DNSSEC on the Google Certificate Catalog
I mentioned my work on the Google Certificate Catalog a while back. Now I’ve updated it to sign responses with DNSSEC.
I also updated the command-line utility to verify DNSSEC responses – and added a little utility to fetch the root DNSSEC ...
An Efficient and Practical Distributed Currency
Now that I’ve said what I don’t like about Bitcoin, it’s time to talk about efficient alternatives.
In my previous paper on the subject I amused myself by hypothesizing an efficient alternative to Bitcoin based on whatever mechanism it uses to achieve consensus on checkpoints. Whilst this is fun, it is pretty clear that no such...
Decentralised Currencies Are Probably Impossible (But Let’s At Least Make Them Efficient)
How time flies. Following my admittedly somewhat rambling posts on Bitcoin, I decided to write a proper paper about the problem. So, here’s a preprint of “Decentralised Currencies Are Probably Impossible (But Let’s At Least Make Them Efficient)”. It’s short! Enjoy.
I may submit this to a conference, I haven’t decided yet. Suggestions of where are...
Bitcoin is Slow Motion
OK, let’s approach this from another angle.
The core problem Bitcoin tries to solve is how to get consensus in a continuously changing, free-for-all group. It “solves” this essentially insoluble problem by making everyone walk through treacle, so it’s always evident who is in front.
But the problem is, it isn’t really evident. Slowing everyone down doesn’t...
Bitcoin 2
Well, that got a flood of comments.
Suppose I take 20 £5 notes, burn them and offer you a certificate for the smoke for £101. Would you buy the certificate?
This is the value proposition of Bitcoin. I don’t get it. How does that make sense? Why would you burn £100 worth of non-renewable resources and then...
Bitcoin
A friend alerted to me to a sudden wave of excitement about Bitcoin.
I have to ask: why? What has changed in the last 10 years to make this work when it didn’t in, say, 1999, when many other related systems (including one of my own) were causing similar excitement? Or in the 20 years since...
Checking SSL Certificates
I mentioned my work on the Google Certificate Catalog recently. One thing I forgot is a command-line utility I wrote to perform the check for you automatically.
You can find it here.
Share This
Pepper-crusted Tuna
I came across this on my frequent travels to the US (where they tend to call it pepper-crusted ahi, or even, rather redundantly, pepper-crusted ahi tuna). I don’t think I’ve ever seen it in the UK, but it is fantastically easy to cook. And delicious.
Tuna steaks (nice and fresh, so you can leave them rare)
Black...
Improving SSL Certificate Security
Given how often I say on this blog that I am not speaking for my employer, I am amused to be able to say for once that I am. Over here.
Share This
Census FAIL
Once every ten years, every household in the UK gets to fill in a census form. This year, for the first time ever, I think, you can do it online. So, imagine how delighted we are that I am the only person in my household whose name actually fits in the box. Yes, really, there’s...
ZFS Part 3: Replacing Dead Disks
As discussed in my previous article, if a disk fails then a ZFS system will just carry on as if nothing has happened. Of course, we’d like to restore the system to its former redundant glory, so here’s how…
Once more, we simulate a failure by removing the primary disk, but this time replace it with...
ZFS Part 2: Disk Failure
Before I’m ready to trust ZFS I need to make sure I can replace a disk when it dies. With the setup described here, as a first experiment I removed the primary disk.
So, power down and remove the primary disk (ad4). Note that if you’re doing this on the Proliant system I mentioned, then you...
