Picked up one of these. It has a nice warm and clean tone.

First you’ll need a key:

openssl genrsa -des3 -out server.key 4096

Using the -des3 option will require you enter a password when Apache starts up.  If you wish to avoid that gotcha, then simply leave out the -des3 option:

openssl genrsa -out server.key 4096

Then, generate a certificate signing request from the key:

openssl req -new -key server.key -out server.csr

If you wish to have the certificate expire in a certain number of days, then use the -days option:

openssl req -days 1095 -new -key server.key -out server.csr

Now, go to a certificate authority and generate a certificate using the certificate signing request.   http://www.cacert.org is a free certificate authority you can use.  Read more about them here:  CAcert at Wikipedia Cut and paste the entire generated certificate into a new file called server.crt.  Install the crt and key files into a place where apache can find them.

Then as root:

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chown apache:apache server.key
chmod 600 server.key
chmod 644 server.crt

Now you’ll need to install this into Apache’s configuration file, httpd.conf.  Note that if this certificate is used, you’ll need to enter in a passphrase when Apache starts up.  We can disable that requirement.  More on that later.  Put this entry into your httpd.conf file if you wish for all traffic to your site to be secure:

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NameVirtualHost *:80
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerName server.mysite.com
RedirectPermanent / https://server.mysite.com:443
</VirtualHost>

<VirtualHost _default_:443>
DocumentRoot /usr/local/apache2/htdocs
SSLEngine On
ServerName server.mysite.com
SSLCertificateFile /usr/local/apache2/conf/server.crt
SSLCertificateKeyFile /usr/local/apache2/conf/server.key
</VirtualHost>

Now to remove the passphrase from the certificate so Apache will boot without interaction:

openssl rsa -in server.key -out server.key.nopass

Then use the nopass key instead of the original server.key.

I recently had the need to install Windows 7 onto a Zotac ZBox ID-83-U PC. This is a small machine, and it has no DVD drive. It does have some USB slots, and not wanting to order an external DVD drive, my only option was to install from a USB thumb drive.

To do it, I needed a couple of things: the Windows 7 DVD needs to be an ISO file, and a utility to make a bootable install disk from the ISO file.

I used a free utility called ImgBurn to create the ISO from the DVD, and I used Microsoft’s Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool to write the ISO to the USB thumb drive and make it bootable.

If you prefer to do this by hand, MaximumPC has some good instructions here: How To: Install Windows 7 from a USB Key!

If you wish to do a uEFI installation, you’ll need to prepare the USB thumb drive differently. Instructions how to do that can be found here: Windows 7: UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface)

This is worth of re-posting.  Easy fix.

http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/08/unpatched-mac-bug-gives-attackers-super-user-status-by-going-back-in-time/

Back in September 2012 I placed an order for a BJFe Dyna Red Distortion (DRD) pedal from Custom Sounds. This is a hand built pedal by the world renowned pedal master himself, Bjorn Juhl. So, like everyone else, I was put on a waiting list. And I waited, and waited.. And it has finally arrived! It sounds awesome (unlike my guitar playing heh heh). Here is what the pedal sounds like from someone who can actually play it well.

With any project everyone wants things good, fast, and cheap.  According to the Project Management Triangle, you only get to pick two of the three:

• Design something quickly and to a high standard, but then it will not be cheap.
• Design something quickly and cheaply, but it will not be of high quality.
• Design something with high quality and cheaply, but it will take a long time.

From 1928: The Ondes Martenot. Pretty amazing for its time.

I thought this was pretty humorous. If you are into cycling, then this will definitely make more sense to you.

The Rules