Category Archives: Free software

Your data is yours: backing up your Mastodon data to protect against server failures and account suspensions

Long-time readers of my blog will know that I am obsessed with backups and with keeping control over data that belongs to me. For example, in additional to a comprehensive backup system I built myself, I have an archive of (legally obtained) music files and movies because I don’t trust any of the cloud music… Read More: Your data is yours: backing up your Mastodon data to… »

Scripts for using Shamir’s Secret Sharing Scheme securely

The open-source package Shamir’s Secret Sharing Scheme, or “ssss” for short, allows a relatively short secret, for example, a password or passphrase, to be split into a specified number of shares in a way that allows the entire secret to be reconstructed from only a subset of the shares. For example, you can split a… Read More: Scripts for using Shamir’s Secret Sharing Scheme securely »

Taking your contacts with you when you switch jobs, without stealing from your former employer

I’ve worked almost entirely for startups for the past 30+ years. It’s what I love, but switching jobs a lot comes with the territory. One of the problems I face with each switch is how to take with me outside contacts I’ve made, without compromising my soon-to-be-ex-employer’s intellectual property. Sure, I’ve added some of them… Read More: Taking your contacts with you when you switch jobs, without… »

My one indispensable infosec management tool: a simple recurring task dashboard

There is one problem that every single information security / governance / risk / compliance (GRC) organization at every company has to deal with, and that’s keeping track of all the recurring tasks that you need to do to maintain your security and compliance and ensuring that they are done on time. I’m sure that… Read More: My one indispensable infosec management tool: a simple recurring task… »

Reliable 1Password backup written in Python

I’ve done a pretty deep dive comparing the features of various password managers, but one feature I didn’t cover in that analysis was backup for business customers. What commitments does the vendor make in terms of backup/restore? Do they promise to be able to restore data that is accidentally or maliciously modified or deleted by… Read More: Reliable 1Password backup written in Python »

Hack of the day: stop accidental text scaling from brushing trackpad in GNU Emacs on macOS

I’ve been using GNU Emacs as my primary text editor and IDE for more than 30 years, so I’m not about to stop. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks and all that. When I started my current job and had to start using a Mac for work instead of my preferred Linux, GNU… Read More: Hack of the day: stop accidental text scaling from brushing… »

Hack of the day: enhancing Eastern Bank deposit notification emails

I have my Eastern Bank account configured to email me notifications about checking deposits. There are three problems with these notifications: (Century Bank’s online banking platform had the same problem. I was hoping things would approve in this area after the acquisition by Eastern Bank, but alas no.) This finally annoyed me enough today that… Read More: Hack of the day: enhancing Eastern Bank deposit notification emails »