All Posts

Complete archive of all blog posts, including series articles.

2024

October 29, 2024 Security for Humans - Part 4

Part 4: Daily Security Habits

Everyday Practices That Keep Me Safe

Daily security habits for safe browsing, social media, online shopping, and credit monitoring. Plus what to do if you've been hacked.

online shopping social media privacy browser security

October 22, 2024 Security for Humans - Part 3

Part 3: Network & Home Security

How I Built My Digital Fortress at Home

Secure your home network with proper router configuration, firewalls, and network segmentation. This is what I set up at home and for my mom.

firewall router security network security

October 15, 2024 Security for Humans - Part 2

Part 2: Essential Security Tools

The Two Things That Will Stop 80% of Attacks

Password managers and two-factor authentication are the two most important security tools. Here's what I use and what I set up for my mom.

password manager 2fa two-factor authentication

October 08, 2024 Security for Humans - Part 1

Part 1: Recognizing Scams & Social Engineering

How I Taught My Mom to Spot Phishing and Phone Scams

Learn to recognize and avoid the most common scams targeting everyday people - from phishing emails to IRS imposters. This is what I taught my mom.

phishing social engineering scams

October 01, 2024 Security for Humans - Part 0

Security for my Mom: Guide to Hacker Im-proofing

Everything I Taught My Mom About Cybersecurity

A practical, no-nonsense guide to protecting yourself from hackers, scammers, and identity thieves. These are the simple security steps I follow and ask my mom to follow as well.

identity theft credit score phishing

2023

May 13, 2023

When FTP Stands for Frustrating Transfer Problem

A troubleshooting saga where the solution was the opposite of conventional wisdom

Five hours of FTP troubleshooting, ghost files, and the counterintuitive solution that finally worked. Sometimes you need to turn things ON, not off.

ftp ruby openvpn

February 20, 2023

5 Strategies for Random Records from DB

Benchmarking different approaches to fetch random database records

5 strategies to get random records from databases, with a list of pros & cons for each one. Benchmarks included.

ruby rails postgresql

2022

May 24, 2022

Upgrading to GitLab 15.0 CE from GitLab 14.9.3

A self-note on navigating GitLab's mandatory upgrade paths

Every major GitLab upgrade requires jumping through hoops. Here's my self-note on upgrading from 14.9.3 to 15.0 via the mandatory 14.10.x intermediate step.

gitlab devops ubuntu