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Using GPG Keys to sign Git Commits - Part 4

Using GPG Keys to sign Git Commits - Part 4

Part 4 - The final part (at least for now, until I find somewhere else that we can expand on with this)! This part will focus on porting the keys that we have recently generated onto our YubiKey device. I own a YubiKey NEO, so i'll be using that.

Authentication DevOps Git Security Technology
Using GPG Keys to sign Git Commits - Part 3

Using GPG Keys to sign Git Commits - Part 3

Okay, part 3! At this point, I'm assuming that you have already familiarised yourself with part 1 and part 2 of the series. As a quick recap, part 1 focused on why we would consider using GPG Keys in general. Part 2 focused on how to generate GPG keys along with some recommended practices on splitting out our master (Certification) key, from our specific purpose-driven keys. This post (part 3) focuses on using those keys as part of our usual development workflow using Git. We'll be assuming that GitHub is our end target, as GitHub supports commit signature verification using GPG Keys

Authentication DevOps Git How To Security Technology
Using GPG Keys to sign Git Commits - Part 2

Using GPG Keys to sign Git Commits - Part 2

Hopefully by now you've had a chance to read [part 1](gpg-git-part-1) of this series, which explains why you may be interested in using GPG keys to sign your commits. Congratulations on getting to the second part! In part two, we're going to focus on how I worked through setting up GPG in my Windows environment, and generating a set of keys for use. There were some challenges/hurdles along the way, and we'll talk through those too!

DevOps Git Security Technology Windows Terminal
Using GPG Keys to sign Git Commits - Part 1

Using GPG Keys to sign Git Commits - Part 1

For a while now, I've been using GPG Keys to sign my Git Commits to prove that my commits on GitHub are genuine and from me. Over the last few weeks, I've been inspired by a couple of colleagues (Kudos to Adrian and Julie if you're reading this) to dig out my YubiKey and use these for my key signing activities. While there are several blog posts on the topic already, I encountered a number of roadblocks along the way. The intent of this blog post is to be the first of a series, where we'll explore what GPG is, why it may be valuable to you and how you can get going using them. We'll then take this forwards an additional step, and show how you can use YubiKeys as a second factor of verification and the benefits of this approach. By no means am I the world's expert in cryptography, and some of these topics, but I wanted to document my own understanding for posterity, as I'll inevitably need to repeat/review the process in the future. I hope that this may be useful to you.

DevOps Git How To Security Technology
The Past Four Years

The Past Four Years

For the past four years, I've been part of a team at Microsoft called FastTrack for Azure. FastTrack for Azure is part of Azure Engineering's Customer Experience Team, focused on successfully on boarding customers on a project-by-project basis as they bring production workloads online. There is never a perfect time to say goodbye, but for me - now is the time. From Monday, I'll be taking on a new role within Microsoft as a Senior Cloud Solution Architect within Microsoft UK's Customer Success Unit, focusing on the Manufacturing & Resources Industries. Career changes can be big moments of change, and a good opportunity to reflect.

Podcasting Setup Technology
Contributing towards Azure GitHub Actions

Contributing towards Azure GitHub Actions

I've talked in the past about my Open Source journey, and some of the contributions that I have made in the community. In my current role, I've been leading on the global strategy for my team's DevOps practice, defining the areas of focus and initiatives that may be beneficial for the team. In this post, I'm going to talk through one of these initiatives, and how you can contribute towards the Azure GitHub Actions experience!

Azure GitHub GitHub Actions Manual Approvals
Cloud with Chris Setup - Part 2 - Lights, Camera, Action!

Cloud with Chris Setup - Part 2 - Lights, Camera, Action!

A few people have recently been asking about my setup, so I figured it may be a good time to start writing about it! This is the second part of the series, where I'll focus on the Lights, Recording Equipment and my overall setup. If you're interested in the PC setup, then take a look at my previous blog post!

Podcasting Setup Technology
Cloud with Chris Setup - Part 1 - My PC

Cloud with Chris Setup - Part 1 - My PC

A few people have recently been asking about my setup, so I figured it may be a good time to start writing about it! I'll break this into a few posts to keep it digestible. The first part will be focused on the main powerhouse behind it all - My PC!

Podcasting Setup Technology
JAMStack and the Cloud - A winning combination

JAMStack and the Cloud - A winning combination

When I mention the term JAMStack, I'm not pretending that I'm Paddington bear with a stack of Jam sandwiches! If you hadn't heard, JAMStack is a term that describes applications based on JavaScript, APIs and Markup. That means, we're referring to files that are content in nature. Think about files like HTML, CSS, Images, etc. Ok, now with that context - why has it risen in popularity? Surely this is something that could have been done for many years, so why now? My hypothesis... Cloud.

Azure CosmosDB Azure Storage Cloud Design Patterns Development Hugo Serverless Static Content Web Development
Contributing to Open Source

Contributing to Open Source

Contributing to Open Source Software. It sounds so formal, doesn't it? I thought that for quite a long time, and it put a bit of a mental barrier in place for me to begin my journey. I am a classic over thinker, but that's perhaps another blog in its own right! Contributing to Open Source isn't as scary as it may first initially seem. Let's start with a few thoughts.

Community Development How to Open Source