Plaintext with Rich

Weekly explanations of cybersecurity topics in plain language AI summary

Rich Greene Visit website › Technology · EN · 49 episodes · latest 2026-10-30

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What it is about

Cybersecurity is an everyone problem. So why does it always sound like it’s only for IT people?Each week, Rich takes one topic, from phishing to ransomware to how your phone actually tracks you, and explains it in plain language in under ten minutes or less. No buzzwords. No condescension. Just the stuff you need to know to stay safer online, explained like you’re a smart person who never had anyone break it down properly. Because you are!

Publisher’s own description, taken unchanged from the podcast feed.
© 2026 Plaintext with Rich

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Latest episodes

  1. After the Click: How to Report a Security Mistake

    2026-10-30 · 9 min · Season 1, episode 49

    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…

  2. Task Scams: Why You Shouldn't Pay to Get Paid

    2026-10-23 · 9 min · Season 1, episode 48

    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…

  3. Device-Code Phishing: The Real Login Page Trap

    2026-10-16 · 9 min · Season 1, episode 47

    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…

  4. Browser Extensions: What Did You Give Permission To?

    2026-10-09 · 8 min · Season 1, episode 46

    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…

  5. ClickFix: When a CAPTCHA Asks You to Run a Command

    2026-10-02 · 9 min · Season 1, episode 45

    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…

  6. Last Seen - When the Phones Woke Up (Episode 4)

    2026-09-25 · 5 min · Season 1, episode 44

    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…

  7. Last Seen - The Meeting Place (Episode 3)

    2026-09-18 · 5 min · Season 1, episode 43

    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,…

  8. Last Seen - The Rumor (Episode 2)

    2026-09-11 · 5 min · Season 1, episode 42

    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.…

  9. Last Seen - No Signal (Episode 1)

    2026-09-04 · 7 min · Season 1, episode 41

    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…

  10. Google Selfie Account Recovery: Convenience vs. Privacy

    2026-08-28 · 10 min · Season 1, episode 40

    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…

Episode details from the publisher’s feed. Playback happens at the publisher.

Publisher details

Oldest episode in feed
12/2025
Typical length
8 min
Format
Episodic Newest first, episodes stand alone
Keywords
cybersecurity, security awareness, hacking explained, cyber education, ransomware, phishing, encryption, digital privacy

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