Plaintext with Rich

A security mistake can leave you writing and deleting the same message to your manager. You suspect something went wrong, but finding the words feels harder than it should.

Plaintext with Rich explores the first useful conversation after a suspicious click, download, or account approval, including the response from the person receiving the report. A sample report and a sports replay analogy show why the sequence of events matters more than a polished explanation. You'll hear why opening a link, running a file, entering sign-in details, and sending money describe different situations, even when they all start with the same message. Drawing on Federal Trade Commission recovery guidance updated in June 2026 and advice from the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, the episode distinguishes workplace help, provider recovery, and public reporting. It also looks at the manager's part in making an uncertain account of events easier to give honestly.

If you've ever hesitated to report a possible mistake, this conversation gives that awkward moment the attention it deserves. Leaders and colleagues who receive those messages will find a useful rehearsal here too, without needing to become the investigator.

Listen for a calmer way to begin the conversation. One Topic, Ten minutes, No panic.

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Task scams can make an evening of online assignments feel like money earned. Then the withdrawal request turns into another demand, and the balance you've been watching starts to mean something different.

Rich traces the sequence described in the Federal Trade Commission's August 2025 warning, from unexpected work offers to supposed commissions and deposit demands. The conversation explores why a polished app can display earnings without establishing that the money exists or belongs to you. It also examines the FTC's account of small initial payments, and why an actual payout can make the next request harder to question. The agency's February 2026 side-hustle guidance provides further context for evaluating an offer beyond the conversation that delivered it.

If you've considered flexible online work, or someone you care about has an offer they're excited about, this is for you. Plaintext with Rich approaches the subject without blame, making room for the real effort and hope behind a person's decision.

One Topic, Ten minutes, No panic.

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Device-code phishing starts with an uncomfortable possibility: the sign-in address you checked really does belong to Microsoft. The document you're expecting comes with a code, the page looks right, and the question that matters is still hiding in the request.

Plaintext with Rich follows the approval from the person entering that code to the software waiting on the other end. A television sign-in and a parcel collection slip help explain device-code flow without turning your commute into a technical certification. The episode draws on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's May 21, 2026, Kali365 advisory to unpack how criminals used genuine Microsoft pages in requests for Microsoft 365 access. You'll hear what access tokens and refresh tokens do, why the code you enter connects to a separate pending request, and how multi-factor authentication fits into the picture. There's also a leadership question about whether awareness training shows employees enough legitimate setup activity to recognize a request that doesn't belong.

If you handle shared documents, help colleagues with account access, or write security guidance, this is for you. No background in identity systems required, just some curiosity about what a successful sign-in actually approves.

Listen for the missing context behind that familiar page. One Topic, Ten minutes, No panic.

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Browser extensions can stay in your working day long after you've forgotten why you installed them. That tiny toolbar icon may represent a bigger arrangement than you remember making.

Rich explores what extension permissions describe, from website data to other browser capabilities, and why broad access deserves context rather than automatic suspicion. Socket's August 2026 investigation supplies a concrete example of useful extensions acquiring malicious behavior, including some bought from legitimate authors. The conversation also examines why a change in behavior doesn't necessarily require a change in permission. Google's Chrome guidance helps explain what site access controls can cover and why tools that route network connections need a different look.

If your browser is where you write, research, or handle everyday work, this is a useful conversation about the software sharing that space. Plaintext with Rich gives professionals and leaders a way to think about ongoing access, useful tools, and workplace needs without turning every add-on into a suspect.

One Topic, Ten minutes, No panic.

Is there a topic/term you want me to discuss next? Text me!!

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You came for a conference agenda, and the website wants proof you're human. ClickFix can hide behind that familiar check, with instructions that deserve a much closer look.

Rich follows the moment a fake CAPTCHA, a test meant to distinguish people from automated visitors, changes what it asks you to do. Microsoft's August 2026 TerminalFix analysis provides a concrete example involving an imitation Cloudflare screen and commands pasted into Windows Terminal or PowerShell. CERT Polska's February 2026 investigation helps explain why a short command may conceal a longer chain of instructions. The Federal Trade Commission's June 2026 warning adds context to the difference between a website check and a request to operate your computer.

If you've ever followed a screen's directions just to get back to your work, this conversation is for you. Plaintext with Rich also gives workplace leaders a useful way to think about awareness training that people can recognize in an ordinary browsing moment.

One Topic, Ten minutes, No panic.

Is there a topic/term you want me to discuss next? Text me!!

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Need another way to reach me? That’s here → https://linktr.ee/rich.greene

Episode 4: When the Phones Woke Up

Finding one another doesn’t fix the city. There are still people waiting for news, families searching for loved ones, and neighborhoods trying to function without the systems they depend on.

Then the phones begin waking up.

In the final chapter of Last Seen, messages arrive out of order, maps fill with roads again, and everyday convenience returns almost as quickly as it disappeared. But after seeing what happens when one damaged connection affects nearly everything, one family decides not to return to life exactly as it was. 

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 Episode 3: The Meeting Place

Leah and her parent are both moving across the city, but every piece of information arrives too late. Each new clue leads to another place the other person has already left.

With phones, maps, and location sharing still unreliable, a forgotten family emergency plan may be their only chance to stop missing each other.

In Part Three of Last Seen, the search leads to a broken clock in Washington Park and a meeting place no one has mentioned in years. 

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Episode 2: The Rumor

A broken voice message offers one clue: “We’re going to St—”

But St. where?

As Leah’s parent searches hospitals, shelters, and gridlocked streets, the communications outage creates another problem. Reliable information is moving slowly, while rumors are racing across the city.

In Part Two of Last Seen, a paper map, a neighborhood radio network, and a small act of trust become more useful than any app. Then a handwritten note sends the search in an entirely new direction.

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Plaintext is doing something different this September.

Instead of breaking down one cybersecurity concept, we’re telling one story across four short episodes.

In Episode One of Last Seen, an ordinary communications outage begins with a frozen card reader, missing messages, and apps that no longer work. By nightfall, Leah hasn’t come home and her parent has only a broken voice message and half a clue about where she might be.

This is “No Signal,” the first chapter of Last Seen: a fictional spoken word story grounded in the technology we depend on every day.

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Would you hand Google a video of your face for one more way back into your account? That question gets harder when you are locked out, holding a new phone, and missing every recovery route you thought would save you.

In this episode of Plaintext with Rich, we look at Google's selfie video sign-in option and what eligible users should know before opting in. You will hear how Google described comparing a saved recording with a new video, why prompted head movements support a liveness check, and how suspicious sign-in checks add another layer. We also unpack encryption at rest, biometric data, optional use of recordings to improve verification services, and Google's deletion terms. The episode explains the eligibility limits Google documented in July 2026. Most importantly, it puts selfie recovery alongside passkeys, recovery contacts, phone numbers, and recovery email as one part of a stronger account recovery plan.

This is for anyone whose Google Account holds important email, photos, documents, or access to other services, and for leaders helping people make informed security choices.

Convenience and privacy both matter, so make the choice on purpose. One Topic, Ten minutes, No panic.

Is there a topic/term you want me to discuss next? Text me!!

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Need another way to reach me? That’s here → https://linktr.ee/rich.greene