Zach's Blog

pfSense + Let's Encrypt + Cloudflare

I manage a few pfSense firewalls. A few days ago, I started getting emails that the webConfig certificate was due to expire soon on one box. Currently, pfSense doesn't have a built-in way to renew the webConfigurator TLS certificate. However, the ACME package will automatically renew certificates from Let's Encrypt,

linux

Pop_OS! on ThinkPad T580

I finally decided to abandon Windows 10 and start using a Linux OS on my ThinkPad T580. I chose the popular Pop_OS! by System76, however there were a few things I needed to change. Fingerprint Reader My T580 has a Synaptics Metallica MIS Touch Fingerprint Reader. Synaptics Metallica MIS

1Password SSH Keys

1Password 8 supports SSH keys! Depending on the application, there may be a few things you have to do to get things working. Windows + PowerShell + Git Configure Git for Windows to use OpenSSH: git config --global core.sshCommand "C:/Windows/System32/OpenSSH/ssh.exe" Source: Get started | 1Password Developer DocumentationGet

guide

Automating Brother Printer Driver Installs

Brother printers are usually my go-to recommendation for most printing needs. Their devices are easy to use, packed with standard features, and they just work. Once setup, these machines aren't fussy. Brother also doesn't restrict the use of generic toner, which can save you money. Download the full driver software

guide

CyberPower SL700U

The CyberPower SL700U is a standby UPS that is very thin (only 70mm wide), short (137mm high), and 324mm long. Hold on, why am I writing about an average UPS on my blog? SL700U - Standby Series - Product Details, Specs, Downloads | CyberPower

The CyberPower SL700U uninterruptible power supply (UPS)

Traefik

Traefik: Custom Error Pages and Returning 503 for Unknown Services

I've been wanting to customize the rather boring default "404 page not found" message that Traefik returns when a service is unknown/unavailable. Occasionally this error is returned when restarting the container running the service or if the container fails to start. If you have customers visiting some of these

unifi

Installing UniFi Controller Software on a Raspberry Pi

Even though I've deployed thousands of dollars worth of Ubiquiti equipment for clients, I don't actually have any in my home. Today, that changes with the delivery of the Switch Flex Mini (USW-Flex-Mini) [https://store.ui.com/products/usw-flex-mini]. Since this is a fairly barebones product, it does not come

guide

Securing the Traefik Dashboard/API with Cloudflare Access

Secure your Traefik dashboards with Cloudflare Access.

recipe

Lasagna

I made lasagna for the first time, and it was pretty good. Here's how I made it: Ingredients > A note about the ingredients: I tend to completely use up each ingredient I buy, so the extact sizes I've used are flexable. * Lasagna sheets (fresh or "oven ready") * Mozzerlla cheese, 470

guide

Authenticate Matomo Users with Google OAuth

Matomo is a free and open-source alternative to Google Analytics. I have an instance of Matomo setup for some internal sites and some public sites. Lately I've been obsessed with setting up Single-Sign-On (SSO) wherever I can. There is an official implementation that is developed by Matomo itself, however this

WSL2

Electron on WSL2

I haven't used Electron in a long time, but I wanted to see if I could create an admin dashboard for my super-simple URL shortener based on Cloudflare Workers. Since I do almost all of my development in WSL now, I had to find a way to get Linux GUI

Open Source

A Web-Based Serial Console

Your web browser can probably communicate with a serial port. That is, if you're using Chrome or a derivative of Chromium (Firefox [https://mozilla.github.io/standards-positions/#webserial] and Safari [https://webkit.org/status/#feature-webusb] are rather opposed to the idea of giving access to USB/serial ports). Yes, that

Open Source

Backblaze B2 Storage Adapter for Ghost

When I first migrated to Ghost [https://ghost.org], one of the few things I had to have was the ability to upload to B2 (Backblaze's ultra-low-cost object storage, similar to S3) [https://www.backblaze.com/b2/]. There are a few implementations out there, however most are either abandoned or

personal

My New Blogging Platform: Ghost

I've always enjoyed the idea of having a blog, despite nary having an idea about what I'd feel writing about. You'll find that most of my posts on here are technical in nature, since I spend long periods of time near some sort of internet-connected device. I started blogging on

guide

Tomato WiFi VLANs (Part 2)

In another post, I explained how I was able to configure an ASUS RT-AC68U flashed with FreshTomato to broadcast WiFi networks isolated by VLANs. However, I had to set an IP address for every bridge I created in the GUI. > TL;DR: Stop buying consumer-grade equipment and invest in something

pfSense

Configuring pfSense and IPv6 on a Telus connection

This is how I've configured my pfSense firewall to support IPv6 on the Telus network.

October CMS

Using DigitalOcean Spaces in October CMS

I was tinkering with DigitalOcean's "Spaces [https://www.digitalocean.com/docs/spaces/]", which is an alternative to Amazon's AWS S3 service. The Spaces API is actually compatible with Amazon's AWS S3 API, which makes it super easy to replace S3 with. Since I often use October CMS, I was interested

windows

Windows File Explorer Hacks

There are a few changes I like to make to the Windows File Explorer, like hiding folders and making other visible in This PC. Here's a collection of "hacks" that I've used to customize File Explorer. Caution: registry edits can cause system instability, use at your own risk. Add User's

guide

Setting up multiple Wi-Fi SSIDs with VLANs on AdvancedTomato

AdvancedTomato is a GUI for the Shibby fork of Tomato, a custom firmware for wireless routers with Broadcom chipsets. After moving to a new apartment, I had an Asus RT-AC68U laying around, which supports AdvancedTomato. At the time of this writing, AdvancedTomato hasn't received an update in almost two years.

guide

Nginx: Block Direct IP Access

I like to enforce strict SNI on my servers, preferring to reject requests to domain names that I don't host or the IP address of the server itself. If a default_server isn't configured, Nginx will choose the first server block when there isn't a matching server_name. To avoid

guide

Customizing the LEDs on the Netgate SG-3100

The SG-3100 pfSense appliance from Netgate has three RGB LEDs on the front. By default, the black diamond LED slowly "breathes" blue when everything is normal, and the green circle LED slowly "breathes" red when there is a software update. During boot, the circle LED quickly "breathes" blue, followed by

personal

Fixing My Apartment Door Buzzer

The door buzzer system for my apartment building utilizes a landline phone to grant access to the building without having to run downstairs to let visitors in. The problem with that, is that I don't subscribe to a POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) line, and I don't have a "landline

October CMS

Configure Default Values in October CMS Backend Settings Model

I just spent way too long Googling for something that I know I've done before, so here's a note for future me. I'm often developing October CMS plugins for side projects and the current documentation isn't quite complete yet, which occasionally leaves me hunting for some obscure details. To initialize

car

Ford Five Hundred: Steering Wheel Controls Intro

In this post about my car, I'll discuss how I can use the analogue signal from the steering wheel buttons with an Arduino. The steering wheel controls are a simple voltage ladder, and we can program the Arduino to read the voltage and determine which button is being pressed. Wiring

personal

Tips and Tricks for SimCity 4

I wouldn't consider myself a gamer, even though I've built my own computer, have Steam installed on it, or because I own an aging PS3. Although, I still play somewhat older games, such as SimCity 4 Deluxe, from late 2003. I would have only been three years old at the