I will probably always use my computer logged in as administrator.  I tried it the other way and it was a royal pain in the neck.  However......

My Data...
I don't have to get to the vital documents & correspondance very often - not more than an average of once or twice a day, so I have EVERY important piece of data on my PC in zipped and passworded folders with a 12-random-character password with alpha-numeric-symbol characters.  It is 12 characters, though, not 20.  I do use Roboform, also with this password.  If I have a phone bill or a canceled check I want to save, I always immediately add it to the encrypted file to which it belongs and delete the original.  I think my data is safe.  Do you think I need something more there?

My PC...
I use a Linksys hardware firewall, Z
oneAlarm software firewall, Avast anti-virus (which now not only scans both email attachment and message, it also directs all web pages through a proxy and scans them before delivering them to me).  I also run spyware and adware preventers/removers.  I don't do music or download "free" screensavers, toolbars, etc. and Yahoo is probably the worst site I visit. My email is sorted coming in and I don't open emails that I don't recognize (I view the contents via Properties if it looks like it might be legitimate).

My Documents are on a separate partition on my primary drive.  I backup the My Documents partition and a few application data files from Program Files at least daily and clone my WinXP/Programs partition to different physical hard drive frequently.  Do you think I need more?  I don't WANT to have to restore a clone, but I can, if something happens (I keep every downloaded item with keys, etc. in case I need to reinstall something).

I
f someone does manage to hack my PC, the important (to me) thing is that all my medical, legal, identity, financial, etc. documents are encrypted and passworded, as described above.  I don't encrypt my backups (exact duplicate of My Documents and certain data files from Program Files to a different physical drive) because everything in there that needs encrypting is already encrypted.

My main concern is my personal data (financial, legal, medical, identity, etc.) is safe.  I do want to be sure that this is adequately protected.  Do you believe that WinZip 256-bit AES encryption with a 12-random-character password is insufficient for this purpose?  Why would anyone spend that much time trying to crack into a lil ole home PC like mine (that claims to be invisible to the internet)?

I have one data file that contains pretty much everything - personal, software keys, phone numbers, everything vital.  This is encrypted as above and named and bur
ied under folders that no one would find interesting (I have many hundreds of folders - I save articles & correspondance & scanned items, etc.).  I back the data file up to floppy & CD occasionally, also.

I've had people tell me my machine is like Fort Knoxx, but if 12-characters is not enough, I want to be sure my data files are safe.  Particularly as I am logged on as administrator.  I can replace the Windows/Programs partition with a clone, but I want my documents safe.  I can enter my 12 character key in a jiffy, even with only one hand, so I don't need to relinquish my mouse.  Naturally, I don't want to use a 20-character key if it isn't really necessary, because I use this key so often during every day.

Do I REALLY need a 20-char key versus a 12-char one, or is that pretty much overkill?  What say you guys?

Thanks,
AnnaSummers

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