TightVNC File Association Fix

Fixing TightVNC file association in windows is not as straightforward as choosing "always use TightVNC Viewer to open .vnc files" Using this method to restore TightVNC file association results in the following error when attempting to open VNC files: Connection parameters [host, port, socket, gates] is empty. To fix this…

ansible proxy jump

Ansible can proxy through a jump host / bastion host to connect to systems, but there's something to watch out for that can cause a rather vague connection failure of failed to connect to host via ssh citing kex_exchange_identification Connection closed by remote host and Connection closed by UNKNOWN…

AWK IPTables

Using ansible with iptables is a bit clunky, particularly with rule ordering and duplication. The ansible iptables module does not check for existing rules before plopping new ones in, and older systems (without -C) can be tricky to check for existence of rules. This post explores using ansible to update…

Double Reverse SSH

I had a site that didn't have remote access (no ingress available), and I didn't have time to build a proper reverse tunnel, so instead I punched open a simple reverse SSH tunnel, then used that to double up the connection and load a virtual machine image that was used…

Focus Terminal

Guake is a nice terminal, especially on laptops, where screen space is scarce. My favorite feature of guake is how it can be toggled in and out of focus with a key press (I use F9) to be both instantly accessible, and yet never in the way. But on my…