Tuesday Sweep: 24 April 1018
Your REVAMPED weekly reminder to back up your data, update software and otherwise pay attention to your digital environment. (Oh, and to head to the CRASH Space meeting…)
This fourth Tuesday Sweep of the revised zone system has been a hard to decide on. For now I’m going to stick with my first instinct, “Do No Harm.” This one can be pretty specific to our particular subculture, as makers of things and software ensuring that what we put online doesn’t become “part of the problem.”
On the Repo: https://crashspace.github.io/tuesday/tuesdaysweep/2018/04/24/tuesday-sweep.html
See All The Zones So Far: https://crashspace.github.io/tuesday/sweep/
Jump in Here
- Welcome. If you haven’t been following along, it’s okay. You’re not behind, you’re just where you are.
- Need a instant pick me up? Jump straight to our Easy Wins.
- There are more recommendations under Start Here.
- Feeling more ambitious? Review the list of OneThing articles and pick one to catch up on.
Sweep
Weekly Basics
- Update main computer(s), phone(s) and tablet(s).
- Confirm that backup system(s) for your main computer(s), phone(s) and tablet(s) have run.
- Check snail mail.
- Clean out wallet/purse/laptop bag.
- Check junk mail folder for anything suspicious.
- Check the news for what’s up for a vote, or just went to a vote. Call your representatives to both to express your opinion and to say Thank You if they voted how you hoped they would.
This Week’s Focus: Zone 4 – Do No Harm
Start Up
- Write a list of all the websites you run, hardware projects that are online, software bots, 3D printers, etc.
- HTTPS… everywhere. Make a goal for no unencrypted traffic for anything. It’s a good step one.
- Research the best practices for each project to the best of your ability. Here are a few papers targeting different aspects of the problems, sadly, none targeted at the hobbyist. (I’ll keep looking.)
Maintain
- Update, backup everyone on the list from the startup section. If something presents too much of a hassle to maintain, consider unplugging it/shutting down. Better off than a bot.
- If you found a security problem in one of your projects, announce and update the documentation so others will fix their versions, too. Don’t be embarrassed. It’s a hard problem. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s how they get fixed that matters.
- If you’ve found a security problem in someone else’s project… ideal world advice… do your best to make sure they get a polite heads up before you announce it with some lead time to develop a fix. Not forever, but some. Sadly, this isn’t an ideal world, but you can call your representative(s) to make security research (and thus the whole darn internet) safer for everyone.
- A friend has a great phrase she uses with her kids – “Hey, are you filling [your sibling’s] sails or taking the air out?” She’s reminding them that they’re on the same team, and that it’s better to be motivating than demotivating. People who make things… we’re a tribe. When talking about other people’s projects, try communicating in a way that moves them forward rather than swamps them into inaction. Community, it’s the best and the worst, and it’s up to us.
Learn
Where do you scan for news?
- Check out the links on the News and Updates page.
- Interesting article, but it doesn’t exactly fall into the Relax category… “Buildings are the most concrete clue to how tech giants are reshaping the world“
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
- Like going to conferences? Maybe one is coming up!
- Show up at CRASH Space.
Relax
Learning things completely off-topic gives the brain a break. To that end Crash Course’s Anatomy & Physiology playlist teaches about the body… while letting you stay on your computer to do it! Its’ animated. it’s got jargon. It’s Crash Course. Win. Win. Win.