UPDATE: Download the Understanding SSL and TLS Presentation PDF

We have a special guest coming down Thursday, August 20th to the Johnson City Country Club (club website, restaurant website)! John Harris is the Systems Admin for the huge Electrical Engineering Dept at VT and also happens to be an avid beer brewer at his home in Floyd, Virginia. He will be doing a two-part presentation on encryption that you can’t miss. To soften the sometimes complex world of SSL, browsers, passwords and more exciting things, he’ll also have some of his famous beer to sample and will be glad to answer questions about his setup.

If you use the net today, you rely on encryption. Learn how it actually works from top to bottom. The first part of the presentation is going to be a fast paced breakdown of how the pieces all fit together. The second part is a highly technical and informative overview of the core technologies and concepts behind SSL/TLS encyption. Everyone can learn a lot from the first part, from 7-8pm. The second part is mostly for SysAdmins, web hosts, etc, who really need to know the nitty gritty details from 8-9pm.

Food will be a-la-carte and please do consider donating a couple bucks to the club so we can cover the cost of the room!

On other notes, John Harris is Ben Collins’ step-dad! Come show your support!