Kev Quirk

Proudly ruining the web since 2013.

Why Your Password Is Probably Crap

You’re a technical person. You don’t need to use a password manager, because you have mastered the art of obfuscating your password so it can never be cracked, right? Wrong! Let’s have a chat about why your password is probably crap…

Security Technology

Are Password Managers Really Worth It?

I recently got chatting to someone on Fosstodon about password security and in particular, password managers. But I thought I’d share my thoughts here also, as I have much more than 500 characters to play with.

Opinion Security Technology

De-Googling My Life 06 – What I Can’t Replace

The process of de-Googling my life has now come to end, and I’m pretty happy with the results. However, we all know that Google pretty much runs the Internet, and although I have managed to escape the clutches of Google in many ways, there are some Google services that are simply not feasible for me to stop using.

DeGoogling Privacy

De-Googling My Life 05 – Gmail

Ok guys, it’s time. Let’s be honest, this is the article in the series you have all been waiting for. Gmail is a goner!

DeGoogling Privacy

De-Googling My Life 04 – Google Drive

Ok then, I’ve do-Googled myself from the simple stuff – search, browser, analytics and social media are all done. So that only leaves the tough stuff – Google Drive and Gmail (inc. contacts and calendar).

DeGoogling Privacy

Why You Should Own Your Own Domain

Unless you have been living in a bubble for the last 20 years, the Internet is probably a very large part of your life. From establishing an online identity, to having a personally branded email address that’s easy to share. Owning your own domain name has a lot of advantages.

Technology Web

De-Googling My Life 03 – Google+

Ok then, now we’re on to the serious stuff. I have managed to sucessfully get rid of the easier stuff, like Google Search & Chrome and Google Analytics, but now I’m starting to look at the Google services that have a larger impact on my daily workflow.

DeGoogling Privacy

De-Googling My Life 02 – Analytics

Didn’t you know? I’m De-Googling my life and I’ve already spoken about replacing my search engine & browser, so now we’re on to the next step – replacing Google Analytics.

DeGoogling Privacy

De-Googling My Life 01 – Browser & Search

So my de-Googling adventure begins, and I thought I would start with some of the more simple stuff to replace – yes, I know, it’s a cop-out, but I’m trying to change habits of the last decade here, so I’m easing myself in.

DeGoogling Privacy

De-Googling My Life Series

I love Google products. They’re easy to use, they look good, and for the most part, they work really well. I was having a conversation with a friend the other day, and we were talking about what would happen if Google closed their doors tomorrow. I quickly realised that I would be in a world of pain.

DeGoogling Privacy

Things To Consider When Starting A Blog

If you're thinking about starting a blog, here's a few things to consider before doing so.

Technology Blogging

Medium Vs Ghost – Which One For a Personal Blog?

I decided recently that I wanted to start blogging again. Not in a paid capacity (like I did for MakeUseOf), but rather just some meandering thoughts on a personal blog. That way, I don’t have an editor to please, and I can publish whatever I like.

Technology Blogging

Bitwarden – An Open Source Alternative to LastPass

We all know that password managers are worth their weight in gold, and the most popular of these by a large margin, is LastPass. LastPass is great, I used it myself for a number of years, but it is fairly expensive since doubling their prices in 2017. So are there any decent, open source alternatives to LastPass?

Security Technology

Social Experiment - How to Get Facebook Passwords

Around a week ago I wrote a rare Facebook post and decided to share it with my friends on Facebook. I deliberately posted this in such a way to see if I can find out how to get Facebook passwords from my friends. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting a great deal of success from the post, but boy was I wrong!

Security

WFT Happened? Is Google+ Dead?

I used to love Google+. For a long time, I didn’t use any other social network apart from Googles own majestic stream of useful and interesting information. However, over time things have dramatically...

Opinion

Sony & XBox DDoS Attack Warning at Christmas

Whilst doing my usual rounds of nerdy articles on the Internet yesterday, I came across some news that apparently there’s going to be a Sony and Xbox DDOS attack this Christmas. The “hacker group” that are claiming responsibility for this attack are going by the name of “Phantom Squad”.

Security

Red Poppy Fascism - Give Me a Break

Yesterday, Sunday 08th Nov 2015 was remembrance Sunday. A day that is earmarked to remember all those that have been affected by war. As a mark of support for remembrance, many people don the famous r...

Opinion

LastPass Joins LogMeIn - What Now?

So as LastPass joins LogMeIn, and the password management world is all in a bit of a flutter, with many touting the move as an extremely bad thing for all LastPass users. Personally, I’ve moved to Das...

Privacy Security

Stop Spam for Free with MX GuardDog

In my last few articles, I’ve been talking about setting up your own Zimbra mail server, as well as making some changes to stop outgoing mail being delivered as spam. However, we haven’t spoken about...

Technology Web

ZeXtras Review

In a previous article about setting up a Zimbra server, I mentioned ZeXtras when talking about mobile sync, and in particular, ActiveSync support for Zimbra. However, I feel that the quick mention of...

Technology