Month: January 2021

Crypto Wars: Auch EU-Kommission will Verschlüsselung (nicht) schwächen

In einem Brief versichert EU-Kommissarin Ylva Johansson, dass die Verschlüsselung nicht geschwächt werden solle. Doch sie schreibt auch das Gegenteil. Eine Analyse von Moritz Tremmel (Crypto Wars, Datenschutz)

In einem Brief versichert EU-Kommissarin Ylva Johansson, dass die Verschlüsselung nicht geschwächt werden solle. Doch sie schreibt auch das Gegenteil. Eine Analyse von Moritz Tremmel (Crypto Wars, Datenschutz)

Wi-Fi 6E arrives at CES 2021

We roundup the Wi-FI 6E routers, with Asus’ model is launching as soon as this month.

Wi-Fi 6E is very slowly coming to a product near you. The Wi-Fi Alliance started certifying devices on January 7, and CES 2021 saw plenty of product announcements related to the Wi-Fi 6E rollout.

Wi-Fi 6E, if you haven't heard, is a new standard for Wi-Fi that was approved by the FCC last year. While Wi-Fi 6 (no "e," aka 802.11ax) is a bunch of technical improvements mostly aimed at more efficient usage of existing spectrum, Wi-Fi 6E is all about expanding Wi-Fi to a newly freed-up chunk of spectrum. Previously, Wi-Fi only worked on the 2.4Ghz and 5GHz spectrum, but Wi-Fi 6E uses the 6GHz spectrum. In the United States, 6E has a huge chunk of continuous spectrum—1200MHz. Previously, 5GHz only offered 140MHz of useful, non-DFS spectrum, and 2.4 GHz only had 70MHz of very crowded spectrum, which is vulnerable to running microwaves and other interference.

Neither Wi-Fi 6 or Wi-Fi 6E is about more speed—both are more about dealing with Wi-Fi capacity issues, which frequently rear their heads in apartment buildings and large public gatherings. If your Wi-Fi is currently terrible due to crowded airwaves in a densely populated area, Wi-Fi 6E could greatly improve your wireless performance. Getting on Wi-Fi 6E will mean buying new clients and new access points, though, hence this roundup article.

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Parler seems to be sliding back onto the Internet, but not onto mobile

Parler is following a path laid for it by the likes of Gab and 8chan.

The bright screen of a notebook computer illuminates the face of the person using it.

Enlarge / A person browsing Parler in early January, back when it had content up other than vague promises to overcome being thrown off the whole Internet and return louder than ever. (credit: Jaap Arriens | NurPhoto | Getty Images)

Right-wing social media platform Parler, which has been offline since Amazon Web Services dropped it like a hot potato last week, has reappeared on the Web with a promise to return as a fully functional service "soon."

Although the platform's Android and iOS apps are still defunct, this weekend its URL once again began to resolve to an actual website, instead of an error notice. The site at the moment consists solely of the homepage, which has a message from company CEO John Matze.

"Now seems like the right time to remind you all—both lovers and haters—why we started this platform," the message reads. "We believe privacy is paramount and free speech essential, especially on social media. Our aim has always been to provide a nonpartisan public square where individuals can enjoy and exercise their rights to both. We will resolve any challenge before us and plan to welcome all of you back soon. We will not let civil discourse perish!"

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