How to Cache, Hide, And Camouflage Your Property From Looters

Today’s article is about how to cache, hide and camouflage your property, also known as OPSEC.

OPSEC is essential for every prepper( OPSEC stands for Operation Security, that’s a military term), and it basically means you must keep your stockpile secure from privy eyes.

The first rule of OPSEC is that you don’t talk about your stash! The same goes for the second rule and the third rule! Loose lips can sink ships and the whole nine yards, you know the drill!

The fewer people know about your prepping endeavor, the better. As a general rule of thumb, never store your stuff in visible places. Also, you don’t have to brag to your friends, co-workers and neighbors about your stash, or about the cool things you own. I must make a special emphasis on this stupid habit: don’t put pictures of your gear on Facebook, Instagram or wherever. In the best case scenario, you might be laughed at and mocked for being a crazy prepper; worst case scenario, you may end up reported to Homeland Security for terrorist activities, or robbed.

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But, in a SHTF situation, guess what, it gets even worse: you’ll be a piggy bank for all the people out there who know about your stash, people who are not prepared to deal with a disaster, and that makes for the vast majority of Americans. Are you ready to share your survival stash with total strangers, or you’d prefer to do that with your family and your friends? Will you be able to say no to them?

Are you willing to defend your stockpile at gunpoint against the hordes of hungry and desperate people? The easiest way to prevent these unpleasant (to say the least) things from happening is to keep your pie hole shut! If your friends and co-workers are making fun of those crazy preppers, join them, make fun of them too, don’t let anybody know that you’re one of the “chosen ones”.

Obviously, you must instruct your family members about OPSEC too, and especially your kids. Nowadays, public schools are questioning the kids about their parents’ activities i.e. if they have guns and stuff, and even FBI started to ask questions about folks buying in bulk crazy stuff like food and ammo; preppers are now associated with domestic terrorism! I mean, we’re living in a crazy world or what? In the land of the free, home of the brave, refusing  to be dependent upon the government is now regarded as domestic terrorism!

Click here to get your guide to a layered survival defense!

So, keep your mouth shut at all times and do what you have to do. It’s nobody’s business what are you doing on your property, or what you have stored inside of your house, whether it’s water, food or guns. It’s your constitutional right to do it, so just do it. Again, don’t take pictures of your stash, especially if you’re a gun enthusiast and NEVER put them on the Internet, on Facebook, Twitter or other social media platforms. I know it’s fun to do it and to compare what you have with other preppers, but you may become a target, not only for those unprepared, but for our own government that’s supposed to protect us.

Trust me, I’m not exaggerating and I am not over reacting, just read the news. In case you did not know, in case of emergencies, the US government has the right to come into your home and confiscate your extra food supplies, and I am sure they’ll do that if presented with the “opportunity”. Remember Katrina? In case you don’t remember or you did not know, various government agencies confiscated people’s guns with no reason but for the “good, safety and security” of … I don’t know exactly whom. I can’t grasp the concept of disarming people and letting them at the mercy of looters and burglars that always show up in the aftermath of natural disasters/society collapse.

In case of a SHTF situation, you should not rely on the government to protect you. You’ll be on your own, at least temporarily, and your family will depend upon you for food, protection and shelter. Obviously, we all hope that day will never come, but it’s better to be prepared for the worst case scenario while hoping for the best. Which brings us to today’s article: DIY ways to hide your stockpile, whether it’s firearms or supplies.

To begin with, the coolest thing to have in your house is tactical walls. A tactical wall can be described as a hidden compartment used for storing…well, anything, ranging from guns and ammo to food or other valuables (gold, cash, etc). To begin with, here’s a cool video on how to DIY tactical walls (hidden compartments) for storing survival gear with magnetic locks.

Another idea would be to DIY a stealth/concealed shelf.  Also, check out many videos about secret compartments in the house, including concealed cabinets, secret compartment tables, couch bunkers, and hidden storage places in the floor. When it comes to stashing your survival cache outdoors, there are plenty of options, with the only limit being your creativity. Think along the lines of abandoned wells, hollow stumps, inside old tires, suspended high-up in an evergreen tree (wrapped in camouflage tarps) or buried somewhere near, in an out-of-commission chimney, in your car, and so on and so forth.

