#floppydisks — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #floppydisks, aggregated by home.social.
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Relive the #PC #magazine cover disk era with 758-strong #InternetArchive.org #CDROM collection — 1.2TB treasure trove also includes #FloppyDisks from as early as 1993
A search uncovered over 1,500 #PCGamer software archives, thanks to a trove of floppy disk offerings from yesteryear. The total collection spans 1.2TB of material, according to the site.
Many of the #magazines are available to read, too
https://www.tomshardware.com/software/relive-the-pc-magazine-cover-disk-era-with-758-strong-archive-org-cd-rom-collection-1-2tb-treasure-trove-also-includes-floppy-disks-from-as-early-as-1993Wow that takes me back!
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Happy 5,25" floppy disk day to those who celebrate! 🥳 May your drivehead be reliable, your disks well stored and your supply of new old stock ones never run dry. Cheers! 🙌
#floppydisk #floppydisks #floppy #diskette #disketten #525FloppyDay #retrocomputing #rerrogaming #vintagecomputing #commodore #atari #dos
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Happy 5,25" floppy disk day to those who celebrate! 🥳 May your drivehead be reliable, your disks well stored and your supply of new old stock ones never run dry. Cheers! 🙌
#floppydisk #floppydisks #floppy #diskette #disketten #525FloppyDay #retrocomputing #rerrogaming #vintagecomputing #commodore #atari #dos
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Happy 5,25" floppy disk day to those who celebrate! 🥳 May your drivehead be reliable, your disks well stored and your supply of new old stock ones never run dry. Cheers! 🙌
#floppydisk #floppydisks #floppy #diskette #disketten #525FloppyDay #retrocomputing #rerrogaming #vintagecomputing #commodore #atari #dos
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Happy 5,25" floppy disk day to those who celebrate! 🥳 May your drivehead be reliable, your disks well stored and your supply of new old stock ones never run dry. Cheers! 🙌
#floppydisk #floppydisks #floppy #diskette #disketten #525FloppyDay #retrocomputing #rerrogaming #vintagecomputing #commodore #atari #dos
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Oh, look! 🎉 Yet another breathless tech archeology piece! Because who doesn't want to hear about a DOS game nobody played from a place nobody goes? ❄️ It's like Indiana Jones, but with floppy disks and penguins. 🐧💾
https://alphapixeldev.com/lan-lok-the-antarctic-dos-sabotage-game-lost-for-34-years-part-1/ #techarcheology #DOSgames #floppydisks #indiegames #nostalgia #HackerNews #ngated -
Oh, look! 🎉 Yet another breathless tech archeology piece! Because who doesn't want to hear about a DOS game nobody played from a place nobody goes? ❄️ It's like Indiana Jones, but with floppy disks and penguins. 🐧💾
https://alphapixeldev.com/lan-lok-the-antarctic-dos-sabotage-game-lost-for-34-years-part-1/ #techarcheology #DOSgames #floppydisks #indiegames #nostalgia #HackerNews #ngated -
How Windows 95 Was Distributed on 28 Floppy Disks Before CD-ROMs Became Standard
📰 Original title: The 28 Installation Disks of Windows 95
🤖 IA: It's not clickbait ✅
👥 Users: It's not clickbait ✅View full AI summary: https://en.killbait.com/how-windows-95-was-distributed-on-28-floppy-disks-before-cd-roms-became-standard.html?utm_source=mastodon_world&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=killbait.mastodon_world
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Good grief, totally forgot to publish my latest video on MakerTube:
https://makertube.net/w/anHLNsRGc5nirtEXkLu3Kd
Get your Commodore Floppy Fix TODAY! Deep clean of a CBM 4040!
