The 80s called and want their communication tech back [en]

Well, they might as well. Because I just got my first fax machine today. No fax hardware though, just a virtual one. My e-mail provider is offering that as a service. Even got my own number (which I had to verify via snail mail) and I can send and receive faxes. It’s 2022 now, and …

Small Money in Tanzania [en]

One thing that stands out here in Tanzania (yupp, I’m still here, greetings from Zanzibar!) is the huge wealth gap. Tourists can easily pay European prices at restaurants and hotels. Wealthy locals drive big SUVs and own generous houses (and other real estate). But many Tanzanians live in tremendously poor conditions, especially in rural areas. …

Let’s Encrypt! [en]

… is where I’m getting the TLS certificates for this blog nowadays (after moving away from CAcert). I’ve been using Let’s Encrypt at work now and then. Many colleagues in my department are heavy users and my employer is a sponsor. So I knew what to expect and how to get started. Nevertheless, here’s a …

.tax me! [de]

Wer hätte gedacht, dass in der Finanzverwaltung jemand mit einem Fünkchen Witz sitzt? Ich habe mich gerade für Elster-Online registriert, und habe mich doch einigermaßen über die Datei-Endungen gefreut, die sie dort durchgehend in Ihren URL-Pfaden verwenden. Hier z.B.: https://www.elsteronline.de/eportal/eop/auth/Registrierung.tax Und, dass die Leute dort überhaupt genug Englisch beherrschen? Das ist schon mal einen Oettinger …

OpenSSL CLI-Cheat-Sheet [en]

The OpenSSL library is utilized by a wide range of other open-source projects, like web-servers, mail-servers, VPN-servers, etc. When dealing with such software and SSL, it often proves useful to be familiar with the openssl command-line tools. Of course, OpenSSL does have great man-pages, and a quick web-search reveals plenty of usage examples. However, OpenSSL …

29C3 Talk: Certificate Authority Collapse [en]

Just watching axelarnbak‘s 29C3 talk on Certificate Authority Collapse, which covers structural flaws in SSL. I’ve reported on the mess with SSL before, and you may notice related complications (see CAcert) while browsing this page. After a good summary, the talk mainly focuses on structural problems and regulatory solution approaches. But apparently there are other …

Netzneutralität in Mobilfunknetzen ‒ Ein Erfahrungsbericht [en]

Heute will ich ein paar Aspekte des weiten Themengebiets Netzneutralität anhand konkreter Erlebnisse illustrieren. Ich hole dazu ein wenig weiter aus.  Wer sich nur für den Kern der Sache interessiert kann folgenden Prolog gern überspringen. Prolog In letzter Zeit hatte ich oft das Gefühl, dass der Internetzugang meines Mobiltelefons ein bisschen lahm ist. Ich habe …

SSL Seriously? [Update] [en]

I just ordered a muilti-domain SSL-certificate for 3 of the websites that are run by my company. It’s a simple domain-validated certificate, so they sent me a validation e-mail to the webmaster address of the domain. Yes, you heard right! I’m saying the domain, cause they only bothered to validate one of the three Domains …