You Should Take A Zero Day For Yourself
These are three things you should do, every 90 days, to manage your phone, your money, and the Internet-connected devices in your life.
Zero Day doesn't only refer to a terrible Netflix series starring Robert DeNiro.
A Zero Day is also something we suggest you take every 90 days.
But before we get to that, we want to highlight what an actual zero-day is.
Zero-Day — note the hyphen — is shorthand for Zero-day vulnerability.
And in the simplest terms, a zero-day vulnerability refers to a bug in a program you're using.
One that you don't know about, but a bad actor does.
And that bad actor could use that vulnerability to harm you.
This is why it's a good idea to shut down your devices once a day.
(Preferably three hours before bed.)
Doing so will give your operating system a chance to install new updates, which usually includes patches for zero-day vulnerabilities.
Make sense?
Good. Because at Stupid Sexy Privacy, when we mention a Zero Day, we're talking about something new.
Privacy Tip: Take A Zero Day Every 90 Days
A Zero Day is a day you put on your calendar, every 90 days, to accomplish three important goals:
- Review the Apps on your phone.
- Review your Bank Statements.
- Make sure the software is up to date on all of your Internet-connected devices.
We'll start with the Apps on your phone.
- If you don't know why an app is on your phone, the best time to delete it is now.
The second best time is during your Zero Day.
Things are expensive right now.
But if you can, you should take yourself out to lunch, and use that time to look through all the apps on your phone.
As you do so, you should ask yourself:
- Why is this app on my phone? If there's no answer, remove it.
- Does using this app make me happy? If the answer is no, remove it.
One of the reasons we recommend a zero day every 90 days is so that you can save up for taking yourself out to lunch.
This should be a moment to ...
But we know money is tight.
So if that's the case, get yourself to a local park instead.
The goal is to get yourself somewhere where you're distraction free and practicing solitude.
There's a difference between loneliness and being alone.
Being alone encourages self-reflection, and an opportunity to relax, in a world where we're bombarded by fascist propaganda.
- Where's your money going?
These days, between By Now, Pay Later grifts and every company wanting subscription revenue, it's easy to lose track of your money.
Every 90 days, you should print the last three months of your bank statements and credit card charges.
If you have a budget, this is a good practice to make sure you're staying within it. It's also good practice to see if your budget is realistic or not.
If you don't have a budget, this is a good chance to find things you can cut back on.
(No. I'm not going to tell you to "stop getting lattes." I suggest using a Money Dial instead. We'll talk about that later.)
If you don't have a budget, this is also a good chance to identify irregular expenses you wind up paying every 90 days, so that you can budget for those expenses when they do arrive.
And of course, going through this process will also help you spot and report any fraudulent charges, as well as cancel any services you no longer use.
- Check That Router, Brother
We're going to talk about Internet-connected devices in your home later. For now, the important thing is to use the Zero Day to make sure each Internet-connected device in your home has the most up to date software.
So if you use a TP-Link Archer router, for example, and you've got their Tether App, the Zero Day is the day you should that app and make sure its software is up to date.
Ditto with that humidifier.
Yes. Even the humidifier is connected to the Internet these days.
What a time to be alive.
-BJ
