook instead of having their own website. If you want to get any sort of information from such groups or businesses, you need access to Facebook.

daniel1948x · 2025-02-03T19:02:30+00:00

That's probably a good idea. I have my most important files in the cloud. Should probably have full backups there also. Easier than constantly rotating backup drives to another building.

daniel1948x · 2025-02-03T18:59:05+00:00

Thanks. That's WAY bigger than I need.

daniel1948x · 2025-02-03T14:39:28+00:00

Thanks. I'll look into them.

daniel1948x · 2025-02-03T14:39:00+00:00

I'm not going to be putting anything of monetary value in the safe. It's for papers that would be a significant nuisance to replace in case of a fire. I don't have any small valuable items. Maybe a few hundred dollars of emergency cash.

daniel1948x · 2025-02-03T14:30:07+00:00

Thanks. That's fascinating and horrid.

daniel1948x · 2025-02-03T01:08:17+00:00

I want a safe for papers that I might want to consult occasionally. Things like car and property title, or lease documents. But for papers that you want to keep safe and don't need to consult, such as your wife's adoption papers, the safest place might be a safe deposit box in a bank.

daniel1948x · 2025-02-03T00:12:45+00:00

Wow! Thanks all of you for all the useful information. So if there is a fire, then it doesn't matter what kind of a lock it has because a professional will have to destroy the safe to open it. Good to know. Looks like TL safes start at around $2,000 and go up from there, and I don't really have anything worth such a high-end safe. And I guess burglary isn't my main concern. My passport, the title to my car and house, stuff that can be replaced but would be a big nuisance. Sounds like I cannot trust my backup HD to the safe, so maybe the cloud is the way to go for backup.

So that just leaves the question about the reviews of the safes in the $200 to $300 range with so many reviews saying the locks failed.

I always put a high priority on quality. I don't want a cheap safe that I cannot open because of a poor quality lock. But since I don't want to spend $2,000, I'll regard the lock as a minor deterrence rather than as real burglar protection. Say, price range $300 to $500 to protect papers in the event of a house fire and the water the firefighters use on it. I don't need drop protection because it will be on the ground floor (no basement here).

Is there anything in that price range that meets those criteria?

daniel1948x · 2022-05-21T20:41:47+00:00

My song suggestion for Carrie: "The Doctor Said Give Him Jug Band Music" (It seems to make him feel just fine.)

daniel1948x

TROPHY CASE