Excalibur's Sheath

#articles

Implementing WireGuard VPN on OPNSense for Secure Remote Access

2024-10-12 00:00:00 -0600

Securing remote access to your home or server network is essential, and WireGuard VPN offers a robust, high-speed, and easy-to-configure solution. In this guide, we’ll walk through setting up a WireGuard VPN server on OPNSense, and configuring clients (peers) on Android, iOS, and Linux. Additionally, we’ll discuss how to use WireGuard for securing a server environment versus remote user connections.

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Using DNS to Protect Your Website and Domain

2024-10-04 00:00:00 -0600

DNS (Domain Name System) is often viewed as the phonebook of the internet. DNS translates domain names into IP addresses. However, it can also be a powerful tool for enhancing security. Here is how to use DNS to protect your domain.

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Guide to DNS Records That Help Secure an E-Mail Server

2024-09-26 00:00:00 -0600

E-mail servers rely on various DNS records to ensure proper function, security, and deliverability. Configuring these records correctly can protect your domain from spoofing, phishing, unauthorized use, improve e-mail deliverability, and protect your reputation. This article provides an in-depth explination of the DNS records which are crucial for e-mail server operations and security, including newer standards, like BIMI and MTA-STS.

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Adding Features to Jekyll

2016-09-17 00:00:00 -0600

Recently I upgraded from Jekyll 2.x to 3. When I did the upgrade the plugin I was using to create category pages started reporting depreciation errors. I started looking into creating the category pages a different way, and If I could create them without a plugin, I decided that would be the best way to do it.

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Wordpress is Not So Bad

2016-08-28 00:00:00 -0600

Wordpress is used by the majority of websites, some of the reasons for this are:

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Stupid Bash Tricks - Part Two

2016-05-13 00:00:00 -0600

In the last article, Stupid BASH Tricks One I went over escape codes, customizing the BASH prompt, and having fun with Fortune, and Cowsay. This time around we are going to cover BASH aliases, and end with a fork bomb.

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Stupid BASH Tricks - Part One

2016-05-05 00:00:00 -0600

As I’ve been customizing my servers, I’ve come to the time where it is time to customize my shell environment, which leads to Stupid BASH tricks. Some of these are useful, some are not, but they are all Fun.

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Wordpress Quick Tips

2014-04-24 00:00:00 -0600

My list of plugins that I recommend. I have divided them into two categories: Highly Recommended and Recommended. The highly recommended plugins can be used successfully by most WordPress based websites. The recommended plugins provide additional functionality which may be useful in in your site.

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The Ultimate Linux Cheat Sheet

2014-04-06 00:00:00 -0600

A while back I wrote a post of BASH or SSH Commands. In this post I add several other useful Linux commands.

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Website Scope

2013-08-23 00:00:00 -0600

I have thought about website security lately. One underused way of securing a website is to look at the scope of your website. Most websites have a purpose, it may be a website for small local businesses, an e-commerce website, which servers a niche market. In most cases not every country needs access to view your site. With the correct tools it is possible to block countries based on IP Addresses. This can allow you to maximize your possible audience, while blocking populations of hackers.

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Security of Scripts vs Security of Software

2013-03-27 00:00:00 -0600

WordPress is a great tool for creating websites. Some people believe that they do not need to keep their scripts updated.

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Why Update Scripts

2013-02-26 00:00:00 -0700

When websites have security issues there is one cause of the problem which I see more than any other. Scripts that are not updated. When I ask people why they do not keep the scripts updated to the newest version I am told a few different reasons. In general they boil down to the site being abandoned, or to people using custom coding. Sometimes I’ve heard that people want to wait for a certain period of time until the scripts are “Mature enough.” The problem is that while this strategy can work for software, and operating systems scripts are a little different. We need to update scripts so that security holes. ograms and operating systems are compiled. Compiling means that the code is changed into code that the computer natively understands. A script, like the many used to run websites are not compiled. Each time it is loaded the software that is compiled is the result of constant coding, and as it matures bugs, and other problems are removed and it functions better. Scripts also have bugs, every time a script releases an update it has fixes for the previous bugs that hackers may be able to use to place malicious code into the web hosting account. Keeping your scripts updated is a way to make sure that hackers do not have as much of a chance to compromise your account. Many scripts in use today are mature products, and are not prone to major changes, which cause performance to degrade.

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Common Pitfalls of Wordpress Websites

2013-01-15 00:00:00 -0700

WordPress is a great resource for creating and administering many types of websites. With WordPress you get a highly polished system to create content with. Thousands of free themes, and plugins to expand your sites functionality and to get that look that is perfect.

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The Great Wordpress 3.5 Migration

2013-01-09 00:00:00 -0700

I recently made the effort to upgrade multiple sites from WordPress 3.4.2 to WordPress 3.5. Unfortunately, along the way I encountered some difficulties.

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Unix and Linux Command Line Commands

2012-07-10 00:00:00 -0600

I have put together a list of useful commands for Unixes and Linux. These are Linux variants of the commands.

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HTTP Status Codes and What They Mean

2012-07-09 00:00:00 -0600

Web servers return many codes. Some mean everything is working, and some are errors. I am going to go over some of the common codes. Some of these codes you see and some you don’t.

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Dig Without Making a Hole

2012-07-07 00:00:00 -0600

Here are a few ways to use dig that I have found useful: To find the name servers for a TLD.

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The DNS Process

2012-07-06 00:00:00 -0600

The DNS process is suprisingly complex. Let’s take a look at how the system works, in a simple solution. Let’s say that you want to take your new browser for a spin, and go to http://www.excalibursheath.com

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Internet Ports for Everyone

2012-07-04 00:00:00 -0600

Ever wished that you had a list of Internet ports for quick reference? Here you go!

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