Welcome to Digital Redstart
Here you'll find some in-depth information and useful tips on the security, maintenance and everyday well-being of your Windows home or small office computer. Whether you're looking for tips on choosing an anti-virus program, how to recognize phishing, browsing safely online, creating secure passwords, defending against virus attacks, or how to keep your personal information safe on public networks, you've come to the right place. Many of these tips are based on responses to common questions I've received from clients over the years while working as a computer technician. I've tried to present them here in as concise and no-nonsense a form as possible. Hopefully you will find them insightful and entertaining. This site is always a work in progress, with new material being added regularly, so check back every now and then. Have fun!
Online Security
Viruses: Zero-Hour Defense
Maintaining Your Computer
Best Practices
Slow Computer
Recycling
Viruses: Zero-Hour Defense
Maintaining Your Computer
Best Practices
Slow Computer
Recycling
We've arranged a society based on science and technology in which nobody understands anything about science and technology, and this combustible mix of ignorance and power, sooner or later, is going to blow up in our faces. Who is running the science and technology in a democracy if the people don't know anything about it?
Carl Sagan, in an interview with Charlie Rose, May 27, 1996
If phishing has been around for more than 20 years, how come so many people still take the bait? Because, despite the efforts of the systems departments of companies, most of us are still digital illiterates, unable to recognize even the most basic phishing attacks, and in many cases we either assume that security is somebody else’s problem, or quite simply, we don’t care.
Enrique Dans, Contributor for Forbes, Mar 19, 2018
With digital information technologies, we are not only able to interact with people all over the globe, we are required to do so. In order to be prepared for a future in which information is one of the key commodities, our children will need to understand how digital technologies impact a global economy. For example, they need to understand the ramifications of Bitcoin. They need to be able to consider both the economic benefits and drawbacks of services like Uber and AirBnB. They need to be equipped to think critically about revenue models we haven’t even imagined yet... If tomorrow’s adults aren’t able to acquire the necessary distance to think objectively... they won’t have the autonomy to make their own decisions. Of course, this kind of critical literacy is dependent on understanding how algorithms work, how data is analyzed, and how economies influence ideas.
Jordan Shapiro, Contributor for Forbes, Oct 31, 2015
Eric Orts, Director of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania's Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership, on Corporate Social Responsibility:
CSR is an old-fashioned idea that needs to be upgraded... For companies to take CSR seriously, it has to be integrated into the DNA of the enterprise. Companies need to say: "We want to make money, sure, but we also care about our effect on society and the environment. And that comes through in the kinds of jobs we provide, the kinds of products we make and the ways in which we use resources."
Knowledge@Wharton, Time, May 28, 2012
Every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then we beat it out of them. A few trickle through the system with their wonder and enthusiasm for science intact.
Carl Sagan, in an interview with Psychology Today, Jan 1, 1996
Carl Sagan, in an interview with Charlie Rose, May 27, 1996
If phishing has been around for more than 20 years, how come so many people still take the bait? Because, despite the efforts of the systems departments of companies, most of us are still digital illiterates, unable to recognize even the most basic phishing attacks, and in many cases we either assume that security is somebody else’s problem, or quite simply, we don’t care.
Enrique Dans, Contributor for Forbes, Mar 19, 2018
With digital information technologies, we are not only able to interact with people all over the globe, we are required to do so. In order to be prepared for a future in which information is one of the key commodities, our children will need to understand how digital technologies impact a global economy. For example, they need to understand the ramifications of Bitcoin. They need to be able to consider both the economic benefits and drawbacks of services like Uber and AirBnB. They need to be equipped to think critically about revenue models we haven’t even imagined yet... If tomorrow’s adults aren’t able to acquire the necessary distance to think objectively... they won’t have the autonomy to make their own decisions. Of course, this kind of critical literacy is dependent on understanding how algorithms work, how data is analyzed, and how economies influence ideas.
Jordan Shapiro, Contributor for Forbes, Oct 31, 2015
Eric Orts, Director of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania's Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership, on Corporate Social Responsibility:
CSR is an old-fashioned idea that needs to be upgraded... For companies to take CSR seriously, it has to be integrated into the DNA of the enterprise. Companies need to say: "We want to make money, sure, but we also care about our effect on society and the environment. And that comes through in the kinds of jobs we provide, the kinds of products we make and the ways in which we use resources."
Knowledge@Wharton, Time, May 28, 2012
Every kid starts out as a natural-born scientist, and then we beat it out of them. A few trickle through the system with their wonder and enthusiasm for science intact.
Carl Sagan, in an interview with Psychology Today, Jan 1, 1996