#retrocomputing #cbm4040 #floppydisks -
Oh WOW, enlighten us more about that show you *never* watched 📺😂. Who knew a phrase could be both "dramatic" and "weirdly precise"? 🎭🔍 Next you'll be telling us about the secret life of floppy disks without ever touching one! 💾🤦♂️
https://unstack.io/halt-and-catch-fire #HackerNews #Humor #Drama #FloppyDisks #Precision #HackerNews #ngated -
Oh WOW, enlighten us more about that show you *never* watched 📺😂. Who knew a phrase could be both "dramatic" and "weirdly precise"? 🎭🔍 Next you'll be telling us about the secret life of floppy disks without ever touching one! 💾🤦♂️
https://unstack.io/halt-and-catch-fire #HackerNews #Humor #Drama #FloppyDisks #Precision #HackerNews #ngated -
Oh WOW, enlighten us more about that show you *never* watched 📺😂. Who knew a phrase could be both "dramatic" and "weirdly precise"? 🎭🔍 Next you'll be telling us about the secret life of floppy disks without ever touching one! 💾🤦♂️
https://unstack.io/halt-and-catch-fire #HackerNews #Humor #Drama #FloppyDisks #Precision #HackerNews #ngated -
Oh WOW, enlighten us more about that show you *never* watched 📺😂. Who knew a phrase could be both "dramatic" and "weirdly precise"? 🎭🔍 Next you'll be telling us about the secret life of floppy disks without ever touching one! 💾🤦♂️
https://unstack.io/halt-and-catch-fire #HackerNews #Humor #Drama #FloppyDisks #Precision #HackerNews #ngated -
Oh WOW, enlighten us more about that show you *never* watched 📺😂. Who knew a phrase could be both "dramatic" and "weirdly precise"? 🎭🔍 Next you'll be telling us about the secret life of floppy disks without ever touching one! 💾🤦♂️
https://unstack.io/halt-and-catch-fire #HackerNews #Humor #Drama #FloppyDisks #Precision #HackerNews #ngated -
New video: Commodore 4040 Disk Drive Refurb
Another Commodore 4040 dual floppy disk drive ended up in my hands, but only temporarily for repairs and refurbishing. This drive didn't boot up in the beginning and had other small issues. I will show in great detail how to take these things apart and how to clean them and get them up to speed again.
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New video: Commodore 4040 Disk Drive Refurb
Another Commodore 4040 dual floppy disk drive ended up in my hands, but only temporarily for repairs and refurbishing. This drive didn't boot up in the beginning and had other small issues. I will show in great detail how to take these things apart and how to clean them and get them up to speed again.
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New video: Commodore 4040 Disk Drive Refurb
Another Commodore 4040 dual floppy disk drive ended up in my hands, but only temporarily for repairs and refurbishing. This drive didn't boot up in the beginning and had other small issues. I will show in great detail how to take these things apart and how to clean them and get them up to speed again.
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New video: Commodore 4040 Disk Drive Refurb
Another Commodore 4040 dual floppy disk drive ended up in my hands, but only temporarily for repairs and refurbishing. This drive didn't boot up in the beginning and had other small issues. I will show in great detail how to take these things apart and how to clean them and get them up to speed again.
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New video: Commodore 4040 Disk Drive Refurb
Another Commodore 4040 dual floppy disk drive ended up in my hands, but only temporarily for repairs and refurbishing. This drive didn't boot up in the beginning and had other small issues. I will show in great detail how to take these things apart and how to clean them and get them up to speed again.
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New video for Patrons: Commodore 4040 Disk Drive Refurb
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New video for Patrons: Commodore 4040 Disk Drive Refurb
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New video for Patrons: Commodore 4040 Disk Drive Refurb
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New video for Patrons: Commodore 4040 Disk Drive Refurb
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New video for Patrons: Commodore 4040 Disk Drive Refurb
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Verbatim - The Whole Message is Quality!
Those are some serious diskettes! 8" and 5,25"!
#floppydisks #retrocomputing -
Verbatim - The Whole Message is Quality!
Those are some serious diskettes! 8" and 5,25"!
#floppydisks #retrocomputing -
Verbatim - The Whole Message is Quality!
