Tag: Security

The Infamous SSL Issues and what I’ve learned!

Paul
Image by Schluesseldienst from Pixabay

It happened to me!

If you were watching my site the last day or so you would of come to notice a message. The messages was ‘ERR_SSL_UNRECOGNIZED_NAME_ALERT‘. I really don’t know how it happened or even why it happened. I have been using the free SSL certificate from Let’s Encrypt, I really believe that they want to do everything in their power to give bloggers and other websites a chance to encrypt their data even if they don’t have to. I’m currently using Hostgator and I have always keep with them, when I am using my blog. They walked me through the process of fixing this issue.

My experience with it all!

I was told by Jetpack that my sit was having intermittent connections and that my site appears to be offline. This is strictly and automatic support for WordPress and it is basically just pinging the server from time to time. I proceeded to my website and saw the error. I’m not a novice at this and went searching through Google. I can usually find what I am needing to solve this issue. I found at Stackflow Community Questions sections about this same exact error. Then I tried the same exact process the guy did to see if I could resolve this issue. It seemed to work for the most part. I tried to force WordPress back into non secure connection and I could log in to WordPress dashboard. I couldn’t connect to my FTP server with and I knew it had to be an issue with the SSL certificate. I’ve never known this issue to be anything but that because I couldn’t login with FilleZilla to my server.

Hostgator Tech Support

I chatted on live support with Tech support for about an Hour and we continued back and fourth about what is causing this problem. I honestly thought it might be having to do with Sitelock and Let’s Encrypt but we moved through the process of getting this issue fixed and finally he uninstalled the certificate and couldn’t reinstall it but couldn’t due to Sitelock. Then the site started giving me the error Code 30. I talked to support all the while and he tried a few more things but ultimately he had to create a ticket for them to fix it. I wasn’t too worried that my site would be down too long but I did at least want to tell you my story. They fixed my site with in an 2 hours of the ticket being created and everything seems to be working. In the end, they had to install the SSL certificate manually and configure the server to accept Let’s Encrypt. It’s free and I am hopeful that this will only happen once and nothing else will happen.

More Security equals more Problems!

I’ve always believed in security and I will always believe it in. Even though we have more security we will have even more problems but the more problems we solve the quicker the problem can be identified and we can go back to what we do best. Nothing will ever be fool proof and I am sure I won’t be the last website to have to deal with this type of technical issue! Did it happen to your website, why not tell me what you did to solve the issue? Got any advice for others why not leave a comment.

Not even Whatsapp is Private anymore!

Paul1 Reply
Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

Whatsapp and Privacy

I’ve been using whatsapp for 2 years now and never thought a thing about it.  Recently I have been logging into Whatsapp and seeing the Facebook logo on the start screen of it on my mobile device.  Facebook bought Whatsapp in February 2014 about 6 years ago.   So I didn’t know about this until recently when they decided to update the apps on Google Play.  We all thought Whatsapp was end to end encryption.   Then I had Facebook ads start showing stuff that I didn’t even talk about or say anything on the Fb messenger.   I won’t explain what as been showing up with it because I want to keep my life private but I will say it’s a little disconcerning.   There’s even a post from another blogger named Sk babu about this such problem.  Is our encrypted message being unencrypted by Facebook and bots and people reading our messages.  

Should I stop using Whatsapp?

This has been a sour point with me and keeping my conversations with friends private.   Many bloggers around the world are suggesting we stop using Whatsapp because Facebook will sooner or later embed content moderation into our conversations.   So how are they going to do that if it is encrypted.   Simple, they have the master key to all encrypted content.   WhatsApp even said some of this in their blog posting 2016.

But by coordinating more with Facebook, we’ll be able to do things like track basic metrics about how often people use our services and better fight spam on WhatsApp. And by connecting your phone number with Facebook’s systems, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them.

Metrics and Phone Numbers?

What metrics is Facebook and Whatsapp tracking?  I can imagine if it’s end to end encryption that they can track much.   If this is really being tracked then how are they doing this?  Why would I want to connect my phone number to Facebook, if I wanted to be a private about this with other such applications.   It is really concerning in my mind and thus I want to move from WhatsApp to another app.

