Writing
Occasional articles on architecture, infrastructure and automation.
- An MCP Server That Isn’t a Security HoleAn MCP server lets AI assistants search, read and act on your product for your users: here’s what can go wrong, and the design decisions that keep it safe.
- What an Architecture Review Should Give YouAn architecture review is worth paying for only if it changes what you do next: when to commission one, what a good reviewer looks at, and what you should insist on getting.
- Where Your Cloud Bill Actually GoesMost cloud savings aren’t hidden in clever discounts but sit in a few predictable places, and you can claim them without giving up reliability.
- How I Build Software with AI AgentsAll of my software development now runs through AI agents. Here’s how that works in practice, what I still do myself, and what it means for your team.
- A New Website, Nineteen Years OnChantler Solutions has a new website, rebuilt from scratch and written in plain English.
- Introducing DIAMANTÉ RAID: Our New AI-Powered Video Conferencing PluginApril FoolAI-powered video conferencing plugin that lets the user wear a pair of sparkly specs which reflect their current mood. And is completely fake.
- Introducing FLORAL DAISY OP: Our New AI-Powered Office Plant Care SystemApril FoolAI-powered office plant care system that monitors plant health, provides optimal care, and serenades your greenery. And doesn’t really exist.
- Celebrating 16 Years: A New Website for a Greener FutureFrom the archiveChantler Solutions is 16 today, so it’s time for a new website.
From my blog, tomssl.com
I’ve written about security, privacy and running your own infrastructure on my personal blog since 2014. A few of them:
A look at email security 2015–2016
A three-part series: general advice, what S/MIME certificates are and how to get one, and how to sign and encrypt your email with them.
Running your own email server with Mail-in-a-Box 2017
How to set up your own email server with Mail-in-a-Box, and then how to move your existing email across to it.
How and why you should prevent account enumeration on your website 2018
Why a login or sign-up form shouldn’t reveal whether an account exists, and how to avoid it.
A sensible password strategy 2016
How to remember all of your passwords: don’t.
Security on social media 2015
Think before oversharing, and then don’t.
How and why you should change your blog URLs to dateless format 2020
Why the publication date belongs near the top of an article, not in its URL.
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Tell me what you’re working on. A short email is plenty, and you’ll get a straight answer on whether I can help.