War - 123dev #61

We exist in the real world

I wasn’t going to write an issue this week because I’m a bit overwhelmed by what’s happening in the world and it didn’t feel right to try to teach people tech when people are at war. I also know that there are still ways I can help.

I can still teach others how to digitally protect themselves and give financially to people in need. I also hope this GIF made you smile because I’d like to bring a little bit of happiness into the world right now.

Russia began to attack Ukraine on Wednesday night for me. It was a long day at work that I mostly stayed disconnected online. That night I joined a Twitter Space with more than 50,000 people sharing information and talking about the attack.

I tried to watch the news on TV but none of my local channels were covering it (I only have an antenna). I knew I could stream online somewhere, but the information I was getting from the Twitter Space was some of the best reporting I’ve heard in a long time.

One of my kids came out of bed and wanted me to tuck them back in. I did and he said “good night.”

My mind immediately went to to all the kids in Ukraine who would not have a good night. All of the parents who were scared. All of the families who would have to leave their homes to save their lives.

I cried.

This is the world we live in. Our physical safety and health are the most precious things we have. If I can give that to someone who doesn’t have it it is more important than anything else I can do.

I had never heard of netblocks before this week but it looks like they have some great data about internet scale outages and censorship in different countries around the world.

If you’ve never used Shodan to search for devices you’re in for 3+ hours of shock. I used to pay for a Shodan developer account which gives API access and more scans because I was fascinated by just how many things are connected and exposed on the internet. Use it to scan your own IP range and make sure your network isn’t exposed too.

Password managers all suck in various ways, but they’re WAY better than the alternative of not having one. I have been a LastPass customer for more than a decade and gladly pay for it. I’ve used various others (e.g. 1Password, BitWarden) and they all have pros and cons. I’m not saying you need to get LastPass, but you need to have something if you don’t already.