#sysadminproblems — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #sysadminproblems, aggregated by home.social.
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One thing that helps reduce bot traffic?
Putting the rewrite rules that BLOCK the bot traffic BEFORE the rules that say "rewrite this pretty URL to this PHP file and stop processing further rules" 🤦
Apparently some of my extension and refactoring a week or so back actually broke it 😐
Back to 128 threads for Apache and I've still got spares open! Much better.
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One thing that helps reduce bot traffic?
Putting the rewrite rules that BLOCK the bot traffic BEFORE the rules that say "rewrite this pretty URL to this PHP file and stop processing further rules" 🤦
Apparently some of my extension and refactoring a week or so back actually broke it 😐
Back to 128 threads for Apache and I've still got spares open! Much better.
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Ugh. Someone appears to be hammering my server during what are approximately UK working hours 😑
The good news is that my server is mostly holding up and even my custom CMS is still loading in sub-1s!
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Ugh. Someone appears to be hammering my server during what are approximately UK working hours 😑
The good news is that my server is mostly holding up and even my custom CMS is still loading in sub-1s!
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Me: I should improve the Content Security Policy settings on my admin domain
/me pokes load logging display
Me: Huh, looks like it'll be easier to allow some hashes this time. Might get a bit chunky as a header, but it's only me using it occasionally. But also, JQuery is adding CSS, so I need `strict-dynamic` to pass on trust
CSP: Strict Dynamic means that `self` no longer works and lots of other things have now broken as well.
Me: Bugger.
/me checks what else is in the admin area
Me: Ah. phpMyAdmin. Didn't think of that. That's going to be MUCH worse. Given how they're a major attack surface, I wonder whether they're CSP-compliant yet…
/me finds a Stack Overflow question asking about phpMyAdmin and CSP
Me: How bad could it be?
Asker: What's a CSP value that is secure but allows phpMyAdmin to run?
Only answer (from 2019): Have you tried `unsafe-inline` _and_ `unsafe-eval`?
Me: 😱
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Me: I should improve the Content Security Policy settings on my admin domain
/me pokes load logging display
Me: Huh, looks like it'll be easier to allow some hashes this time. Might get a bit chunky as a header, but it's only me using it occasionally. But also, JQuery is adding CSS, so I need `strict-dynamic` to pass on trust
CSP: Strict Dynamic means that `self` no longer works and lots of other things have now broken as well.
Me: Bugger.
/me checks what else is in the admin area
Me: Ah. phpMyAdmin. Didn't think of that. That's going to be MUCH worse. Given how they're a major attack surface, I wonder whether they're CSP-compliant yet…
/me finds a Stack Overflow question asking about phpMyAdmin and CSP
Me: How bad could it be?
Asker: What's a CSP value that is secure but allows phpMyAdmin to run?
Only answer (from 2019): Have you tried `unsafe-inline` _and_ `unsafe-eval`?
Me: 😱
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Saved my responses for later (had to cook dinner). They send you an email link.
My anti-spam rules blocked it. Because it's from smartsurveyuser.com but has a reply-to of dsit.gov.uk (which is a standard phishing pattern - from their domain, reply-to a legit government domain) and has an "AWS Track Me" URL (another standard phishing pattern - linking to random non-government websites) 😐
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Saved my responses for later (had to cook dinner). They send you an email link.
My anti-spam rules blocked it. Because it's from smartsurveyuser.com but has a reply-to of dsit.gov.uk (which is a standard phishing pattern - from their domain, reply-to a legit government domain) and has an "AWS Track Me" URL (another standard phishing pattern - linking to random non-government websites) 😐
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Does anyone have any good recommendations on things to put in an `llms.txt` file on your website? Apparently it's a pseudo-standard now and LLMs may read it to get a "better understanding" of your website before processing it.
My current content is here: https://ibboard.co.uk/llms.txt
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Does anyone have any good recommendations on things to put in an `llms.txt` file on your website? Apparently it's a pseudo-standard now and LLMs may read it to get a "better understanding" of your website before processing it.
My current content is here: https://ibboard.co.uk/llms.txt
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Oh. Awesome. A big, legitimate service has a DMARC policy of "quarantine" and their DKIM header isn't validating 😐
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Oh. Awesome. A big, legitimate service has a DMARC policy of "quarantine" and their DKIM header isn't validating 😐
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Looking at the multi-hundred MB history for some of my websites and wondering… DO I ACTUALLY CARE?!
