Introduction. Unlike many Linux distributions the FreeBSD operating system comes quite crude out of the box. What others will interpret as a disadvantage, with some knowledge on the system, others see the power to serve. Anyone willing to have a nice FreeBSD desktop experience with little effort, there are a couple of BSD-based distributions, like […]
How to configure FreeBSD to use a webcam (version 12 and 13)
How to test SSL/TLS configurations
If you are in charge of any site with SSL/TLS conenctions enabled you are always in the chase to get the best possible and most secure configuration. This isn’t always the case and the lack of time does take its toll on many administrators. Those individuals are always asked to do more with less and […]
How to upload a FreeBSD custom image on DigitalOcean
Due to DigitalOcean not releasing ready to use images for FreeBSD 13 at this time, and since I opened a ticket a couple of months ago without a strong positive message from DigitalOcean supporting FreeBSD 13, I’ve decided to make use of their custom image upload service and give it a go. I must say […]
How to install Docker on Ubuntu 18.04
Operating System level virtualization is hitting hard now, as much as VM’s did just a few years ago. Docker is the popular framework for this matter, the new kid on the block so to speak. This is the hot spot now and if anyone wants to appear knowledgeable about system administration knowing this technology is […]
A brief introduction to SSL/TLS certificates
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer and it an old implementation of a crytographic protocol. TLS, or Transport Layer Security, is a new one. They are both used to have privacy in the communications between different parties. They are used to secure email, web browsing, instant messaging, etc These protocols work in a complex way […]
How to install Suricata on FreeBSD
Suricata is a free, open source, Intrusion Detection System software, or IDS for short. But it can also act as an Intrusion Prevention System, or IPS. It works by finding patterns using heuristics typically from network traffic. When configured to just warn about suspicious activity it is called an IDS, however when it blocks the […]
How to update FreeBSD with freebsd-update
Anytime you set a clean fresh FreeBSD install or just any other operating system you must update it. This should be the first thing. If you are a bit security aware (read paranoid) you can first set up the firewall rules and then update the system to the latest release where you have all the […]
How to format an USB drive on FreeBSD
File system support on FreeBSD falls onto UFS (UNIX File System) or originally named the FFS (Fast File System and on ZFS (Zetabyte File System). If you are using your box as a desktop-workstation you will use USB drives to share files with other systems, to carry things on your pocket or safe the day […]
Monitoring Systems (One)
Monitoring systems or how to get lost in fierce madness. There are many solutions to monitor systems and most of them have some kind of web interface to operate. Choosing the right tool for any job is a tedious task and for a newbie like me it is a bit harder, specially for a sensitive […]
Web credentials stealing
The theft of credentials has been occurring since almost the beginning of time. But of course when the web ‘happened’ and specially when e-commerce exploded stealing passwords also went on the rise. Emptying bank accounts, ordering stuff on behalf (and expenses) of others, spying, even impersonation was and is achieved by stealing credentials. Luckily for […]