Some of our community members (users) get a problem while they try to renew an existing certificate.The issue is: Certificate renewal is pending for days/weeks.
First of all, CAcert is not a service provider or a company, but a community. We are all in the same boat. We can only achieve our goals together, with your the cooperation of all of us (of all users=members).
One of our volunteer support engineers, a retired gentleman somewhere in Bohemia, wrote, after he watererd the flowers in the garden: 1. Many users use CAcert without any assurance. Until now, their CSRs were signed by Class 1 Root (–> serial # 1xxxxx) and their CSRs/renewals are stuck in a queue now. 2. These users know absolutely nothing about existence Class 1 & Class 3 Roots, as they don’t remember installing root(s), and when creating a new cert, they cannot see the choice Class 1/3, because with <50 assurance points (trust points) it isn’t displayed. 3. Many users do not know about the existence of Wiki, bugs, blog, CATS… websites. Our education possibly fails in this direction.
Another help message was sent by a CAcert volunteer who works as a bus driver from his mobile phone during the short break at the terminus: To get assurance points, the easyest way is to meet with two (or three) experienced assurers who can then credit you with the assurance (trust) points you need (you need 50 and get 10-35 per assurer). When you are on cacert.org in your account, go to the Web Of Trust: https://www.cacert.org/wot.php?id=12 (here you can enter your town and search for assurers in the area) or: https://www.cacert.org/wot.php?id=1 (here you can click through to choose from about 6000 assurers worldwide).
Thank you very much to all our active community members who helps here and there and gives other community members a hand. Even very little help is helpfull. If e.g. each of the 6000 assurers from the assurer directory helps with something small for 10 minutes per month, that is already 1000 hours of work. That would solve (almost) all problems. Here is how you too can give your CAcert community a hand: https://wiki.cacert.org/engagement
And another volunteer from Sweden points out, that the issue will not go away till the interface is fixed, which is a work that has been started, but not finished. Furthermore, renewing old incorrectly signed certificates will never work again, as we have said we will not fix the broken code for that, as no certificates should ever have been signed that way. We can’t continue signing them incorrectly.
There was a issue with ocsp.cacert.org on Mozilla Firefox browsers. We published a work around last year. In between a volunteer detected, that a script on ocsp.cacert.org was not running as expected. Therefore the CRL expired for OCSP-Daemon, hence giving the OLD_RESPONSE-error. We restarted the script allready in 2020 and changed our internal monitoring.
The OCSP responder has been restored to a proper working state and is monitored properly now. As it worked now for more than 3 months properly, the work around is no more needed.
We feel the spring. The flowers are blooming in the garden. The children are looking forward to Easter, some of us can hardly wait to finally head the chocolate bunny… Excess spring energy can be well redirected to CAcert:
software review (there are still two or three small tasks to do, so that new chicks can hatch from the eggs).
programming (well suited for old hands)
organize Assurer trainings (possible in every easter nest or village)
The word “Advent” is Latin and means “arrival”. In the church, Advent is the time of waiting for Christmas. For four weeks. In darkness. But then it gets light. The Christmas season from Christmas Eve to Epiphany: candles, fine food, angels singing, beautiful music, presents.
If we transfer this to CAcert, CAcert is also in a kind of Advent season: it has been going on for a while and will continue for a while longer. It is dark, but we hope for something better. “The people in darkness await the coming of the light.” CAcert activists have been setting a new course for various things over the past few years. We see light at the end of the tunnel. But again, workers are few and work is many.
Therefore, on this fourth Sunday of Advent, we are launching an appeal to all: Come and join us. Join in. Help somewhere. Half an hour here or an hour there. Can we do this once a week? You and I, all of us together, will get there faster! At the moment there are two important jobs. They are far too big for one person, but we can manage them if we share the workload:
rewrite the PHP code (a big start is already done). After that, a lot of important smaller work can be done by others, which has already been prepared.
a new possibility to create certificates on your own computer with a few mouse clicks, like in the browser before Mozilla and Google removed the command from the browsers. Here, too, a small group is actively researching and evaluating the first possibilities. Subsequently, we have two projects in the pipeline to roll out, with which CAcert can go mainstream and also sustainably improve the financial situation.
Maybe your country or region is in official hibernation at the moment? Or are you quarantined for a fortnight? Then use the time; every contribution helps, every line of code, every support!
Still hesitating? Then look here: https://bugs.cacert.org Grab a small bug and present your solution. You have 1001 possibilities.
FRANCAIS
Le mot “Avent” est en latin et signifie “arrivée”. Dans l’église, Avent est la saison de l’attente de Noël. Pendant quatre semaines. Dans l’obscurité. Mais ensuite, il y a de la lumière. La saison de Noël, de la veille de Noël à l’Épiphanie: bougies, nourriture fine, chants d’anges, belle musique, cadeaux.
Si on applique cela à CAcert, CAcert est aussi dans une sorte de saison de l’Avent: cela dure depuis un certain temps et cela va durer encore un certain temps. Il fait sombre, mais nous espérons quelque chose de mieux. “Les gens dans les ténèbres attendent la venue de la lumière.” Les militants de CAcert ont réinitialisé divers commutateurs au cours des dernières années. Nous voyons de la lumière au bout du tunnel. Mais là encore, les travailleurs sont peu nombreux et le travail est nombreux.
