Public Service Announcement: Things to watch out for
A rather mixed bag of things that, arguably, I should have written about a week ago.
1: the Let's Encrypt root certificate.
Hopefully this won't affect you, but if your browser starts complaining about websites suddenly being untrusted, you need to upgrade. The problem is that Let's Encrypt's root certificate is expiring, and will be replaced by a new one (see the link above for details). Starting October 1st, browsers and other programs that rely on the old cert will have problems if they haven't been upgraded in the last year.
You keep your OS and your browser up to date, right? There are some old apps and operating systems that are no longer receiving upgrades, and so won't know about the new root cert. Specifically, if you're using one of these products:
OpenSSL <= 1.0.2, Windows < XP SP3, macOS < 10.12.1, iOS < 10 (iPhone 5 is the lowest model that can get to iOS 10), Android < 7.1.1 (but >= 2.3.6 will still mostly work), Mozilla Firefox < 50, Ubuntu < 16.04, Debian < 8, Java 8 < 8u141, Java 7 < 7u151, NSS < 3.26, Amazon FireOS (Silk Browser).
Possibly, Cyanogen > v10, Jolla Sailfish OS > v1.1.2.16, Kindle > v3.4.1, Blackberry >= 10.3.3, PS4 game console with firmware >= 5.00, IIS
(You can probably uptrade to the newest Firefox or switch to a recent version of Chrome, which will restore your ability to browse the web, but a few other things might still fail. (For example, Firefox will keep working on my ancient Mac Mini, but Safari probably won't.)
The following articles go into a lot more detail; you can get a good overview from the first two: Smart TVs, fridges and light bulbs may stop working next year: Here's why An Internet of Trouble lies ahead as root certificates begin to expire en masse, warns security researcher • The Register The Impending Doom of Expiring Root CAs and Legacy Clients Let's Encrypt's Root Certificate is expiring! Certificate Compatibility - Let's Encrypt
2. Phillips Respironics CPAP recall:
If you're using a CPAP made by Phillips Respironics, hopefully you've already seen the Recall Notification [PDF]. I missed it, through my habit of ignoring notifications in the Dreamstation app and website. The email I got from Medicare says:
If you own or rent one of the Philips products that was recalled, talk to your doctor as soon as possible about whether to continue using your recalled equipment. If you would like to replace or repair your equipment, the supplier you bought the equipment from is responsible for replacing or repairing rental equipment at no cost to you when the equipment is less than 5 years old.
If, like me, you insist on continuing to use your facehugger, install an antibacterial filter, which will keep little bits of soundproofing foam out of your lungs. This is probably only necessary if you've been using ozone to clean your device, but I decided not to take chances.
3. Chevrolet Bolt EV recall:
If you own a Bolt, you should have received several letters about this recall. Hopefully you haven't been throwing them away unread, but if you have, you'll want to enable "hilltop reserve" to limit your charging to 90%, don't run your battery down below about 70 miles, park outside immediately after charging, and don't leave your Bolt charging indoors overnight. "Experts from GM and LG have identified the simultaneous presence of two rare manufacturing defects in the same battery cell as the root cause of battery fires in certain Chevrolet Bolt EVs." You don't want to take chances with battery fires. They're nasty; lithium is perfectly capable of burning under water.
Be safe out there.
On a more hopeful(? helpful, at least) note, dialecticdreamer has posted Demifiction: Breaking Omaha!, which despite being set in a fictional universe contains a lot of practical advice for disaster preparedness.
[Crossposted from mdlbear.dreamwidth.org, where it has
comments. You can comment here, or there with openID, but wouldn't you really rather be on Dreamwidth?]