Tags
ISRG Root X1, KPFA, Let's Encrypt Authority X1, Let's Encrypt Authority X3, Let's Encrypt security certificates, Pacifica Radio Network, security certificates
LUMPENPROLETARIAT—[GONZO] If, like your author, you listen to free speech radio on your mobile device every day while you are commuting, or when you are out of its terrestrial broadcast radio range, and if, like your author, you have been sticking with your trusty BlackBerry smartphone mobile device over the years because you find that for your purposes it is superior technology to newer alternatives, then you would be very upset if you tried to listen to free speech radio on your BlackBerry and one day you could only get a red alert message on your BlackBerry screen reading: “Site Blocked.”
This happened to your author yesterday morning, Monday, 15 AUG 2016. This happened before, too, back in April 2016. It seems your author was, either, the only KPFA listener to use a BlackBerry, or the only listener to use a BlackBerry and complain about finding that KPFA had been censored on one of its major platforms.
Like last time, your author persisted and, with the help of KPFA tech support, went through obscure technical hoops, which BlackBerry users must apparently go through now in order to import the proper security certificates (e.g., Let’s Encrypt security certificates) in order to force BlackBerry browsers to unblock KPFA. Fortunately, this time, it only took a few days to get back your author’s BlackBerry device back on KPFA.org, unlike the last time this happened, which took a few weeks. [1]
[We will include more details about these infringements upon free speech and digital media access as time constraints allow. In the meantime, should you or someone you know experience any internet barriers to digital media access, contact your local community free speech broadcaster or whatnot, or feel free to contact us to walk you through the unholy process of importing any lacking security certificates and such in order to render your BlackBerry device once again capable of accessing KPFA broadcasts.]
Messina
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[1] Prior to these obstructions to free speech media, such as KPFA.org suddenly requiring security certificates, which BlackBerry does not respect by default, I didn’t know anything about security certificates or whatnot. (All I knew was how to browse the internet for free speech media and download news and information from beyond the terrestrial radio range of the respective signals of sundry free speech broadcasters.)
I had to import at least three new security certificates, including ISRG Root X1, Let’s Encrypt Authority X1, and Let’s Encrypt Authority X3.
For the most part, all I had to do was follow the necessary links to download the security certificate files onto my BlackBerry mobile device in a particular text file format called a “pem” file, or “.pem”, as it is a file, which ends in .pem.
For one security certificate, I had to:
“Go to https://www.identrust.com/certificates/trustid/root-download-x3.html and copy certificate body to text editor.”
But this failed because I only had BlackBerry Docs To Go, a word application, which functioned differently from a text application. So, tech support had to email me the actual “pem” file.
But, when I downloaded it with my BlackBerry device, my device converted it to a “txt” file. My initial attempts to rename the file name, within the BlackBerry File Manager application, didn’t change the file extension type. I had to rename the file in the “Properties” screen by changing the last three letters from “txt” to “pem”.
Once I did this, I was able to import this last Let’s Encrypt security certificate my device required to access KPFA.org.
Here are the general instructions KPFA‘s tech support offered today:
“A way to resolve this is to manually add the root certificate to your device:
- Go to https://letsencrypt.org/certificates/ and download https://letsencrypt.org/certs/isrgrootx1.pem and https://letsencrypt.org/certs/letsencryptauthorityx1.pem.
- Go to https://www.identrust.com/certificates/trustid/root-download-x3.html and copy certificate body to text editor. You need to prepend —–BEGIN CERTIFICATE—– and append —–END CERTIFICATE—– so it looks like this
—–BEGIN CERTIFICATE—–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—–END CERTIFICATE—–and save it to file (such as dstrootx3.pem). - Then simply import these three files on your Blackberry phone via Settings – Security and privacy – Certificates – Import.
- After doing so, your Blackberry should start trusting all Let’s Encrypt certificates, including KPFA.org
- https://supportforums.blackberry.com/t5/BlackBerry-10-Functions-and/Letsencrypt-Support/td-p/3167994
- http://jinoch.cz/lets-encrypt-certificates-and-blackberry”
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[16 AUG 2016]
[Last modified 16:00 PDT 16 AUG 2016]
