Author: tjeanbaptiste

Symfony WebAuthn-Framework

Temps de lecture : < 1 minute

In my quest for passwordless authentication, my path crossed with the Webauthn Framework bundle.

At first glance, getting started with this solution is quite laborious. However, once the concept of WebAuthn is understood, things become clearer with each iteration.

I have nearly 20 hours of study/experimenting under my belt. The learning time has drastically reduced thanks to this french video.

A few adjustments were necessary due to the age of the video and the changes made to version 5.0 of the Framework.

The NodeJS module @simplewebauthn\browser turns out to be essential for handling the authentication challenge.

To be continued…

WordPress and Yubikey

Temps de lecture : < 1 minute

The security of WordPress administration is generally based on a login/password combination to access the interface.

However, we remain reliant on the most widespread combination of the past two decades.

A new player is emerging in this dominance: the access key, notably the YubiKey.

Always on the lookout for solutions to improve the security of my environments, I am currently testing the WP WebAuthn plugin as I write this post.

At first glance, this rather recent tool allows me to log in using my physical key. As expected, I might add.

Other plugins are available, such as PasswordLess Login.

However, the ultimate solution would be to create your own plugin, or even implement it on your own site (Next.js, Symfony)…

To be continued…

Brave, my new daily browser

Temps de lecture : < 1 minute

It’s not about the Disney movie or a life purpose. We’re talking about the browser “Brave“.

I came across it during my crypto journey (or an instagram post, by the way) and, today, it’s my main browser.

Yep ! i left Firefox and use Brave instead.

Here are 5 main reasons :

  • Navigate to Earn BAT token
  • Tabs categorization folding
  • Built-in hot wallet (you can add a hot wallet, such as ledger devices)
  • Send tab to a specific devices which use Brave browser
  • Generative AI assistant to explain unknown words

Cryptosphere experience

Temps de lecture : 2 minutes

I will introduce you my experience in crypto and the reason why it’s real hobby for me today.

I came across the crypto sphere by meeting a neighbor in February 2023.
Father of my oldest daughter’s best friend, he introduced me his own and self-published crypto’s guide (Ecartez-vous du faux! Ses premiers pas dans la crypto: guide cryptomonnaie Broché – 26 août 2021)

I, already, knew the satoshi and bitcoin story through an Arte tv documentary (Le mystère Satoshi enquête sur l’inventeur du bitcoin).
I was, already, concerned about finance / investing topics but away from crypto tumult.

I decided to follow his advices and begun to learn.

The beginning

I started this journey with an idiom in my mind : « Not your key Not your money ».

Thus, Swissborg was my first exchange platform and I started to buy token / currencies (such as bitcoin, ethereum, …).

Quickly, I started to follow French specialized channels (such as #hasheur, julien roman, bfm crypto, …) and bought my first cold wallet (Ledger Nano S).

The cryptosphere was on the rise and buzzing due to FTX exchange platform misfortune.

By the way, i learned how to create smart contracts as a result of crypto developers scarcity.

Scam attempt

I registered on twitter (aka X) and subscribed to crypto topics.
Having done that, a stranger approach me on X and invite me to earn money on NFT trades.
It was, definitely, a scam when I was invited to transfer my recent bought crypto-currencies (around 500€ at this time) on a weird platform.

The idiom saved me this day.

So, I went on my deep learning and familiarized myself with this special vocabulary :

  • Blockchain
  • Private key / Public key
  • Hot wallet / Cold wallet / Exchange
  • Defi
  • Layer 1 / Layer 2 / DAO
  • Proof of work
  • Proof of stake
  • Proof of history
  • [Sth] To Earn (play, move, ….)
  • NFT
  • Metaverse
  • Airdrops

That’s all as an introduction

What is blockchain ?

A blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of records (blocks) that are securely linked together via cryptographic hashes. (wikipedia source)

In other words, each block contains signed transaction datas and each blocks is hashed with his direct previous hashed block.

In this way, previous dataset cannot be altered without changing the overall semantic.

Then, the blockchain is registered in a node (aka database) and duplicated on different servers around the world (aka decentralized).
The proof of work is a consensus that resides on a complex calculation that vote the next reliable block.
This complex calculation is harder with time.
This is, globally, the case for well known « Bitcoin ».

This technology is interesting due to its resilience over the time.

Ethereum changes his calculation process by using the proof of stake.
To secure the blockchain, the participants stake their token and earn yields.

Ethereum expands the usage of cryptocurrencies with smart-contrats concept.
With smart contract, we create many use cases with crypto currencies / token (such as NFT, Stablecoins, tokens, …).

This open new vocabularies such as Layer 1 and Layer 2.

Layer 1 is commonly used for sustaining the token usage endorsed with a consensus (proof of stake, proof of history or both).

Layer 2 is used to create real life usage (NFT collections, coins, tokenized real-life assets, …).

Central Banks are appealed to the blockchain technology and develop their own cryptocurrencies (such as China, Europe, US, …).

In conclusion, crypto currencies are slowly but definitely changing our world.
I took years to be accepted and will take time to be, massively, adopted.