How to install Nextcloud on NETGEAR ReadyNAS.

Once there was ownCloud. Now there is Nextcloud. It’s time to install Nextcloud on NETGEAR ReadyNAS.

If you’ve followed my 5-year-old guide How to install Owncloud on a NETGEAR ReadyNAS, you might have noticed that the ownCloud desktop client has complained about an unsupported server version for some time. ownCloud on your ReadyNAS server has been stuck on version 6, while the rest of the world has moved on to version 10. Unfortunately, the ownCloud version in the NETGEAR package repository has not been maintained, and upgrading using ownCloud’s own mechanisms has not been possible. ownCloud itself has also been through some rough times. In 2016, its founder, Frank Karlitschek, left the company, citing “moral questions”. Karlitschek went on to found Nextcloud, which is a ownCloud fork, and the file hosting software we will install now.

My particular ReadyNAS model is the 102, which uses an ARM CPU. There is no Nextcloud package in the NETGEAR package repository. This means that getting Nextcloud up and running on my ReadyNAS 102 would involve a lot of compiling, troubleshooting, and general hair pulling. Not ideal for a guy like me with a receding hairline, and I’d probably use a lot of my precious spare time that I’d prefer to prioritize differently. That’s why I’ll take the path of least resistance this time, and turn to someone who’ve gone through all those hoops already: Say hello to RNXtras.com.

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The Amateur’s Guide to Joyful Writing.

I’m not a professional writer. But I’ve got some experience with it. After all, I wrote an A+ essay back in junior high, which pretty much makes me an expert on the subject in internet terms. So here is my guide to joyful writing.

This guide is not primarily about joyful writing in the sense that your readers will enjoy themselves. It’s more about how you, as the writer, can enjoy what you’re doing. I’ve kept this site alive for 18-ish years now, and I’ve learned a few tricks along the way. The guide probably won’t make you a better writer, though, because in that field I’ve got little to teach.

But it doesn’t matter much that you suck at writing as long as you love doing it.

Everything I write these days is published on this site, which is powered by WordPress. So when it comes to the tools of the trade, WordPress will be the main focus. You should, however, be able to apply everything else in the guide to your writing, regardless of the tools you’re normally using.

So without further ado, here’s the guide everyone’s talking about:

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How To Install LEDE on a Linksys WRT1900ACS.

This post will guide you through a LEDE Linksys WRT1900ACS installation. It’ll show you how to install LEDE on a WRT1900ACS fresh out of the box.

Understand this: Always flash firmware using a wired connection, never via WiFi. Failure to adhere to this substantially increase the probability you will brick your router. I’ve only included instructions for flashing via an Ethernet below. If you chose to use a wireless connection instead, you’re on your own.

Warning: Flashing third party firmware will void your warranty. I will not be held responsible if anything goes wrong. Flashing a device’s firmware is always a risky operation, especially when you’re dealing with custom, unofficial firmware. By following this amateurish guide you understand that you might end up with a brick – a useless piece of hardware.

Flashing a router with third party firmware isn’t a trivial thing to do, even with the help of this step-by-step guide. Make sure you read through the entire guide at least twice before you start so you get an overview of the steps.

With that out of the way, let’s get started.

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How To Enable HTTP/2 in Apache on Ubuntu 16.04.

Here’s a simple guide showing how you can enable HTTP/2 in Apache on Ubuntu 16.04.

The internet is awesome. It can be used by governments to very efficiently spy on their citizens, it got Donald elected, and it’ll be mentioned in future history books as the main tool used in the second rise of fascism. There are also a few funny cat pictures.

Today’s internet connections are amazingly fast. You younglings might not believe this, but there was a time when we actually had to sit and wait for a website to appear. If you want to experience the internet speeds of the past, give 56k Emulator a try. It will give you the basic idea. And keep in mind that 56K modems were freakin’ fast when they became available.

But I digress. Sorta. Even though today’s internet connections are fast, the technology used to push propaganda around inside the tubes is old and slow. HTTP/1.1 was never intended to be used with the kind of content-heavy website we have today. Thankfully, there’s a new option available, the marvelous RFC-7540. Or HTTP/2, if you will.

HTTP/2 is a major revision of HTTP/1.1. Its main goal is to make web sites appear in your browser quicker, and with the need to send less data than with HTTP/1.1. The “number one HTTP server on the internet”, Apache 2 only has experimental support for HTTP/2. This means that it’s not available in the version Ubuntu 16.04 includes by default.

Once again, we have to turn to our PPA packaging hero Ondřej Surý for support. Not only does he maintain packages for the latest and greatest version of PHP (that we used here), he also makes sure Ubuntu users can be on the bleeding edge of Apache goodness.

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How to Secure SSH with 2FA on Ubuntu.

As you know, I love two factor authentication (2FA). Now the time has come to secure SSH with 2FA on all our Ubuntu servers.

I recently noticed that the bandwidth usage on VBOX4 had increased slightly. Apart from the spikes that come when the server is doing its nightly offsite backup, there was also an average increase in bandwidth usage. In an ideal world, that would be caused by the success of my Facebook antics, but I’ve got Piwik stats that says otherwise.

Now, that there is a slight bandwidth increase that last for a few days isn’t uncommon. Google sometimes finds it necessary to index the entire site. But I’m a curious little nerd, and with the help of netstat I checked incoming connections. It showed a Chinese IP address trying to connect to poor VBOX4 via SSH. That isn’t necessarily a reason to panic either. If you have a computer connected to the internet, there will be bots trying to connect to various services around the clock. For my own convenience, I’ve got SSH running on the standard port, 22, which makes it a prime target for that kind of shenanigans.

Moving it away from the standard port could be an option. But security by obscurity isn’t really security IMHO. Sure, it makes things a little bit harder. But there are only 65,535 ports to choose from, and if a bot wants to find your SSH port, it will find it eventually. Port knocking might be a better scheme if you want to hide your doors.

Or, you can hire a kick-ass doorman! That’s what we’re going to do with 2FA.

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