Install linux homebrew (brew) Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

By | Linux | No Comments
[raw] sudo apt-get install -y curl g++ gawk m4 make patch ruby tcl

PATH=~/.linuxbrew/bin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin
unset LD_LIBRARY_PATH PKG_CONFIG_PATH
yes | ruby -e “$(curl -fsSL https://raw.github.com/Linuxbrew/linuxbrew/go/install)”
brew doctor

brew install gcc –with-glibc
brew tap homebrew/dupes
brew install git
brew install coreutils findutils gawk gnu-sed gnu-which grep make ruby

PATH=$HOME/.linuxbrew/bin:$HOME/.linuxbrew/sbin
brew install hello && brew test hello; brew remove hello
[/raw]

DirectTV Now – Is it worth it?

By | Flash Review | No Comments

DirectTV Now was launched as a streaming service offering live TV streamed to your many devices. After some initial testing, I have decided to cancel my subscription for the following reasons:

1. The Apps are buggy and featureless – both the AppleTV and iPhone Apps had multiple crashes and I never felt comfortable using them after so many crashes
2. There is no on-demand! This seems like more a problem with the apps than content.
3. There are no commercials, but worse replaced by cheesy elevator music and the most horrible waiting screen since 1990.
4. Streaming through the browser is only supported on Chrome, Safari, and IE.  No Opera or Firefox!!

Although they offer a 7 day trial, it only took two days for me to realize this was the worst deal on the internet. Don’t do it.  I can only recommend this for people who don’t want to watch TV but just like the background noise of it.

Home Network Recommended Stack

By | Networking | No Comments

Firewall / Router :

1. OpnSense (IPv6 Support – also uses latest Unbound DNS)

2. Untangle (dismal IPv6 support but gets the job done)

3. ClearOS (lacking good IPv6 support)

Access Points:

1.  Linkys Velop

2.  Orbi – highest throughput

3.  Eero

Switches

Cisco SG200-08 8-port Gigabit Smart Switch (SLM2008T-NA) – supports 802.3ad which enables Link Aggregation with LACP (automatically!)

Servers

Plex Media Server – Recommended a specific machine for this transcoder!

PiHole Server – Block Ads and use as DNS Server (override DNS from ISP always with this box)

Backup Server/NAS Solution/Off-Site rsync

Unbound with OpnSense aka pFSense

By | Networking | No Comments

Switching from the DNS forwarder to the Unbound resolver has many benefits for your OpnSense system.  The main one is that Unbound can also use DNSSEC for validating requests.

To switch, simply follow the steps.

Step 1.  Have an OpnSense installation up and running

Step 2.  Login to https://192.168.1.1

Step 3.  Select Services > DNS Forwarder and disable it

Step 4.  Select Services > DNS Resolver > General and enable it, also enable DNSSEC (if your DNS servers support it) and “Enable Forwarding Mode” should be turned on.

Step 5.  Save and Reboot for some piece of mind, and enjoy!

Webpass IPv6 Config with OpnSense aka pFSense

By | Networking | No Comments

Here is what you need to do to configure IPv6 with a fresh OpnSense Installation.

Step 1: Download and Install OpnSense – here are the USB instructions
Step 2: Access your new install at https://192.168.1.1 the default login is root and password is : opnsense
Step 3: Go through default config wizard, selecting DHCP for your WAN connection
Step 4: Select Interfaces > WAN > and set IPv6 Configuration Type to DHCPv6
Step 5: Check that LAN > IPv6 Configuration Type is now automatically set to Track Interface
Step 6: Restart your OpnSense box – you should now see an IPv6 address for both your WAN and LAN interface on the system dashboard.
Gateways should show WAN_DHCP with your IP and WAN_DHCP6 dynamic

These same basic instructions work for pFsense as well although the menu names may be different. My testing showed pFsense detected the IPv6 address automatically and setup everything without intervention on Webpass.

Mail-In-A-Box and Gitlab Install Script Same Server

By | Linux | No Comments
[raw] apt-get update && apt-get dist-upgrade
curl -s https://mailinabox.email/setup.sh | sudo bash
curl https://packages.gitlab.com/install/repositories/gitlab/gitlab-ee/script.deb.sh | sudo bash
wget https://packages.gitlab.com/gitlab/gitlab-ee/packages/ubuntu/trusty/gitlab-ee_8.11.6-ee.0_amd64.deb/download
mv download download.deb
dpkg -i download.deb
[/raw]

Gitlab SSL Certificate Cloudflare Fatal Error

By | Web | No Comments

Errors include :

[raw]

/ci/api/v1/builds/register.json: x509: certificate
signed by unknown authority

fatal: unable to access SSL certificate problem: unable to get local issuer certificate

[/raw]

update certificates to include the root ca –
helpful commands :
[raw] gitlab-runner –debug run
gitlab-ctl reconfigure
gitlab-ci-multi-runner unregister –url https://ssi.lt/ci –token xxx

[/raw]

Here are the Cloudflare Origin root certificates.

