Tuesday Sweep: 23 January 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…)

Jump in Here

• Welcome. If you haven’t been following along, it’s okay. You’re not behind, you’re just where you are.
• I highly recommend the coach tool at the Crash Override Network has a great step by step break down for many of the same introductory steps we did here. There’s a new one on the street: https://securityplanner.org Haven’t used it but it comes recommended by people I trust.
• 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?

• Around Town
  • SparkleCon this weekend
  • IoT and Victorian manners talk… January 30th at the Hack-a-Day January Meetup
• Just this December Ursula K. Le Guin released a new non-fiction collection. Now we have to say good-bye to this Hugo, Nebula and Locus winning author. She was 88 years old.
• Exhausted by the vagaries of cryptocurrency, but not sure what to do with your rig? Dedicate it science. World Wide Community Grid, Einstein@Home and many other projects use the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) to drive their projects. Heck, even if you are still dedicated to cryptocurrency mining, consider of spending 5% of your compute time on something that helps everyone.
• Victim of Ransom Ware? You might have an easy out. Check No More Ransom if your ransom ware already has known keys or work arounds (via Schneier)
• A good basic IoT security for end users list from Krebs.
• Be careful what browser extension you install. Some can become very hard to remove.
• If you didn’t travel during the holidays, or are limiting your travel to the US because of fear of warentless searches of electronic devices at the boarder, relief is under consideration by the 9th Circuit Court. (via EFF Deeplinks)

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
• Show up at CRASH Space tonight!

Relax

Pottery YouTube is another place to get lost. Here is Hsinchuen Lin throwing a tall flower vase.