Tuesday Sweep: 12 March 2018

Your weekly reminder to back up your data, update software and otherwise pay attention to your digital environment. (Oh, and to go to the CRASH Space meeting…)

(Post on Repo)

So I read an article yesterday about how folks in a small town in Indiana had gotten mad, and then largely gotten over, the deportation of one of their local business leaders. It would be really easy to point the finger at these folks as uniquely callous, but I read it while having an interview with Paul Bloom on why humans are cruel open in another tab.   No one gets to point a finger, really. Large scale evil doesn’t happen because of psychopaths. There aren’t enough of them. Large scale evil happens because folks just try to get through their day minimizing discomfort.  That’s so… natural. In addition to technology choices, we make clothing choices, food choices, transportation choices, job choices, investment choices, entertainment choices largely reflexively because we all just have too much to think about to examine every decision everyday.  Building sweeps like this into your life means putting time in the calendar to be uncomfortable so when decision time comes you’ll already know where you stand.

These boundaries matter, and yet the interview with Bloom shows how hard it can be for people to stand outside of what appears to be a social consensus. Standing your ground can mean practicing saying “No” to people and groups who feel hard to say no to.

Jump in Here

• Welcome. If you haven’t been following along, it’s okay. You’re not behind, you’re just where you are.
• The coach tool at the Crash Override Network has a great step by step break down that makes it really easy to start.
• If that site doesn’t fit your needs or you want more, that’s okay, there are more recommendations under Start Here on the repo.
• Feeling more ambitious? Review the list of OneThing articles and pick one to catch up on.

Sweep

The basics slightly revised and with a printable checklist.

• Updated software recently? Pick a new device to check on today.
• Backups still up and running? When was the last time you made a clean disk image? Here’s a new great article on how to design a backup system.
• App, Password Gardening: Delete a low quality app from your phone or delete an account that you don’t need that doesn’t make you happy. Digital cruft builds up. Delete it. If you’re keeping it, can you move the password to your password manager (delete it from everywhere else) and add two factor authentication?
• Stored WiFi networks can be used to profile your computer and find out places you’ve been. Weed them out.
• Move to offline archive & delete your histories where you can find them.
• Double check privacy settings on your phone, social media accounts. The folks running the companies can change the TOS and add “features” before you notice them.

Learn

Where do you scan for news?

• This past weekend was SCaLE 16x and I totally forgot to mention it last week!! Headsmack. Can you believe that videos are already available. The SGVLUG pretty much super rocks.
• 2018 Hackaday Prize is here. Theme: Build Hope.
• To follow up on last week‘s machine learning as security hole, Schneier readers have provided a whole slew of links. I find this area of research more fascinating than scary for the metaphysics of it all. Yum.
• Also tasty are these punycode exploits. I love anything that messes with how humans collect data vs how machines do. I get it. I’m weird.
• When building a product or service, it’s an interesting Use Case scenario to imagine what if the person using your product or service turns out to have an abusive spouse? What conveniences become threats? This represents less of an edge case than anyone would want. via Schneier
• Does your bank protect your security well? Krebs talks about how some banks still use publicly available static identifiers and why that risks everybody.
• Episode 3 of Adafruit’s Women in Hardware series features Tia Cassett, Senior Director of Product Management at Qualcomm.
• 2008’s What hackers learn that the rest of us don’t (PDF) by Sergey Bratus via @pvineetha
• Russia, fake news, algorithms and human nature, Editions for Facebook, YouTube, Reddit,  and Twitter
• Ghostery’s gone Open Source and updated their business model.
• Dance, shy robot, Dance.

Reflect

Feeling dumb or stupid about how not-l33t you are? Angsting over some silly thing you “know better than to do.” Stop. That isn’t useful. Regret is only of use if it prompts an actual change in behavior. Maybe it’s NOT you that sucks. Could be it’s the technology and you could come up with a fix that would help lots of people. Look forward and make a plan.

Engage

We are a community. You are a welcome part of it.

•  Did you learn something cool in your sweep? Make something? Share it!
• Speak up
• Give (New!! The Signal Foundation)
• Like going to conferences? Maybe one is coming up!
• Show up at CRASH Space tonight!

Relax

If you aren’t already familiar, welcome to the hypnotic world of giphs by David Szakaly AKA davidpope.  Recommended reading – Brief History of Animated Gifs