Those are some serious diskettes! 8" and 5,25"!
#floppydisks #retrocomputing -
Verbatim - The Whole Message is Quality!
Those are some serious diskettes! 8" and 5,25"!
#floppydisks #retrocomputing -
Verbatim - The Whole Message is Quality!
Those are some serious diskettes! 8" and 5,25"!
#floppydisks #retrocomputing -
🚀 Wow, someone should tell this guy that #DOS isn't exactly the pinnacle of secure operating systems. 🖥️ But hey, if you want to build a "secure" #AI by channeling your inner '90s computer geek, who am I to stop you? Just don't forget your floppy disks! 💾
https://www.flyingpenguin.com/build-an-openclaw-free-secure-always-on-local-ai-agent/ #Security #FloppyDisks #90sNostalgia #HackerNews #HackerNews #ngated -
🚀 Wow, someone should tell this guy that #DOS isn't exactly the pinnacle of secure operating systems. 🖥️ But hey, if you want to build a "secure" #AI by channeling your inner '90s computer geek, who am I to stop you? Just don't forget your floppy disks! 💾
https://www.flyingpenguin.com/build-an-openclaw-free-secure-always-on-local-ai-agent/ #Security #FloppyDisks #90sNostalgia #HackerNews #HackerNews #ngated -
🚀 Wow, someone should tell this guy that #DOS isn't exactly the pinnacle of secure operating systems. 🖥️ But hey, if you want to build a "secure" #AI by channeling your inner '90s computer geek, who am I to stop you? Just don't forget your floppy disks! 💾
https://www.flyingpenguin.com/build-an-openclaw-free-secure-always-on-local-ai-agent/ #Security #FloppyDisks #90sNostalgia #HackerNews #HackerNews #ngated -
🚀 Wow, someone should tell this guy that #DOS isn't exactly the pinnacle of secure operating systems. 🖥️ But hey, if you want to build a "secure" #AI by channeling your inner '90s computer geek, who am I to stop you? Just don't forget your floppy disks! 💾
https://www.flyingpenguin.com/build-an-openclaw-free-secure-always-on-local-ai-agent/ #Security #FloppyDisks #90sNostalgia #HackerNews #HackerNews #ngated -
🚀 Wow, someone should tell this guy that #DOS isn't exactly the pinnacle of secure operating systems. 🖥️ But hey, if you want to build a "secure" #AI by channeling your inner '90s computer geek, who am I to stop you? Just don't forget your floppy disks! 💾
https://www.flyingpenguin.com/build-an-openclaw-free-secure-always-on-local-ai-agent/ #Security #FloppyDisks #90sNostalgia #HackerNews #HackerNews #ngated -
Why a Locked Floppy Disk Could Be Safer Than a Modern Network
Photo by CCDBarcodeScanner, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.Dear Cherubs, in the 1990s, office security had the elegance of a locked drawer and the threat model of a very determined coat thief. Floppy disks were the workhorses of the era, and Britannica notes they were popular from the 1970s until the late 1990s, made of flexible plastic coated with magnetic material. Before the internet became an everyday business utility, many workplaces were still mostly offline; Pew Research found that in 1995 only 14% of U.S. adults had internet access, and 42% had never heard of it.
THE LOCKED-BOX LOGIC
If your payroll files, drafts, and backups lived on removable media, the cleanest security move was physical control. Put the disks in a cabinet, lock the cabinet, and hope nobody on the third floor had a master key and a curious streak. It was a blunt system, but it worked because access was local, slow, and obvious. If someone needed a copy, they usually had to walk over, ask, sign something, and maybe endure a suspicious look from whoever guarded the supply room.
That is the part people forget when they romanticize the old days. The security was not magical; the attack surface was just tiny. To steal the data, someone usually had to be in the building, or at least within arm’s reach of the media. Annoyingly low-tech, yes. Also annoyingly effective.