3 Apps that Might be an alternative to Whatsapp

I’ve been searching Google play and I have come up with a list of apps that look promising and these are:

  • Threema —  I was drawn to this app because it has a ranged of security features such as Trusted Contacts, and Highest level of encryption.  I do see a small set back is that it cost money to buy the program.  So there is that but I like that it has a level of trust for people by verify there identity with a qr code.
  • Signal Private Messaging App —  This is an open sourced and uses Open Whisper Systems.   It is also free but there isn’t much way to verify someone on Signal but it is secure and you can keep private by routing your calls through the server to avoid your ip from showing.  I’ve tried and it looks promising.
  • Telegram — I’ve used telegram from gaming and other such activities and I am impressed with it but there is much to desired by it because you can’t verify anyone’s identity without your Telephone number.

These are three that I recommend and have used 2 out of the 3.  I might just buy Threema and check it out and tell you what I think.   Do you have a secure messaging app that you want to recommend.  Why not leave a comment and tell me your experiences on it!

Windows 7 End of life – What you need to know!

Paul
Photo by Max DeRoin from Pexels

Goodbye Window’s 7!

As of January 14, 2020, Microsoft has issued the End of Life (EOL) for the popular Windows Operating System.  This has been coming for years and most tech enthusiasts knew about this and prepared their system for this date.   If you haven’t know this until you turned saw that dreaded screen that talked about it being end for Windows 7.   You’ll probably asking what does that mean and why is Windows telling me this.   I will explain it to you and what you need to know!

No Windows 7 Support

When Microsoft issues this than it means that you will no longer get any Windows 7 updates and any programs you download and install will not be supported by Microsoft to run on Windows 7.   You are still mostly protected by having all the updates installed on your system but you will no longer be getting any security updates or have to worry about needing to reboot due to updates, since you are no longer getting them.  In the short term, there isn’t much to worry about and you can run windows just like every else with no worries.

In the long run, you will need to consider just how long you plan to use Window’s 7 and if you plan to keep the system for a really long time if your hardware can support Window’s 10. If you plan to install Windows 10 than I wouldn’t wait no more than a year!

What if you Don’t want to install Window’s 10?

You can always keep Windows 7 for as long as you own your system but the longer you use the more likely some hackers will find flaws in the system and exploit the system.  Just like Windows XP it was a strong system but as it got older and not updated we started seeing exploits in the system that brought viruses and Trojans to the system.  So I will give you some other operating system that you can use instead Window’s 10!

Linux Operating Systems

I personally use Linux on old systems that can still be used for everything.   Most of the Linux systems I recommend are all new user friendly and you can really quickly know where to go as soon as you start using it.   Most of the Linux systems that I will recommend have Windows Similarity.   You will probably have to learn how to use it a little more than you would with Windows operating system but they can be learned quickly enough.

Linux Mint

An Ubuntu version that is highly modified to look even more like Windows than the original.  I’ve found this system to be the best of both worlds.   You can run everything you want on it with very little configuration and it works really well.   It will run like Windows and update like windows without much prompting if you so desire it to,

Ubuntu

Ubuntu is a good system for those who aren’t completely novices when it comes to Linux.   Most of the time I find Ubuntu to be a little more rigid than I like but I does what I like when I want it to.   I still prefer Linux Mint because of how well it does with looking like a Windows Operating system.   You can do everything in Ubuntu as you can with Linux Mint but you don’t have to do it manually and move stuff after installation. 

These are the main two that I suggest to new users to Linux but if you want to see if there is one that you like more than another.   You can go to Distrowatch and check out each Linux and download and try them as you wish.   Each one has their own unique qualities and does essentially the same thing.   Most of them a Free to download and free to use but a few require payment just like Microsoft and Apple to use for long term.   They however do let you try them out for free most of the time.  I do recommend you install them on a USB and use them on USB and play around with them until you figure out which one you like to install.   If you are using a Windows system, you can use a program like YUMI to install multiple Linux Distros on a USB and try them out at your leisure.  Have Fun!

Got a favorite Linux operating system why not leave a comment and talk about why you like it.   Don’t Forget to subscribe to receive updates on my website.