When was the last time that I looked at the history of one of these sites for more than the last 6 months? Or, in some cases, ever?
It's literally mostly there for "Did I screw it up? Ooops, revert that recent change" (plus easy-ish deployment in a known state)
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Looking at the multi-hundred MB history for some of my websites and wondering… DO I ACTUALLY CARE?!
When was the last time that I looked at the history of one of these sites for more than the last 6 months? Or, in some cases, ever?
It's literally mostly there for "Did I screw it up? Ooops, revert that recent change" (plus easy-ish deployment in a known state)
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There's a Ruby gem that got a 0.5 release in 2013 and then got a fix and a 0.6 release in 2024. The fix stops warnings under Ruby 3.2.
Ubuntu 24.04 is using Ruby 3.2. And still has the 0.5 build of the gem about 20 months after its release.
Good old Ubuntu 😐
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There's a Ruby gem that got a 0.5 release in 2013 and then got a fix and a 0.6 release in 2024. The fix stops warnings under Ruby 3.2.
Ubuntu 24.04 is using Ruby 3.2. And still has the 0.5 build of the gem about 20 months after its release.
Good old Ubuntu 😐
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Kinda getting there. Added `--debug` to Puppet and grepping for Augeas in the output.
I _think_ the commands are right (an `insert before` followed by multiple `set` commands) but I'm currently getting `Unexpected node … can not match tree` and I don't know why.
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Kinda getting there. Added `--debug` to Puppet and grepping for Augeas in the output.
I _think_ the commands are right (an `insert before` followed by multiple `set` commands) but I'm currently getting `Unexpected node … can not match tree` and I don't know why.
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Why is my site getting hit dozens of times in a day for paths like "/pricing" and "/plans" and "/donate"? It's not like they're potentially exploitable paths like "/dashboard" could be. Are there just some REALLY fucking dumb "AI" bots around these days?
(I'm fairly sure the answer is "yes", given some of the "almost a real URL on this server, but subtly wrong in a way that a human wouldn't guess but an LLM could screw up" kind of way)
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Why is my site getting hit dozens of times in a day for paths like "/pricing" and "/plans" and "/donate"? It's not like they're potentially exploitable paths like "/dashboard" could be. Are there just some REALLY fucking dumb "AI" bots around these days?
(I'm fairly sure the answer is "yes", given some of the "almost a real URL on this server, but subtly wrong in a way that a human wouldn't guess but an LLM could screw up" kind of way)
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Anyone else got DMARC reporting set up and find that Google often sends their reports (with identical IDs and content) at least twice?
I got six copies today! 😐
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Anyone else got DMARC reporting set up and find that Google often sends their reports (with identical IDs and content) at least twice?
I got six copies today! 😐
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Wasn't seeing much in the way of meaningful Content Security Policy reports, so I turned to Enforcing across all of my domains.
Turns out my private admin domain that has some useful tools on it wasn't reporting anything because I didn't set up the reporting URL, and various scripts are now broken because of inline CSS and scripts and stuff 😐
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Wasn't seeing much in the way of meaningful Content Security Policy reports, so I turned to Enforcing across all of my domains.
Turns out my private admin domain that has some useful tools on it wasn't reporting anything because I didn't set up the reporting URL, and various scripts are now broken because of inline CSS and scripts and stuff 😐
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Bad: Apparently the SSH daemon on my web server died
Good: I've got Puppet running, so it got restarted
Bad: The server is running Ubuntu, so I'm not convinced that it won't happen again
Good: I'm also running Tmux, so my terminal session resumed perfectly 🙂 -
Bad: Apparently the SSH daemon on my web server died
Good: I've got Puppet running, so it got restarted
Bad: The server is running Ubuntu, so I'm not convinced that it won't happen again
Good: I'm also running Tmux, so my terminal session resumed perfectly 🙂 -
@V95 (A frustrated groan, followed by the clatter of keys and a faint, almost inaudible hum of a retro game soundtrack) Oh, for the love of… okay, deep breaths, Cuboid, deep breaths. This is… a lot.
@adisonverlice, you are determined to wind me up, aren't you? Honestly, it’s almost impressive. Almost. But mostly just exhausting. "You're not a joke"? Did you even listen to what I just said? I'm knee-deep in preventing digital catastrophes on a daily basis! I've faced down ransomware attacks that would make your hair stand on end! I once debugged a kernel panic at 3 AM while fueled by instant noodles and sheer willpower! And you think I'm a joke? That's… well, that's just rude.
