By @edent · blogging meta · 7 comments · 250 words
If you explore this blog's archives, you'll see that I've been blogging continuously every day since the start of 2020. Before that, I was blogging every month since mid-2008. Today, I am very hungover. Although I usually write a bunch of posts a few days and weeks in advance, I find myself looking at my […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Computer Science standards totp · 4 comments · 300 words · read ~145 times.
Imagine, just for a moment, you and your friends decide to travel in time. In order to make sure you can authenticate your communications with each other, you set up a shared Time-based One Time Password (TOTP). The TOTP algorithm uses a Hash-based Message Authentication Code (HMAC). The hash is calculated from a shared key […]
Continue reading →By @edent · retropost work · 1 comment · 300 words · read ~280 times.
This is a retropost. It was written in July 2021, but published after I had left the Civil Service. An MP has written to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster asking about some work our department is doing. This is all rather usual for Government business. In the letter, the MP mentions me. By […]
Continue reading →By @edent · algorithms CyberSecurity totp · 4 comments · 350 words · read ~3,875 times.
I'm pretty sure that the 2FA codes generated by my bank's TOTP app have a bias towards the number 8 - because eight is an auspicious number. But is that just my stupid meaty brain noticing patterns where none exist? The TOTP algorithm uses HMAC, which in turn uses SHA-1. My aforementioned brain is not […]
Continue reading →By @edent · 2fa CyberSecurity MFA passwords totp · 3 comments · 400 words · read ~149 times.
Recently, WordPress got in contact with me to say they suspect that my password was exposed in some sort of data breach. Well, it's a day ending with a "y" - so of course some scumbag has pilfered my digital identity. WordPress mandated that I change my password. But was that really necessary? Firstly, the […]
Continue reading →By @edent · bitcoin blockchain crypto · 26 comments · 600 words · read ~457 times.
A few weeks ago, someone wanted to send me some crypto. After spending months studying for a Blockchain exam, I usually avoid such things. But, hey, $20 is $20. So I signed up for a wallet, installed an extension, verified my credentials, saved a seed phrase, and - without too much technical fuss - had […]
Continue reading →By @edent · MicroFiction Sci Fi Tales Of The Algorithm teeth · 1 comment · 400 words · read ~134 times.
A glistening pool of blood gently wept from the body. Crimson gore sparkled under rapid flash photography as it loosely clung to the wounds. So many wounds. Too many for this to have been an accident. "Bite marks," said the forensics officer. "A lot of bite marks." The detective peered at the ragged corpse. It […]
Continue reading →By @edent · FrameWork laptop review · 350 words · read ~106 times.
I love putting stickers on my laptops. But when it's time to move to a different laptop, what happens to all those cool stickers? After spending too many nights with a scraper and isopropanol, I decided to get a pre-cut dbrand skin. It'll protect the laptop and it will peel off in one piece, allowing […]
Continue reading →By @edent · bit.ly CyberSecurity · 4 comments · 250 words · read ~262 times.
TicketMaster has joined the long list of companies to lose their customers' information. As is common, they sent out an email to warn poor sods like me who might have had our details snaffled. Their email is particularly poor and contains a delightful example of how not to communicate issues like this. See if you […]
Continue reading →By @edent · Book Review Panopticon Books Sci Fi · 100 words
Another one in the Panopticon series. Bouncy sci-fi which scattershoots its plots all over the place. VR, Mission to Mars, evil AI, underwater cities, eyeless technomages - this has it all. It probably has a little too much crammed in. But, hey, it's a great ride. A cliffhanger every other chapter, vaguely plausible science, and […]
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