Category: Security

CloudPanel website causing “Too many redirects”

I have installed CloudPanel and the new website caused a “Too many redirects” bug. This is because my SSL certificates are controlled by a proxy and this can cause some confusion between the systems. Also, because CloudPanel installs its own certificates.

This application can also install a Let’s Encrypt certificate, but this works only in more conventional systems. Mine is going through a DNS to a Proxy that listens to a certain IP address and that proxy redirects the request to a Virtual Machine on one of my servers.

So, here is my, probably unconventional method of disabling the SSL certificates on my CloudPanel installation:

  1. Open the CloudPanel controlpanel.
  2. Select the website you want to edit
  3. Choose the Vhost tab
  4. Change the following code into the new code:
server {
listen 80;
listen [::]:80;
listen 443 ssl http2;
listen [::]:443 ssl http2;
{{ssl_certificate_key}}
{{ssl_certificate}}
server_name subdomain.3xn.nl;
{{root}}

{{nginx_access_log}}
{{nginx_error_log}}

if ($scheme != "https") {
rewrite ^ https://$host$uri permanent;
}
server {
listen 80;
listen [::]:80;
# listen 443 ssl http2;
# listen [::]:443 ssl http2;
# {{ssl_certificate_key}}
# {{ssl_certificate}}
server_name subdomain.3xn.nl;
{{root}}

{{nginx_access_log}}
{{nginx_error_log}}

# if ($scheme != "https") {
# rewrite ^ https://$host$uri permanent;
# }

Done! Your website should now say “Hello world :-)”

You can see that I have disabled the listen to port 443, the certificate keys, the forced https and the path to the keys. I chose to switch off the forced HTTP, because my proxy is already taking care of that.

This post is subject to change, but this helps you along your way!

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How to update Mastodon to a new version

EXPIRED: NEW GUIDE AVAILABLE HERE

Updating Mastodon and creating backups are important steps to ensure the security and stability of your instance. Here’s a comprehensive tutorial on how to update Mastodon, including making backups of the database and assets:

Note 1: Always perform updates on a test/staging instance before applying them to your live instance. This tutorial assumes you have some basic command line and server administration knowledge.

Note 2: If you made alterations to your files and want to update to a new branch, like v4.2.0, don’t forget to stash your files first. DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

cd /home/mastodon/live
git stash

You will not have an error message any more when entering:
I currently do not know how to put the stashed files back, this will be found out later.

git checkout v4.2.0

Note 3: If you switch to a new branch and version, like 4.2.0, you might run into an error stating the following:

rbenv: version '3.2.2' is not installed (set by /home/mastodon/live/.ruby-version)

Take the following steps to solve this problem:
(Type the version you need where it says x.x.x)

rbenv install x.x.x

If that fails, try the following command:

brew update && brew upgrade ruby-build

Followed by:
(Type the version you need where it says x.x.x)

rbenv install x.x.x

OPTIONAL: If bundler or rails fails to work, try the following commands:

gem install bundler

gem install rails

Click here for the backup steps. It basically comes down to a Database dump, a settings file backup and a Redis dump. If you wish to backup your assets like images and stuff (User-uploaded files), backup the folder named “public/system”. Keep in mind that this folder can be rather large. Actually, it can become rather massive.

After a good 90 minutes, I gave up on trying to show you how large the asset folder is. So beware if you are going to make a backup of it. Perhaps you can just skip the cache folder?

You can always check the folder size by using NCDU, for which you can find the manual here. Also, installations may vary, but this is an example of my instance.

Upgrade procedure.

  1. su - mastodon
  2. cd /home/mastodon/live
  3. git fetch --tags
  4. git checkout [type the most recent version here, starting with the letter v. For example; v4.0.1

Command example: git checkout v4.0.1
  5. bundle install
  6. yarn install
  7. RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails db:migrate
  8. RAILS_ENV=production bundle exec rails assets:precompile
  9. exit
  10. reboot now

And that should be it!

If you don’t want to restart your server, use the following commands instead of “reboot now”:

  1. exit
  2. systemctl restart mastodon-sidekiq
  3. systemctl reload mastodon-web

    The reload operation is a zero-downtime restart, also called a “phased restart”. As such, Mastodon upgrades usually do not require any advance notice to users about planned downtime. In rare cases, you can use the restart operation instead, but there will be a (short) felt interruption of service for your users.

  4. The streaming API server is also updated and requires a restart; doing so will result in all connected clients being disconnected, which can increase the load on your server:
systemctl restart mastodon-streaming

Done!

PS: When I updated my instance from 4.1.9 to 4.2.0, a lot of warnings flew by, and this is, in my experience, not a problem as the instance is working perfectly.

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Adding and removing a user in PLIK

ADD A USER
Open the UNraid console and enter

./plikd --config ./plikd.cfg user create --login USERNAME --name Admin --admin

The result should be as follows:

Generated password for user controller is yH7ggwod473A3xM5BdI8wEz2FM7bcqF1

REMOVE A USER

Find the user:

./plikd user list

You should see:

local:USERNAME Admin

To remove user, enter:

./plikd --config ./plikd.cfg user delete --login USERNAME Admin

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ArchiveBox root issue in UNraid [FIXED]

Short version of:

Archivebox Docker superuser root issues

[!] ArchiveBox should never be run as root!

The INIT line is in case you set up this docker for the first time. If you already have entered the INIT command, I don;t think you have to do it again.

  1. Open the UNraid Terminal
  2. Enter 
    cd /data
  3. Enter (Optional, see previous note) 
    archivebox init
  4. Enter 
    docker exec -it --user archivebox archivebox bash
  5. Enter 
    archivebox manage createsuperuser

Done!

Credits to “emiliobool” for their comment on April 25, 2021 @ https://github.com/ArchiveBox/ArchiveBox/issues/395

 

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Change W10 password

One day, a friendly wolf said:

so all you need is a usb stick with a windows 10 installer, boot to that, click “Repair my pc” after it asks you for the language -> open the troubleshooter -> open the command line interface

then switch to the C drive
then cd Windows\System32\
rename osk.exe osk.old|
rename cmd.exe osk.exe
close and boot windows normally
click the On-Screen-Keyboard which now opens cmd.exe
net user “username” *
type new password

make sure undo your rename of the cmd.exe and osk.exe things after you’re done

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Upgrading the firmware of the Zyxel VMG8324-B10A

WARNING. As explained on the “About” page that this is a blog based on my notes, whether they fail or not. So proceed at your own risk.

My Zyxel router currently has firmware version 1.00(AAKL.14)C0 and since Zyxel is a good boye, they keep their devices up to date. Like all manufacturers should do IMO.

  1. Aquire all the firmware files that are available by going to ftp://ftp.zyxel.com/VMG8324-B10A/
  2. Remove the files that are older than your current firmware, in my case v.14
  3. BACK UP YOUR CURRENT FIRWARE AND SETTINGS
  4. Apply ALL updates one by one. Do not skip versions.

Good luck.

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