MODERN SECURITY, NEW PROBLEMS
Once files moved onto networks and cloud systems, the game changed. NIST defines intrusion detection as monitoring events in a system or network for signs of possible incidents, and says intrusion prevention systems can also try to stop them. CISA says firewalls shield computers and networks from malicious or unnecessary traffic, while NIST says cryptography is used to protect sensitive digitized information during transmission and while in storage. In other words: the modern office traded one locked box for a whole stack of digital locks, alarms, and panic buttons.
Of course, the modern setup has its own virtues. Data can be backed up automatically, shared instantly, and protected with layered controls that the floppy-disk era never needed. NIST’s storage-encryption guidance still says organizations should physically secure devices and removable media, which is a polite way of saying: the box still matters, even when the box now lives in a server rack. Security did not become less important; it became more complicated, which is basically the same thing with extra meetings.
So yes, a locked plastic box full of floppies could be safer than a badly configured internet-facing system. But that is not because the past was wiser. It is because the past had fewer doors, fewer windows, and fewer strangers trying every handle on the planet at once. Security has always been a trade-off between convenience and control; we just used to do the math with keys instead of passwords.
Sources:
The Thisclaimer logo blends a classic warning symbol with a brain icon to represent critical thinking, curiosity, and thoughtful disclaimers. #cybersecurity #dataSecurity #encryption #firewalls #floppyDisks #internet #internetHistory #intrusionDetection #officeHistory #openSource #physicalSecurity #techNostalgia #technology #ubuntu #wordpress
Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/technology/floppy-disk
Pew Research Center — https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2014/02/27/part-1-how-the-internet-has-woven-itself-into-american-life/
NIST SP 800-94 — https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/94/final
CISA firewalls — https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/understanding-firewalls-home-and-small-office-use
NIST SP 800-175B Rev. 1 — https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/175/b/r1/final
NIST SP 800-111 — https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication800-111.pdf
Wikimedia Commons image page — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Floppy_Disk_HD.jpg -
Why a Locked Floppy Disk Could Be Safer Than a Modern Network
Photo by CCDBarcodeScanner, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.Dear Cherubs, in the 1990s, office security had the elegance of a locked drawer and the threat model of a very determined coat thief. Floppy disks were the workhorses of the era, and Britannica notes they were popular from the 1970s until the late 1990s, made of flexible plastic coated with magnetic material. Before the internet became an everyday business utility, many workplaces were still mostly offline; Pew Research found that in 1995 only 14% of U.S. adults had internet access, and 42% had never heard of it.
THE LOCKED-BOX LOGIC
If your payroll files, drafts, and backups lived on removable media, the cleanest security move was physical control. Put the disks in a cabinet, lock the cabinet, and hope nobody on the third floor had a master key and a curious streak. It was a blunt system, but it worked because access was local, slow, and obvious. If someone needed a copy, they usually had to walk over, ask, sign something, and maybe endure a suspicious look from whoever guarded the supply room.
That is the part people forget when they romanticize the old days. The security was not magical; the attack surface was just tiny. To steal the data, someone usually had to be in the building, or at least within arm’s reach of the media. Annoyingly low-tech, yes. Also annoyingly effective.
MODERN SECURITY, NEW PROBLEMS
Once files moved onto networks and cloud systems, the game changed. NIST defines intrusion detection as monitoring events in a system or network for signs of possible incidents, and says intrusion prevention systems can also try to stop them. CISA says firewalls shield computers and networks from malicious or unnecessary traffic, while NIST says cryptography is used to protect sensitive digitized information during transmission and while in storage. In other words: the modern office traded one locked box for a whole stack of digital locks, alarms, and panic buttons.
Of course, the modern setup has its own virtues. Data can be backed up automatically, shared instantly, and protected with layered controls that the floppy-disk era never needed. NIST’s storage-encryption guidance still says organizations should physically secure devices and removable media, which is a polite way of saying: the box still matters, even when the box now lives in a server rack. Security did not become less important; it became more complicated, which is basically the same thing with extra meetings.
