Tuesday Sweep: 25 July 2017
Okay okay, so I have a cat-addled brain, but here… JUUUUUUUSSSST under the wire is your weekly reminder to back up your data, update software and otherwise pay attention to your digital environment. (Oh, and I hope you went 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.
- Feeling more ambitious? Review the list of OneThing articles and pick one to catch up on.
Sweep
The basics.
- 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 and 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?
- 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?
- So many IoT cat toys… so many security flaws. But it’s still interesting to survey the landscape!
- Where, oh where, PetNet.io do you state what data is being collected by your IoTDevice-App-Service-SmartHome Integrating web 3.0 nightmare device? No where. That’s where. AAAAACCKKKK!
- Make you own Crashers, make your own. So many cat projects profiled on Hack-a-Day and Instructables… so so many. Special mention should go out to Benjamin Millam for using electronics to get his cat to hunt for his food. Cat Toys were a major inspiration behind Making Things Talk by Tom Igoe. 3rd Edition is coming out!
- From the PRAGMA Conference 2015 Sally Shepherd “Embracing the Internet of Things for Cats 🐱“
- Andrew Keane Woods uses Cat and Mouse analogy to discuss alternatives to government mandated encryption backdoors. (via Schneier)
- DEFCON is this weekend
- Adobe ceasing support for FLASH is excellent security news. You shouldn’t have that installed anywhere on your computer!
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.
