Calvin on Principles

SSL and S-HTTP

What is SSL?
SSL, Short for Secure Sockets Layer, a protocol developed by Netscape for transmitting private documents via the Internet. SSL uses a cryptographic system that uses two keys to encrypt data - a public key known to everyone and a private or secret key known only to the recipient of the message.
It is a low level encryption scheme used to encrypt transactions in higher-level protocols. It can work with multiple higher level protocols such as such as HTTP, NNTP and FTP. The SSL protocol includes provisions for server authentication (verifying the server's identity to the client), encryption of data in transit, and optional client authentication (verifying the client's identity to the server).

What is S-HTTP?
S-HTTP (Secure HTTP) is the scheme proposed by CommerceNet, a coalition of businesses interested in developing the Internet for commercial uses. It is a higher level protocol that only works with the HTTP protocol, but is potentially more extensible than SSL.

What is the difference between them?

• SSL creates a secure connection between a client and a server, over which any amount of data can be sent securely

• S-HTTP is designed to transmit individual messages securely.
  

So, are S-HTTP and HTTPS similar ?
Nope, "https" is normal "http" over SSL. By convention, URLs that require an SSL connection start with https: instead of http: . S-HTTP is a protocol as discussed earlier.

What is SSL used for ?
SSL is the de facto standard for e-commerce transaction security and many Web sites use the protocol to obtain confidential user information, such as credit card numbers.

You talked about SSL encryption. What are the key lengths of the certificates ?
SSL certificates come in 40-bit and 128-bit varieties, though 40-bit encryption has been hacked. As such, you definitely should be looking at getting a 128-bit certificate.

So how does it (SSL) work ?

Phew ! You asked for it. Here goes :

1. A browser requests a secure page (usually https://).
2. The web server sends its public key, with its certificate, to the browser.
3. The browser checks the certificate was issued by a trusted party (a trusted CA such as Thawte), that the certificate is still valid and that the certificate is related to the site contacted.
4. The browser then uses the public key to generate an encryption key and sends it to the server along with the URL required - encrypted.
5. The web server decrypts the encryption key using its private key, and then uses the key to decrypt the browser's request.
6. The web server sends back the requested data, encrypted with the key.
7. The browser then decrypts the data sent using the key, and displays the information.
8. The encryption using a private key/public key pair ensures that the data can encrypted by one key can only be decrypted by the other key.
9. The keys are similar in nature and each is based on prime numbers.
10. Their length in terms of bits ensures the difficulty in decrypting the messages.
11. It is necessary to keep one key secret (the private key) and to distribute the other key (the public key) to everybody. This ensures that anybody can send you an encrypted message that only you will be able to decrypt - you are the only one to have the other key pair.
12. In the opposite situation, others can certify that a message is only coming from you, because you have encrypted it with you private key, and only the associated public key will decrypt it correctly.

You talked so much about SSL but so little about S-HTTP?
Author's prerogative :p

References:
Webopedia
W3 Security FAQs
SSL-Specification
S-HTTP RFC
How does SSL work ?

Weekend Calvin

Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless.

Introduction Line from movies

some of my fav ones.... drop a comment if you rememer any !

• kallu, kallan, kaliya - log dete hain mujhe gaaliyan
• main ek chota sa, nanha sa, pyaara sa, baccha hoon
• crime master gogo, aankhen nikal ke gotiyaan khelta hoon
• main nandu , sabka bandhu
  

No wonder most of them are shakti kapoor's :p

Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na karo

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo
Yunhi pehloo mein baithe raho
Aaj jaane ki zid na karo

Haay mar jaayenge, hum to lut jaayenge
Aisi baatein kiya na karo
Aaj jaane ki zid na karo
Haay mar jaayenge, hum to lut jaayenge
Aisi baatein kiya na karo

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo

Tum hi socho zara, kyun na roke tumhe
Jaan jaati hai jab uth ke jaate ho tum

Tumko apni qasam jaan-e-jaan
Baat itni meri maan lo

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo
Yunhi pehloo mein baithe raho
Aaj jaane ki zid na karo
Haay mar jaayenge, hum to lut jaayenge
Aisi baatein kiya na karo
Aaj jaane ki zid na karo

