Messages posted by : admin
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Just how secure are your favourite ski websites - and why does it matter?
It's that time of year when we at J2Ski are hunkered down in the bat-cave, avoiding the scourge of sunshine and waiting for the days to get shorter again... Being the fun people we are, we use this time to dive deep into the technicalities of our websites and we go poking around the Internet to see what we can do better. Yep, the evenings just fly by... but today we're looking at (your) security. To get to the point - are the ski websites you use secure? and does it matter? To answer the second question first... If you ever login to a website, using a username and password, then yes, it matters. Your password goes from your browser to the website, but it doesn't go straight there. It bounces around the Internet, from one server to another, until it eventually gets where it should. A secure website will make your browser encrypt your password before sending it, but a non-secure site won't. If you use a public Wifi service then it's worse; your password is almost literally floating around in the air and can be very easily sniffed by anyone else using that Wifi. So, who cares if someone nicks your password for dodgychat.com? Well, provided you use a different password for every website you use, then your risk is limited to someone accessing your account (reading everything you've saved there, and impersonating you) on that site and if you can live with that then fine. ...you do use a different password everywhere don't you? Now, would you like that password encrypted or not? Better check that your favourite website's secure then. How to (start) seeing if the site's secure, step 1. This is easy :- - if the address of the website starts with https: (note the 's' - for SECURE), then the data you send from your browser to the website is encrypted and difficult to intercept and tamper with (this is an SSL connection). Almost all browsers use a padlock symbol to indicate an SSL connection, with many now highlighting the address bar in green to show a confirmed certificate. - if the address of the site starts with plain old http:, then no encryption is used and your password is sent bouncing around the Internet in plain, clear text. So anyone with access to any of those servers between you and the final website, or sharing that public wifi with you, can "sniff" (read, copy and take home!) your password. So, if it's just http: then it's not secure, BUT BUT BUT... Some secure sites are more equal than others Unfortunately, https: is just the first step. There are a range of "protocols" that can be used to secure connections, and many older ones are now compromised (vulnerable). There is much that can be done to secure a website... but, to be frank, many webmasters can't be bothered. We ran a few tests and, honestly, there are some well-known ski sites out there that really should be better looked after. So we're going to name and shame! One of the most comprehensive security tests available on the Internet is that available at SSL Labs - you can test any website using this link - https://www.ssllabs.com/ssltest/ SSL Labs check a huge range of protocols and potential vulnerabilities before spitting out an overall (and detailed) assessment. Here are some results... Top of the class is, yes, J2Ski.Com, with full-time SSL
SkiClub.co.uk - mainly http, but https when logged in
SnowForecast.Com - mainly http, but https when logged in
Crystalski.Com - http
SkiAndSnowboard.co.uk - http
Snowheads.com - http
We'd obviously be pleased to hear from any of the above, and even more pleased to hear if they start putting things right... |
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Léo Taillefer taking an interesting line in Val d'Isere, France earlier this year...
Pretty sure this is the Vallée Perdue - anyone confirm? |
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Europe's largest glacier ski area, Les Deux Alpes, will be open for business from this coming Saturday
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Warren Smith Ski Academy Youtube videos viewed One Million times.
In a perfect illustration of the rise of online video, the Ski Academy's hugely useful Youtube Channel marched past one million views a few days ago. Thank You For Watching
For a quick taster, grab a coffee and take 3 minutes... |
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A cold front has brought good snowfalls to South Africa's only ski resort Tiffindell.
Thanks to Lew from Tiffindell for the heads-up! |
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In news that will surprise exactly no-one, ORF.at is reporting that four shops in St.Anton have been fined a total of €419,200.
