\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/blog/feed.xml b/public/blog/feed.xml
index 56ebad3..c0bedfd 100644
--- a/public/blog/feed.xml
+++ b/public/blog/feed.xml
@@ -157,6 +157,43 @@ What makes matters worse is how gullible the general population is, even those e
<p>I would like to clarify that I'm not suggesting that people should avoid using the internet to gather information - while its reliability is incredibly questionable, the accessibility and openness it provides far beats traditional methods of gathering information (books and such). My suggestion is that people should be much more careful with how they interpret information on the internet,
and perform their due diligence in their research into whatever they're aiming to learn; <strong>people should make sure that what they're reading is accurate before absorbing any information</strong> (here's your tl;dr).</p>
<p>That's about it for this blog post, as it was meant to be a brief way of expressing my thoughts on the matter. Thanks for reading!</p>
+
+
+
+ Selecting hardware for a server
+ 2024-01-04T00:00:00+00:00
+ 2024-01-04T00:00:00+00:00
+
+ https://devraza.duckdns.org/blog/server-hardware-selection/
+ <ul>
+<li>
+<p>Introduction
+I see a lot of people worryingly mistaken about what a server needs (specifically, a home server). Some think that a bland and incredibly ignorant '20% budget for CPU, 30% for GPU, and the rest for the rest' plan for selecting hardware is good enough (at least, before choosing specific items) - you can't exactly be <em>wrong</em> when choosing
+hardware, but this is very, <em>very</em> far from right.</p>
+</li>
+<li>
+<p>Requirements
+Server hardware needs to be low-power and resource-efficient - so as not to waste any money unnessarily, obviously. Your budget will strongly impact the specifications you can get your hands on, but I would think that even $200 is enough for a decent home server - depending on what you want to do with it, obviously.
+Keep in mind that you could always repurpose an old laptop or desktop lying around; it's cheap, and you get what may be a surprisingly decent machine.</p>
+</li>
+</ul>
+<p>** Power consumption
+The difference between low /peak/ and low /idle/ power should be noted - this is important for the purposes of my server as it'll be used to stream games in place of my workstation; meaning that low <em>idle</em> power is what is desired here.</p>
+<p>** Usage of the server
+Naturally, how a server will be used will affect pretty much everything about the hardware chosen for it. For example, if you're looking to stream games remotely, you'd go for a (perhaps powerful) dedicated GPU and would likely invest in some high-speed internet solution.
+As indicated by the above example of the GPU, you need to be <em>very</em> specific with what you choose - do you /need/ a powerful GPU or do you not? After all, one of the last things you would want, ever, is money going to waste on something you don't need, or failing to buy something that meets your expectations.</p>
+<ul>
+<li>
+<p>Conclusion
+I only gave two point of interest when selecting a server - looking at the numbers alone, this might seem like hardly anything to consider at all. My reasons for this are:</p>
+<ul>
+<li>Power comumption is one factor that people often forego thinking about, and an extremely important one at that.</li>
+<li>Building on top of the previous point, you (probably) aren't stupid. Knowing (albeit at a very basic level) what to look out for should be enough.</li>
+<li>It would be extremely difficult for me, or anyone else for that matter, to provide a <em>truly</em> complete solution to everyone's needs for a home server.</li>
+</ul>
+<p>Well, that's it. I wish you luck in selecting your hardware.</p>
+</li>
+</ul>
diff --git a/public/blog/hoaxes-overview/index.html b/public/blog/hoaxes-overview/index.html
index ff4e576..2381275 100644
--- a/public/blog/hoaxes-overview/index.html
+++ b/public/blog/hoaxes-overview/index.html
@@ -1 +1 @@
-An overview on hoaxes
In recent times, hoaxes have become increasingly prevalent as the internet continues to expand and as more people use social media. Misinformation is on a rise - though this is information which isn't really new, the current state of things is horrible, and things really shouldn't be the way they are.
