Hi Friends!
Welcome to another edition of Nerd Corner!
Before we dive into this week's nerd stuff, I wanted to correct last week's email (I can't make changes or send follow-up posts with my current newsletter provider). The link for "10 Concepts From Build Once Sell Twice" was wrong. Here is the correct one.
VPNs 💻
This week I've been nerding out about VPNs and wrote an article on why you most likely don’t need to use one if you’re trying to securely navigate the web and protect your privacy. Click here to read it.
TL;DR: If you're concerned about your privacy, you're better off following last week's guide and focusing on the tools you use the most (browser, search engine, email) than trusting a third-party to secure all your Internet traffic.
Cybersecurity 🔓
Last year cybersecurity company FireEye and the NSA uncovered a huge security cyberattack (most likely lead by the Russian government) that targeted and compromised private and public organizations around the world, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency 🤯.
Now, months after the attack was discovered, investigators are shedding light on how things unfolded. Microsoft, who has more than 500 engineers working full time on the investigation, estimates that the attack required a team of at least 1,000 engineers!
One. Thousand. Engineers.
If that team were a tech company in the USA, it would most likely be worth multiple billions. The scale of this operation is just crazy and very scary.
The Life Ahead 🎬
I'm not usually one for movies, but not long ago, my Mom recommended I watch "The Life Ahead," an Italian film featuring none other than Sophia Loren.
I really enjoyed it. It is a timely movie that tells a story of friendship, multiculturalism, and hope.
Twitter Threads 🧵
The USA is currently experiencing one of the coldest winters in its history. About 70% of the country is covered by snow. Even places like Austin, Texas, are under a few feet of snow, making for funny Tweets about the ongoing San Francisco vs. Austin debate.
Not a recent one, but this thread is pure gold. Evan Charles Moore, Doordash cofounder, tells the story of how it all began.
I loved this picture and its caption, "Low tech means resilience" There's this—almost melancholic—feeling that in the past things were built to last and withstand a lot of stressors while now we mostly make cheap things that last only a couple of years.
Before you go 😎
What’s the most interesting article you read last week? Anything is fair game. Just hit reply!
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Until next week!
Alberto