My website has been running on an unmanaged virtual private server (VPS), using Ubuntu 14.04, from DigitalOcean since 6 years ago. Unfortunately, the latest WordPress (as of version 5.2) requires at least PHP version 5.6.20 which Ubuntu 14.04 does not support (Ubuntu 14.04 supports PHP 5.5.9). Although DigitalOcean provides upgrade…
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Recently I got an email from DigitalOcean to update my server’s kernel to protect against the Meltdown and Spectre exploits. The instructions are the normal update commands that I usually run, “apt-get update” and “apt-get dist-upgrade”. After doing the update, I thought that I would double-check the kernel version. The…
Leave a CommentLet’s Encrypt will automatically email expiration notices when your domain’s SSL certificate is coming up for renewal at 20 days, 10 days, and 1 day before the expiration date. (Recently, I received notices at 19 days and again at 10 days.) I’ve found these renewal reminders very helpful because in…
Leave a CommentRecently, I received a couple of “Password Reset” request emails from my blog. I surmised that someone had tried to log into my WordPress administrative account, was unsuccessfully, and had resorted to using the “Lost your password?” link on the login page. Disconcertingly, the email indicated that my admin username…
Leave a CommentFinal Verdict: I do not recommend the Cleverloop system. At 1.5 years, the cameras started requiring reboots every few days. At 2.5 years, half the cameras die within 12 hours and the others within a day or two, requiring constant reboots. The base station still works fine, but I haven’t…
2 CommentsOver the weekend, I signed up for a shared web hosting plan because of a special deal. I spent a day setting up the host, migrating a website, and testing to make sure it worked. On Monday, when I went to work, I thought I would check to see the…
Leave a CommentThe Macbook I got for work is configured to require the password after the screensaver turns on or the display goes to sleep. By default, the screen is set to sleep after 2 minutes of inactivity on battery and 10 minutes on power adapter. When I work on two computers,…
Leave a CommentHave you ever noticed that Youtube’s initial page shows videos that are related to those that you have viewed in the past? While one could argue that it is convenient, I am a bit disturbed that Youtube remembers my past viewing history. Worse, now that Google has purchased Youtube, that…
Leave a CommentIt was quiet, peaceful Tuesday night when I attempted to log into my Ubuntu Linux server as the root user. Permission denied, I got back. I tried it again. And again. Access denied. What the heck? I’m sure it was the correct password. I then tried all the passwords that…
3 CommentsRecently, I had to setup a small development server for a team of 4-5 developers. The server needed to be accessible from the Internet and thus, needed to be secured. The server would use only free software. The server needed to provide the following development services: MySQL, Apache HTTP/HTTPS, PHP,…
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