Author Archives: john

Examining certificates over explicit proxy with openssl

Posted on April 3, 2020 by john | 5 views

Intro This is pretty esoteric, but I’ve personally been waiting for this for a long time. It seems that beginning with openssl 1.1, the s_client sub-menu has had support for a proxy setting. Until then it was basically impossible to … Continue reading →

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3d printing a part for my deck

Posted on April 1, 2020 by john | 9 views

Intro The end pieces of the pergola above my deck kept blowing off. I finally lost track of them and decided to 3D print a replacement to keep my skills fresh. I will use this as an opportunity to review … Continue reading →

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Quick Tip: Powershell command to unblock a firewall port when running Windows Defender

Posted on March 10, 2020 by john | 7 views

Setup I decided to run an X Server on my Windows 10 laptop. I only need it for Cognos gateway configuration, but when you need it, you need it. Of course an X Server listens on port 6000, so hosts … Continue reading →

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What’s Next In 3D Printing?

Posted on February 12, 2020 by john | 19 views

In a lot of ways, the last few years have seen 3D printing “going mainstream,” so to speak. People are no longer astonished by the sheer capabilities of the technology, and we’re getting more accustomed to seeing stories about one … Continue reading →

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Network utilities for Windows

Posted on January 30, 2020 by john | 25 views

Intro Today I came across a simple but useful tool which runs on Windows systems that will help determine if a remote host is listening on a particular port. I wanted to share that information. The details PortQry is attractive … Continue reading →

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Monitoring by Zabbix: a working document

Posted on January 16, 2020 by john | 73 views

Intro I panned Zabbix in this post: DIY monitoring. But I have compelling reasons to revisit it. I have to say it has matured, but there remain some very frustrating things about it, especially when compared with SiteScope (now owned … Continue reading →

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Consumer tech: Samsung touchscreen not responsive

Posted on December 26, 2019 by john | 17 views

Intro This may be really obvious to some, but I did not realize until recently that you can adjust the touch screen sensitivity on a Samsung smartphone. Who knew? Why it matters I have a family member with a glass … Continue reading →

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Getting GNU screen to work on Windows 10 for a productive terminal multiplex environment

Posted on December 19, 2019 by john | 75 views

Intro My jump server is getting old and they’re threatening to cut it off. A jump server is a server from which you launch CLI terminal sessions into your linux servers. Since my laptop has firewall access to all the … Continue reading →

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Azure Cloud: can you swap public IP addresses on two VMs?

Posted on December 16, 2019 by john | 17 views

Intro I am just beginning to use Microsoft’s Azure cloud environment. Although I am inclined to be a fan of AWS, I haven’t looked at AWS networking for awhile, and the last time I did something I felt totally lost … Continue reading →

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The IT Detective Agency: the case of the Is it the firewall? or routing? or switch? or layer 2?

Posted on November 21, 2019 by john | 21 views

Intro This is yet another tale of things in the IT world often do not turn out the way it seems at first blush. Or possibly a tale of just when you think you’ve seen it all after decades in … Continue reading →

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