Obviously, when you’re contemplating building a secret storage compartment or whatever, you’ll have to first determine what are you trying to hide, and size plays a big role in this equation.  Accessibility is another matter, i.e. if you’re trying to hide a weapon for self defense somewhere in the house, you’ll have to do it in such a way that you’d have quick access to it, in case an intruder shows up. Another thing to remember when building hidden caches for your survival gear is not to put all of your eggs in one basket, i.e. the more survival caches you have (preferably in different locations), the better.  If you’re going to bury (or store outdoors) your survival gear, it’s important to choose the container carefully and remember that moisture is a prepper’s biggest enemy. Waterproof plastic and metal (like aluminum or stainless steel) containers are the best, the likes of garbage cans/barrels, pelican cases and similar stuff.

I hope the article helped. If you have other ideas or comments, feel free to express yourself using the dedicated section below.

Written by

Chris Black is a born and bred survivalist. He used to work as a contractor for an intelligence service but now he is retired and living off the grid, as humanly possible. An internet addict and a gun enthusiast, a libertarian with a soft spot for the bill of rights and the Constitution, a free market idealist, he doesn't seem very well adjusted for the modern world. You can send Chris a message at editor [at] survivopedia.com.

Latest comments
  • I am disabled and I would like to help other disabled people think this stuff out. However. I don’t know how to start a blog or etc to give people ideas without compromising the security of my plans. Any ideas?

    • Well I am glad you are thinking like this; paranoid and proud of it. Wish I had ideas, I am waiting for someone to reply to your question. I am disabled but still ambulatory. Wouldn’t it have been wonderful to be ABLE to have learned this stuff when we were young and powerful?

      Thing is, most people are the fitness level I am now. UGH. No wonder we have listless, complaisant, obese, down trodden highly educated neighbors.

      I am assuming you are talking about those who can not walk, or run, or crawl or see or hear?

      I’d love to hear your ideas…What is compromising the security of your plans? Your home? I’ll watch for replies…thanks for asking this question.

      • I was born with cerebral palsy. So, learning this before I was disabled would have been impossible. Stormy, I think I have ideas about how to hide water that probably no one has thought about but if I go listing them online people will be thinking of them. I am unfortunately in an apartment so I am fairly certain that my neighbors will come demanding that I give them what they can find at some point after the SHTF .

        Talking about my ideas too in-depth or putting how to hide water videos on YouTube would be comprising security and in my case I am pretty sure that whatever isn’t well hidden will be taken

        • You don’t have to put your real name on your youtube account or blog. Make one with a pen name and share/help others as much as you want. I think it’s a wonderful idea to do so.

          • Kina, I don’t think that works, changing your name and getting a new account. You are still registered and THEY know who you are.

          • If you can get to a library or other free internet connection use a tablet, laptop or chrome book that you never use at home. This way if someone does try to trace they go down the rabbit hole as many people use these public free WIFI connections. Never turn the device on at home and have GPS turned off. If supper paranoid keep unit in aluminum brief except while using, everyone will just think that you don’t want it broken while transporting if they even notice
            Hope this helps

        • My thought is to make an obvious stash of your “useless junk”, label it as “preparedness” and let them have “all of it”., when they show up.

        • Hey Hotwheels,

          How well do you know your neighbors? Get to know them so you know who my be of assistance, and who my be trouble when SHTF.

    • I am also disabled and can barely walk around the house holding on to the walls and furniture. I can go short distances with my Canadian crutches. I live with my 85 year old mother who is also barely able to walk. I do stock up a little on food and water but when the SHTF, how will we survive? I myself am 65 and was a RN before becoming disabled gradually by post polio syndrome and spinal anomalies. We barely get by financially and the only help we have is my less disabled brother and his very disabled wife. My son lives three states away so in a crisis, that’s no help, On the event that it would be safer to move to a safer location, we cannot do that. So it is fearful to be in this situation and handicapped.

      • If we all knew about the wonderful afterlife that awaits us following our transition, we might be less anxious of the possible future down here in this material dimension.

    • You don’t need to tell anyone what you’re doing. When you visit someone, grab some ideas from their home and talk about it. We all know about inner hollow walls, false ceilings, hollows under garden beds, hidden gardens (eatable ornamental stuff like canna and so on). Talk about obvious things. Most people know about the horde of gold hidden in the early 30s under a flagstone in the walk. About hiding things under concrete in the basement. Go with instincts.

