"Just put it on Pastebin." It's a phrase that has caused countless data breaches. While Pastebin is great for public code snippets, it is disastrous for private data.

The Risks of Pastebin

  • Public by Default: It's too easy to accidentally make a paste public or "unlisted" (which is essentially public to anyone guessing the URL).
  • No Encryption: Pastebin admins can read everything. The data is stored in plain text on their servers.
  • Scrapers: Hackers run automated bots that scrape Pastebin 24/7 looking for `API_KEY`, `password`, or `private_key` patterns. If you paste it, they have it in seconds.

The Solution: Encrypted Pastebins

You need a tool that looks like Pastebin but acts like a vault.

1. Nurbak (The Secure Pastebin)

Think of Nurbak as an encrypted usage of Pastebin. You get a link, you share it, but the data is encrypted in your browser and self-destructs after reading. No bots can scrape it because they can't decrypt it.

2. PrivateBin

A classic open-source alternative that also implements client-side encryption. Ideal for self-hosting.

3. Gist (GitHub) - Secret Mode

While convenient, Secret Gists are NOT encrypted. They differ from Pastebin only in obfuscation. Use with caution for actual secrets.

Conclusion

Never use Pastebin for anything you wouldn't shout in a crowded room. Use Nurbak to ensure your code snippets and configs remain for your eyes only.