Category Archives: privacy/secrecy/security

What To Do About Fraudulent SSL Certificates?

Posted on September 5, 2011 by Josh Peters

In case you’ve missed it, Dutch certificate authority DigiNotar issued a wildcard SSL certificate to someone who is not Google for *.google.com. The risk to most folks is that a third party can pretend to be Google for most intents … Continue reading →

Posted in authentication, encryption, podcast, privacy/secrecy/security, technology, web | Tagged dns, internet, security, ssl | Leave a comment

Proposal: Making Web Browsing Safer

Posted on June 20, 2010 by Josh Peters

Overview There are a lot of really great ways to communicate securely over the ‘Net. The trouble is, they’re virtually all user-unfriendly. Today I’d like to start a discussion on making browsing safer and friendlier for everyone. I call it … Continue reading →

Posted in authentication, privacy/secrecy/security, society/culture/news, technology, web | Tagged authentication, security, ssl | Leave a comment

Queue the Conspiracy Theorists!

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Josh Peters

According to a University of Rochester report, plastic chemicals “feminize boys.” If I ask how long before a rumor of a global conspiracy against Western boys is mentioned, does that count as a mention? Seriously though, if I could at … Continue reading →

Posted in customer-relations, flamebait, health, identity, politics/government, privacy/secrecy/security | Tagged conspiracies, plastic, security | 2 Comments

And the GPL is not viral how?

Posted on November 22, 2008 by Josh Peters

Here’s a discussion between Richard Stallman and Bruno Haible forcing Haible’s code to change to a GPL license. It’s like reading something out of a geek version of The Godfather. I’m a fan of truly free licenses such as the … Continue reading →

Posted in lawsuits, privacy/secrecy/security, PSA, religion | Tagged free software, geek religious wars, open source, stuff that hurts more than it helps | Leave a comment

Opt-Out of Google Tracking Cookies

Posted on August 27, 2008 by Josh Peters

Steps to opt-out: visit Google’s Privacy Ads page Click on the Opt Out button Now your browser has a cookie that won’t be connected to your Google account for tracking ads.

Posted in best-practices, privacy/secrecy/security | 1 Comment

Bush: Enemies Still Out There So Screw Due Process!

Posted on February 15, 2008 by Josh Peters

President Bush really, really wants the House of Representatives to make his administration’s illegal dealings with telecommunication companies okay. According to CNN, he’s even pulling a Cheney, bringing out the “they’re still out there” trump card. Of course our country … Continue reading →

Posted in politics/government, privacy/secrecy/security | Leave a comment

Cross-Site Request Forgery

Posted on February 12, 2008 by Josh Peters

Okay, here’s some advice with a slightly technical explanation of why you should put it into practice. Planet Websecurity is reporting on the real-world example of a Cross-Site Request Forgery. In case you don’t wanna read it: in a nutshell … Continue reading →

Posted in privacy/secrecy/security, PSA | 2 Comments

Schneier on "Security vs. Privacy"

Posted on January 29, 2008 by Josh Peters

Bruce Schneier has written a good post about the ideological issue of pitting privacy against security. I’m a fan of Bruce’s work, and this is no exception. It’s well thought-out, and offers a good analysis of the sad state of … Continue reading →

Posted in politics/government, privacy/secrecy/security, society/culture/news | 2 Comments

License for Secure Programmers?

Posted on January 18, 2008 by Josh Peters

Bill de hÓra makes an interesting point regarding Reg Braithwaite’s doctors (and engineers) versus software developers. I think our industry needs some form of accrediting in order to do some forms of development (think medical records or banking). While I … Continue reading →

Posted in privacy/secrecy/security, programming, society/culture/news | Leave a comment

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