Monit and CentOS – Solving the Error “Could not execute systemctl”

Posted by : WesleyDavidMarch 6th, 2015 2 Comments In SysAdmin 22528 views

My Problem – “Error: Could not execute systemctl” I’m using Monit 5.16 on a CentOS 7 server. Monit is monitoring some crucial services like Apache and MySQL (okay, okay, it’s MariaDB). I have a very simple service check to start with: ...

Fixing “unable to get local issuer certificate” and “certificate verify failed” in syslog-ng

Posted by : WesleyDavidFebruary 19th, 2015 Leave a comment In SysAdmin 22521 views

My Problem On a Linux host, attempting to set up syslog-ng shipping to an offsite collector over TLS results in errors such as: Feb 18 16:42:33 my.amazingserver.tld syslog-ng[987]: SSL error while writing stream; tls_error='SSL routines:SSL3_GET_SERVER_CERTIFICATE:certificate verify failed' Feb 18 16:42:33 my.amazingserver.tld ...

My Simple Trick for Quickly Making Secure Passwords

Posted by : WesleyDavidSeptember 12th, 2014 3 Comments In SysAdmin 23601 views

I’m frequently required to make test accounts on various systems. I need to create passwords that are obnoxiously long and complex many times in a day. My method for creating those passwords requires OpenSSL to be installed on my workstation: ...

Definitive List of Web-Based Server Control Panels (Sept 2014 update)

Posted by : WesleyDavidSeptember 4th, 2014 15 Comments In SysAdmin 28637 views

(Updated Sept 4, 2014) As someone who has worked in web hosting, I’ve had my eye on just about every web-based control panel ever created. Most people will likely think of cPanel when they hear the phrase “server control panel” and ...

I Don’t Always Mistype My Password

Posted by : WesleyDavidJuly 29th, 2014 4 Comments In Humor, SysAdmin 23612 views

It never fails. At the last two or three characters of a password, I’ll strike two keys at the same time. Maybe I pressed both, maybe I only pressed one. Whatever happened, certainly it doesn’t make any sense to press ...

Blocking Domains on Rackspace Hosted Email Works Except When it Doesn’t

Posted by : WesleyDavidJuly 1st, 2014 Leave a comment In SysAdmin 22780 views

This is more of a note to myself than anything, but I bumped against an annoying limitation for my Rackspace hosted email accounts. The backstory is that I have a single business domain that has both Hosted Exchange and Hosted Rackspace ...

Your Best .screenrc Files Are Wanted!

Posted by : WesleyDavidJune 23rd, 2014 7 Comments In SysAdmin 25188 views

Screen. I love it and you should too. Unless you like tmux, in which case you probably nag me all the time on Twitter to switch to BSD. If you use it all the time then you undoubtedly have a ...

How Do I Stop Screen From Wuff Wuffing at me?

Posted by : WesleyDavidJune 20th, 2014 3 Comments In SysAdmin 24105 views

The Problem When using GNU screen and hitting tab, tab completion is not performed but rather a cryptic message is printed at the bottom of your terminal: Wuff ---- Wuff!! If you hit tab a second time in a row, ...

Scott Pack has Flown the Coop! Check Out the Latest and Greatest Secops blog.

Posted by : WesleyDavidMay 16th, 2014 Leave a comment In SysAdmin 22760 views

You might be familiar with Scott Pack, security monkey extraordinaire, as the author of several blog posts on The Nubby Admin. You can find him across the internet: Twitter: https://twitter.com/packscott LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/packscott Github: https://github.com/packs Stack Exchange: stackexchange.com/users/12890/scott-pack Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/+ScottPack And now Scott has his own ...

Announcing a Strava Cycling Group for IT People

Posted by : WesleyDavidMay 15th, 2014 4 Comments In SysAdmin 23517 views

If you like to run or cycle, then you probably know what Strava is. If you like to run or cycle and don’t know what Strava is, you’re missing out! In one sentence, it allows you to map and track ...