AirBNB Pre-Approved Payment Mobile App Issue/Bug

By | Tips | No Comments

I recently tried to book a house on Airbnb mobile app.  Having not booked in a while, I decided to try linking my PayPal account.  I followed the steps in the app to connect my account for pre-approved payments.  Upon return to the app after successfully linking my account, I tried to book the house.  I received an error that the payment was not approved.  At this time, I then checked the PayPal website and could see a successful approved payment.  So, I thought to myself it must have been a little bug, so I tried to book again.  Once again, the charge showed up in PayPal, and now I had 2 successful PayPal payments and NO booking.  I called Airbnb immediately to explain the situation and they told me…don’t worry about it – this isn’t a real transaction.  Well, 2 days later – those pre-approved payments for over $2,000 hit my PayPal account!  Why?  Because the Airbnb app has a bad bug – and the PayPal link/booking flow is clearly broken.  Airbnb CSR reps (Sierra L.) were not helpful at all, and I had to get PayPal to finally step in and correct this mistake.  At no time did the CSR reps realize there was an issue with the app.  Additionally, they spoke over my concerns and actually hung up on me at one point! Wow, all for taking $2,000 in un-authorized charges.  Clearly they have no Customer Service Representative training.

Do not use PayPal and AirBNB – it doesn’t work correctly.

DigitalOcean Block Storage Speed and Benchmarks

By | digitalocean, Linux | One Comment

Here are some simple stats from the new block storage available over at DigitalOcean.  Tested on a 1gb droplet.

[raw]hdparm -t /dev/sda[/raw] Reads

Timing buffered disk reads: 536 MB in  3.01 seconds = 178.15 MB/sec

Timing buffered disk reads: 586 MB in  3.01 seconds = 194.63 MB/sec

Timing buffered disk reads: 574 MB in  3.00 seconds = 191.32 MB/sec

[raw]hdparm -T /dev/sda[/raw] Cached Reads

Timing cached reads:   15090 MB in  2.00 seconds = 7551.96 MB/sec

Timing cached reads:   15056 MB in  2.00 seconds = 7535.53 MB/sec

Timing cached reads:   14810 MB in  2.00 seconds = 7411.46 MB/sec

[raw]time sh -c “dd if=/dev/sda of=ddfile bs=8k count=1000000 && sync”; rm ddfile[/raw] Writes

8192000000 bytes (8.2 GB) copied, 49.4442 s, 166 MB/s

real 0m49.523s

user 0m0.348s

sys 0m12.384s

Allow DNSMASQ through UFW Firewall Port Guide

By | dnsmasq, ufw | No Comments

If you want to use UFW Firewall with DNSMASQ you need to enable some extra ports so all the queries can process correctly. Here are the ports you should open.

[raw]

ufw allow from any port 68 to any port 67 proto udp

[/raw] [raw]

ufw allow dns

[/raw] [raw] ufw disable
ufw enable
[/raw]

Hackintosh 10.11.5 Update Instructions

By | Hackintosh | No Comments

For the latest 10.11.5 here is the recommended upgrade procedure.  There are no known compatibility issues at this time for upgrading directly from the AppStore.

Download and Install the update from the AppStore.  Allow your machine to restart.

In clover, change your boot options to set [raw]

nv_disable=1

[/raw]

Boot.  Allow the update to continue and wait for it to install.  If you’re using -v boot flag don’t expect to see the normal progress indicator however the update will install in the background so be patient.

Once booted – download the latest NVIDIA Drivers.  Reboot after installing and use the standard [raw]

nvda_drv=1

[/raw]

Perfect PiHole on Debian 8.3 x64

By | pihole | No Comments

A Perfect PiHole on Debian 8.3 x64 compatible with DigitalOcean and other VPS providers.
https://github.com/88plug/perfect-pihole-debian-auto-install-script
0 forks.
2 stars.
0 open issues.

Recent commits:

Why I traded-in my AT&T Phone for an Amazon Gift Card.

By | Asides, Tips | No Comments

AT&T is one of the Worst mobile carriers for Android hardware. I had a Samsung S6 EDGE+ sm-g928A variant. 32gb in Gold Platinum. The problem is AT&T loads so much bloatware on the phone, it makes it almost unusable. You cannot root this phone. Additionally there hasn’t been an update issue since December of 2015. It’s now May of 2016!

Amazon Trade-In’s offers you cash in the form of Amazon gift card for your old devices. This is a great way to recycle and reclaim value for items that would otherwise just be collecting dust.

In an effort to use products that are more sustainable, I have banned AT&T phones from my life. I will continue with a Blackphone 2 and One Plus Two.