So yes, a locked plastic box full of floppies could be safer than a badly configured internet-facing system. But that is not because the past was wiser. It is because the past had fewer doors, fewer windows, and fewer strangers trying every handle on the planet at once. Security has always been a trade-off between convenience and control; we just used to do the math with keys instead of passwords.
Sources:
The Thisclaimer logo blends a classic warning symbol with a brain icon to represent critical thinking, curiosity, and thoughtful disclaimers. #cybersecurity #dataSecurity #encryption #firewalls #floppyDisks #internet #internetHistory #intrusionDetection #officeHistory #openSource #physicalSecurity #techNostalgia #technology #ubuntu #wordpress
Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/technology/floppy-disk
Pew Research Center — https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2014/02/27/part-1-how-the-internet-has-woven-itself-into-american-life/
NIST SP 800-94 — https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/94/final
CISA firewalls — https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/understanding-firewalls-home-and-small-office-use
NIST SP 800-175B Rev. 1 — https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/175/b/r1/final
NIST SP 800-111 — https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication800-111.pdf
Wikimedia Commons image page — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Floppy_Disk_HD.jpg -
Why a Locked Floppy Disk Could Be Safer Than a Modern Network
Photo by CCDBarcodeScanner, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.Dear Cherubs, in the 1990s, office security had the elegance of a locked drawer and the threat model of a very determined coat thief. Floppy disks were the workhorses of the era, and Britannica notes they were popular from the 1970s until the late 1990s, made of flexible plastic coated with magnetic material. Before the internet became an everyday business utility, many workplaces were still mostly offline; Pew Research found that in 1995 only 14% of U.S. adults had internet access, and 42% had never heard of it.
THE LOCKED-BOX LOGIC
If your payroll files, drafts, and backups lived on removable media, the cleanest security move was physical control. Put the disks in a cabinet, lock the cabinet, and hope nobody on the third floor had a master key and a curious streak. It was a blunt system, but it worked because access was local, slow, and obvious. If someone needed a copy, they usually had to walk over, ask, sign something, and maybe endure a suspicious look from whoever guarded the supply room.
That is the part people forget when they romanticize the old days. The security was not magical; the attack surface was just tiny. To steal the data, someone usually had to be in the building, or at least within arm’s reach of the media. Annoyingly low-tech, yes. Also annoyingly effective.
MODERN SECURITY, NEW PROBLEMS
Once files moved onto networks and cloud systems, the game changed. NIST defines intrusion detection as monitoring events in a system or network for signs of possible incidents, and says intrusion prevention systems can also try to stop them. CISA says firewalls shield computers and networks from malicious or unnecessary traffic, while NIST says cryptography is used to protect sensitive digitized information during transmission and while in storage. In other words: the modern office traded one locked box for a whole stack of digital locks, alarms, and panic buttons.
Of course, the modern setup has its own virtues. Data can be backed up automatically, shared instantly, and protected with layered controls that the floppy-disk era never needed. NIST’s storage-encryption guidance still says organizations should physically secure devices and removable media, which is a polite way of saying: the box still matters, even when the box now lives in a server rack. Security did not become less important; it became more complicated, which is basically the same thing with extra meetings.
So yes, a locked plastic box full of floppies could be safer than a badly configured internet-facing system. But that is not because the past was wiser. It is because the past had fewer doors, fewer windows, and fewer strangers trying every handle on the planet at once. Security has always been a trade-off between convenience and control; we just used to do the math with keys instead of passwords.
