Debian has been installing Exim4 as the default MTA since at least Debian Stretch. When I tried to use it to send service messages (specifically fail2ban ban reports including whois information) on a new bookworm server, the messages would bounce with an Exim “message has lines too long for transport” error. Most modern MUAs like […]
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Obtaining detailed Synology UPS Information
Synology uses a customized version of Network UPS Tools (NUT) for controlling and sharing its connected UPS. In Control Panel | Hardware & Power | UPS, DSM displays minimal information about the connected UPS. Synology only provides one NUT tool – upsc – but this tool can give you detailed information about the UPS. If […]
Checking for APT Upgrades at Bootup
I recently switched my desktop from Gnome to Xfce. Xfce does not have a panel update notifier like Gnome. You can roll your own using apt commands and cron. Normally I would use the cron parameter @reboot but this may not work correctly to send mail depending on how long it takes to establish your […]
Access a device on another subnet connected to your current network
Use a Raspberry Pi to change default IP Addresses on newly installed devices in a remote Control Panel We have many control systems out in the field connected to our office using IPSEC VPNs. Each control system needs its own subnet (usually a 192.168.x.x/24) to make this work. So, a problem arises if a new […]
Adding Non-Free Drivers to a Debian Installation
When you install a new version of Debian from scratch, you may need “non-free” drivers for things like a Wireless Network Adapter. If these drivers are not GPL-licensed, then Debian will not include them in the installation image. You can work around this by installing the non-free image from a location such as http://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/unofficial/non-free/cd-including-firmware/10.7.0+nonfree/amd64/iso-cd/ for […]
Simple Linux Port Scanner
It is often necessary to check a remote device to see if certain ports are open. For a quick & dirty test, use netcat (nc) in Terminal. If you want to automate things a bit to reduce typing, add the following bash function to your ~/.bashrc file portscan() {echo ‘Stealthed ports will timeout instead of […]
Upgrade VirtualBox to latest version
If you already have VirtualBox installed on Debian, it only takes a couple of minutes to upgrade to the latest version. In this case, I will be upgrading Debian Stretch from v6.0.x to v6.1.x All the prerequisites on https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads have been met since this is an upgrade. Open Terminal and run these commands: sudo apt-get […]
Using Synology Self-signed SSL Certificates internally with Windows & Linux
When setting up secure Intranets, it is often necessary to configure the servers with SSL certificates that have not been issued by a trusted certification authority. While browsers such as Firefox allow you to add an exception, even permanently, to the site in question, opening that website in Chrome will produce an error notice each […]
Productivity Suite v3.5.3.3 breaks .adpro File Association
I recently upgraded my PLC Programming PCs running Win7 Pro from Automation Direct (automationdirect.com) Productivity Suite v3.5.2.2 to v3.5.3.3. When I did so, my file association for .adpro files quit working forcing me to open the Productivity Suite software first and selecting the project file to open instead of just double-clicking the .adpro file in […]
Maintaining Google Earth in Debian Linux
Google Earth is supposed to configure updates during installation. From the Google Linux Software Repositories site: The Linux Package Signing Keys Google’s Linux packages are signed with GNU Privacy Guard (GPG) keys. Google’s packages will automatically configure your package manager to verify product updates with the public signing key, but you may also install it […]