[Edit 5/14/2018: my suggestions are now up.]

COMING UP SOON IN PART 2…

I’ll be providing a list of the tech tools I use to keep myself and my data safe.

I’ll be suggesting tools that keep in mind different factors such as price, ease of use/learning curve, accessibility, security rating, Terms of Service (TOS) and Terms of Use Agreement (TOU), country of origin, reciprocity agreements with the United States, and other factors.

I’ll also be providing details for the pre-recorded webinars (available for multiple viewings) and the training sessions that I plan to provide for those who want to become more technologically secure.

Topics that I plan to cover:

  • Staying as anonymous as possible on the internet
  • Backing up your data and encrypting it
  • Password managers and password strength
  • Cell phone security
  • Webcam security
  • Domain registrar security
  • Web host provider security
  • Computer security
  • Internet connection security
  • Email security
  • Messaging security
  • DIY media publishing and social networks (secure tools to create our own)
  • File storage and sync providers
  • Collaborative documents and project management providers
  • Payment processor providers including patronage-style sites
  • Cryptocurrencies

Who am I to make these suggestions?

That’s a good question and I hope you’re asking it of yourself. Your lives and your content are at risk and I know better than most how the two can be directly tied together.

Please be wary right now before signing on with new-to-you and/or new-to-the-world tech providers. Do your homework, ask around. It’s easy to start something and harder to stick with it; that, too, I know better than most.

I’ve been online since 1996 and hosting websites since 1997. I managed a cooperatively owned web server from 1999-2017. I know a little bit about tech stuff, more than the average person, to be sure.

Transparency

I have no certification or education or professional background that “qualifies” me to makes these suggestions. If you need to base your safety on respectability politics, I won’t be able to help you.

I’m not selling you any tech products. I’m not getting any referral or affiliate fees. I don’t have a server anymore, so I’m not trying to get you to sign up with my web hosting cooperative. I don’t have any friends in tech whose services I’m suggesting.

I saw a need that a lot of folks have. I’m afraid for us, so I’m trying to fill that need a bit.

This is a hard time, so these webinars are free. If you find them helpful, you can help my broken ass out.

Pre-recorded webinars and one-on-one training

What I plan on offering first will be a recorded general tour (by way of a screencast) of the suggested tools and services.

I can provide how-to guides, but those will take longer to roll out and, frankly, they already exist in the tech world. I can gather links to those guides if folks feel that would be useful, but in 2018 folks are using a wide variety of configurations of devices and operating systems to connect to the internet, which means there would need to be an enormous vault of links.

Therefore, if there’s enough interest, what I plan on doing next is putting the how-to guides to a vote. I can do two, maybe three a week, recording according to demand. I’d prefer to have some folks in a chat room with me as I record so they can ask questions as I go. As I’m not a tech instructor, I want to make sure I’m not forgetting to verbally explain steps that I’m so used to doing that I no longer think to do them.

Any questions?

That’s all I can think of for now. If you have any thoughts, suggestions, questions — or hey, maybe you’d like to help by leading one of these guides! — please do get in touch with me. I’m @cazkilljoy on all the social media, Wire, etc.

[Edit 5/14/2018: my suggestions are now up.]