The full article (in German) is here :- http://tirol.orf.at/news/stories/2713543/
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J2Ski's Where to Ski in June 2015
This is our guide to where to ski in June, with an overview of the coming season for the Southern Hemisphere. Snow Report Summary June 2015 Snow Headlines - Heavy pre-season snowfall in New Zealand. - Resorts to open on four continents on last day of spring. - Norwegian summer ski areas have to delay opening due to too much snow on access roads. - Heavy late May snow in the Alps good news for glaciers open in June. - Lift-served skiing in France recommences in June. - Some Alpine ski areas received more snow in May than they did in December. June is a key month in the southern hemisphere! The 2015 ski season gets underway in South America, Australia, New Zealand and at a few small centres in southern Africa. So far it is looking quite promising at most of these areas, particularly New Zealand where accumulations of up to 1.5m were reported during May at some areas. Australia has had snow too and more recently low temperatures to allow for snowmaking. There are fewer than 20 areas open in the northern Hemisphere as we enter June but J2ski.com can report that that number may actually increase overall by the end of the month, as more glacier areas are scheduled to re-open for summer skiing than shut down in June. Low temperatures and some substantial snowfalls in late May mean most are looking good for the last few weeks of spring. Saturday June 20th will see ski areas open on four continents simultaneously, including Les 2 Alpes in France, Europe and Whistler in Canada, North America for summer glacier skiing and Portillo in Chile, South America and The Remarkables in New Zealand, Australia,/Oceania for their winter ski seasons. The Alps Austria The Kaunertal and Stubai glaciers both aim to stay open at least to June and Hintertux is open year round. Snow depths are good at all three centres with the Kaunertal reporting three lifts open and a base of 1.2-2m at the start of June. Hintertux however has the most terrain open (21km) served by 10 lifts and a 2.7m base. France Although there are no ski centres currently operating in France that's set to change later this month when the glacier slopes of Les 2 Alpes (on the 20th), Tignes (on the 27th) and Val d'Isere are scheduled to re-open for summer skiing and boarding. Italy After unusually having no ski centres open from mid-May, Italy's Passo Stelvio re-opened at the weekend for its season which traditionally runs from late spring through to autumn. However Cervinia will provide a second Italian option, at the end of the month at least, it is scheduled to re-open on 27th June for summer skiing through to early September. Switzerland With the Diavolezza and Engelberg glaciers closed for the season after last weekend, and Saas Fee not re-opening for summer skiing until July, the only real June skiing option in Switzerland is at Zermatt, where around 20km of glacier slopes are open, weather conditions permitting. The slopes got a boost a few weeks ago when more than a foot of fresh snow fell in a heavy late May snowfall that brought more snow to the Alps. Scandinavia Norway All three of Norway's glacier ski areas should now be opening, having all opened last month, although the Stryn glacier, which was due to open on May 22nd, had to delay doing so for several days as the road to the complex was still blocked by snow. Sweden It's the last month of the season for Europe's 'spring skiing capital' Riksgransen in the Swedish Arctic. The centre has been offering skiing under the midnight sun on selected dates now that 24 hour daylight has arrived at its latitude and is now gearing up for its traditional sell out big season finale over the summer solstice weekend. North America Canada Only Whistler remains open in Canada at present with glacier skiing. It has moved its closing date back to next weekend (Sunday June 7th) and will then close for 12 days before re-opening for five weeks of summer glacier skiing from the 20th, mostly concentrated in organised camps. USA Following Mammoth Mountain in California's and Killington in Vermont's decision to close last week, there are only two areas still operating in the US since 2014, Colorado's Arapahoe Basin and Timberline in Oregon. Timberline is open year round and A Basin, which had a big snowfall (50 inches/125cm in total) in mid-May which attracted thousands of weekend skiers, still has a 1.3m base as we enter June. It has just announced it will open Fridays-Sundays until at least June 14th, a date which may be extended. Last Wednesday Killington said it would just scrape in to June by staying closed on the final weekend of May and just re-open on June 1st for one last blast on the Superstar trail, there's so little snow left – but that went after rain storms on that Wednesday night so it has had to give up the ghost on its long 2014-15 season. Southern Hemisphere Africa Southern Africa's two ski areas of Afriski in Lesotho and Tiffindell in South Africa are usually amongst the first southern hemisphere areas to open for the season, usually thanks to their 100% snowmaking cover. Afriski has announced its winter season starts on Thursday, 4th June, but at time of writing there was no snow on the ground, although the centre reports there has been some pre-season snow. Australia Most Australian ski areas officially open for the 'Queen's birthday' national holiday weekend at the start of the month whether or not they have snow. Pre-season signs have been promising with some good snowfalls in April and May and the last week of May seeing temperatures dip to -6C, great for snowmaking so it seems likely that at least some skiing will be possible for the opening weekend. New Zealand New Zealand is in great shape for the start of 2015 and it's perhaps slightly concerning for some Kiwis that with several of the area's resorts reporting perfect conditions right now with the snow lying two feet deep top to bottom at resorts like The Remarkables, there are however no plans to open(announced so far at least) ahead of the official opening dates 3 weeks away. Snowfall during the month of May amounted to claimed accumulations of 1.5m at some areas whilst others began snowmaking early thanks to accompanying low temperatures from the 'Antarctic Blast.' Mt Hutt, Coronet Peak and Cardrona aim to be the first resorts in the country to open on Saturday, June 13th. More snow is forecast for the first week of June. South America Most ski areas in South America will open around the weekend of 19/20th June, all being well. There's been little information about pre-season snowfall accumulation but the more optimistic forecasters are optimistic that an 'El Nino' weather system in the Pacific which brought another warm, dry winter to West coast ski areas in North America will bring heavy snow to South America and social media images published by ski areas in Argentina and Chile have shown some very white mountains. A possible random factor is the latest volcanic eruption in April close to Bariloche but this is not currently thought to be a major issue for skiers. |
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Ha! Just stepped in from loading bikes into the car for my good lady and mini-Admin, as it happens. Hoping to do more cycling now he's a bit bigger but prefer to get away from the roads myself. I daren't look at road bikes as I know what some of my mates have spent on them in recent years... :shock: They're all bloody fit now though, so definitely a good move on your part. A word of warning... triathlons will be next! Windsurfing's my summer distraction, with the frustrating parallel to skiing in that it's dependent on the vagaries of the weather. :roll: |
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