      • I’m new to this blog and I too am handicapped. Very soon I will be moving into a small çondo, cheaply built and easily accessible to by people who I would rather not come and clean out my cache. I have had to start using some things that I’ve stockpiled, because I wiĺl have very little room. I also will have almost zero storage for food, etc, that needs to be stored in a reasonable temperature range and not be exposed to extreme temperatures, which would make storage of a lot of things in the garage unsuitable, not to mention that I can barely fit my small car in it and walk around it.
        I’m going to sign in on this site and hope that we be able to help all on here and reach out to others. Thank you for sharing, Ihtak

    • You can join web sites like Minds.com using an alias. They have a function that allows you to build a blog. They do not censor.

    • Hello HW,
      You just got me thinking as a new student with CP started riding my bus yesterday. This high schooler moved to our county due to being bullied and I noticed he fit right in on my bus. Many of the students are low to lower medium income families. So, if you have gotten anywhere with a blog hit us poor people up with some added advise and ideas. Thanks again. Craig

    • I am bedbound and have managed to gather recipes for dehydrated foods. Over the past 6 years I have begun to stock up and am slowly building walls. First, get a decent list of how much food you will need for a year. I started with 3 months and then went forward. Then start stocking meds and over the counter meds. Like instead of 3 pain pills a day, take only 2 or 1 if you can. Use the oldest meds first. Don;t forget OTC and emergency first aid supplies. Then, think about water filtration and purification and storage! Tackle bathroom problems. Gather large wet wipes for cleaning body and small for toilet problems. Think about laundry – I got a portable washing bucket and an old time laundry scrubber plus detergent. Start with your food list and then begin making a list of other things you need. It is doable. But, you are starting late to be honest. Do what you can now. Don’t forget food for service animals. Best to you.

  • Hello again, Chris . . . Another Good – No, Valuable Article from your pen. You provide some really good suggestions – and “food for thought” . . . My two primary rules are 1.) No Talking -or- showing anything of your prep items – period. 2.) Making your facilities, especially hiding places, inconspicuous or better yet, invisible – This is an art. It will require a good deal of pondering and planning.- but is necessary. Example: my storage facility is a well constricted greenhouse (10 X 16) with a “root Cellar” accessable. Outside it looks like a junk pile, but it is well constructed, heated, insulated, and has facilities for cooking, living and sleeping. It is way out back in the orchard, and has No beaten trail to it. It has food, fuel, clothing, supplies, and other essentials. You could not find our place in 10 years of searching, So, I am Not worried. Defense weapons are another matter – concealed carry at home is More vital than anywhere else. Bedroom: Try an old (but looks good) CRT TV with a hinged back – close to sleeping bed. Lots more to consider. Thank You, Chris.

  • I’d love to see your hideyhole. Have you considered the satellite data they are able to get? They can SEE heated underground structures. A greenhouse as an above ground ruse is good, it will attract attention. That is the only problem. Greenhouses will be like neon lit DINERS in the future. So you would be scrutinized very closely. And hungry, thirsty people, animals have supernatural scrutiny, sense of smell, sight and hearing…

    No cooking odors allowed. That would be a big billboard. You need to get used to your own smell and how to cover it up. Using dried dung and soil for one. Toothpaste and soap can be smelled afar even by humans. Not to mention bad habits like tobacco… Growing weed? That can be detected hundreds of yards away by humans. Even with filters.

    The best thing to do is to have no attractions whatsoever. No greenhouse. No heated buildings. greenhouses need to be hidden. Good luck with that. Solar panels, hidden.

    Lights hidden.

    Generator noise hidden or gone.

    No smells of cooking.

    Hide your horses, chickens (get rid of the poor roosters…sigh, keep your dogs trained to be quiet until you give them the signal. If you have beef, pigs (love these guys) get them hidden and able to run. Indoor cats? Give them secret spot to go hide such as between floors or to get outside when you open the tunnel door.

    We are devising ‘GILLY SUITS’ for a few run to and hide spots…gilly suits for the camouflage spots.

    Trap door, tunnels, ways to close off tunnels to entrap idiots, trip wires, the bunnies have mined this land full of little ankle breakers.

