https://artfulenigma.com/categories/refine/ Recent content in refine on aRtFuL eNiGmA https://artfulenigma.com/%3Clink%20or%20path%20of%20image%20for%20opengraph,%20twitter-cards%3E https://artfulenigma.com/%3Clink%20or%20path%20of%20image%20for%20opengraph,%20twitter-cards%3E Hugo -- gohugo.io Thu, 01 Apr 2021 11:30:03 +0000 https://artfulenigma.com/articles/soundofsilencedigitalinterpretation/ Thu, 01 Apr 2021 11:30:03 +0000 https://artfulenigma.com/articles/soundofsilencedigitalinterpretation/ This week I listened to the Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel. Recorded in 1966 the song uses strong imagery of light and darkness to describe how peoples ignorance and apathy was destroying their ability to communicate with one another. Interestingly, if released today, the lyrics could equally be interpreted to describe how our misuse of some technologies is deeply impacting the very fabric of society. Here is my digital interpretation. https://artfulenigma.com/articles/reduce-your-digital-footprints/ Sat, 20 Mar 2021 11:30:03 +0000 https://artfulenigma.com/articles/reduce-your-digital-footprints/ This week I have been teaching one of my favourite topics Social Engineering. If you are not familiar with the topic, social engineering is the act of abusing human psychology to take advantage of a persons natural tendencies and emotional reactions in order to trick then into making security mistakes or giving away sensitive information. As part of the series we also explored open source intelligence (OSINT) which is a method often used by hackers to collect information from public sources in order to build a detailed profile about a victim. https://artfulenigma.com/articles/dftube-how-to-watch-youtube-distraction-free/ Mon, 22 Jun 2020 11:30:03 +0000 https://artfulenigma.com/articles/dftube-how-to-watch-youtube-distraction-free/ YouTube is awesome. Who doesn’t like to watch cats and babies doing funny things, or learn how to replace a door catch on your dishwater to avoid an expensive plumbers bill. But, if you impulsively watch more and more videos and compulsively log in more frequently, even when you had planned to do something more productive, you may be addicted. In this article I will share some tips on how to avoid the black hole of YouTube using, amongst other things, DF Tube a plugin for Firefox. https://artfulenigma.com/articles/our-need-for-validation-through-social-media/ Sun, 21 Jun 2020 11:30:03 +0000 https://artfulenigma.com/articles/our-need-for-validation-through-social-media/ So last week I took the plunge. I started my Blog and mailing list . It’s something I have been thinking about doing for a while, but always managed to find an excuse not to start, sound familiar ? This got me thinking about a quote I recently heard by Stoic philosopher, Epictetus: If you want to improve, be content to be thought foolish and stupid - Epictetus I think his point is that often the fear of looking foolish can cripple us and prevent us from starting a new venture or applying for a dream job or starting a blog. https://artfulenigma.com/articles/does-the-perfect-tool-or-app-exits/ Tue, 09 Jun 2020 11:30:03 +0000 https://artfulenigma.com/articles/does-the-perfect-tool-or-app-exits/ If you are like me the search to find the perfect tool or app is never ending. Deep down I know it doesn’t exist, yet I look, convincing myself that If i can just find that perfect tool I will be more productive and save a lot of time. I am also aware that hunting for better tools is a distraction technique, but still I search. I often use a quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln to justify my actions… https://artfulenigma.com/articles/digital-minimalism-how-to-be-more-intentional-with-technology/ Mon, 18 May 2020 11:30:03 +0000 https://artfulenigma.com/articles/digital-minimalism-how-to-be-more-intentional-with-technology/ Digital Minimalism is possibly a term you have never heard before. Perhaps, like me you only recently heard the term and let out a slight groan, conflating the idea with the wider, more popular trending philosophy of Minimalism, in which people live a life with less stuff (I’m minimalising the philosophy there). Let me clear, I like the idea of Minimalism. I have even tried to adopt some principles in my life, although all attempts have ended in failure as we are a family of hoarders.