Super Simple Security Principles
Learn how to think not what to think.
Episodes
Even a Security Expert Can Get Phished
Episode summaryToday's priority for our email workshop is learning how to dodge the phishers. Too often the only advice we hear is: don't click the wrong thing. While true, that also means living in a state of what Mad-Eye Moody calls constant vigilance! That sounds exhausting.
The real problem is that email was never designed with strong safeguards against imp...
The second priority of our email workshop is eliminating spam. It’s one of the biggest sources of email stress -- see episode 86 for why this matters so much.
Cutting out spam also removes most phishing attempts before they ever reach you. Yet many people see spam like death and taxes: unavoidable.
I’m here to tell you that spam IS avoidable. With the right tools -- an...
The first priority of our email workshop is simple: reduce your email stress.
It might sound surprising, but I see lowering email stress as a vital -- and often overlooked -- security improvement. When we’re stressed, we think less clearly and are more likely to click on something we shouldn’t.
Some people are so overwhelmed by email that they check it as little as possible. That’s also a security risk -- most security...
In this episode, we’re exploring who can benefit most from our email workshop. If email causes you stress, frustration, or fear -- this workshop might be for you.
But improving your email situation requires doing things differently, and you need to be ready to do that. There are many strategies, and I’ll work with you to find the ones that best match your needs and priorities.
The hardest change I recommend? Setting up...
Email has never been more important. It’s the master key to all your online accounts and the universal way we communicate.
But for many of us, email is also a constant source of frustration -- spam piling up, the fear of clicking something dangerous, or just feeling overwhelmed by the flood of messages.
That’s why I’m going to be running a live, interactive group workshop over Zoom. We’ll meet in multiple sessions, wit...
Do I Need to Upgrade to Windows 11?
Should I Upgrade to Windows 11?
Episode summaryIf you are sticking with Windows 10, I highly recommend installing the InControl app from my favorite security podcaster, Steve Gibson.
Fair warning: his website looks like it’s straight out of the early 2000s and is geared toward technical folks like me. If you poke around, just be ready for some serious computer geek...
Do I Need to Upgrade to Windows 11?
Episode summaryIf you’re wondering whether to upgrade to Windows 11, the answer is probably: yes - if your computer can handle it.
If you have an older PC, it might not meet the requirements. You can check by installing Microsoft’s PC Health Check App.
From a security perspective, there’s not a huge difference between Windows 10 and 11. But, if you decide to stick ...
When shopping on Amazon, how do you decide what product to buy? If you're like most people, you look primarily at the cost and reviews, and maybe the brand.
What most people are missing out on is paying attention to the seller. You can find this just under the Buy Now button - each product has 2 sellers - the "Ships From" and the "Sold By".
Anytime you are buying something "Sold By" someone other than Amazon, click on ...
The Safe Website Checklist Episodes
Episode summaryOne tool that can be useful to help you shop safely online for quality products is paying attention to brands. On the other hand, sometimes the brand doesn't matter much.
If you can look at a product and determine for yourself if it's well made, then brand doesn't matter so much. My daughter knows how to sew, so she can evaluate the quality of dress...
After October 14, 2025, Microsoft will no longer provide free updates or fixes for the many bugs found each month in Windows 10. That means it's time to make a hard decision.
Option 1: Do what Microsoft recommends and upgrade to Windows 11. There's many good and valid reasons not to, and my personal plan is to avoid it for hopefuly 5 years still.
Option 2: Pay Microsoft $30 for one year more of fixes, then upgrade to W...
If you shop at Amazon much, you've seen a lot of weird brands. I just searched for juggling balls, and here's a sample of the brands it showed: Duncan, Zeekio, POITOI, Schylling, GloFX, Elcoho, Leitee, GoSports, Lawei, URATOT, Cedilis, DSJUGGLING, speevers.
Have you ever wondered why? If not, now's the time to consider it, because the way Amazon does business has massive implications for every American.
The short versi...
Have you ever looked at a supposed sale price on Amazon, and wondered if it was real? Wonder no longer!
There's an awesome tool with a funny name - CamelCamelCamel. You just copy the internet address from the item you're looking at on Amazon, and paste it into CamelCamelCamel.com, and you get a detailed price history.
To make it even easier, you can add a special "bookmarklet" that you can click on whenever you're on a...
After recording nearly 80 episodes, I've learned a lot about how I like to teach. So it's time for my next experiment.
I want to try again to make episodes of about 10 minutes. I want it easier for you to find what you're looking for, and catch up on just the parts that are of greatest value to you.
I also want more flexibility, so we are dropping the opening questions, and the call to actions will only happen sometime...
What is Makani's most used online shopping tool?
What are 2 key features it provides?
What 3 subscription problems does it fix?
Episode summaryPrivacy.com offers super powered Privacy Cards that you can use to shop online. You create a unique Privacy Card for each business, then pause and set a spending limit for each card as needed.
No mor...
Check #1 - Is the website less than a year old?
Check #2 - What does Trustpilot say?
Questions we answer in this episodeWhy does this check sometimes get skipped?
What’s one super simple way to spot a fake shopping site?
Why might a scammer want you to contact them?
Which red flags in a reply should make you walk away?
Episode summaryThe third item on our Safe Website Checkli...
Episode on Safe Website Checklist Item #1
Questions we answer in this episodeWhat is Trustpilot?
How did they help Makani identify a highly enticing scam?
How can you use Trustpilot to help you stay safe while shopping online?
When does Makani use Trustpilot?
Episode summaryTrustpilot helped me avoid a scam for a bogus body scale, called Body Pod and sold by Hume Health.
Trustpilot is a fabulous, indepe...
Don't Let Websites Send You Notifications
Give Every Website a Unique Email
Questions we answer in this episodeWhat bad stuff can happen when you are browsing a new shopping website?
How has browser safety changed over the years?
What are 4 rules to stay safe while browsing the web?
Episode summaryBrowsing the web today is safer than it's ever been, as long as you're not doing anything shady.
To stay as...
Kem humbly shares his "epic fail" (his words, not mine!) story so we can all learn from his mistakes. As the story opens, Kem searches for a nice picture of Wellington, New Zealand for his wife's computer wallpaper.
As he was speeding along, he accidentally clicked yes on a popup he shouldn't have, giving some malware backdoor access to his computer. As it tried to spread farther through another popup, he realized his...
What's the first skill we need to stay safe shopping online?
What are the two buckets of bad shopping websites?
What are the two buckets of phishing websites?
What is the first item on our "safe website" checklist?
Episode summaryA vital skill in staying safe while shopping online is knowing how to tell if a website is safe. You need to be on...
What are the 6 layers in the Bulletproof Stack Formula?
How are they grouped?
What are the most neglected layers?
Episode summaryThere are 6 types of layers we can review to help us build a Security Stack. They help us build redundancy into our Security Stack. Yes, that's a good thing! We want as many layers of defense as we can to keep the b...
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