Category: Technology

I work in technology sector. And I do round a clock, not only from 9 to 5. It is my bread and butter, it is my hobby, it is the fascination of my life. And with the current rate of change particular in information technology (IT), there is always something new to learn, to try, to talk about. I often post news, thoughts, and reviews. And when I do, this is the category I use.

The Heartbleed Bug

heartbleed

If you haven’t heard about The Heartbleed Bug yet, here is your chance.  This page describes it nicely in not too technical detail.  Let’s get a few quotes to get you started:

The Heartbleed Bug is a serious vulnerability in the popular OpenSSL cryptographic software library. This weakness allows stealing the information protected, under normal conditions, by the SSL/TLS encryption used to secure the Internet. SSL/TLS provides communication security and privacy over the Internet for applications such as web, email, instant messaging (IM) and some virtual private networks (VPNs).

The Heartbleed bug allows anyone on the Internet to read the memory of the systems protected by the vulnerable versions of the OpenSSL software. This compromises the secret keys used to identify the service providers and to encrypt the traffic, the names and passwords of the users and the actual content. This allows attackers to eavesdrop on communications, steal data directly from the services and users and to impersonate services and users.

That doesn’t just sound nasty.  IT IS!

Continue reading The Heartbleed Bug

Piwik – Liberating Web Analytics

Piwik is the leading open source web analytics platform that gives you valuable insights into your website’s visitors, your marketing campaigns and much more, so you can optimize your strategy and online experience of your visitors.

Piwik.org

WordPress themes : Houston

I’ve covered the simple, but very functional p2 theme for WordPress, that helps one to create an Intranet  in five minutes or so.  One thing that p2 lacks a bit though is eye-pleasing beauty.  It’s simple and functional alright, but it’s not much to look at.

It turns out that people all around the globe were working to solve this  problem, mostly with a variety of child themes.  Today I came across one such project – Houston.

houston screenshot

 

Now I can’t wait to try it out on one of my upcoming projects.

The Fifth Protocol

The Fifth Protocol

Cryptocurrencies are electronic cash, and as such, will be used by electronic agents to exchange value, verify contracts, and track identity and reputation. All of a sudden, the computing resources spent by the Bitcoin miners doesn’t seem wasted – it seems efficient, given that it can be used for congestion control and routing of other network resources.

Cryptocurrencies are an emergent property of the Internet – almost a fifth protocol in the Internet suite. If Satoshi Nakomoto did not exist, it would still be necessary to invent them. Someday, they will be used by the machines in our network, on our desk, in our garage, and in our pocket to exchange value and achieve consensus at blinding speeds, anonymously, and at minimal cost.