I aim for this to be a brief blog post detailing the effect of hoaxes on society, focusing on why they're so harmful.
Put simply, a hoax is made-up information, be it a story or something else. Hoaxes are created with the intent of spreading false information - for a immense variety of reasons, from jokes and causing embarrassment to provoking politic or social change1. I won't discuss the causes of hoaxes further in this blog post.
Hoaxes can cause significant damage to their targets if formulated cleverly. For example:
The stock price of Apple Inc. fell significantly in October 2008 after a hoax story was submitted to CNN's user-generated news site iReport.com claiming that company CEO Steve Jobs had suffered a major heart attack. The source of the story was traced back to 4chan.
With the incredible presence of social media in our lives, spreading harmful misinformation like that above can be as simple as making a few posts - they don't even need to be very convincing! What makes matters worse is how gullible the general population is, even those educated in this sort of thing - this shows just how much influence the internet and it's contents have on us.
I would like to clarify that I'm not suggesting that people should avoid using the internet to gather information - while its reliability is incredibly questionable, the accessibility and openness it provides far beats traditional methods of gathering information (books and such). My suggestion is that people should be much more careful with how they interpret information on the internet, and perform their due diligence in their research into whatever they're aiming to learn; people should make sure that what they're reading is accurate before absorbing any information (here's your tl;dr).
That's about it for this blog post, as it was meant to be a brief way of expressing my thoughts on the matter. Thanks for reading!
\ No newline at end of file
+An overview on hoaxes
In recent times, hoaxes have become increasingly prevalent as the internet continues to expand and as more people use social media. Misinformation is on a rise - though this is information which isn't really new, the current state of things is horrible, and things really shouldn't be the way they are.
I aim for this to be a brief blog post detailing the effect of hoaxes on society, focusing on why they're so harmful.
Put simply, a hoax is made-up information, be it a story or something else. Hoaxes are created with the intent of spreading false information - for a immense variety of reasons, from jokes and causing embarrassment to provoking politic or social change1. I won't discuss the causes of hoaxes further in this blog post.
Hoaxes can cause significant damage to their targets if formulated cleverly. For example:
The stock price of Apple Inc. fell significantly in October 2008 after a hoax story was submitted to CNN's user-generated news site iReport.com claiming that company CEO Steve Jobs had suffered a major heart attack. The source of the story was traced back to 4chan.
With the incredible presence of social media in our lives, spreading harmful misinformation like that above can be as simple as making a few posts - they don't even need to be very convincing! What makes matters worse is how gullible the general population is, even those educated in this sort of thing - this shows just how much influence the internet and it's contents have on us.
I would like to clarify that I'm not suggesting that people should avoid using the internet to gather information - while its reliability is incredibly questionable, the accessibility and openness it provides far beats traditional methods of gathering information (books and such). My suggestion is that people should be much more careful with how they interpret information on the internet, and perform their due diligence in their research into whatever they're aiming to learn; people should make sure that what they're reading is accurate before absorbing any information (here's your tl;dr).
That's about it for this blog post, as it was meant to be a brief way of expressing my thoughts on the matter. Thanks for reading!
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/blog/index.html b/public/blog/index.html
index 7aa30fd..6a854d8 100644
--- a/public/blog/index.html
+++ b/public/blog/index.html
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Blog Posts
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/blog/nfc-misconceptions/index.html b/public/blog/nfc-misconceptions/index.html
index 3dff515..5024d66 100644
--- a/public/blog/nfc-misconceptions/index.html
+++ b/public/blog/nfc-misconceptions/index.html
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Misconceptions about NFC
I made a mistake while writing this blog post - somehow forgetting that security isn't unambiguous. You can actually skim NFC chips from a certain distance (having a limited distance is still an important factor though!), and though I think some of what I said below still applies you're better off ignoring it all.
There are, of course, a whole range of problems with skimming NFC chips from a distance so my point - don't be so worried - would still stand.
Either way, I recommend you take this with a grain of salt.
