corporate-security on S Anand

Even the guest WiFi is so secure

Fri, 18 Apr 2025 08:09:26 +0000

We take security very seriously at Straive. We set high standards – not just for ourselves, but our guests, too.

Here’s the unofficial policy guide for visitors to Straive Singapore, exemplified by the sites blocked on our guest WiFi network.

Please avoid childishness. No emojis. No emojikitchen.com, gitmoji.dev
Write your own code. Avoid AI. No cursor.com, cline.bot, glideapps.com
Avoid code entirely, if possible. No marimo.app, motherduck.com, firebase.studio, posthog.com
No presentations either, please. No marp.app, revealjs
Stay organized. Avoid crutches. No dynalist.io, focusmate.com, opennote.me
You should already be fit, physically & mentally. No freedomfromdiabetes.org, artofliving.online
We prefer real, not digital, shopping. No fairprice.com
Fake data is not encouraged. No jsonplaceholder.typicode.com, placehold.co
Please spell out URLs in full. No bit.ly, t.co
Learning is for wimps. No maven.com, study.iitm.ac.in

In fact, we’re so secure, we block our own sites. No learnovate.straive.com, policies.straive.com, myapps.straive.com.

Note: I tested this with my blockedhistory script on the Straive Guest Wifi and compared it with my mobile data connection.

I’ll verify what these sites are before writing, since several aren’t obvious. Let me check the ones I’m less sure about.Context7 is an MCP server for AI coding. Let me check the genuinely obscure ones.Now the obscure/local ones I genuinely don’t know.moddedbear is an indie dev’s personal blog. Let me check a few more for good thematic clusters.chr.so is ambiguous, so I’ll skip it. Let me confirm a couple more for flavor.Here’s the addendum, matching the deadpan style of the original:

Addendum (June 2025)

We continue to take security very seriously at Straive. A year on, our standards have only risen. As of June 2026, our guest network has blocked:

Curiosity is a liability. Don’t read about AI - especially from the people building it. No deepmind.google, blog.google, hacks.mozilla.org, cloudwars.com
AI was already banned. Giving it skills and tools is treasonous. No agentskills.io, skill.md, modelcontextprotocol.io, context7.com, factory.ai
Use your own face and your own voice. No stand-ins. No synthesia.io, aistudios.com, speaktor.com
Learning is for wimps. Learning over beer, doubly so. No nerdnite.com, bangalore.nerdnite.com, mumbai.nerdnite.com
One reality is plenty. We will not fund your escape from it. No vrchat.com, hello.vrchat.com
Your terminal should be a punishment, not a joy. No ghostty.org. And no hobbyists to pick up better habits from. No moddedbear.com
Idle chatter is bad. Measuring your idle chatter is worse. No discord.com, twitter.com, analytics.twitter.com
You’re already fit (see above), so you needn’t track anyone else’s stats either. No sports-reference.com
And resist temptation: you do not need a new phone, however tasteful. No sg.nothing.tech

Courtesy

Wed, 04 Sep 2013 14:27:52 +0000

We are often subject to body searches, baggage inspections, and identity verifications. At malls. At airports. At offices.

These are to ensure that no one carries ammunition inside, or goods or secrets outside. In other words, to deter terrorists and thieves.

It’s nothing personal, of course. When someone does not know me, I can choose to accept that (or not; the choice is mine).

When I’m invited somewhere, however, I assume that I am not deemed a security threat. Therefore, I expect that:

My and my belongings will not be searched or scanned
I need not leave behind my personal belongings
I need not carry an identity card

Please afford me this courtesy if you are inviting me.

For some months now, I’ve visited many corporate offices. The reception is comprised of security guards, a metal detector and a register. I’m given a tag and an escort.

I’m not fussy. I’m not worried about being greeted, for example. I’m quite happy to plug into a power socket and work on my laptop until logistics are sorted out. But when that happens at the security outpost with no sitting space, or outside the gate in the rain, it inconveniences me.

A few weeks ago, I was at Singapore, and visited a client’s office in slippers. One of them complemented my choice of footwear, and remarked that he had not yet risen high enough in the corporate ladder to afford this luxury. (There’s a series of stories behind my footwear that I’ll get to later.)

That told me something. After a long time, I now can afford this luxury. Especially if someone knows me well enough to invite me to their office.

I hope to point them to this blog post and request that security be arranged so that I can be afforded this small courtesy; be treated with trust rather than as a terrorist or a thief.

(If their organisation’s practice does not permit this, I’m happy to meet outside. Besides, our office is happy to extend warm hospitality.)

Using digital signatures

Mon, 29 Jul 2002 12:00:00 +0000

Companies like L&T, Ashok Leyland, Infosys are using digital signatures already.