The default versions languages like perl or python often get updated in FreeBSD ports as the language versions get updated upstream. The default version of the language mostly lags the upstream version because many other ports depend on it. If you run the default version you have a much better chance that other ports that use perl or python will work correctly. There is however nothing stopping you to run a a newer or older version if it is available in the ports. Read more

First published: 2019-08-02, modified 2022-01-03 I am more of a Unix guy but I get to administer more and more Microsoft systems as time goes by. Back in the day Windows had very limited commandline options to manage systems. It often felt that you were working on a car with the bonnet welded shut. Luckily things changed when Powershell arrived on the scene. Powershell is a bit counter intuitive for someone that used Unix shells for 30 years but it is very powerful and you can do a lot with it. Read more

Apple changed their default file system from their Hierarchical File System (HFS+) to Apple File System (APFS) arround 2016 with the release of MacOS High Sierra. APFS is a modern “copy on write” file system but if you are used to a file system like ZFS it was a bit of a disapointment. The biggest issue most people had was the lack of tools provided by the system for managing and using the features of APFS. Read more

FreeBSD s a complete operating system with a large collection of tools in the base system. FreeBSD also provides two ways for installing third-party software: the FreeBSD Ports Collection, for installing from source, and packages, for installing from pre-built binaries. I am not going to go into how to set up packages or ports, this is well documented at About FreeBSD ports and Installing Applications: Packages and Ports. When you start installing third party applications on FreeBSD you must decide if you will use ports or packages. Read more

If you travel by air try to have hand luggage only. Even the best airlines lose luggage or delay your luggage for various reasons. The airline is also dependent on the Airport ground staff to make sure passenger luggage is handled properly. You can easily travel for up to three weeks with only hand luggage. My advise: Take a third of the stuff you think you will need, and three times the money you think you will need. Read more

find is one of the Unix utilities that is most often used. As the name says it is used to find something i.e. files. It has many options you can use to specify which files to look for. One of the simplest uses is find . -name somefile that will look for the file named somefile in the current directory. If you use find . -iname somefile a case insensitive search will be done for somefile. Read more

Before I start I should probably say what credential stuffing and e-mail plus addressing are. Knowing what credential stuffing is will also let you understand why you should care. Definitions Credential Stuffing is a type of cyberattack where stolen account credentials typically consisting of lists of usernames and/or email addresses and the corresponding passwords (often from a data breach) are used to gain unauthorized access to user accounts through large-scale automated login requests directed against a web application. Read more

Note: This article seems to be quite popular. It was written in December 2019 but the Powershell Binaries may have been improved in the meantime. I have updated Powershell on Mac since then without issue and haven’t checked if the location of the libraries are still hard coded or if an older version of SSL is till required. I often need to run a remote session in powershell e.g. managing online exchange. Read more

There is a new version of macOS out (at the time of writing 10.14 Mojave) and you want to upgrade. For the past few upgrades and this one Apple provided the update via the App store. This is all fine and well if you have a good unmetered(uncapped) internet connection to download the +- 5Gbyte installer. The big catch with the installer is if you follow the default install procedure the installer deletes itself after the install. Read more

This is a collection of FreeBSD tips that comes with the fortune programe included in the system. Many of these will work on any Unix system. Any user that is a member of the wheel group can use “su -” to simulate a root login. You can add a user to the wheel group by editing /etc/group. By pressing “Scroll Lock” you can use the arrow keys to scroll backwardthrough the console output. Read more