NFC (short for Near-Field Communication) is the set of communication protocols which allow for near-field communication between two electronic devices. One of the most prominent uses of this technology are contactless transactions - this includes services like Google and Apple Pay as well as all of your contactless-enabled cards.
It's been a while since my last blog past, but this one will be brief too - I'm writing here for the sake of clearing up some misconceptions people have about NFC.
While talking with a friend on a WhatsApp group chat a few days ago about a program I found on my jailbroken iOS device - Aemulo - I was informed of 'subway skimmers'; devices that could supposedly read data from contactless-enabled devices (via NFC) and would be able to emulate them.
The idea behind the above example was that someone with malicious intent could place such a device in a public location and take their contactless devices for their malicious purposes. When I heard of this, my first thought was: hoax, and I think that it was rightfully so.
Several things. I'm no expert in cybersecurity - everyone's a student in some way, but I was sure that NFC was, as it's name implies, for near-field communication. I'm repeating myself here, but that's kind of the point. Various reliable resources, including Wikipedia, show that NFC has a maximum range of only a few centimetres - which makes sense, no?
And yet, whatever source my friend had for 'subway skimmers' gave the impression, or otherwise stated, that it would work within a radius of a few feet, which is just impossible. Upon voicing my doubts, I was then told that 'with a powerful enough antenna, it's possible'. Hoaxes sure are convincing, aren't they? Unfortunately, I am not able to find the source of my friend's misinformation.
See, NFC only works within a few centimetres anyways. Even if it could magically work within a radius of a few feet, you've got to take in the electromagnetic interference that the clothes and wallets people have would bring to any malicious device. The point of electromagnetic interference is especially true over a huge area of a few feet (relatively), where you've got several NFC-enabled devices.
Of course, that isn't to say there aren't any issues with NFC and malicious readers - I'm just saying that the word getting around is horribly unrealistic. For example, a realistic example of a malicious NFC reader would be one placed on the card slots in cash machines - you get:
The short range (< ~20 cm)
Only one device
Lots of devices to read!
And so, you've got someone so much more realistic that poses an actual threat!
The information above, which I deem accurate, is there. What I suggest be taken away from this is pretty much the same as what is was for my blog post on hoaxes - do some fact-checking!
\ No newline at end of file
+Misconceptions about NFC
I made a mistake while writing this blog post - somehow forgetting that security isn't unambiguous. You can actually skim NFC chips from a certain distance (having a limited distance is still an important factor though!), and though I think some of what I said below still applies you're better off ignoring it all.
There are, of course, a whole range of problems with skimming NFC chips from a distance so my point - don't be so worried - would still stand.
Either way, I recommend you take this with a grain of salt.
NFC (short for Near-Field Communication) is the set of communication protocols which allow for near-field communication between two electronic devices. One of the most prominent uses of this technology are contactless transactions - this includes services like Google and Apple Pay as well as all of your contactless-enabled cards.
It's been a while since my last blog past, but this one will be brief too - I'm writing here for the sake of clearing up some misconceptions people have about NFC.
While talking with a friend on a WhatsApp group chat a few days ago about a program I found on my jailbroken iOS device - Aemulo - I was informed of 'subway skimmers'; devices that could supposedly read data from contactless-enabled devices (via NFC) and would be able to emulate them.
The idea behind the above example was that someone with malicious intent could place such a device in a public location and take their contactless devices for their malicious purposes. When I heard of this, my first thought was: hoax, and I think that it was rightfully so.
Several things. I'm no expert in cybersecurity - everyone's a student in some way, but I was sure that NFC was, as it's name implies, for near-field communication. I'm repeating myself here, but that's kind of the point. Various reliable resources, including Wikipedia, show that NFC has a maximum range of only a few centimetres - which makes sense, no?
And yet, whatever source my friend had for 'subway skimmers' gave the impression, or otherwise stated, that it would work within a radius of a few feet, which is just impossible. Upon voicing my doubts, I was then told that 'with a powerful enough antenna, it's possible'. Hoaxes sure are convincing, aren't they? Unfortunately, I am not able to find the source of my friend's misinformation.
