I’m Captain Mike.

I spent fifty years at sea and hold U.S. Coast Guard credentials. After coming ashore I taught at MITAGS and Maine Maritime Academy, and I still develop Coast Guard–approved training courses.

A career on the water teaches you one thing above all: the sea isn’t out to get you, but it never forgives carelessness. People who get hurt usually weren’t unlucky — they just weren’t paying attention to the right things.

I started this site because I’ve watched the same thing happen online. Ordinary, sensible people — the average Joe and Jane — have no idea how dangerous the internet has become, and the criminals know it.

What you’ll find here

• Plain English. If I can’t explain it simply, it doesn’t go on the site.
• No scare tactics and nothing to sell you. Just the habits that actually keep you safe.
• Learning in the open. I’m not a hacker or an IT professional. I’m learning this the way I learned seamanship — one lesson at a time — and sharing what I learn as I go.

If an article here helps you or someone you love, that’s the whole point.

— Captain Mike Kelley