Mendhak / Code

Modern artifact signing with Cosign, what works and what hurts

I’ve been seeing some buzz around Sigstore recently, it’s a project that aims to improve software supply chain security by making signing and checking easier. It has seen ongoing work in the Python and Maven ecosystems, as well as npm and Github Actions, which is pretty significant.

Syncing the login wallpaper with the desktop wallpaper on Ubuntu

On Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04, the background image that you set for your desktop doesn’t appear on the login screen. I will go over two ways of synchronizing the login screen wallpaper to match the one chosen for the desktop.

Setting a static IP address in Ubuntu 24.04 using netplan

While setting up PiHole on an Ubuntu 24.04 server, I realized that the usual instructions I’d been following for years on Debian systems for setting a static IP address (often involving /etc/network/interfaces or /etc/resolv.conf) weren’t going to work here. It’s worth sharing now that I’ve learned how for myself. Netplan…

What does a reverse shell actually look like?

A reverse shell is a type of shell where the target machine (under attack) communicates back to an attacker’s machine, and importantly, gives the attacker control over the target machine.

My most useful network troubleshooting commands and tools

I’m not a networking professional, but I’ve often had to impersonate one. Here are some of the tools and commands I’ve found useful over the years.

Adding all AWS service certificate authorities to your trust store

When working with certain AWS services that require secure connectivity over TCP, you might run into the dreaded “unable to get local issuer certificate” error. This is because the service is presenting a certificate signed by an Amazon CA that isn’t in your trust store. I’ve commonly seen this with…

Lessons learned in moving on from Lightroom

Returning to photography from a post-pandemic malaise has been an invaluable experience that forced me to re-evaluate my workflow and tools. The main reason for the break was the ease with which I slipped into staying at home, and the decreased prevalence of dedicated cameras and photography communities. There’s a…