See, NFC only works within a few centimetres anyways. Even if it could magically work within a radius of a few feet, you've got to take in the electromagnetic interference that the clothes and wallets people have would bring to any malicious device. The point of electromagnetic interference is especially true over a huge area of a few feet (relatively), where you've got several NFC-enabled devices.
Of course, that isn't to say there aren't any issues with NFC and malicious readers - I'm just saying that the word getting around is horribly unrealistic. For example, a realistic example of a malicious NFC reader would be one placed on the card slots in cash machines - you get:
The short range (< ~20 cm)
Only one device
Lots of devices to read!
And so, you've got someone so much more realistic that poses an actual threat!
The information above, which I deem accurate, is there. What I suggest be taken away from this is pretty much the same as what is was for my blog post on hoaxes - do some fact-checking!
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/blog/selfhost-search-engine/index.html b/public/blog/selfhost-search-engine/index.html
index dc9fe37..0347d36 100644
--- a/public/blog/selfhost-search-engine/index.html
+++ b/public/blog/selfhost-search-engine/index.html
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-Host your own private search engine with SearXNG
SearXNG, put in its own words, is a 'free internet metasearch engine'. Note that it describes itself as a metasearch engine specifically - unlike your traditional search engine like Google or Bing, SearXNG does things a little bit differently: It aggregrates the results produced by search services like those aforementioned, and feeds them back to you.
Because of this key detail and a great deal of effort by those who've helped shape it, SearXNG protects your privacy, and does so very well:
Private data from requests going to the search services it aggregrates results from is removed
It does not forward anything to any third parties through search services
Private data is also removed from requests going to the results pages
Furthermore, SearXNG can be configured to use Tor.
However, the aspect of privacy isn't the only great selling feature of the engine; from my use of the engine so far, it's also great at...searching (is that a surprise?). The fact that it's a metasearch engine plays a key role in this, as it provides SearXNG the ability to pull content more efficiently and gives you the ability to further tailor your experience.
As you may have expected if you've used NixOS for a while, searxng is packaged and has a service on NixOS. This makes setting it up just that much easier.
To get started, place somewhere in your system config the following:
{
+Host your own private search engine with SearXNG
SearXNG, put in its own words, is a 'free internet metasearch engine'. Note that it describes itself as a metasearch engine specifically - unlike your traditional search engine like Google or Bing, SearXNG does things a little bit differently: It aggregrates the results produced by search services like those aforementioned, and feeds them back to you.
Because of this key detail and a great deal of effort by those who've helped shape it, SearXNG protects your privacy, and does so very well:
Private data from requests going to the search services it aggregrates results from is removed
It does not forward anything to any third parties through search services
Private data is also removed from requests going to the results pages
Furthermore, SearXNG can be configured to use Tor.
However, the aspect of privacy isn't the only great selling feature of the engine; from my use of the engine so far, it's also great at...searching (is that a surprise?). The fact that it's a metasearch engine plays a key role in this, as it provides SearXNG the ability to pull content more efficiently and gives you the ability to further tailor your experience.
As you may have expected if you've used NixOS for a while, searxng is packaged and has a service on NixOS. This makes setting it up just that much easier.
To get started, place somewhere in your system config the following:
{
# ...
services.searx = {
enable = true;
diff --git a/public/blog/selfhost-tailscale/index.html b/public/blog/selfhost-tailscale/index.html
index d8980fa..782d534 100644
--- a/public/blog/selfhost-tailscale/index.html
+++ b/public/blog/selfhost-tailscale/index.html
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-Take control of tailscale with headscale
Tailscale is a modern tunnel VPN service based on WireGuard® which provides a 'free' and secure means of communication between devices within a tailnet - a private network which Tailscale provides its users.
