So, we’ve had a unique opportunity and a great pleasure to talk to one of the topmost authorities on developer security in the world, both a Microsoft Regional Director and MVP for Developer Security, Troy Hunt.

Troy made some time between playing tennis with his son and writing the newest blog post to share some thoughts about his life, Australia, tourist-eating crocodiles, password security and his experience of speaking in front of American Congress among other things.

You won’t find too much technical information in this interview, but you’ll maybe learn more about the other side of Troy Hunt and get some exclusive insight into his next Pluralsight courses.

The goal of the interview wasn’t to torture Troy for the 1000th time about what the “secure password” is or should we still use SHA-1 for hashing passwords, it was to casually talk to Troy and get to know him better as a husband and a father of two kids, as well as how he manages to produce so much and still balance his family and his work.

So, prepare your coffees, disable your inner grammar Nazi’s (English is hard in the morning y’all :)) and listen to what Troy Hunt has to say:

The Interview

To download just the audio (if you prefer listening): Interview With Troy Full Audio.

And for the readers out there: Transcript of the Interview.

And if you subscribe you can even get the BONUS infographic of the interview: Troy Hunt Infographic

Summary

  1. Introduction
    • Introduction to the interview
    • Who is Troy Hunt?
  2. About haveibeenpwned.com
    • Troy talks about his website Have I Been Pwned because I’ve missed to mention it in the introduction *facepalm*
  3. Raising awareness of password security
    • We’re talking about the main goal of haveibeenpwned.com and how easily people give away their passwords
    • Troy reveals how he manages his passwords for years, and recommends the right way to do it
  4. Password lists circulating through the internet
    • About the password aggregators and the password lists that have accumulated over the years
    • The problem of too many services out there that eagerly collect our credentials, even if we use them once or twice
  5. How living in Australia is for Troy
    • How Troy copes with living upside down all the time
    • About Troy’s “British” accent
    • Australia doesn’t exist, what?
  6. Nasty creatures inhabiting Australia
    • How to get killed in Australia
    • About Darwin’s theory and a place called “Darwin”
    • About Gold Cost (where Troy lives)
  7. How Troy manages to balance his work life and family life
    • Hack your career
    • Troy explains how he manages to balance the most important parts of his life: family and career
  8. The requirements of being successful
    • About the sacrifices, motivation, and love of what you do
  9. About the veterinarian side of Troy (Squirrel injection)
  10. How even the youngest children can hack stuff
  11. Exclusive information about Troy’s latest plans for Pluralsight courses
  12. How he attended the American Congress
    • Troy talks about his experience in Washington DC and the movie-like atmosphere of the city
    • Does he ever get nervous?
  13. About the technique that he uses to make his Pluralsight courses so good and profitable
    • Troy shares what makes a good Pluralsight course
  14. How real-life examples translate badly into the technical world
  15. What his greatest accomplishment is
    • Hint: HIBP – Troy gives a bit of background on how haveibeenpwned.com started and where it is now
  16. About the number of people and requests, he gets on haveibeenpwned.com sometimes
    • Troy gives some insight into the number of requests he gets on certain days on haveibeenpwned.com
  17. Where you can find more about Troy Hunt
  18. Conclusion

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