C’est pourquoi, en ce quatrième dimanche de l’Avent, nous lançons un appel à tous: venez nous rejoindre. Rejoignez-nous. Aider quelque part. Une demi-heure ici ou une heure là. Pouvons-nous le faire une fois par semaine? Vous et moi, tous ensemble, nous y arriverons plus vite! Pour l’instant, il y a deux emplois importants. Ils sont trop grands pour une seule personne, mais nous pouvons les faire ensemble:
réécrire le code PHP (un grand départ est déjà fait). Après cela, nous pouvons faire beaucoup de petits travaux importants, qui sont déjà préparés.
une nouvelle possibilité de créer à nouveau des certificats sur votre propre ordinateur en quelques clics de souris, comme dans le navigateur avant que Mozilla et Google ne suppriment la commande des navigateurs. Là encore, un petit groupe recherche et évalue activement les premières possibilités. Par la suite, nous avons deux projets en cours de réalisation, qui permettront à CAcert de se généraliser et d’améliorer la situation financière de manière durable.
Peut-être votre pays ou votre région est-il en hibernation officielle en ce moment? Ou vous êtes sous quarantaine pour deux semaines? Alors profitez du temps; chaque contribution aide, chaque ligne de code, chaque soutien!
C’est votre prochaine étape:
inscrivez-vous auprès des développeurs: https://lists.cacert.org/wws/info/cacert-devel et entrez en contact avec nos volontaires, posez des questions, participez activement, créez du code, vérifiez les concepts, …
Vous hésitez encore? Alors regardez ici: https://bugs.cacert.org Capturez un petit bug et présentez votre solution. Vous avez 1001 possibilités.
DEUTSCH
Das Wort “Advent” ist lateinisch und bedeutet “Ankunft”. Die Adventszeit ist in der Kirche die Wartezeit, in der man auf Weihnachten warten. Vier Wochen lang. In der Dunkelheit. Doch dann wird es hell. Die Weihnachtszeit von Heilig Abend bis Dreikönigstag: Kerzen, feines Essen, Engelsgesang, schöne Musik, Geschenke.
Wenn wir dies auf CAcert übertragen, befindet sich CAcert auch in einer Art Adventszeit: Sie dauert schon eine Weile und wird noch etwas weiter andauern. Es ist dunkel, aber wir hoffen auf etwas besseres. “Das Volk im Dunkeln wartet auf die Ankunft des Lichts.” Die Aktiven von CAcert haben in den vergangenen Jahren verschiedene Weichen neu gestellt. Wir sehen Licht am Ende des Tunnels. Aber auch hier gilt: Der Arbeiter sind wenige und Arbeit viel.
Deshalb lancieren wir am heutigen vierten Adventssonntag einenn Appell an alle: Komm zu uns. Mach mit. Hilf irgendwo. Eine halbe Stunde hier oder eine Stunde dort. Geht das einmal wöchentlich? Du und ich, wir alle zusammen kommen gemeinsam schneller ans Ziel! Im Moment stehen zwei wichtige Arbeiten an. Für einen sind die viel zu gross, aber aufgeteilt auf mehrere Schultern können wir die stemmen:
Den PHP Code neu schreiben (ein grosser Anfang ist bereits erledigt). Anchliessend können ganz viele wichtige kleinere Arbeiten ausgeführt werden, die bereits vorbereitet sind.
Eine neue Möglichkeit, dass man Zertifikate wieder mit wenigen Mausklicks auf dem eigenen Computer erstellen kann, wie weiland im Browser, bevor Mozilla und Google des -Befehl aus den Browsern entfernt haben. Auch hier ist eine kleine Gruppe aktiv am Forschen und evaluiert erste Möglichkeiten. Anschliessend haben wir zzwei Projekte in der Pipeline zum Ausrollen, mit denen CAcert in die Fläche geht und auch die finanzielle Situation nachhaltig verbessern kann.
Vielleicht ist dein Land oder deine Region im Moment gerade im amtlich verordneten Winterschlaf? Oder du stehst für vierzehn Tage unter Quarantäne? Dann nutze die Zeit; jeder Beitrag hilft, jede Codezeile, jede Unterstützung!
Das ist dein nächster Schritt:
melde dich bei den Entwicklern an: https://lists.cacert.org/wws/info/cacert-devel und tritt mit unseren Freiwilligen in Kontakt, Stelle fragen, beteilige dich aktiv, erstelle Code, proove of concepts, …
Zögerst du noch? Dann schau hier: https://bugs.cacert.org Schnapp dir einen kleinen Bug und präsentiere deine Lösung. Du hast 1001 Möglichkeiten.
In a few hours, the year 2016 will be over. So, the secretary of the new elected committee of CAcert Inc., the infrastructure partner of the CAcert comunity, had just enough time, to show his gratitude to two members of the association who were active in the association for exactly five years. That is the reasons, why he handed over them a (virtual) golden watch as sign of thank you.
Kevin Dawson from New South Wales, the home of CAcert, became Public Officer in 2011 and remained in this function until 2016. As public officer, he dealed with the New South Welsh government and was contact person for the Office of Fair Trade and CAcert’s bank. Furthermore, Kevin Dawson, had a seat in the committee from 2011 to 2013 and in the transition committee in summer 2016. We sincerely thank Kevin for his excellent work, which he has done silently at the other end of the world, but always exactly and well, and regret that he is now concentrating on new things.
The second gold watch for five year loyal services to CAcert Inc. was handed over to Dirk Astrath from Germany, the country with the most community-members. He startet – at the same time as Kevin as Public Officer – as assessor in the committee. Later he hold the functions of secretary, vice president and president with exception of winter 2015/2016. If everything goes well with the “move” of CAcert Inc. Dirk will have been the last president of the Australian association.
