Summary
- Students of earlier courses can refer back to this site as a refresher and to learn more about the latest privacy and security updates, significant changes, information and advice.
- Students who implemented only a few changes are welcome to re-enroll in the future to review, fine-tune and expand their protection.
- OS Update Status:
- And: 12.0; 10/2021 (varies by vendor);
Obs.: 11.x, 10.x, 9.x [Pie], 8.x [Oreo];
Future: 13.0; Fall 2022? - iOS/iPadOS: 18.3.2; 3/11/2025;
Recent: iOS 17.7.1 (10/28/2024); iPadOS 17.7.5 (2/10/2025); 16.7.9 (7/30/2024);
Old: 15.8.3 7/30/2024); 14.8.1 (11/2/2021); 12.5.7 (1/23/2023);
Obs.: 11.x-;
Future: iOS/iPadOS 19.0: Fall 2025;
Apple: Updates - Mac: 15.3.2 [Sequoia]; 3/11/2025;
Recent: ;
Old: 14.7.4 [Sonoma] (2/107/2025); 13.7.4 [Ventura] (2/10/2025);
Obs.: 12.7.6 [Monterey] (7/30/24); 11.7.10 [Big Sur]; ...;
Future: 16.0 [?]; Fall 2025;
Apple: Updates - Win: 11 [Fall 2021];
Recent: 10;
Old: Windows 8;
Obs.: 7, XP, Vista;
Future: 12? Fall 2022? - Ongoing: newest articles appear at the top of Reference sections for each topic
- older (more than ~4 years ago) article references will usually be removed
- new subsections will be added as needed
Spring 2020
- P@s$w0rdz (separate course) is now 3 sessions.
- Be Safer on the Internet (version 2) is now shorter (3 sessions), with some other topics -- besides Passwords -- omitted.
- Comparison table of topics covered: original, version 2, P@s$w0rdz
Fall 2019
- For updated discussion of passwords and password managers, see my shorter (2-session) course: P@s$w0rdz
- Software Updates: iOS, iPadOS 13; macOS: 10.15
Winter 2019
- Wipr for ad blocking (iOS, Mac)
- Consider quitting social media altogether -- privacy settings won't really protect you from advertisers and data brokers; spend more time with your family & real friends
- added Summary sections with recommendations and links to subsections
- added topics: to References to supplement major subsections
Winter 2018
- Meltdown and/or Spectre processor 'speculative execution' flaws affect almost all computers/devices with Intel, AMD, ARM CPUs over past decade or so; Software Updates > References > Meltdown/Spectre
- It's not possible to completely fix (w/o replacing with newer CPU), but risk can be mitigated/minimized
- Update system software (Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Windows); avoid malware; Software Updates > References