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Let’s Encrypt – A New Certificate Authority

Diagram of a public key infrastructure

 

Security Expert Bruce Schneier recently pointed to a joint project to create a new certificate authority that lets everyone get basic certificates for their domain through a simple process.

 

The idea would include not only free, but automatic, secure, transparent, open, and cooperative.

The service, called Let’s Encrypt, is set to launch in the summer of 2015.

The reason for the delay is that the service wants to leverage new standards. The most notable is ACME(Automated Certificate Management Environment). The idea is that the Certificate Authority communicates with the web server and the two work together to prove ownership and download the certificate, as well as handle configuration and renewal.

Now, considering how much of a chore certificates are right now, the standard, even outside of Lets Encrypt, would save a lot of anguish. Once the server has proven that it is the server of record for that domain, it can handle everything.

There’s more to it then that, and certainly, there are still risks, but we’ll see what these people come up with by the time the ACME standard is finalized.

 

Published on November 23, 2014
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KeyCDN: A Review

KeyCDN LogoIn a continuing effort to get the best combination of services and pricing, I often review my choice of provider. While it is a pain to migrate services, things do change over time.

As a small site, I want the benefits of a CDN, but the monthly cost of one is not within my budget. Which is why I explore pay-per-use CDNs. Metering means that I can prepay for a few GBs of traffic and it can last me a while. I wrote about this back in 2013, when I was talking about how new providers intrigued me.

After some problems with other incumbents, I was once again looking for new options, and came upon KeyCDN, which is a Swiss CDN that is well regarded so far. I’ve been using them for about six months now. They offer $0.04 per GB for the first 10TB. And in the last six months, they’ve continued to add features.

Here are a few of their features:

  • Pay Per Use Pricing – So no minimum monthly costs
  • A Free Trial(although most of these services have that)
  • Unlimited Zones that can be aliased as subdomains on your site.
  • SSL – Shared or Custom SSL. Shared SSL is them using their certificate. If you want to alias the CDN zone as a subdomain on your site, you need to buy a certificate from them or supply your own.
  • SPDY Support
  • Push Zones(if you want them to store the content, not just pull and cache it from your site)
    • Cost is $0.90/GB per month.
    • They added rsync support after I signed up, in addition to FTP, allowing you to sync your static site to them if you want.
  • Export log files to your own syslog server
  • An API if you want to control your zones

They keep adding more features….or I keep noticing them. Until I started writing this, I didn’t know they had added syslog support. Which brings me to my only real criticism of KeyCDN. The last time I looked intently, I don’t think I saw the feature. So they certainly could be better at conveying new features to me.

Whenever I’ve needed help, they have been prompt in their response and have worked with me.

But there is so much here I don’t take advantage of that I wish to. This is a basic review, but I may go into more detail in future. I’d like to try to play with their API, as they have a PHP library on Github and I’ve been working on my PHP skills as part of maintaining this site, which runs WordPress(written in PHP).

So, give them a try…if you do, try my links…I wouldn’t mind the extra few credits in my account. If you have any questions, please send a message or leave a comment.

Responsible Disclosure: I am a customer of KeyCDN, and I am using my affiliate link, which provides me with extra CDN credit. However, my decision to finally get around to reviewing them is due to the responsiveness of their support and their feature set.

 

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Published on November 22, 2014
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Who Needs a Smartwatch? Why not Just a Pod?

The Ditto

When I tried out the Pebble Smart Watch, the main thing that interested me about it was the ability to know there was something that might need my attention. The vibrator in the Pebble is powerful enough to vibrate itself off my nightstand when not being worn.

The simplicity of the Pebble, compared to the increased complexity of Android Wear watches, makes it an appealing option.

But a new company, Simple Matters, led by designer Bob Olodort, is going even simpler. Olodort created one of my favorite classic devices, the stowaway keyboard…something I wish they’d remake.

The first product being released by Olodort is called the Ditto. It’s a tiny pod with an optional clip which acts as a remote vibrating notification device for your phone. You can set vibration patterns from their app.

It’s simple…it does one thing, and uses a battery that only needs replacing every 4-6 months.

The Ditto is currently in a Kickstarter, but partially, it is said, for publicity purposes. For $29, you can get a Ditto…assuming it is made and meets its $100,000 goal. The device will ultimately have a $49 MSRP.

 

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Published on November 20, 2014
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Revisiting the Chromebook Challenge

English: An Acer Chromebook showing the introd...

Back in January of 2013, I took a Chromebook challenge, and invited several other members of the Gadget Wisdom family to try the thing out.

This was the $199 Acer C7 Chromebook. This set up Chromebooks as the successor to the old netbook market…the small portable device you took along for productivity, but was not your primary driver.

At the end of that, I concluded it was a solid investment.

So, has anything changed in nearly two years? More manufacturers are making Chromebooks. The gambit runs from the cheaper ones to the ultra-expensive top of the line Pixel, with regrettably, few options midrange.

While the apps aren’t there, Chrome OS does support native apps, and Android apps are starting to come over. With time, the ecosystem will continue to mature. More on this to come.

