Latest Posts
Trick certbot into auto-configuring Amazon Linux 2
I use Let’s Encrypt to enable SSL/TLS encryption on all my websites. It’s brain-dead simple to configure with the EFF’s companion certbot tool and has gone a long way into the massive increase in HTTPS-by-default across the web. Unfortunately, certbot is not as familiar with the distant relative of the…
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PHP Warning: require_once(Mail.php): failed to open stream
This one is pretty simple but sometimes frustrating to troubleshoot because the error below has you hunting for a file called Mail.php somewhere in your document root. Spoiler alert: it’s totally not there and never will be. Maybe this is the first PHP mail form you’ve built on this server…
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How to Copy a Lot of Files With rsync
In order to add a new drive to my Linux desktop for a new /home partition, I needed to copy a lot of files to an external USB drive. The directory was large and had over a decade’s worth of content. cp -rp wasn’t going to work. I wanted speed,…
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Can’t Connect to Remote MongoDB
Here’s a quick one for you this fine Sunday afternoon. If you have a brand new install of MongoDB on a remote server, and you’re trying to connect to it with MongoDB Compass but you keep getting the following error: MongoDB not running on the provided host and port Then…
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Hacking Windows 7 Professional Edition, SP2
Since taking the SANS SEC560 Network Penetration Testing and Ethical Hacking course earlier this summer, I’ve spent most of my time studying for the GIAC Penetration Tester (GPEN) exam, rather than practicing the skills I learned in the course. Book learning versus practical skills. After taking my second practice exam…
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Intrusion Detection For Windows
This morning, I was discussing with a colleague the last time I really felt like I had a handle on Windows under the hood: Windows NT. As soon as I had separated from the Army in 2001, I left Windows system administration behind and wrapped myself in the Linux Blanket…
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My “Leaderboard Syndrome” Moment
In the almost 2 hours I spend on the road every day, I consume a lot of podcasts. The Shop Talk Show is one I occasionally dip in to if a topic they cover piques my interest. Last week on Reddit, I found myself in a Google spreadsheet that lists…
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The 44th Annual Cambridge Beer Festival, Day 5
Friday, day 5 of the 44th Annual Cambridge Beer Festival. This is typically my last day of exploration. The really good ones are increasingly running out by now and the increased crowds don’t permit you to have an interaction with the volunteer bartenders, seeking their recommendations as they try to…
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The 44th Annual Cambridge Beer Festival, Day 3 & 4
Due to previous obligation, I missed day 2, so we’ll skip straight to Wednesday and Thursday, days 3 and 4 of the 44th Annual Cambridge Beer Festival. For Wednesday, my party consisted of my wife, son, and father and mother in-law. We made it to the festival shortly after its…
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The 44th Annual Cambridge Beer Festival, Day 1
2017 marks the fourth year I have been fortunate enough to attend the Cambridge Beer Festival on Jesus Green in central Cambridge. It is my favorite annual event here and one that I will go out of my way to attend for as long as we reside in this country. …
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