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Posted by eljojo 5 hours ago

Show HN: If you lose your memory, how to regain access to your computer?(eljojo.github.io)
Due to bike-induced concussions, I've been worried for a while about losing my memory and not being able to log back in.

I combined shamir secret sharing (hashicorp vault's implementation) with age-encryption, and packaged it using WASM for a neat in-browser offline UX.

The idea is that if something happens to me, my friends and family would help me get back access to the data that matters most to me. 5 out of 7 friends need to agree for the vault to unlock.

Try out the demo in the website, it runs entirely in your browser!

82 points | 79 commentspage 2
moltymolt 4 hours ago||
That's an interesting idea. It's a good solution to the problem of sharing all your passwords with your loved ones posthumously. Typically that'd involve keeping everything in a vault which will automatically be released to your person of choice if you failed to reset it. The annoying part is having to reset it indefinitely. I like your idea where you share it with multiple people in advance but they would have to collectively decide to unlock it.
eljojo 2 hours ago|
exactly! my hope is to offload some trust to the collective of my friends
modeless 3 hours ago||
For this purpose Google offers "Inactive Account Manager" AKA a dead man's switch.
couchdive 2 hours ago||
3 months of non-use is the lowest term available before it will enact. That's too long for most situations except maybe probate court
eljojo 2 hours ago||
I don't use Google :(
lucenet 3 hours ago||
Write down the password, print out recovery codes. Store them in separate buildings.

Tell someone you trust about where you left these pieces of paper.

notepad0x90 3 hours ago|
a safe-deposit box at a bank works ok too.
rkagerer 2 hours ago||
Nice! Good to see some tooling in this space explicitly designed for simplicity and user-friendliness.

One practical problem to consider is the risk of those distributed bundles all ending up on one or two major cloud provider's infra because your friends happened to store them someplace that got scooped up by OneDrive, GDrive, etc. Then instead of the assumed <threshold> friends being required for recovery, your posture is subtley degraded to some smaller number of hacked cloud providers.

Someone using your tool can obviously mitigate by distributing on fixed media like USB keys (possibly multiple keys to each individual as consumer-grade units are notorious for becoming corrupted or failing after a time) along with custodial instructions. Some thought into longevity is helpful here - eg. rotating media out over the years as technology migrates (when USB drives become the new floppy disks) and testing new browsers still load up and correctly run your tool (WASM is still relatively new).

Some protocol for confirming from time to time that your friends haven't lost their shares is also prudent. I always advise any disaster recovery plan that doesn't include semi-regular drills isn't a plan it's just hope. There's a reason militaries, first responders, disaster response agencies, etc. are always doing drills.

I once designed something like this using sealed paper cards in identified sequence - think something like the nuclear codes you see in movies. Annually you call each custodian and get them to break open the next one and read out the code, which attests their share hasn't been lost or damaged. The routine also keeps them tuned in so they don't just stuff your stuff in an attic and forget about it, unable to find their piece when the time comes. In this context, it also happens to be a great way to dedicate some time once a year to catch up (eg. take the opportunity to really focus on your friend in an intentioned way, ask about what's going on in their life, etc).

The rest of my comments are overkill but maybe fun to discuss from an academic perspective.

Another edge case risk is of a flawed Shamir implementation. i.e. Some years from now, a bug or exploit is discovered affecting the library you're using to provide that algorithm. More sophisticated users who want to mitigate against that risk can further silo their sensitive info - eg. only include a master password and instructions in the Shamir-protected content. Put the data those gain access to somewhere else (obviously with redundancy) protected by different safeguards. Comes at the cost of added complexity (both for maintenance and recovery).

Auditing to detect collusion is also something to think about in schemes like these (eg. somehow watermark the decrypted output to indicate which friends' shares were utilized for a particular recovery - but probably only useful if the watermarked stuff is likely to be conveyed outside the group of colluders). And timelocks to make wrench attacks less practical (likely requires some external process).

Finally, who conducted your Security Audit? It looks to me as if someone internal (possibly with the help of AI?) basically put together a bunch of checks you can run on the source code using command line tools. There's definitely a ton of benefit to that (often the individuals closest to a system are best positioned to find weaknesses if given the time to do so) and it's nice that the commands are constructed in a way other developers are likely to understand if they want to perform their own review. But might be a little misleading to call it an "audit", a term typically taken to mean some outside professional agency is conducting an independent and thorough review and formally signing off on their findings.

Also those audit steps look pretty Linux-centric (eg. Verify Share Permissions / 0600, symlink handling). Is it intended development only take place on that platform?

Again, thanks for sharing and best of luck with your project!

croisillon 3 hours ago||
i thought 3M had already invented the best password safe ;)
eljojo 1 hour ago||
lol i'm so neurodivergent i had to read this 5 times to understand 3M didn't just get into the encryption business
lucb1e 8 minutes ago||
Want to clue a brother in?

Edit: wait, sticky notes maybe? I thought they were a tape company (I'm not sure they're active in my country) but it just occurred to me that maybe they sell other office supplies as well

ddtaylor 2 hours ago||
I think 3M also sells a $5 wrench.
JTbane 3 hours ago||
master password on paper hard copy
eljojo 2 hours ago|
that's so scary though! what if someone has access to it? or it gets lost when you need it?
9x39 1 hour ago|||
Well, there's power of attorney, which centralizes massive authority over your life with someone else, and yet people do so because when you pick right, it's a useful system.

I'm trying to think of how this survives friends (who come and go in your life) having to coordinate. Then again, some people really did have PGP key signing parties...

seb1204 2 hours ago|||
I think this is when you need to evaluate your thread scenario. A) self-made crypto accessible through web or browser that any cracker can find through www and use machine clusters to run on or AI to work on etc. B) physical home invasion that are interested in one of your A4 papers with some random words that have only meaning to you and few trustees.
BoredPositron 3 hours ago||
Yubikey
registeredcorn 3 hours ago|
I explicitly make it so I cannot regain access to my computer in the event that my memory becomes faulty.

I would be in an impaired state, and cannot function in way that would be conducive to either work or pleasure in terms of computer use.

That is to say, the entire reason why I have password security at all is to keep out people who do not know the password. If someone does not know the password, they should not be able to access the system. That obviously and clearly applies to myself as much as any other person. "If you do not know it, then you do not need it."

saltcured 2 hours ago||
I agree in broad strokes. If I am incapacitated, that is when things like durable power-of-attorney, medical advance directives, and living trusts come into play.

The important thing is to ensuring your computer is not a single point of failure. Instead of losing a password, you could have theft, flood, fire, etc. Or for online accounts, you are one vendor move away from losing things. None of these should be precious and impossible to replace. I've been on the other side of this, and I think the better flow is to terminate or transfer accounts, and wipe and recycle personal devices.

A better use of your time is to set up a disaster-recovery plan you can write down and share with people you trust. Distribute copies of important data to make a resilient archive. This could include confidential records, but shouldn't really need to include authentication "secrets".

Don't expect others to "impersonate" you. Delegate them proper access via technical and/or legal methods, as appropriate. Get some basic legal advice and put your affairs in order. Write down instructions for your wishes and the "treasure map" to help your survivors or caregivers figure out how to use the properly delegated authority.

catlifeonmars 3 hours ago|||
What if you forgot your password but retained all other memories?
wavemode 2 hours ago|||
Well see, that's why I keep my "password" memory stored snugly next to "breathing" and other such. If I'm walking around conscious, then I must still know my password.
eljojo 2 hours ago|||
asking the real questions here
esafak 3 hours ago||
No family, eh?
seb1204 2 hours ago||
Maybe but does not want to share the pics or tax return.