ericlaw

How Downloads Work

I delivered a one hour session on the internals of file downloads in web browsers at THAT Conference 2024. The slides are here and a MP3 of the talk is available. If you’d prefer to read, much of the content in the talk is found in this blog’s posts that have a Download tag.

A Cold and Slow 3M Half

My second run of the 3M Half Marathon was Sunday January 21, 2024. My first half-marathon last year was cold (starting at 38F), but this year’s was slated to be even colder (33F) and I was nervous. For dinner on Saturday night, I had a HelloFresh meal of meatballs and mashed potatoes, and I wentContinue reading “A Cold and Slow 3M Half”

The Blind Doorkeeper Problem, or, Why Enclaves are Tricky

When trying to protect a secret on a client device, there are many strategies, but most of them are doomed. However, as a long-standing problem, many security experts have tried to chip away at its edges over the years. Over the last decade there’s been growing interest in using enclaves as a means to protectContinue reading “The Blind Doorkeeper Problem, or, Why Enclaves are Tricky”

Coding at Google

I wrote this a few years back, but I’ve had occasion to cite it yet again when explaining why engineering at Google was awesome. To avoid it getting eaten by the bitbucket, I’m publishing it here. Background: From January 2016 to May 2018, I was a Senior SWE on the Chrome Enamel Security team. GoogleContinue reading “Coding at Google”

Fall 2023 Races

While I’ve been running less, I haven’t completely fallen out of the habit, and I still find spending an hour on the treadmill to be the simplest way to feel better for the rest of the day. Real-world racing remains appealing, for the excitement, the community, and for the forcing function to get on theContinue reading “Fall 2023 Races”