(old)Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

In the wake of our governments continued spying on us, it makes sense to utilize whatever means we have to make secure connections whenever possible. It will not stop the spying but it does show that we citizens are not totally lame about the situation. To that end, when attempting to use https for our favourite forum, this is the response:

(1) The server's name "www.murga-linux.com" does not match the certificate's name "ip-208-109-22-214.ip.secureserver.net". Somebody may be trying to eavesdrop on you.
(2) The certificate for "ip-208-109-22-214.ip.secureserver.net" is signed by the unknown Certificate Authority "ip-208-109-22-214.ip.secureserver.net". It is not possible to verify that this is a valid certificate.
(3) The certificate for "ip-208-109-22-214.ip.secureserver.net" expired 03/04/2009 10:17:00 PM GMT. The webmaster should update the certificate(s).

Understandably, a good certificate or no certificate at all is entirely up to the site owner, as it should be. So, this is not a complaint, just information for you to ponder.

Why use https to access a public website that does no financial transactions?
Or are your public posts supposed to be secure?

Duh

Duh,

Using HTTPS for all site features is an increasingly common practice nowadays and protects users (and sites) against a variety of Internet attacks. For instance, it defends against the ability of other people on a wifi network to spy on your use of the site or even take over your account. Credit card numbers aren't the only information that you may consider private or sensitive.

Sites like Google, Twitter, and Facebook now support HTTPS for non-financial information — for general privacy and security reasons. In fact, the Electronic Frontier Foundation encourages the use of a browser addon called HTTPS Everywhere, even making it available on their web site.

Like you, Duh, I used to consider HTTPS just for financial business. Now I am interested in making my communications as difficult as possible for anyone else, especially the government, to see. They may still get to my mundane and harmless ramblings but let them have to work for it.

Hotdog wrote:it available on their web site.

Like you, Duh, I used to consider HTTPS just for financial business. Now I am interested in making my communications as difficult as possible for anyone else, especially the government, to see. They may still get to my mundane and harmless ramblings but let them have to work for it.

Apparently the operator of this forum doesn't attach that level of importance to the https protocol. Is your tin foil hat adjustable, or a specific size?

tlchost wrote:Why use https to access a public website that does no financial transactions?
Or are your public posts supposed to be secure?

Duh

Not necessarily "Duh" : if you wanted to debate something in a public forum under a pseudonym, https could prevent eavesdroppers knowing your real identity. Eavsdroppers could also obtain your password communicated by http and impersonate you on that site.

wikipedia.org/HTTP_Secure wrote:HTTP is insecure and is subject to man-in-the-middle and eavesdropping attacks, which can let attackers gain access to website accounts and sensitive information. HTTPS is designed to withstand such attacks and is considered secure against such attacks

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_Secure#Difference_from_HTTP

I like the hat. Is it multi-platform, or Linux only?

Tlchost,

My apology regarding your name. It looked like "Duh" was a signature to these senior eyes. My tinfoil hat is adjustable. Sometimes I lend it to friends who did not know they needed one.

I get Invalid certificate message if the date in the BIOS resets to Anno -1970 BC because of drained battery on the MOBO .

HTH ?

Btw : Have the Kebap Paradox : http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/Beer%27s_Law wpaaped in alu fooil .

Hotdog wrote:Tlchost,

My apology regarding your name. It looked like "Duh" was a signature to these senior eyes.

Not a problem, I too have tired old eyes.....and it's good that you have an adjustable tinfoil hat....we need more things that are universal in nature...truly cross-platform.

when so called secure protocols are being used, who knows if the NSA had a hand in their development and also had a back door installed as part of the code?
Other countries, substitute your government's security division for "NSA".

Also, remember that impatience plays in on a user's web browsing.
Say one installs NoScript in their browser.
But any time they cannot see some video or a page is missing some obvious content, they click on the option to "Temporarily allow this page."

Just what all are they allowing by clicking that option?

I also have visited sites that one would expect to have a valid certificate. And many do not.
One example was a third party site that provided health information to an insurer of a person or group.