Super Simple Security Principles

Episode summary

Blocking all spam before we see it is tough. Email providers are reluctant to block it entirely, in case they are wrong and it’s not spam. The compromise is that they send it to the Spam or Junk folder, where it can be recovered.

As the reader of that email, though, it’s often easy for us to identify it as spam and say, "I never want to receive email from this sender again."

This is where the "Block Sender" feature tha...

Episode summary

You have an email account, but how did you pick your email provider? Do you use Gmail simply because that’s what everyone you know uses?

I want your choice of email provider to be intentional, not accidental. Today is the first in a series of episodes where we’ll examine my most important considerations when picking an email provider.

Some will be "micro" considerations: specific, individual features. Do they have tags...

Episode summary

When I choose a digital or tech service, I look for a company with a clear focus that aligns with mine. For each option, ask yourself: what’s the one thing this company does really well?

Take Gmail, the most widely used email provider. If you ask what Google’s "one thing" is, some people might say email - but I’d argue most would say "search." For me, I see it as building the internet by means of an advertising econom...

Episode summary

When you join the email workshop, you will be making some decisions. The first two are simple but important: which email provider you’ll use, and which email client.

Your email provider is the company that gives you an inbox and stores your messages on their servers. The big ones are Google (Gmail), Microsoft (Outlook, Hotmail, Live), Yahoo, and Apple (iCloud).

An email client is the app you use to read and send email....

Episode summary

Most people I know have email inboxes that are overflowing. I can’t count how many times someone has proudly (or sheepishly) shown me their phone with hundreds - sometimes thousands - of unread emails piled up.

That would drive me comletely insane. For me, ending most days with an empty inbox isn’t just satisfying - it’s also a big security win. That’s why we’re tackling it in the workshop.

Reaching inbox zero takes th...

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Privacy is a popular buzzword these days, but not one you have heard a ton about from me. Especially with email. Mostly because the email system we all depend on was not built for strong privacy.

Some companies, like Proton and Tuta, provide encrypted email services. I trust, respect, and am in fact, extremely grateful for their efforts to compensate for such a huge failing in our email system. But when I want true pr...

Episode summary

This may be the fourth priority in our email workshop, but it’s truly #1 in importance: protecting your email account from takeover. Your email is the master key to all your online accounts. If you want to keep anything secure, you have to start here.

The good news? It doesn’t take much. The first step is simple, but it’s something most people still don’t do: use a unique password. I'm not asking you to stop reusing p...

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Even a Security Expert Can Get Phished

Episode summary

Today'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...

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10 Spam Per Year

Episode summary

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...

Episode summary

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...

Episode summary

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...

Episode summary

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...

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Do I Need to Upgrade to Windows 11?

Should I Upgrade to Windows 11?

Episode summary

If 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...

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Do I Need to Upgrade to Windows 11?

Episode summary

If 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 ...

Episode summary

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 ...

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The Safe Website Checklist Episodes

Episode summary

One 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...

Episode summary

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...

Episode summary

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...

Episode summary

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...