If you’re reading this, you’re probably aware that I am something of a nutbar about digital security and the dangers of the Internet. Maybe it’s just because I read enough scary stories about it, or at least scary comments about it, that keeps the vast majority of my private or even quasi-private info OFF-line.
This is why the incredible convenience of spilling your virtual guts to some strange server you’ll never meet drives me insane.
Case in point (and one that I think of around the first of every month) is Mint.com. This is not the first time I’ve brought it up, and I’m sure I haven’t heard the last of it, either. I may have been moved to action over the summer when Gina Trapani brought up her struggles with handing a THIRD PARTY YOUR BANKING PASSWORDS in a blog post. It really sounded like she had similar security concerns and comparable complaints about the inefficiencies of her previous system. That, and the tools within the Mint service seem pretty tough to beat.
I still need to talk myself into it, or get someone to offer additional endorsement, but I’m going to strongly consider the Mint option. After all, I was willing to concede my email server to the Googles after a 4.5-day Internet outage at my house, and I’m contemplating a more tangible presence on Facebook, so maybe I’m warming up to the idea of my personal 1’s and 0’s flying aroudn the tubes.
I have a lot of reading to do with Mint’s privacy policies and data storage methods, but maybe it will save me some time next month and in the future.