 

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Published on November 18, 2014
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NYC to Replace Payphones With Hotspots

LinkNYCMy hometown of New York City has announced a plan to replace thousands of payphones with wi-fi hotspots. The Link(as it is called) will provide free public wifi, free phone calls anywhere in the U.S., a touchscreen interface to city services and directions, easy 311/911 access, free charging for mobile, and digital displays for advertising and PSAs.

The wi-fi will be encrypted, which is not common in public hotspots, and some locations will be gigabit.

On a practical level, this modernizes the payphone. It still has the important aspects…the ability to call for emergency services, make telephone calls when needed, etc. But it adds in the services that we desire in the modern age.

I am a bit concerned about a few things. One, this is a ten-foot tall spire with ads on the side. The ads are by necessity. That’s what is going to fund this. But I worry about the intrusiveness of these things. But it will likely be no more intrusive than other ads. Also, imagine a group of digital nomads clustered around this spire with its internet and charging station.

A ten foot tall device actually could blanket a wider area than just immediately around the device. It is tall enough to theoretically stretch down the street. It could change a lot.

 

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Published on November 18, 2014
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Square Launches Chip Credit Card Reader

A diagram showing the front side of a typical ...
A diagram showing the front side of a typical credit/debit card. (1) is the bank logo. (2) is the EMV chip (commonly referred to as ‘Chip And Pin’) (3) is the Hologram (4) is the 16 digit card number (5) is the logo of the card type (6) is the expiry date (7) is the name of the cardholder (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Square has announced they will be launching a mobile phone chip credit card reader for $29. The current magnetic swipe reader for mobile phones is offered as a free item.

Chip technology in credit cards will be mandatory in 2015. The chips make the cards more difficult to clone and have been successful in reducing fraud outside of the U.S.

VentureBeat notes in their article that Square will be supporting chip and signature, not chip and pin transactions, but this may merely be in the initial stages.

Chip and Pin is the most secure of these new technologies. It requires something you have…the credit card, and something you know…the Pin. Chip and Signature makes the card harder to duplicate, but as I rarely see people checking signatures now, which they are supposed to do, it eliminates the second factor and makes it less secure than otherwise.

So, despite the push for these new cards, the credit card industry is weakening the effort and will hopefully move to the more secure technology later on.

In the meantime though, Square is ahead of the curve by offering this in an inexpensive manner as part of their continued attempts to expand their presence as a payment processor.

(Via Venturebeat)

Published on November 13, 2014
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And We’re Back

After a hiatus, I’m trying to bring this site back and commit to regular contributions. You are going to see a variety of different posts as I try to figure out the best combination of stories to generate a unique spin on things.

There are a lot of technology themed sites out there, and there is certainly a lot of room in the space. Looking forward to more.

In the meantime, why not subscribe, follow, like….whatever works for you. And if you have any comments or ideas, I’d love to hear them.

Published on November 12, 2014
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Need a Portable Battery to Charge Your Electronics?

Anker Astro Mini

The Astro Anker Mini is on sale over at Newegg for $10.99 with the coupon EMCWWWW33 until 11/13.

Newegg Link

This 3000mAh battery is small, portable, and in a durable metal case.

There are higher capacity batteries, but the combination of form factor makes this a good choice for emergencies.

I keep two of these in strategic places for emergencies.

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Published on November 11, 2014
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Amazon Announces the Echo

Amazon Echo
Amazon Echo

Amazon has had an interesting run this year. The Fire Phone, their attempt at a smartphone with their forked Android OS resulted in a significant writeoff. Meanwhile, they apparently press on and have unveiled their latest toy…the Amazon Echo.

The Echo is basically a speaker that also has a voice recognition mode, so you can ask it questions, in the same way you would Siri, Google Now, etc. Echo, aka ‘Alexa’ (the default codeword)  is always listening, and is always able to answer your question.

Echo is being offered to a limited set for $99(for Prime Members) or $199 for everyone else. I’m not sure the utility of a talking bluetooth speaker. They also have an app…so I can do the same thing with the phone I have, assuming I don’t like the software already trying to do this.

But what do you think? Is this an attempt to make it easier to shop at Amazon? Another moonshot like the Fire Phone? A possible flop?

Alexa…tell me why you exist.

 

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Published on November 9, 2014
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Reconsidering Powerline Networking

Years ago, I tried powerline networking, and it never quite worked for me. But, a recent dead spot in my residence caused me to give it a shot again. Wiring to connect the two locations where I needed network access would be an involved process.

Powerline networking adapters are simple square boxes with a network port. You plug your network into one end, and it comes out the other side. Some of these adapters also act as wireless access points.

It worked surprisingly well, although I was only able to get 2mbps…but this was plugged into an extension cord. The adapters tend to have degraded performance if not directly plugged into the wall.

The adapters I used were an inexpensive set of TP-Link AV200 adapters I got for $25, but there is a faster standard…AV500. On the far end, I hooked up a wireless access point. I have the option of adding a switch in order to wire in items.

So, if you haven’t considered powerline networking of late…you may wish to. A wire is still better, faster, and more reliable, but it is not always an option.

Published on November 9, 2014
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