The matter of data centre security was raised recently on a network mailing list I subscribe to. Someone was wondering if data centres checked incoming equipment for “bad stuff” – explosives and what-not.
The reaction from some was “don’t talk about that, we don’t want to give people ideas”. What a muddle-headed response!
The situation: You have a computer with no wifi, and you have an access point. No wifi, so no Internet. Sad face. But if you have a MikroTik router with a wifi interface and a couple of Ethernet interfaces, you can set up a private Ethernet network and connect your computer to wifi through the MikroTik.
ssh is just about the most secure way you can provide access to a system. But even ssh is subject to attacks. You can reduce the likelihood of a breach even further with a few fairly simple steps. The specifics below are for Ubuntu 16.04, but the principles are the same for any modern Unix.
After using my electric toothbrush I always rinse the whole detachable head, dry the bristles, remove the head and tap out any water. Yesterday when I tapped out the water (from the open end that sockets onto the handle) a tiny black speck appeared on the white porcelain of the basin. Hm, I thought.
Recently a client decided to set up an AWS Hardware VPN to their site. The simplest way to research this seemed to be to set up a test VPN to my own router – a MikroTik 951G-2HnD running RouterOS 6.30.2. Here’s how I did it.
Someone asked on the Ubuntu users mailing list how they could set up a keypress that would resize the currently active window to 75% of its present width. It took a little thought, but eventually the tools were found…
My old Dell Vostro 1720 is on the way out, after giving sterling service for over six years. The replacement is a Lenovo E560. I just spent a day trying to get it to dual boot the installed Windows 7 and Ubuntu.
As the proud owner of a Synology DS415+ NAS (network attached storage) device, I thought I had better protect the large amount of data accumulating on it by also becoming the proud owner of a suitable UPS (uninterruptible power supply). That way, when the power fluctuates or goes off unexpectedly (as is quite common in rural Australia, where I live) the NAS is protected and will have time to shut itself down in an orderly fashion. So I purchased a Schneider (APC) BR900GI UPS. This article is about how I set things up.
A colleague teaches ethics in IT. He said in a recent email regarding cyberwarfare, that he would be happy if his students thought about whether it was ethical to be involved in planning a cyber-attack. (more…)