Data Protection Teaching Song

[Gary McGath]

When I learned of a filker who lost most of her song files because an
app was deleted, I thought a song like this could be useful.


Data Protection Teaching Song
Lyrics: Gary McGath
Music: Frank Hayes, "Never Set the Cat on Fire"
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
4.0 International License.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Free distribution is encouraged.

Don't keep your files just on your phone
If you don't want to lose them.
If things go wrong, you'll weep and groan
When there's no way to use them.
Phones can get lost, so just in case,
Save copies in a trusted place.
Don't keep your files just on your phone.

Refrain:
And mind your data, to make sure it remains your own.
Don't keep your files just on your phone.

Encrypt your whole directory
On anything that's mobile.
That leaves nothing for thieves to see,
Which is a goal that's noble.
Encryption makes it extra hard
For crooks to get your credit card.
Encrypt your whole directory.

Don't use one password everywhere
Or set it to your cat's name.
Those password crackers don't play fair,
They'll chuckle and say, "That's lame."
Use passwords that are hard to guess,
At least ten characters, no less.
Don't use one password everywhere.

Don't open up a file attached
To email from a stranger.
It could unleash a plot that's hatched
To put your stuff in danger.
If you find out that you've been phished,
The outcome won't be what you wished.
Don't open up a file attached.

Don't click upon an link received
That says you are in trouble.
The odds are high you'll be deceived
And then your woes will double.
Log in with bookmarks that you've saved
And you'll stay clear of sites depraved.
Don't click upon a link received.
--
Gary McGath http://www.mcgath.com

[Arthur T.]

In Message-ID:<t63fff$udj$1...@dont-email.me>,

Gary McGath <ga...@REMOVEmcgathREMOVE.com> wrote:

>I learned of a filker who lost most of her song files because an
>app was deleted

This is one of the most tragic things I've read here. Yes, more
tragic even than reports of deaths, because deaths, while sad, are
inevitable.

I wrote a data backup filk a while back. I won't repeat it. (For one
thing, yours is more general.) But, for people who still have data
they could lose, here are a few nuggets from my quotes file:

Remember the rule: no one ever wants backups, but everyone always
wants restores. - Bruce Schneier

Also, have you ever seen someone who has lost their phone? Not only
are they devastated and powerless, but they suddenly become catatonic
when you ask, "Of course, all your data is backed up, isn't it"?
- Michael Kowalchuk in Risks

If it's in only one place, it's not backed up. - Leo Notenboom

Back to me:

Multiple-terabyte USB drives are cheap. Backup software is anywhere
from free to inexpensive. Remember the motto of World Backup Day:
"Don't be an April Fool. Be prepared. Back up your files on March
31st." If you missed March 31st, do it now. (And, preferably, more
often than once a year.)

--
Arthur T. - ar23hur "at" pobox "dot" com

[Gary McGath]

On 5/18/22 7:15 PM, Arthur T. wrote:
> In Message-ID:<t63fff$udj$1...@dont-email.me>,
> Gary McGath <ga...@REMOVEmcgathREMOVE.com> wrote:
>
>> I learned of a filker who lost most of her song files because an
>> app was deleted
>
> This is one of the most tragic things I've read here. Yes, more
> tragic even than reports of deaths, because deaths, while sad, are
> inevitable.
>
> I wrote a data backup filk a while back. I won't repeat it. (For one
> thing, yours is more general.)

I wrote the song because there was little useful advice I could give
this person. My strong area is digital preservation, not data recovery,
so I can give advice on how not to get into such a situation (and in
fact have a whole book on the subject) but can't say a lot on how to get
out of it.

Here's an updated version with one more verse.

Don't keep your files just on your phone
If you don't want to lose them.
If things go wrong, you'll weep and groan
When there's no way to use them.
Phones can get lost, so just in case,
Save copies in a trusted place.
Don't keep your files just on your phone.

Refrain:
And mind your data, to make sure it remains your own.
Don't keep your files just on your phone.

Encrypt your whole directory
On anything that's mobile.
That leaves nothing for thieves to see,
Which is a goal that's noble.
Encryption makes it extra hard
For crooks to get your credit card.
Encrypt your whole directory.

Don't use one password everywhere
Or set it to your cat's name.
Those password crackers don't play fair,
They'll chuckle and say, "That's lame."
Use passwords that are hard to guess,
At least ten characters, no less.
Don't use one password everywhere.

Watch out for email from a friend
That asks you to send money.
Does it sound like something they'd send,
Or is the wording funny?
A plea for gift cards is a sign
That this request could be malign.
Watch out for email from a friend.

[Arthur T.]

In Message-ID:<t63fff$udj$1...@dont-email.me>,
Gary McGath <ga...@REMOVEmcgathREMOVE.com> wrote:

>Data Protection Teaching Song
>Lyrics: Gary McGath
>Music: Frank Hayes, "Never Set the Cat on Fire"
>This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike
>4.0 International License.
>http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
>Free distribution is encouraged.

I forgot to thank you for the CC license. This should be spread far
beyond those few of us left here on Usenet.

[Scott Dorsey]

I suggest this might be followed by Tom Smith's "Hard Drive Calypso."
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."