Waqt ki qaid mein zindagi hai magar
Chand ghadiyan yehi hain jo aazad hain

Inko khokar mere jaan-e-jaan
Umr bhar na taraste raho

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo
Haay mar jaayenge, hum to lut jaayenge
Aisi baatein kiya na karo
Aaj jaane ki zid na karo

Kitna maasoom rangeen hai yeh sama
Husn aur ishq ki aaj mein raaj hai
Kal ki kisko khabar jaan-e-jaan
Rok lo aaj ki raat ko

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo
Yunhi pehloo mein baithe raho
Aaj jaane ki zid na karo
Haay mar jaayenge, hum to lut jaayenge
Aisi baatein kiya na karo
Aaj jaane ki zid na karo

Calvin - Again

Monday makes me feel absolutely like calvin


That's the difference between me and the rest of the world! Happiness isn't good enough for me! I demand euphoria!

... Reality continues to ruin my life.

Ganging-up for gangster

Tell someone a movie is good (when it is pathetic) , so that they suffer the same trauma that you did.

I have done this so many times in the past and have no intention of stopping. But a phenomenon which I saw for gangster, when the entire world ganged up against me - and I ended up watching Gangster !

The culprits are :

• Good reviews in papers - the same ones that gives kabhi kushi kabhi gham 5 stars, and yet I listen to them - what a sucker :o)
• Good reviews on websites (read rediff) - am not going trust the website for anything related to a "view" - facts are ok, but views - noooooooooooooooooooooooooo. (do not read reviews on indiatimes as well)
  
• Almost everyone I met and spoke to them about how the movie is. They said they have not seen the movie but "heard" it is good - am going to follow advice of all thriller movies "trust noone"

Saving grace in the movie

• Nice songs
• While you are in theatre, the 'audience' - read US

My Advice ? (remember trust noone)

• Mahesh Bhatt - bad ( i really like some of his old movies , hum hain rahi pyaar ke ! but as they say, people change. This one has changed for good - turned bad)
  
• Emran hashmi - pathetic (this was the first movie of his I could muster the courage to watch. Yes i did not go to see murder)
  
• Together - Help , mars attacks ! god save the world
  

Trivia - Internationalization

why is Internationalization referred to as i18n in short ?

There are 18 letters between the first and last letter ( i and n) of the word internationalization - talk about mnemonic lovers in computer science !

Divine Comedy - Gin Soaked Boy

Im the darkness in the light
Im the leftness in the right
Im the rightness in the wrong
Im the shortness in the long
Im the goodness in the bad
Im the saneness in the mad
Im the sadness in the joy
Im the gin in the gin-soaked boy

Im the ghost in the machine
Im the genius in the gene
Im the beauty in the beast
Im the sunset in the east
Im the ruby in the dust
Im the trust in the mistrust
Im the trojan horse in troy
Im the gin in the gin-soaked boy

Im the tigers empty cage
Im the mysterys final page
Im the strangers lonely glance
Im the heros only chance
Im the undiscovered land
Im the single grain of sand
Im the christmas morning toy
Im the gin in the gin-soaked boy

Im the world youll never see
Im the slave youll never free
Im the truth youll never know
Im the place youll never go
Im the sound youll never hear
Im the course youll never steer
Im the will youll not destroy
Im the gin in the gin-soaked boy

Im the half-truth in the lie
Im the why not in the why
Im the last roll of the die
Im the old school in the tie
Im the spirit in the sky
Im the catcher in the rye
Im the twinkle in her eye
Im the jeff goldblum in the fly

Who am i?

My Interpretation: I am quintessential !

More-on Life

How does it feel to suddenly reduce your quota of sleep by 3 hours (specially in the world where people are hell bent on increasing quota.)

I feel good - another reason why we should reduce quota!

Sick of having a dreadful and lazy lifestlye, I have started playing badminton again - In a club called city-nest close to my plance.

