This is something I've thought about, and as I see it a lot of the problems common to crypto software are manifest in this space as well. Specifically with regard to security vs useability/ease-of-adoption issues.<p>This particular implementation transmits sensitive data in the clear and does the encryption server-side, so it's hard to take it seriously except as a remote (and unsecure) notification service.<p>Aside from that obvious shortcoming, a truly secure and reliable DMS system would need the following properties, possibly more:<p>1. All data encrypted client side and sent to system only in encrypted form<p>2. Anonymous<p>3. Distributed (no single point of failure for DDOS attacks or subpoenas)<p>4. Any data sent into the DMS system is split into several pieces and only reassembled after the set time without a response has elapsed and the switch is triggered<p>A peer-to-peer application that transmits data exclusively via TOR would probably be most secure, but it's unclear what the motivation for running an instance of this kind of P2P application would be (since it's all encrypted you aren't downloading anything useful) or how many people would actively participate. Any server-based system would need to have a large number of servers in multiple countries to be robust to technical and legal challenges, and that sounds expensive. At the same time, a reliable and anonymous DMS system is something that I can see people paying a small subscription fee for.<p>Any way you slice it, it seems like there are a lot of hard problems to solve in this area, but a reliable DMS service would be extremely useful.
I wish there was a better way of determining whether you were alive or not.<p>There's an endless number of possibilities as to what could happen in order for me to not be able to go online and verify with that link. Why would I put myself through the stress of potentially forgetting and now I have to worry about the secrets of my dying breathe being released to the public while I'm still around.<p>If I wanted anything to be taken care of I'd feel much safer keeping it in offline storage with a note attached.<p>What I think you should do is have a tiered level of notifications. For example an email every week is the first round of notifications. Then I wonder if you could pull my last login info from major services that are going to be around for awhile like Amazon, Google, Apple, Facebook(debatable), and if I havent logged into any of those services in 1 week, then go to the final round of notifications which is an in-person phone call.
This is an idea that has been around in various forms for a number of years. A number of other sites have popped up but like a number of people have already said, I don't trust random third parties with the keys to my online life.
Excellent way to make money :)<p>Just run this service for a few years without actually encrypting the data, then charge $20/month to NOT release the information.
Better solution?<p>Google Inactive Account Manager <a href="https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036514" rel="nofollow">https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3036514</a><p>And for sending emails in the future:<p>Boomerang for Gmail <a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/boomerang-for-gmail/mdanidgdpmkimeiiojknlnekblgmpdll" rel="nofollow">https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/boomerang-for-gmai...</a>
It broke:
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Could not open file (/tmp/deadmansswitch//Apache-Session-1d3379ba5947e7943750160d5cfee2c7.lock) for writing: No space left on device at /usr/local/share/perl/5.14.2/Apache/Session/Lock/File.pm line 75.
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Interesting site. Hope it is difficult to break into.<p>Does anyone know what happened with the woman who put up a post on Facebook (I think) saying that if people didn't hear back in a certain amount of time, she had last been to visit some guy? I am having a hard time finding the HN link.
One of my favorite short stories of all time is titled Death Switch, written by David Eagleman. It is about this idea extrapolated, well worth a read : <a href="http://deathswitch.com/deathswitch.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://deathswitch.com/deathswitch.pdf</a>
I don't think anyone's said it yet, but... this is what an attorney is for. This website is stupid.<p>It's bad enough to trust any confidential information completely to a third party, let alone a website that could lose your information or go defunct in a few years. At least disclosures to attorneys are legally protected to the n-th degree, and the business is brick-and-mortar with a known location.<p>Add to that the fact that a regular e-mail is something that could easily be forgotten about, caught by a spam e-mail, lost when you switch accounts, etc. The problems with this idea are endless
I too have thought about this. How am I going to pass on my account information/bitcoins and other secret detective work?<p>My idea was to open a security box in a bank that contained hand written keys to open an encrypted password store in some publicly accessible location.<p>If I died, that security box should go to the next family members who would be the only ones that can get access to it.<p>I fear there are loop-holes in that idea now..
This seems like a good option if I am ever in an action movie and I need to tell the bad guy that all of the information will be released to CNN and the NYT if anything happens to me.<p>If I come up with something I can't tell my wife while I am alive, I will probably just put it in my will.
I wouldn't trust a random service like this with anything worth putting on a dead man's switch. At a minimum you should use PGP, but sadly most the people I'd want to use this with have no idea what PGP is. Maybe Keybase.io will eventually help with that.
I've thought about that service a lot and this solution is not working because :<p>* I have to constantly check my mails to prove I'm not dead<p>* The other person's mail will without any doubt change if I die in 10+ years<p>* Can this service live up to 50+ years? I'm really doubting that as well.
Hmm I don't like the idea of involving a third (untrusted party) with what could be basically the key to your whole online identity.<p>I would love to see a system which allows your heirs to access online accounts without having to fear that a simple government request will hand them everything they need on a silver plate (including stuff not obviously related to you).<p>Probably physical objects need to be involved (code on paper etc) but then again how to make sure the next best burglar doesn't get the prize of his lifetime.<p>Does anyone know of such a solution?
Please no one actually use this. There is no reason to trust this site with sensitive information, and there is even some evidence it may no longer be maintained (see logn's comment.)
I like it. There should also be a "delete" feature in addition to notification. Sort of a self-destruct dropbox (in the generic sense) to contain your most private and personal data -- bits you want to "take to the grave" with you, so to speak. They only exist there for as long as you respond to the ping, otherwise they're deleted. Maybe it's already thought about by the creators, but it's not apparent in the description. My $0.02
I bought deadmansswit.ch a couple of years ago and started building something similar to this, at least in terms of the "do something useful when a period of time with no contact had elapsed", but none of the "do something useful"s required needing your credentials for anything.<p>Domain is freely available again, I gave up on the project and rolled the useful code into something else.
I'm curious, when would you actually use this?<p>I mean obviously the imagination readily conjures up movie scenarios, 'if anything happens to me your nefarious plans for world domination will be sent to the New York Times!' but in real life the evil overlord could counter that in half a dozen ways.<p>Is anyone here looking to use such a service, and if so, for what sort of purpose?
For a second I thought this was a link to <a href="https://deadmanssnitch.com" rel="nofollow">https://deadmanssnitch.com</a>, which is a fantastically simple cronjob monitor.
I thought of something similar to send tweets from the grave, you add an app to twitter and it'll start tweeting messages after you stop tweeting for 2 years.
I think an app on your phone is a better way, if the phone has not moved in the last 24 hours or whatever, then an email could be sent. Something like that.