Security

During the prime day, my friend grabbed a GL.iNet Flint 2 (GL-MT6000) for a fair price, thanks to the slickdeals community. The specs of this model feels like a beast to me, because I don’t have enough high-end devices and Internet plan to utilize that much of performance. But what I can do is to boost its security and stability for my friend. Note: For operational security, all initial settings should be done without physical Internet/WAN connection. ...

Since I was a teenager, I have started voluntarily helping people around me with my skill of technology. This time, I’m helping someone to build up a robust, secure and cost-effective firewall/gateway/soft router at home. It ends up on a $100 worth N100 mini-pc with dual Ethernet port, which can be a great pfSense box for home or even business use. Hardware Tweaks This model (T8PLUS) secured with 4 screws at outside, after removing them the outer case can be easily pried open (just a little bit more effort than Intel NUCs), and removing 4 more screws inside to get the access of the motherboard (way more simpler design of the power button comparing to NUCs). ...

Recently, YouTube is messing with user disobedience again. For the sake of that, FreeTube has been updating with fix multiple times. Although FreeTube has fixed the API block done by YouTube, I have to deal with a new IP block from my end as its aftermath. “YouTube has blocked your IP address from watching videos. Please try switching to a different VPN or proxy.” There are many ways to get around this IP block. Because I think switching VPN server is too heavy just for this, I would like to use a proxy. ...

Recently, I started sending/receiving documents to/from untrusted sources. In my threat model, this requires extra operational security to prevent privacy exposure and security risk. Since the offical guide is not so detailed for Windows, I decided to write one while installing on a Windows 11 LTSC. First, in Windows Terminal/PowerShell, run wsl --install to setup WSL2. Read my previous post for more detail. Because the latest verisons of Dangerzone 0.9.1 and docker desktop 4.44.3 have unsolvable bug (reports unknown error '2'), I have to choose the ealier version which works properly. ...

Forewords This is the 3rd time updating the lists, where I added a section of Prompt Engineering upon requests since it is a good starting point for those not into self-hosting nor theory. The term “Prompt Engineering” is a bit controversial but people will get better understanding after learning the listed materials. As a lifelong self-learner, I use all sorts of methods to learn new things, and AI is what I’m currently into. Although I’ve been using AI tools since 2022, my background wasn’t focused on AI. So, like everyone else, I had to do some “AI For Dummies” level study in order to get more involved. Below is a list of learning materials that I find very helpful for myself to get started with and might also be helpful for someone else in the same situation. ...