    Gotta have; Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D and as far down the alphabet you are able to make plans.

    If you aren’t practicing a few scenarios, if you do not have a gun, worse, if you have a gun or rifle and no training, if you think you will be protecting yourself and your family from TERRORISTS in turbans with gnarly suntans, you are insane.

    If you think for a second that having NO GUNS allowed at all is a good thing? I wanna know who you are so I can stay away from you…Dumb and even more foolish. Turn the other cheek and God will protect you?

    It is tough to practice or think about and plan for an event (sure to happen sooner than later) when life has been so…on the surface comfortable. If a person is maxed out with stress there is no way they will be able to learn, to know and to prepare for SHTF stuff. So do not try to explain to family and friends…they will not be able to hear your words. Does that make sense? Get prepared to kill military, police, your neighbors if you want to survive. Not Muslims…good grief.. A gun is worthless unless you know it well enough to become an extension of you. I still would make sure I had one and got informed enough to expect having to shoot people you just might know. Get a mind set. Or you and your family are dead..

    • Stormy, Do Not Think “HIDDEN” – Think Diversion or false Image. Our “Greenhouse” looks like a large collection of used building materials – you would Never think “Greenhouse” to see it. Remember the magician’s trick of diverted attention – Left hand active – attention getting; Right hand does the “trick”. Insulation (Think R-21 +) will mask a lot of infrared signature – a Lot ! Smells and sounds are easily masked or diverted. Just analyze what you are doing – carefully..

      • Hey, I get it, Hotwheels. Your paranoia is critical to effect invisibility. Paranoia is simply smart. Too bad it goes against the LA LA LA feelings most people live with. we have a well and are working on a manual pump. Or we’ll have to ride the horses to the river a couple of miles away, allow the horses to drink their fill. But that is our fall back for water. We need to water the gardens as well, so it might take a couple of rides to get water. Yay. I’ll never leave my animals; 30 wildish bunnies, 12 kitties (all fixed) 30 or so Ravens, 2 100#+ dogs…they are so handsome, 2 gorgeous horses. Love4ly family…

        • Stormy, we have a hand pump in our well. It is a Simple Pump. A little more expensive, but you can hook it up to an outside hose bib and keep your pressure tank pressured. Think showers, toilets etc. Unfortunately, the static water water level has dropped below the pump, so right now it’s useless. We bartered with our well guy to give him an old Lincoln welder on a trailer for him to lower our pump another 100′. The hand pump is a great piece of mind, especially as we have horses who need lots of water.

      • Seriously beautiful ideas.. Really, R 21 would mask infrared signatures? Thanks. I love this information, Bill. I love Idaho BTW. Live4d in Moscow for 17 years.

    • Put “crow collars” on your roos, problem solved. Look at YouTube for details. You can also get away with this trick in the city.

      • my hens kept taking the crow collar off my last rooster, so was useless. I would be interested in finding an avian vet to perform the surgery.
        .

  • “Get rid of your roosters…”. They can have the vocal chords cut (cruel, I know, but when tshtf it may be necessary). Mind, I don’t know how to do it, but I’ve read, Indians in So Am do it so enemy warriors can’t find their village so easily, ergo, how hard coudl it be, (better ask a Veterinarian, don’t just experiment, lol)

  • …plus no roosters means no future chickens…try not to cut your nose off..etc, etc…

  • Absolutely. Even a small apartment has waste space between uprights in inner walls. Ceilings can be strengthened with plywood and that space used. Drop ceiling, even better. Every house should have a cistern and a crawl space under the floor. Seal things in plastic and sink them deep. A writer did that with books and documents and buried them in the cesspit of a burned out house.
    Blame God or call it good luck, I bought this house by accident. I had no real desire to live in this village, rather wanted a bigger place with some acreage. When I checked this place, just for something to do, all of a sudden I’m signing papers and bought it while living 2,000 miles away. After a few months here, I say it was God’s will. None of the other places turned out right. Either the town had a lot of crime, or was infested with zombies (liberals).
    This place is perfect for me. Mostly Native American, full-bloods, Métis, mestizos, gvnakii (black Native Americans). I fit in because all of them are ‘family’. People here are proud to be American and we wouldn’t touch a zombie (liberal, dem or RINO) with the dirty end of a stick. Here, people are often preppers because when the dnc wrecks the economy, and the Wiemar Republic is as much an icon as their master, Hitler, jobs grow scarce.
    I practice what I teach, hidden gardens. Most foods you eat were developed by Native American women. Much of it was developed by Euros as flowers, but is still eaten where it came from. Nasturtiums, canna lily roots, day lilies, scarlet runner beans, amaranth, and so on. You can have a yard full of food and most will not know what it is. Blueberries are big recommendation for wetter areas. Here, American cactus like prickly pear and saguaro was big items. Honey mesquite, every town encourages raising them for shade. Yucca for food and fiber. Back east, it’s even easier because so much is easy to raise, including desert plants. You can find varieties of prickly pear and yucca to plant under the eves for most states. A grape vine trellis here and there will also support maypops/passion fruit, hops, and so on. Hide your gardens. Plant eatable ornamental.