Sources:
The Thisclaimer logo blends a classic warning symbol with a brain icon to represent critical thinking, curiosity, and thoughtful disclaimers. #cybersecurity #dataSecurity #encryption #firewalls #floppyDisks #internet #internetHistory #intrusionDetection #officeHistory #openSource #physicalSecurity #techNostalgia #technology #ubuntu #wordpress
Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/technology/floppy-disk
Pew Research Center — https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2014/02/27/part-1-how-the-internet-has-woven-itself-into-american-life/
NIST SP 800-94 — https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/94/final
CISA firewalls — https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/understanding-firewalls-home-and-small-office-use
NIST SP 800-175B Rev. 1 — https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/175/b/r1/final
NIST SP 800-111 — https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication800-111.pdf
Wikimedia Commons image page — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Floppy_Disk_HD.jpg -
Why a Locked Floppy Disk Could Be Safer Than a Modern Network
Photo by CCDBarcodeScanner, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.Dear Cherubs, in the 1990s, office security had the elegance of a locked drawer and the threat model of a very determined coat thief. Floppy disks were the workhorses of the era, and Britannica notes they were popular from the 1970s until the late 1990s, made of flexible plastic coated with magnetic material. Before the internet became an everyday business utility, many workplaces were still mostly offline; Pew Research found that in 1995 only 14% of U.S. adults had internet access, and 42% had never heard of it.
THE LOCKED-BOX LOGIC
If your payroll files, drafts, and backups lived on removable media, the cleanest security move was physical control. Put the disks in a cabinet, lock the cabinet, and hope nobody on the third floor had a master key and a curious streak. It was a blunt system, but it worked because access was local, slow, and obvious. If someone needed a copy, they usually had to walk over, ask, sign something, and maybe endure a suspicious look from whoever guarded the supply room.
That is the part people forget when they romanticize the old days. The security was not magical; the attack surface was just tiny. To steal the data, someone usually had to be in the building, or at least within arm’s reach of the media. Annoyingly low-tech, yes. Also annoyingly effective.
MODERN SECURITY, NEW PROBLEMS
Once files moved onto networks and cloud systems, the game changed. NIST defines intrusion detection as monitoring events in a system or network for signs of possible incidents, and says intrusion prevention systems can also try to stop them. CISA says firewalls shield computers and networks from malicious or unnecessary traffic, while NIST says cryptography is used to protect sensitive digitized information during transmission and while in storage. In other words: the modern office traded one locked box for a whole stack of digital locks, alarms, and panic buttons.
Of course, the modern setup has its own virtues. Data can be backed up automatically, shared instantly, and protected with layered controls that the floppy-disk era never needed. NIST’s storage-encryption guidance still says organizations should physically secure devices and removable media, which is a polite way of saying: the box still matters, even when the box now lives in a server rack. Security did not become less important; it became more complicated, which is basically the same thing with extra meetings.
So yes, a locked plastic box full of floppies could be safer than a badly configured internet-facing system. But that is not because the past was wiser. It is because the past had fewer doors, fewer windows, and fewer strangers trying every handle on the planet at once. Security has always been a trade-off between convenience and control; we just used to do the math with keys instead of passwords.
Sources:
The Thisclaimer logo blends a classic warning symbol with a brain icon to represent critical thinking, curiosity, and thoughtful disclaimers. #cybersecurity #dataSecurity #encryption #firewalls #floppyDisks #internet #internetHistory #intrusionDetection #officeHistory #openSource #physicalSecurity #techNostalgia #technology #ubuntu #wordpress
Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/technology/floppy-disk
Pew Research Center — https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2014/02/27/part-1-how-the-internet-has-woven-itself-into-american-life/
NIST SP 800-94 — https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/94/final
CISA firewalls — https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/understanding-firewalls-home-and-small-office-use
NIST SP 800-175B Rev. 1 — https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/175/b/r1/final
NIST SP 800-111 — https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication800-111.pdf
Wikimedia Commons image page — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Floppy_Disk_HD.jpg -
Why a Locked Floppy Disk Could Be Safer Than a Modern Network
Photo by CCDBarcodeScanner, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.Dear Cherubs, in the 1990s, office security had the elegance of a locked drawer and the threat model of a very determined coat thief. Floppy disks were the workhorses of the era, and Britannica notes they were popular from the 1970s until the late 1990s, made of flexible plastic coated with magnetic material. Before the internet became an everyday business utility, many workplaces were still mostly offline; Pew Research found that in 1995 only 14% of U.S. adults had internet access, and 42% had never heard of it.
