Building a Home SIEM, Part 1: Deploying the Elastic Stack" .
How I built a self-hosted SIEM at home using Elasticsearch, Kibana, and Logstash — the deployment, the gotchas, and everything I wish I'd known before starting
How I built a self-hosted SIEM at home using Elasticsearch, Kibana, and Logstash — the deployment, the gotchas, and everything I wish I'd known before starting
So this week I deployed Outline, a self-hosted wiki, secured behind Authentik as a single sign-on provider. This post is a full walkthrough of the deployment — including the parts that didn't go smoothly, because I think the debugging is often more useful than the happy path.
A follow-up to my 2025 homelab post When I published my homelab overview back in September 2025, I described it as "a personal data centre that mirrors enterprise environments." I meant that in an aspirational sense. Twelve months on, I think it's actually become true. The
A practical guide for anyone who's ever handed out a business card and wondered if there's a better way So here's a question — when was the last time someone handed you a paper business card and you actually did something useful with it? If
On the 3CX page, click on your account, and there you will see an option to add an IP Phone.How I built my own PBX using 3CX and Twilio — starting with a second-hand SIP phone, zero VoIP experience, and a lot of trial and error. The Story — How This
Most people lock their front door at night. Many have a home alarm. Some install cameras or smart doorbells. And most people have home insurance. All of these things protect your physical home. But what about your digital home? Today, many houses contain dozens of internet-connected devices: * Smart TVs * Doorbell
Setting up a secure FTP server is an essential skill for anyone starting out in tech.
Docker containers are lightweight, efficient, and portable, but managing their data can become challenging as your applications scale. By default, Docker volumes provide a simple and effective way to persist container data. However, many developers and businesses eventually face the need to migrate their Docker volumes to persistent storage like
In today's ever-evolving IT landscape, a home lab has become an essential tool for professionals and students. Whether you’re an aspiring IT enthusiast or a seasoned professional looking to expand your skills, building a home lab is a cost-effective way to experiment with new technologies, learn about
When Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday rolls around, IT admins and cybersecurity specialists know it’s time to take action. The January 2025 Patch Tuesday is one for the books, addressing a record-breaking number of vulnerabilities and delivering critical fixes to secure systems worldwide. In this post, we’ll break down
As an IT support technician, your ability to troubleshoot issues efficiently can make or break your day. Knowing the proper commands can save you time and demonstrate your technical prowess, whether you're working on Windows, macOS, or Linux systems. In this guide, we’ll cover the top commands
General
Discover the top IT trends for 2025, including AI, edge computing, Zero Trust security, quantum advancements, and Green IT. Future-proof your business with actionable insights tailored for IT professionals and SMEs.
Tutorials
Mounting and unmounting drives are essential skills for managing storage devices on Linux. Whether you're handling USB drives, external hard disks, or disk images, understanding these processes ensures your drives are ready for use. This guide will walk you through the steps, making it easy to work with
File sharing is crucial to any modern network, whether at home, in the office, or across large IT infrastructures. Choosing a suitable protocol or tool to share files can significantly impact performance, security, and ease of use. Two popular network file-sharing options are NFS (Network File System) and Samba. Let’
Cyber Security
Cybersecurity is a massive deal for small businesses. Every 39 seconds, there’s a cyberattack somewhere, and small businesses are often prime targets. Why? Because hackers assume smaller companies won’t have top-notch security. But don’t worry—there’s plenty you can do to protect your business. Let’s
Projects
This step-by-step guide teaches how to set up a LAMP stack on Ubuntu. Discover why LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) is the go-to solution for hosting dynamic websites and web apps, and explore the projects you can build on this versatile platform.
Proxmox Projects
Learn how to create an Ubuntu 20.04 server virtual machine (VM) step-by-step on Proxmox VE. This beginner-friendly guide covers everything from uploading your ISO file to configuring networking and installing the Qemu Guest Agent.
Patch Tuesday
Microsoft's November 2024 Patch Tuesday has been a whirlwind for IT teams, with significant fixes, new vulnerabilities uncovered, and some unexpected hiccups along the way. One week later, we're looking back to assess what happened, what went wrong, and how businesses can prepare for the future.
Techsupport
If you’ve ever wondered how servers and computers communicate securely over the Internet, SSH or Secure Shell might be the answer. SSH is a protocol that secures connections between devices, making it an essential tool for anyone needing safe remote access. This guide dives into the basics of SSH,
News
If you’re a system admin managing Windows Server 2022, you might have been surprised (or frustrated!) to find some servers upgrading themselves to Windows Server 2025 overnight. This wasn’t just a single user glitch – it’s a widespread issue caused by a Microsoft error in classifying a recent
News
Exciting news for all VMware enthusiasts! Broadcom/VMware have returned two of the most sought-after licenses: VMware
Docker
Install Docker Desktop on Windows Installing Docker Desktop on Windows lets you easily manage containers, images, and Docker-related tasks. This guide walks you through the process in simple steps, ensuring you get Docker running smoothly. What is Docker Desktop? Docker Desktop is a user-friendly, graphical interface for managing Dockers. It&
Cyber Security
In today’s digital age, Quick Response (QR) codes have become ubiquitous, appearing on everything from restaurant menus to advertising billboards. While QR codes offer a convenient way to access information or complete transactions with a simple scan quickly, they can also pose significant security risks when used in public