7 Tips For Bugging Out In The Information Age

Prep-blog.com

Whn the SHTF and you need to leave your home for parts known or unknown, you’ll want to have some way to continue being a part of the information age. If you’re like me, computing and internet access are important to your daily life. And one of the goals of prepping, in my not-so-humble opinion, is to keep your life as normal as possible in the face of disasters of every kind. So if you have to bug out, here are my tips to maintain access to the internet and keep your data safe on the road.

1. Choose a Portable Computing Device

There’s always a trade-off when choosing a computing device that small and light enough for travel. Laptops are powerful and full-featured, but a little on the heavy side. The lightest and thinnest laptops are also the most expensive. If you want small, light and inexpensive, try an ultrabook (currently as low as $450 or so) running Windows operating system.

Another good option is the new Chromebooks. They start at around $250 (as of this writing), and run Google’s Chrome operating system. You have browser access to the internet, e-mail through the browser, and you can use Google Docs for word processing and related tasks. The feature set of a Chromebook is limited; it doesn’t run programs independent of the internet. But a Chromebook boots fast, handles internet tasks well, and is small, light, and cheap.

I suppose you can always throw a tablet computer in a backpack and be good to go. But you will be limited by the lack of a physical keyboard. Tablets are good at many tasks, but if you have to type more than a few words, you’re better off with an Ultrabook or a Chromebook.

2. Water-proof it

Waterproof padded soft-shell laptop bags are inexpensive and effective. You can bug out in the rain with a laptop in your backpack and not have to worry. Aqua Quest makes a waterproof laptop bag for the Macbook, that also works fine for other computers of the same size (or smaller).

A smartphone or tablet will work in a pinch to keep in touch and informed while on the road. Otterbox makes a wide range of rugged waterproof boxes for smart phone and tablets.

You can buy a laptop that is “ruggedized” and it will resist damage from water, drops, dust, etc. But the extra cost is not worth the limited additional protection you get. Not recommended. Some smartphones are now touting a waterproof feature: Top 5 Waterproof Smartphones to Kickstart Your Summer. The problem is that most people already have a smart phone, and it doesn’t make sense to buy a new one just to get the waterproof feature.

3. Backup your data to the Cloud

It’s always possible, when you are on the road with your data, that you will lose your laptop, or it will be stolen or damaged. Any data that you have with you is vulnerable to loss. That is why you should always have your most important files backed up to the cloud (a server on the internet).

Many companies offer online storage for files. My top pick is Dropbox.com. They use 256-bit AES encryption for your data, and the software is easy to use. I find it helpful to keep a folder on my desktop computer with all the files that I am currently working on in one place. This makes it easy to back-up your most recent and most important files.

Read More Here