Hard it might be, to believe (even myself) that I can get up at 5 am in the morning !

you talkin' to me ?

"You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talkin' to? You talkin' to me? Well I'm the only one here."

Robert De Niro - Taxi Driver

Michael Schumacher

you either love him or you hate him - one thing you have to hand out to him - his desire to win. I would imagine after having 86 wins under his belt, he would take it easy, but just to look at him celebrate each one of his victories makes you think otherwise.
They say it's not whether you won or lost , its how you played the game. Well, I think otherwise and If you need a role model for that, watch the next formula-1 race.

Road to Coorg

Finally ! Got some of the photos uploaded. More at Katty's Page.

Ok, let me first introduce the entity's in the following picture. Standing from the left is a tall tree ( I do not know it's name), then there is a small tree ( this one's called praveer), followed by your's truly and then vipul. The thing sitting is called katty (gourav to some).
Hokay, this was the first leak break that we took on our way from Bangalore to Coorg. On the Mysore Road, just before it, from srirangapatnam, we took a right for a bumpy ride leading us to coorg. First site of tree and wala, here we stop. Just before this, we stopped at a Place called Kamath ( sometimes I wonder whether I know more udupi's or more kamath's and I am not talking about people here) Anyway that was our sandwich/tea break where we switched wheels. vipul took over them while I got down to do what I do best - plan ;). I was worried we will miss the right turn near srirangapatnam. which we did, and took a U turn to find in relief that the right turn was still there. We took it and celebrated that with another stop on a road side chai shop where the tea (again ? how much tea do you guys drink !) and that leads us to the photo below.

Lost in translation would be the words here as I have skipped putting the I zillion photos that we took between the one above and the one that follows. We changed wheels again and the 2nd tree that we met in the first picture took it over. As you can guess there was not enough room for it in the driver's seat and hence the driver's seat was moved backwards to the delight of person sitting behind him (read me).

So we continue with praveer on wheel and the rest of us on edge. Take a cocunut break, pose with cocunuts for yapp ( yet another photograph photograph) . The road to coorg from here on was pretty much of a nomenclature. The roadside was really beautiful. We passed a garden where beetle leaves were grown and then finally made it to coorg and to our "hotel". The quotes surrounding the hotel should say all that needs to be spoken about it. Hence I would not dwell on it any more. We took the keys and moved on to our first spot - the abbi falls

It was a short walk from where we are standing above and where we are fishing below. There was a bridge which took us over to the other side. We christened it shatrughan jhoola, as it appeared to be younger brother of laxman jhoola.

The feet that took me all across the treacherous terrain - yes , I still can take pictures of my feet without my tummy blocking the way.

After a relaxing time under the falls water, we were headed towards to somwarpeth and this time not only the surroundings were great, the road was terrific ( as best they can be in ghats ). The "turns" and "corners" could easily rival some on the formula 1 curcuit :D. we did stick to the racing line and never crossed the pit speed.

k, the photo that you see below is completely fake. I appear to be calm and relaxed and having fun. Truth is that it was just after a long trudge in sun from talacauvery base to the highest point in coorg. the least people can do is put some beach chairs and overhead umberellas there ! it was HOT.

long time since I climbed anywhere ! A machan at nisarga dhamajourney back home. My energy level was following the same graph as the graph which can be drawn against the number of words over each photographs now. I look verrrrrrrrry different without specs ... should I go for contact lenses ?

A hell of a time I had !

Agnipath - The Poem

Vruksh ho bade bhale,
ho ghane ho bhale,
Ek Patra chhah bhi mang mat, mang mat, mang mat,
Agnipath, Agnipath Agnipath;

Tu na thamega kabhi tu na mudega kabhi tu na rukega kabhi,
Kar shapath, Kar shapath, Kar shapath,
Agnipath, Agnipath, Agnipath.
Ye Mahan Drushya hain,
Chal raha Manushya hain,
Ashru, Sweth, Rakta se Latpat Latpat Latpat..
Agnipath, Agnipath, Agnipath.

Guess the poem needs no introduction - I heard it first in the movie Agnipath