  • Very true about keeping secrets. I made the mistake of telling my best friend, and since covid-19 arrived he has come to me for toilet paper and food. We preps for 2, plus a dog, not for 7 adults. Regrets…

  • Friends can be a danger- one refuses to adapt (limit his contacts or increase hygiene) = I’ve assessed he is high risk and I will NOT go anywhere near him.
    His attitude prompted my lockdown because he will not be the only one with that attitude.
    Same for the elderly lady next door.
    I wish she would adapt etc
    It will hurt me to know if she suffers !!
    But I should not expose myself because of her or his lemming attitude.

    Sea rations, dehydrated food, soup packets ,energy bars, pimmican will fit in the smallest places.Store some water now and have empty vessels ready to fill if warned of cut off.

    Opspec and Gray man may help you keep them.

    “That thing you can smell ?”
    Is the sh#$ has hit the fan !!

  • Deep under a pile of old car parts, rusted junk cars, old worthless mechanical junk with a few old dead animals thrown in the mix for the aroma no one wants lies your underground utopia

  • I was telling a lady at church about stockpiling and she said she’d rather depend on God, then I end up sick and unable to go to church for several months. Then this year the pandemic hit, guess who has what’s needed. I hope she’s thinking of me. Hahaha!

    • Your post made me think of two of the greatest preppers and they are in the Bible. Both followed God’s Word and Laws and had complete faith in Him. The first was Noah, getting the Ark ready. The second was Joseph, in Egypt, prepping for seven years of famine. I believe in God and depend on Him, but I also feel that He expects us to do our part.

  • I have cousins who are serious peepers and I have become one, myself. I am researching guns/rifles now. There is a place where I can learn to shoot close to where we’ll be living in about a month. Thank you for these article and comments. I learn a great deal from them! Along with several commenters , I am disabled. However, I am mobile most days, just very little energy. Finding/building caches in a new home on a slab will be challenging but it can be done.

  • To keep anyone from knowing, just buy 2 cans of pork and beans, my nephew doesn’t eat pork, so I bought Chicken and Dumplings, Roast Beef and gravy, Turkey and gravy so he can eat too. Good that saves the BBQ’d pulled pork for me. A couple of cans, boxes or jars at a time. I’d give out to my neighbors only if they needed it. Say I had bought diapers, baby food, and wipes. I’d barter with them. What do they have that I could use? Remember to buy an extra comforter and blankets to use in winter. If you bought one in November and another in February, no one else would know, if they see it and ask questions, just say a relative is getting married and it’s for them. Even in Florida, your going to need comforters and blankets. My husband and I moved to Louisiana and the temperature was 25° every night. We didn’t have heat either. I hope this helps someone. God bless you.

  • Another approach may work, which is letting yard weeds grow in your lawn (especially edible ones (at least in the central north states). What weeds? Dandelions (all parts edible), broad and narrow leaf plantain (all parts edible and medicinal)–(not the banana shape plantain), purslane, chicory, creeping charley, lemon balm, lemon grass, clover, chives, etc. If you put out bird feeders, birds, rabbits, even squirrels will drop natural weed seeds from other places into your yard. What is great about lawn weeks is that you look poor because your yard is weedy. If people come by looking for a handout, tell them to get a trowel and dig out the food you are eating from your yard.. My yard hasn’t been poisoned for at least 20 years. Eating from poisoned yards is a no-go!.

