Month: April 2020
How Anonymous Is Anonymous?
In recent years there has been a rise in awareness of the issue of online anonymity, but what does it mean and is it realistic? In broad terms anonymity can be taken to mean the ability to have your individual identity protected. Most tools and sites take the approach of making you look as similar Read More …
Improve Your Searching
Search Engines are a great tool, but often they can produce an overwhelming number of results that makes it harder to work out which are the best results for you. There is no simple answer to this problem, in part it is a skill that comes with practice, the more you do it, the easier Read More …
How Good Is Your Password
We are always being encouraged to set a good strong password, but what is a good password and how do you create it? Recently, advice on passwords changed – for many years the advice had been to choose long, highly complex passwords featuring letters, numbers and special characters, and indeed many password checkers still rely Read More …
Why HTTPS Is Not The Security Blanket You Think
In the past few years there has been a rise in the number of security experts advocating people actively seek sites with https / ssl certificate protection, and with reason. However in the drive to push https, many have been guilty of unintentionally over-stating the benefits of SSL certificates. Browser companies are just as culpable Read More …
This Crazy Thing Called Life
One of the complaints I often hear is that I am contrary, and in many ways I am. This however is a reflection of my personality, formed over years of life experiences. I can seem open and closed, talkative and quiet, outgoing and reserved, the list goes on. I have developed \’coping strategies\’ over the Read More …
Buzz Words
The thing about language is that it is constantly changing and evolving, and words and expressions come in and go out of fashion. Often though, a new buzz word or phrase will become mis-used and the meaning corrupted. A good example of this is the recent rise of the use of the expression “cognitive dissonance” Read More …
What is… Democracy
There are certain terms that people think they understand, but when you ask more closely, you realise that people’s understanding of the meaning can vary widely. Democracy is an example of this, if you look at what the meaning is as defined by academics, you find the meaning is more precise than some might realise Read More …
Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics
I recently came across a disingenuous use of statistics to support an argument, but sadly it is one that I see on an increasingly frequent basis. A poll was held with 2 options A or B Option A was the most popular response, but the author supported option B Therefore, in order to validate why Read More …
Perfecting imperfect decisions
“If you have a choice between being right, and being kind, choose being kind” This piece of advice was given recently, and it has a lot of value, but what if you have a choice where being ‘kind’ to one person means being ‘cruel’ to another? Many years ago when I was starting my adult Read More …