THE LOCKED-BOX LOGIC
If your payroll files, drafts, and backups lived on removable media, the cleanest security move was physical control. Put the disks in a cabinet, lock the cabinet, and hope nobody on the third floor had a master key and a curious streak. It was a blunt system, but it worked because access was local, slow, and obvious. If someone needed a copy, they usually had to walk over, ask, sign something, and maybe endure a suspicious look from whoever guarded the supply room.
That is the part people forget when they romanticize the old days. The security was not magical; the attack surface was just tiny. To steal the data, someone usually had to be in the building, or at least within arm’s reach of the media. Annoyingly low-tech, yes. Also annoyingly effective.
MODERN SECURITY, NEW PROBLEMS
Once files moved onto networks and cloud systems, the game changed. NIST defines intrusion detection as monitoring events in a system or network for signs of possible incidents, and says intrusion prevention systems can also try to stop them. CISA says firewalls shield computers and networks from malicious or unnecessary traffic, while NIST says cryptography is used to protect sensitive digitized information during transmission and while in storage. In other words: the modern office traded one locked box for a whole stack of digital locks, alarms, and panic buttons.
Of course, the modern setup has its own virtues. Data can be backed up automatically, shared instantly, and protected with layered controls that the floppy-disk era never needed. NIST’s storage-encryption guidance still says organizations should physically secure devices and removable media, which is a polite way of saying: the box still matters, even when the box now lives in a server rack. Security did not become less important; it became more complicated, which is basically the same thing with extra meetings.
So yes, a locked plastic box full of floppies could be safer than a badly configured internet-facing system. But that is not because the past was wiser. It is because the past had fewer doors, fewer windows, and fewer strangers trying every handle on the planet at once. Security has always been a trade-off between convenience and control; we just used to do the math with keys instead of passwords.
Sources:
The Thisclaimer logo blends a classic warning symbol with a brain icon to represent critical thinking, curiosity, and thoughtful disclaimers. #cybersecurity #dataSecurity #encryption #firewalls #floppyDisks #internet #internetHistory #intrusionDetection #officeHistory #openSource #physicalSecurity #techNostalgia #technology #ubuntu #wordpress
Britannica — https://www.britannica.com/technology/floppy-disk
Pew Research Center — https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2014/02/27/part-1-how-the-internet-has-woven-itself-into-american-life/
NIST SP 800-94 — https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/94/final
CISA firewalls — https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/news/understanding-firewalls-home-and-small-office-use
NIST SP 800-175B Rev. 1 — https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/175/b/r1/final
NIST SP 800-111 — https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/Legacy/SP/nistspecialpublication800-111.pdf
Wikimedia Commons image page — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Floppy_Disk_HD.jpg -
Your daily reminder to keep #floppydisks out of toasters. #digipres #beaglebros
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Your daily reminder to keep #floppydisks out of toasters. #digipres #beaglebros
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Your daily reminder to keep #floppydisks out of toasters. #digipres #beaglebros
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Your daily reminder to keep #floppydisks out of toasters. #digipres #beaglebros
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Your daily reminder to keep #floppydisks out of toasters. #digipres #beaglebros
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New video for Patrons:
1541 Floppy Disk Differences
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New video for Patrons:
1541 Floppy Disk Differences
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New video for Patrons:
1541 Floppy Disk Differences
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New video for Patrons:
1541 Floppy Disk Differences
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New video for Patrons:
1541 Floppy Disk Differences
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Oh boy, the comments for my floppy disk punch video are great. There is quite a bit of polarization happening. Some remember this hack fondly, others say it's overrated, or even BAD for the disks!
What is your opinion?