security Glacial DNS The original working title for this was Ice Cube DNS, however given the glacial pace with which Namecheap move, taking an average of 47 hours to disable malicious websites [Source: NCSC], I decided it was a more apt name. The idea is simple, providing
namecheap "Submit a ticket" Now, let me start by saying I love ticket systems. They are the order amongst the chaos in the IT support world, and when supporting customers often the correct approach is to ask them to raise a ticket. However, when a member of the
rants I need some DIY done. Today's pet peeve... and I've seen it in many places; "I need some DIY done..."No you don't. You need some WORK done. The whole point of DIY is you Do It Yourself, it's literally what the initialism represents. Everyone's DIY skills are different;
streaming Adaptive HLS Streaming with Nginx This is a follow up to my Simple(ish) Self-Hosted Streaming with Nginx guide. If you haven't read that, read it first, this will make a lot more sense. That basic guide illustrates how to make your own 'streaming platform' independant of services like
streaming Simple(ish) Self-Hosted Streaming with Nginx Most of the more technical posts on here serve two purposes; to share with a specific group of people, and to remind myself when I need to do it again in a few years time. This one is no exception! The background behind this
scam HMRC Callback Scam I've ranted about CLI and CLI Spoofing on many, many, occasions but more and more often scammers are using it as an extra step in their scam to "prove" they're genuine. In the example below the scammer directs the victim to the HMRC website,
security MutationObserver and Refund Bank Scammers A significant number of refund scammers rely on remotely accessing the victim's computer, having them log into their online banking, and then surreptitiously editing the content of the displayed web page to make it look like they have a higher balance (due to their
aviation Living Aviation Art, the METARchart The chart is illuminated by individual LEDs at each airport that change colour to reflect the weather at each airfield in near real-time much like the map on popular EFB applications. See the weather locally, and further afield, at a glance.
qlab QLab HTTP Trigger This is a quick (and rather dirty!) hack to trigger cues in QLab by an HTTP request, I wouldn't recommend using it in a production environment.
consumer rights TEKnically Incorrect? It became illegal in 2017 to charge payment fees per the Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012 (As Amended) - Why do CCTVTek.co.uk ignore this law?
javascript Local RTMP Server Some time ago I stumbled upon Local RTMP Server for macOS, a simple RTMP server for macOS that lives as a menubar application and makes it easy to get streams from RTMP-capable devices (such as my DJI Mavic Pro and apps like Larix Broadcaster)
theatre (Re-)Opening the House I am not an epidemiologist, just someone with a good understanding of risk assessment and generally pragmatic approach putting a few personal thoughts out there on re-opening some of the things we love aiming to provoke discussion, here I look at theatre and how we can safely return.
aviation Cleared for Takeoff? I am not an epidemiologist, just someone with a good understanding of risk assessment and generally pragmatic approach putting a few personal thoughts out there on re-opening some of the things we love aiming to provoke discussion, and how General Aviation can perhaps safely return to the skies.
zoneminder Zoneminder SMTP Triggers My CCTV server died recently, so I took the opportunity to try an alternative from my tried and trusted ZoneMinder installation, and looked to Shinobi. For the most part it's great, it feels much more modern than ZoneMinder, it's architected in a way I
brexit I’ll miss EU. This morning I don’t know what is more on my mind. Five months to find a new job, or eleven to find a new home, if I can find any way to do it. I’m not sure if I’m more depressed
Why does the blog look different? I love consistency, I've always loved consistency. I'm also rather pedantic and known at work as the resident pedant (although there are now many more to take my place) Anyway, I use the excellent Ghost platform for this blog and - due to various
qlab On-Stage Telephone Ringing with QLab There is an excellent article in the QLab cookbook for how to simulate a ringing telephone in QLab - and it's far better than playing back a simple sound effect. However, sometimes you can't beat an actual phone. Indeed, even in TV and film,
Droning on... Forestry Commission Scotland Well done Forestry Commission Scotland Hot on the heels of the ridiculous attempt by Ashdown Forest to try and regulate airspace, Forestry Comission Scotland announced that drones were not permitted in their forests; Flying drones (unmanned aircraft) as an informal activity or hobby is
Paxton Net2 + Slack Hack (Updated) A couple of years ago I documented our hack that is used to get Paxton Net2 to send messages when doors are opened into Slack, recent changes to Net2 break this and require some changes; Changed endpoint The endpoint changes from http://ws.textanywhere.
rants Taxpayers are not paying for a wedding! Seen so many posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc about “the taxpayer paying for the royal wedding” 🙄 Ok, I’m not a 'royalist', but I am generally quite pragmatic, so firstly; No, we’re not. However, unlike all these ridiculous posts, I tend to like
eurovision Why do we keep paying for Eurovision when we will never win? This is the recurring sentiment by loads of posts I've seen on Facebook and twitter, and they're beginning to grate a little. Most of the time people make stupid outlandish claims like we pay for 1/5th of the cost of Eurovision wherever it's
aviation The most important main street in any town GA is thriving in many countries, but practically dying in the UK. The UK has a proud aviation history; these proposed changes to the NPPF are a good start to ensure it’s preserved and protected for future generations.
aviation Ashdown Forest and "Drones" Now, some might accuse me of droning on (sorry) but yes, I'm opinionated. I also fly light aircraft for fun, and also own a couple of SUAs or, as they tend to be known "drones" and fly legally and considerately. One thing
security "Pure Spam" - Or, a lesson in shared hosting and DNS. I maintain, or am associated with, a number of websites including some quite high profile and well respected ones. Imagine my shock when one of these disappeared from the Internet (well, Google anyway) entirely overnight. Logging into Google Webmaster Tools I could see this
sip SIP Rejection Testing Every now and then I throw together quick little one-off scripts for testing things that might benefit a wider audience. Sometimes it's handy to test how particular devices or platforms handle specific rejection codes, so I threw together this little tool in node. Basically,
