More on the WP disaster

I just came across this fantastic comment to Theo’s latest video on the WordPress drama: I totally agree. It seems to be time to reconsider the risks associated with relying on open source projects that are heavily influenced by one individual. As we’ve seen in this case, a project can shift from being considered stable and trustworthy to something that raises serious concerns in just a few days. All just because a single person makes a series of very stupid decisions and apparently doesn’t listen to the warnings of other people. Yes, the current drama is special, and the risk Read more…

By lukaspanni, ago

What the case of WP Engine can Teach us about Open Source Risk Management

I don’t want to get into the whole debacle around Matt Mullenweg vs. WP Engine as it is covered thoroughly all over the web (see The Verge or TechCrunch for more context). For this post, you just need to know the basics: There’s currently a significant amount of backlash in the community with some critizicing Mullenweg’s handling of the situation as sudden and quite harsh and as abusing his powers. Personally, I don’t think restricting WP Engine from access to wordpress.org is wrong, but the communication around the whole debate could’ve been handled differently. Instead of talking about morally using Read more…

By lukaspanni, ago

Don’t be lazy when dealing with issues

It happened twice in the last two months. Two times I tried to login to my k3s instance using a local kubectl installation and it failed due to authorization issues. Both times I had to search for my ssh keys (which I keep locked away for good reasons) to restore my ability to login to my cluster. The underlying issue is that k3s has a sane default validity for certificates of 365 days and will renew the certs automatically at startup within 90 days prior to expiration. This means that every client certificate that is used to authenticate local kubectl Read more…

By lukaspanni, ago

Placing ARGs in Dockerfiles

In general, Docker’s build caching significantly speeds up image builds. This is especially true for repeated builds of the same image with small changes. It is pretty well known, that every line in a Dockerfile introduces a new Layer that can be cached and reused in a following build if the line in the Dockerfile did not change. I was just building a image recently where every build took forever, even though I only added new Layers at the end of the Dockerfile. The Dockerfile looked something like this: The weird thing was that the apt install command was executed Read more…

By lukaspanni, ago

Breaking Boundaries: Elevating Home Assistant with Cloudflare Zero Trust Tunnels

In the realm of smart homes, Home Assistant stands as a beacon of versatility and control. By default, Home Assistant operates within the confines of the local network, offering users huge flexibility in orchestrating all connected devices in their homes. However, many users also seek remote access to their devices, to allow for different automations or to quickly check the status of things at home. While various options exist, from VPNs over the official Nabu Casa cloud access to port forwarding combined with dynamic DNS, today I’ll present an easy to configure but also quite secure option: Cloudflare Zero Trust Read more…

By lukaspanni, ago

Demystifying Apple’s BLE Magic: A Journey into FindMy – Part 3

Welcome back to our ongoing journey into the fascinating realm of Apple’s BLE-powered services! In our previous posts, we’ve explored the foundational concepts of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and delved into the intricacies of Apple’s innovative FindMy service. Today, we’re going to take a closer look at the darker side of FindMy: the potential for abuse by malicious actors. There are three distinct categories of abuse we’ll look at today. Direct Tracking Imagine a scenario where a small tracker discreetly attaches to a person or object – think someone placing an AirTag in your backpack. With Apple devices nearby creating Read more…

By lukaspanni, ago

The Significance of the Vizio Judgment for Open-Source Compliance Programs

In a recent ruling, the superior court of california has made a crucial decision that strenghtens the rights of consumers regarding products that contain Open Source Software (OSS). In the case of Software Freedom Conservancy Inc. (SFC) v. Vizio Inc., the court allowed a smart TV buyer to further pursue a breach of contract lawsuit against a product provider using open-source software in its source code, irrespective of copyright claims. SFC, a nonprofit organization had purchased smart TVs from Vizio that contain software under the GNU General Public License (GPL) and GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL). To redistribute code Read more…

By lukaspanni, ago

Looking Back on 2023

Hello, dear readers! It’s that time of the year again, when we reflect on what we have done and what we have learned in the past 12 months. 2023 was full of challenges, surprises, and achievements for me. Let me share some of the highlights with you. My Academic Year This year, I completed my second and last semester of my master’s degree in computer science. I learned a lot about advanced topics such as Internet of Things (IoT), Programming Paradigms or Project Management. Writing a 30 page project paper and a seminar paper of the same length prepared me Read more…

By lukaspanni, ago

Demystifying Apple’s BLE Magic: A Journey into FindMy – Part 2

FindMy: BLE-Powered Location Tracking We already touched on the very basics of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) in the last post. In this post we’ll look deeper into Apple’s FindMy – a service which you very likely get into contact every single day without even realizing. Ever wondered how the FindMy App can show you where your other devices or even AirTags are? Get ready to learn how Apple uses hundreds of devices to help track and find lost devices. A Quick Recap: BLE Advertising Before we dive into the captivating world of Find My, let’s revisit a crucial BLE concept: Read more…

By lukaspanni, ago

Demystifying Apple’s BLE Magic: A Journey into FindMy – Part 1

The Basics Hey there, fellow techies! Get ready to savor the first installment of our deep dive into Apple’s Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) protocol powering the FindMy service. We’ll also see some ways in which a mischievous actor could exploit these protocols to gain access to private information or render devices inoperable. But first we have to take a closer look at BLE in general. What’s the Deal with Bluetooth Low Energy? Alright, let’s start with the basics. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is the tech that allows many devices to talk to each other in a power-efficient and seamless way. Read more…

By lukaspanni, ago