Essentially, it provides a private and secure way of accessing any of your devices, no matter where you are in the world - a personal WAN encompassing the entire world.
And on top of this, Tailscale is completely free and open-source! At least, on the surface...
There's a quite popular saying within the free and open-source software community, which goes along the lines of:
If you aren't paying for the product, then you are the product.
Which makes perfect sense. It's the modern era so anything significant is powered by some form of modern technology, data is the new oil, and so on. In exchange for offering you 'free' services, companies collect and use your data; while there supposedly are laws in place preventing the inconcensual collection of data in most countries around the world, your personal data may still be traded unethically and inconsensually.
I personally am of the opinion that these laws are worth absolutely nothing if people aren't educated in how their data is being used, and what specifically is being collected. But I digress, and that's a blog post for another time.
I also think it's quite unfortunate that users of paid services still have their personal data collected in the unethical manner outlined above, despite the fact that they are paying for the service...
In the context of Tailscale: while their clients are all open-source, their control server - the thing that's managing and rerouting everything going through what they advertise as your 'secure' VPN, isn't. You've got no idea what this thing is doing with the traffic it recieves.
For every problem, there's probably a solution somewhere. And luckily for this one (which may or may not actually be a problem for you), we've got Headscale as our solution. Headscale's a self-hostable, open-source alternative to the Tailscale control server, and aims to 'provide self-hosters and hobbyists with an open-source server they can use for their projects and labs'.
Tailscale is a modern tunnel VPN service based on WireGuard® which provides a 'free' and secure means of communication between devices within a tailnet - a private network which Tailscale provides its users.
Essentially, it provides a private and secure way of accessing any of your devices, no matter where you are in the world - a personal WAN encompassing the entire world.
And on top of this, Tailscale is completely free and open-source! At least, on the surface...
There's a quite popular saying within the free and open-source software community, which goes along the lines of:
If you aren't paying for the product, then you are the product.
Which makes perfect sense. It's the modern era so anything significant is powered by some form of modern technology, data is the new oil, and so on. In exchange for offering you 'free' services, companies collect and use your data; while there supposedly are laws in place preventing the inconcensual collection of data in most countries around the world, your personal data may still be traded unethically and inconsensually.
I personally am of the opinion that these laws are worth absolutely nothing if people aren't educated in how their data is being used, and what specifically is being collected. But I digress, and that's a blog post for another time.
I also think it's quite unfortunate that users of paid services still have their personal data collected in the unethical manner outlined above, despite the fact that they are paying for the service...
In the context of Tailscale: while their clients are all open-source, their control server - the thing that's managing and rerouting everything going through what they advertise as your 'secure' VPN, isn't. You've got no idea what this thing is doing with the traffic it recieves.
For every problem, there's probably a solution somewhere. And luckily for this one (which may or may not actually be a problem for you), we've got Headscale as our solution. Headscale's a self-hostable, open-source alternative to the Tailscale control server, and aims to 'provide self-hosters and hobbyists with an open-source server they can use for their projects and labs'.
Zola is a static site generator (similarly to the infamous Hugo, which you may have already heard of) and is written in Rust. It also happens to be the framework that this site is built on!
This blog post is a guide on setting up the site engine on NixOS specifically.
zola is packaged in the nix package repository, so you just declaratively add the package to your configuration as usual: For the purposes of this guide, zola can be installed either as a system or user package.
Zola is a static site generator (similarly to the infamous Hugo, which you may have already heard of) and is written in Rust. It also happens to be the framework that this site is built on!
This blog post is a guide on setting up the site engine on NixOS specifically.
zola is packaged in the nix package repository, so you just declaratively add the package to your configuration as usual: For the purposes of this guide, zola can be installed either as a system or user package.
As a system package:
{ pkgs, ... }: {
# ...
environment.systemPackages = with pkgs; [
zola # Append the package name to the list
diff --git a/public/index.html b/public/index.html
index 1e82c3f..f3f5c88 100644
--- a/public/index.html
+++ b/public/index.html
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Devraza
I'm a moderately skilled programmer, beginner in the field of cybersecurity and aspiring graphic designer. NixOS is my operating system of choice, and quark.nvim (my bespoke distribution of neovim) is my text editor.