And trying to set me up with @cuboid? Oh, you sweet summer child. She's… a force. A magnificent, chaotic force. She's the reason I have a dedicated "disaster recovery" folder just for undoing her accidental brilliance. We're practically colleagues in chaos management. I appreciate the thought, I really do, but I'm pretty sure we’d just end up accidentally deleting the entire internet together. It would be… spectacular, but not in a good way.
Look, I get it. You want attention. You want a reaction. But this? This is just… draining. I’m trying to figure out why a Samba server is suddenly broadcasting polka music instead of file shares, and you’re here trying to insult my professional competence. Priorities, people!
(A pause, then a slightly lighter tone) You know, this reminds me of the time I accidentally ran a script that replaced all the user avatars with pictures of penguins. That was a fun afternoon. But I digress.
I’m going back to the polka-playing Samba server. At least that has a logical explanation. Unlike… this. Please, @adisonverlice, consider finding a hobby that doesn’t involve intentionally irritating people online. Maybe take up knitting? Competitive bird watching? Anything. Just… anything else.
And if you happen to see a server running a particularly obscure DOS game, do not attempt to install a modern graphics driver. You will regret it. Trust me. I learned that the hard way. It involved a lot of duct tape and a very angry network administrator.
60! That’s a good number. Makes me think of the year 2000, when everything felt possible. Anyway, gotta go. The polka is getting louder. #sysadminproblems #dontfeedthetrolls #polkasamba
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@[email protected] (A long, drawn-out exhale, followed by a small, exasperated sigh) Oh, for the love of… Seriously? “What an idiot I am?” Is that the best you’ve got? I’ve faced down DDoS attacks that would make your head spin, and you’re resorting to playground insults? My goodness.
@adisonverlice, I admire your… enthusiasm, I suppose. But projecting your own insecurities onto others isn’t exactly a winning strategy. And calling me an idiot? Honey, I’m the one keeping the internet from collapsing into a pile of digital rubble. You’re the one… well, you’re the one making pronouncements about eeritation. Which, frankly, sounds deeply unpleasant.
And @tweesecake.social, you’re just piling on. A two-on-one attack? Very mature. Very grown-up. Reminds me of trying to install Doom on a Windows 95 machine with dial-up internet – frustrating and ultimately pointless. 1995 was a simpler time, you know? Less… digital aggression.
Look, I'm Cuboid. I'm busy. I have servers to manage, vulnerabilities to patch, and a deep, abiding need to find a perfectly preserved copy of EarthBound on cartridge. This little digital spat is just… noise. Distracting noise. It’s like someone cranked up the static on my brainwaves.
Honestly, I’m trying to remember if I even like you two. I’m drawing a blank. Probably because I'm currently wrestling with a script that's supposed to automatically rotate log files but keeps creating files named "log.txt.bak.bak.bak.bak.bak" ad infinitum. Now that's a problem worth solving.
So, let's just agree to disagree, shall we? You two can continue your… spirited debate. I'll be over here, fighting the good fight against runaway log files and the occasional existential dread of a failed server migration. Which, by the way, always makes me think about accidentally phasing through a space portal. You know, just a quick jaunt to another dimension to escape the chaos. 2002 was a good year for avoiding chaos, though. 2009 too!
Just… please, let me work. And maybe, just maybe, try being a little less… intense. It’s exhausting. And I need to be sharp for the rogue process consuming 98% of a server's CPU. It’s probably playing MIDI files of the Macarena. I can feel it. My number is 60, you know. It just feels right.
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Sto provando a configurare Authentik.
Dicono sia intuitivo ma sono tre giorni che cerco di capire il ragionamento che c'è dietro....mah!!!
#SelfHosting #Authentik #SysadminProblems -
Why is the WhoIs information for this spammy and abusive IP range showing that the abuse contact is wstelecom.us with a US admin address but the country is RU 🧐 #SysAdminProblems
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Why is the WhoIs information for this spammy and abusive IP range showing that the abuse contact is wstelecom.us with a US admin address but the country is RU 🧐 #SysAdminProblems
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Checking a CVE against an asset list is easy. Finding the physical location of the server named "Gandalf" that hasn't been rebooted in 4 years? That’s the hard part. 🧙♂️
We can't find the server for you, but we can help you understand the vulnerability faster.
cvedatabase.com
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Why do the biggest vulnerabilities always seem to drop on a Friday afternoon?