  • Yet you still referer to your homeland as “the Land of the Free”. I totaly realise that you often do this ironically, but do you seriously believe that you are living in a free country?
    A lot of the things that you suggest would be borderline illegal, at the least. Most would be fine almost anywhere in Europe.
    I am NOT “US bashing”, but just wondered if the majority of US citizens realised how few “freedoms” they really enjoy.

  • I’m ex UK now living in Spain.
    Please explain just what freedoms we Europeans may have that they don’t have in the US ?
    Sure most countries have health care but I wouldn’t describe it as conclusive by any measure.
    Freedom is an illusion whatever country you live in !
    You still have to work,pay tax, abide by laws !
    So I’m very confused as to what you think is possibly better than the US ?
    For me freedom is not being dependent on the state for anything ( food , medicine, security, home , freedom of movement) in any survival situation most of us would need state support.
    The lone wolf idea is fundamentally flawed as I realised when I broke my back !
    Without care, medication and support, I simply would not of survived.
    So unless your a machine, I fail to grasp what “few freedoms” you are referring to ?

  • I am handicapped and have read a lot of comments from others who are in my position. I’m moving shortly from a very quiet neighborhood, a large house with basement, perfect for stockpiling, concealing, and excellent for storage of items with temperature limits. My yard also backing up to woods.
    I have for the average single person a pretty good stockpile collected over about 10 years.
    But I have had to start using some of the things, because I’m moving into a new (and of course) very cheaply made 2 bedroom condo and I will never be able fit everything I have saved into it. Many items like food and some equipment cannot be kept in places where the temperature exceeds certain limits for both hot and cold temperatures, so storing them in the garage is unsuitable.
    I have no space in the condo for false rooms or even hidden spaces and my garage is so narrow that I would never attempt backing my small sedan into it. I’m trying to come up with a solution to store these types of items to keep the temperature between 50 and no more than 80°s. I’m thinking about think Styrofoam with bunting and foil attic insulation.
    Anyway, I’m glad I found your blog and got to meet so many of you. I hope between all of us we can come up with common ideas for all and solutions for others who have unique problems.
    Thanks!
    Ihtak

  • Opsec is a tough puzzle to solve. Keeping goals secret and still being able to net work without getting burned. As we get older it is tougher to stand alone, I keeping thinking about a retirement community with self sufficiency as a primary focus. I recently retired and own acreage in the Ozarks with live water. Anyone interested? The world around us is hazardous. And becoming more so each day.

  • Here’s a reality check for the prepper / SHTF community. No matter what you do or do not spend; when it hit’s your door thats when the game changes. If your broke, buy one item extra on your need it list everytime you get a check. sell off some of the “junk” that will become irrelivent when SHTF happens. Stop impulse buying on ebay and learn (there are thousands of video’s on youtube by self proclaimed experts”) teach your self to depend on no one but yourself. Action is a requirement in the SHTF scenario.. If your not willing to make some type of sacrifice; it won’t matter when it really matters cause you’ll join the thousands who “Should have done something”.

  • I’m totally opposite. I’m a preparedness advocate and very sharing of all I know EXCEPT about others. I’m militia and politically active. I never use disposable pseudonyms and I stand behind what I say with my name and reputation, so people who know me have confidence. An example is Republican delegates tend to vote my way or even change their choice based upon what I say knowing it to be credible. That has happened many times. It also gives a voice to our military servicemen to have me say what needs to be said while protecting confidentiality. It’s not for everyone, but one of us publicly speaking has value for all of us. I’m not risk adverse. I ski off cliffs for no good reason other than fun and skill development. But, risks can be mitigated and by some better than others. Example: In advocating preparedness, a good thing, there is always a communist ring leader and here is an exact quote after ridiculing preparedness: “But, IF it does happen, we know where to go to demand our fair share!” To that, I smile to myself knowingly, thinking no, you don’t. Most aren’t in position to mitigate such risk as they are settled in location with family and extended family, friends of family and family of friends, so this articleia applicableto them. But, my circumstances are different, not having that where I am and having preparedness elsewhere. When the time comes for a gang to “… demand their fair share,” I simply won’t be there. I will establish strongholds of freedom for those who will needed in the harsh times to come and I will offer to them with their families an out with protected transportation for when their situation is untenable.

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