I also happen to be a devoted rustacean and a devout follower of the self-hosted way of life.
My skills in programming and scripting languages I've used so far are as follows:
Advanced: Python, Go
Intermediate: Rust, Nix, Bash, E-Lisp
Beginner: Julia, Lua
However, I consider myself able to work to a reasonable degree with any modern programming language.
Other tools that I can work with include git, linux, inkscape, and GIMP.
I'm a moderately skilled programmer, beginner in the field of cybersecurity and aspiring graphic designer. NixOS is my operating system of choice, and quark.nvim (my bespoke distribution of neovim) is my text editor.
I also happen to be a devoted rustacean and a devout follower of the self-hosted way of life.
My skills in programming and scripting languages I've used so far are as follows:
Advanced: Python, Go
Intermediate: Rust, Nix, Bash, E-Lisp
Beginner: Julia, Lua
However, I consider myself able to work to a reasonable degree with any modern programming language.
Other tools that I can work with include git, linux, inkscape, and GIMP.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/projects/index.html b/public/projects/index.html
index 8ebdaa0..bc6f1e0 100644
--- a/public/projects/index.html
+++ b/public/projects/index.html
@@ -1 +1 @@
-Projects
DianciEmacs
A minimal and elegant Emacs configuration framework.
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/tags/headscale/index.html b/public/tags/headscale/index.html
index ad85f06..01cc384 100644
--- a/public/tags/headscale/index.html
+++ b/public/tags/headscale/index.html
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
Blog Posts
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/tags/hoax/index.html b/public/tags/hoax/index.html
index a0f3070..4071897 100644
--- a/public/tags/hoax/index.html
+++ b/public/tags/hoax/index.html
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
Blog Posts
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/tags/index.html b/public/tags/index.html
index cae1e51..5e0b4bc 100644
--- a/public/tags/index.html
+++ b/public/tags/index.html
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
Tags
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/tags/nfc/index.html b/public/tags/nfc/index.html
index 193de86..7a41fc8 100644
--- a/public/tags/nfc/index.html
+++ b/public/tags/nfc/index.html
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
Blog Posts
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/tags/nixos/index.html b/public/tags/nixos/index.html
index 7e605df..e7a68c3 100644
--- a/public/tags/nixos/index.html
+++ b/public/tags/nixos/index.html
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
Blog Posts
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/tags/privacy/index.html b/public/tags/privacy/index.html
index 3204fa6..99cb309 100644
--- a/public/tags/privacy/index.html
+++ b/public/tags/privacy/index.html
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
Blog Posts
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/tags/searxng/index.html b/public/tags/searxng/index.html
index 34ee08e..b4a4208 100644
--- a/public/tags/searxng/index.html
+++ b/public/tags/searxng/index.html
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
Blog Posts
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/tags/selfhosted/index.html b/public/tags/selfhosted/index.html
index 62ede9a..9a864ce 100644
--- a/public/tags/selfhosted/index.html
+++ b/public/tags/selfhosted/index.html
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
Blog Posts
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/tags/social-engineering/index.html b/public/tags/social-engineering/index.html
index 5b085e1..593f452 100644
--- a/public/tags/social-engineering/index.html
+++ b/public/tags/social-engineering/index.html
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
Blog Posts
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/tags/tailscale/index.html b/public/tags/tailscale/index.html
index d9e8b81..4d37eb7 100644
--- a/public/tags/tailscale/index.html
+++ b/public/tags/tailscale/index.html
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
Blog Posts
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/public/tags/zola/index.html b/public/tags/zola/index.html
index 0483f58..0aaa1fe 100644
--- a/public/tags/zola/index.html
+++ b/public/tags/zola/index.html
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
Blog Posts