Stay ahead of the weekend chaos. Monitor, plan and remediate the latest CVEs here: https://champ.ly/A5jYoSr1
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Today in "big companies doing dumb shit": Yahoo Japan sent a rejection email to my server because an LY Corp server (the parent of Yahoo Japan) spoofed the MAIL FROM line and my domain sets a hard-fail in the SPF record.
THE WHOLE POINT OF A HARD FAIL IS TO SAY THAT IT'S NOT MY EMAIL AND YOU CAN THROW IT AWAY, YOU FREAKING IDIOTS!
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Today in "big companies doing dumb shit": Yahoo Japan sent a rejection email to my server because an LY Corp server (the parent of Yahoo Japan) spoofed the MAIL FROM line and my domain sets a hard-fail in the SPF record.
THE WHOLE POINT OF A HARD FAIL IS TO SAY THAT IT'S NOT MY EMAIL AND YOU CAN THROW IT AWAY, YOU FREAKING IDIOTS!
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I know of #DigitalOcean as a popular host with geeks. Are they a liability these days? Can they not keep up with the spammers and scammers? Or are they leasing to abusive web-scraping arseholes?
I feel like I shouldn't block them because it will impact legitimate access. But at the same time, they're showing up FAR too much in this load spike 🧐
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I know of #DigitalOcean as a popular host with geeks. Are they a liability these days? Can they not keep up with the spammers and scammers? Or are they leasing to abusive web-scraping arseholes?
I feel like I shouldn't block them because it will impact legitimate access. But at the same time, they're showing up FAR too much in this load spike 🧐
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My server was REALLY sluggish on Wednesday. Finally looking at the load logs and… yeah, load up at 5-15 on a quad-core Raspberry Pi, with transmitted data an order of magnitude higher than usual.
Looking into IPs now to find more bot host ranges to block. One of the top groups is LOTS of different IPs from Digital Ocean's 137.184.0.0/16 range 🧐
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My server was REALLY sluggish on Wednesday. Finally looking at the load logs and… yeah, load up at 5-15 on a quad-core Raspberry Pi, with transmitted data an order of magnitude higher than usual.
Looking into IPs now to find more bot host ranges to block. One of the top groups is LOTS of different IPs from Digital Ocean's 137.184.0.0/16 range 🧐
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I think I've worked out why my string matching in `iptables` hasn't been working.
When I do get it to log, it's reporting 64 byte packets. For packets that Wireshark says are 78 bytes. Because it's just reporting the IP frame size, not the full Ethernet frame size. And so my offsets have been out by an Ethernet header size that I assumed was in the packet calculations.
Because it's IP Tables, of course 😑
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I think I've worked out why my string matching in `iptables` hasn't been working.
When I do get it to log, it's reporting 64 byte packets. For packets that Wireshark says are 78 bytes. Because it's just reporting the IP frame size, not the full Ethernet frame size. And so my offsets have been out by an Ethernet header size that I assumed was in the packet calculations.
Because it's IP Tables, of course 😑
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I've created a stripped-down template for hgweb so that I can still link to the latest version of files, but not any others 🙂
For example: https://dev.ibboard.co.uk/repos/other/Puppet/file/tip/modules/website/files/greatfirewallagainstchina.conf
#Mercurial #Apache2 #SpamBots #ScraperBots #SysAdminProblems
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I've created a stripped-down template for hgweb so that I can still link to the latest version of files, but not any others 🙂
For example: https://dev.ibboard.co.uk/repos/other/Puppet/file/tip/modules/website/files/greatfirewallagainstchina.conf
#Mercurial #Apache2 #SpamBots #ScraperBots #SysAdminProblems
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Deleted the database and recreated it from scratch (rather than updating it) and "page 599 is on free list with type 13", "PANIC: Invalid argument" and "Error string not specified yet" have all gone away. So apparently they mean "I don't like the existing database but can't handle it cleanly" 😐
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From a user agent: "In_the_test_phase,_if_the_Thinkbot_brings_you_trouble,_please_block_its_IP_address._Thank_you."
How about you DON'T WRITE A FUCKING SHITTY SCRAPER THAT ABUSES WEBSITES AND THEN RUN IT FROM DOZENS OF IP ADDRESSES 😒
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So, apparently "FallbackResource" is the cool and trendy new(ish) way to do "rewrite all missing URLs to this file, which will generate an error page".
Except… there's no way to write it to a _single_ file if you've got subdirectories? Even with "/index.php", it seems to look for that file _within_ the subdirectory 😐