About

About POPCyber

Who is Griz?

Griz is a cyber professional for an agency within the U.S. federal government. Do not ask for whom, as I will not tell you. Many of my friends and family do not know specifically for whom I work for.

I started computing in 1977 or so, hacking and phreaking (phreaking is outside of the scope of this site (for anow anyway)) came soon after. I resisted technical work until 1992 as I was afraid that it would tarnish my appreciation for the hobby.

Later I was drawn into cybersecurity and I have not looked back other than THOSE days where we all question our life/career choices. I had a manger who once told the team that each day he would go home and tell his wife all of the ways that we scared the crap out of him. We were just sharing the realities of the day. My wife is also a cybersecurity professional and there are days where she wishes that she could return to the state of ignorance being bliss. That genie has left the bottle.

I am in what I hope to be the last decade of full time work. Will I go to a quiet retirement? Not likely, I will need to be busy. There are too many things to poke with a sharp stick to see how they work.

So… what is POPCyber?

Think of it as your friendly neighborhood cybersecurity rabbit hole—minus the sketchy forums, broken links, and advice from someone named xXShadowRootXx.

We’re here for two reasons:

  1. To help everyday people stop doing wildly unsafe things online
  2. To help future cyber pros go from “what’s a firewall?” to “that’s not how any of this works”

For the Humans (a.k.a. Everyone)

Let’s be honest—most people’s cybersecurity strategy is:

  • Reuse the same password everywhere
  • Click first, think later
  • Assume “it won’t happen to me”

Together, we fix that.

No gatekeeping. No elitist nonsense. No “RTFM” energy.

Just practical knowledge so you can:

  • Spot phishing before it spots you
  • Avoid downloading “Free_Movie_Final_v7_REAL.exe”
  • Stop making hackers’ lives ridiculously easy

For Future Hackers (the legal kind)

If you’re trying to break into cybersecurity, welcome to the chaos.

You’re about to enter a world where:

  • Everything is outdated the moment you learn it
  • Acronyms are a full-time language
  • Everyone has opinions, and half of them contradict each other

We help you cut through the noise.

No fluff. No fake “become a hacker in 24 hours” nonsense.

Just real resources, guidance, and a path forward so you can:

  • Build actual skills
  • Understand how systems really break
  • And maybe—just maybe—get paid to fix them

Our Vibe

We believe cybersecurity should be:

  • Accessible
  • Practical
  • Slightly irreverent

Because let’s face it—this field takes itself way too seriously sometimes.

Final Packet

If you’re here to:

  • Stay safer online → you’re in the right place
  • Start a cybersecurity career → even better
  • Figure out how you got hacked → yeah… we should talk

POPCyber exists to make cybersecurity make sense—without the ego, the noise, or the nonsense.

Stay curious. Stay skeptical.
And for the love of everything… stop reusing your passwords.