Security
Practical guidance on authentication, permissions, incident preparation, and security standards, with primary sources and implementation limits.
Current guides
NIST identity guidance in 2026: what to change in your plan
Apply NIST SP 800-63 revision 4 to a 2026 identity review, with precise password rules, phishing-resistant options, and recovery checks.
Read articleCyber Resilience Act: the 2026 and 2027 dates to plan around
Separate CRA reporting obligations already in effect from the 2027 full application date, and assign identity and product-security responsibiliti…
Read articleUse CISA’s no-cost security resources with a practical work plan
Choose CISA resources by the security gap you need to close, confirm service eligibility, and assign an owner to findings before adding tools.
Read articleEmergency termination in NIM: verify access is actually removed
Build an urgent offboarding procedure around NIM, with authorized requests, target checks, session limits, and protection against accidental reac…
Read articleDelegate password resets in NIM without broad admin access
Give local support a defined password reset role in NIM, with restricted user scope, identity checks, audit records, and clear escalation rules.
Read articleMoving to Cloud-Only IT with Microsoft 365 E3 or E5
Plan a move to Microsoft 365: check identity dependencies, compare E3 and E5, pilot devices, and test recovery before retiring servers.
Read articleShared Passwords: How to Delegate Access Safely
Give staff access without sharing personal logins. Use named accounts, delegated permissions, controlled secrets, device locks, and clear offboar…
Read articlePlan NIM self-service password reset around recovery failures
Evaluate NIM self-service password reset with realistic lockout cases, secure verification, target synchronization checks, and a help desk fallba…
Read articleCustom Domain Email: Setup and Security for Small Businesses
Set up business email on your own domain, protect account ownership, configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and plan a mailbox migration without losing …
Read articleMFA for Small Businesses: A Practical Rollout Plan
Roll out MFA to email, administrator accounts, and remote access. Compare methods, prepare recovery, test a pilot, and check that enforcement wor…
Read articlePrivilege Creep: How to Review and Remove Unneeded Access
Find permissions left behind by role changes and old projects. Assign resource owners, review effective access, record decisions, and verify remo…
Read articleContractor Account Management: A Small Business Checklist
Manage contractor and vendor access with a named sponsor, approved permissions, an end date, regular reviews, and verified offboarding across app…
Read articleArchive and retrospectives
These articles describe earlier tools or a stated historical period. Read each article’s context before adapting its examples.
2025 retrospective: start security planning with identity owners
A 2025 retrospective on account ownership, joiner and leaver responsibilities, and governance, using primary sources published before the cutoff.
Read articlePowerShell Self-Signed Certificate Example: 2022 Archive
A historical PowerShell certificate example for an Adobe API integration, retained with notes about damaged formatting and certificate lifetime.
Read articleMonitoring Servers and Networks with NetXMS: 2014 Notes
A 2014 troubleshooting note on using NetXMS agents and SNMP to create a dashboard for selected servers and network devices.
Read articlePXE Network Booting with Ultimate Deployment Appliance
A 2013 account of using Ultimate Deployment Appliance for a server installation without a local optical or USB drive.
Read articleMONyog and Graylog2: Database and Syslog Notes from 2012
A 2012 account of investigating MySQL activity with MONyog and evaluating Graylog2, PartyLog, and Logstash for centralized logs.
Read articleFlashPanel for Google Apps: 2012 Evaluation Note
A September 2012 note on evaluating FlashPanel for Google Apps domain administration and auditing, with the original screenshot.
Read articleAndroid Notification Firewall Troubleshooting: 2012 Note
A brief 2012 troubleshooting note identifying TCP 5228 in an Android notification issue on a filtered wireless network.
Read articleT-Mobile Wi-Fi Calling Firewall Ports: 2012 Test Notes
Ports tried during a 2012 T-Mobile Wi-Fi calling setup, including an explicit uncertainty about whether TCP 5060 was needed.
Read articleGoogle Apps Password Sync for AD: 2012 Release Note
A 2012 announcement reference and implementation comment about synchronizing Active Directory password changes to Google Apps.
Read articleGoogle Apps for Education Integration Tools: 2012 List
A 2012 school integration resource list covering password sync, CAS, GAM, directory sync, PHP clients, and training.
Read articlePresenting Bethel’s Google Apps Migration at NCCE 2012
A March 2012 session announcement covering Bethel’s Google Apps migration decisions, training, technical work, and adoption.
Read articleApple Configurator Launch: March 2012 Reference
A March 2012 reference to Apple Configurator and its use for deploying groups of iOS devices, with the original announcement link.
Read articleHP N40L NAS Build with Unraid: 2012 Planning Note
A 2012 home-storage planning note listing an HP N40L, Unraid, and a proposed 15 TB capacity before the final build write-up.
Read articlePassword Strength and Passphrases: An XKCD Reference
A 2012 link to XKCD’s password-strength comic, with the original illustration and a related practical account-security guide.
Read articlevSphere 5 Web Client: Inventory Service Reset Notes
Archived vSphere 5 troubleshooting notes for an Inventory Service error, including the original reset and registration commands.
Read articleBethel Google Apps Migration: NCCE 2012 Session Preview
A 2011 preview of a Bethel Schools NCCE 2012 presentation on its Google Apps migration, support, training, and technical integration.
Read articleGoogleHashUpdater on Windows Server 2008 R2: 2011 Notes
Historical troubleshooting notes for Hashing Password Filter and GoogleHashUpdater on Windows Server 2008 R2 with Google Data API 1.4.0.2.
Read articleOS X Server 10.6 on vSphere 5: 2011 Compatibility Notes
Historical notes on OS X Server 10.6 guest support in vSphere 5, Apple hardware requirements, and the documentation available in 2011.
Read articleFirefox Default and Locked Preferences: 2011 Reference
A 2011 reference to configuring Firefox default and locked preferences, with a link to the original configuration guide.
Read articleGluster 3.1 to 3.2 Upgrade: 2011 Notes
Notes from a 2011 Gluster upgrade, including the CentOS kernel, rsync, Python prerequisites, and package-versus-source paths.
Read articleCAS 3.4.7 with Active Directory Attributes: 2011 Setup
Archived CAS 3.4.7, Tomcat 6, and Maven 2 setup notes for returning LDAP and Active Directory attributes during single sign-on.
Read articlevSphere Client for iPad: March 2011 Announcement
An archived March 2011 reference to the vSphere Client for iPad announcement, with its original article and image links.
Read articleSelf-Hosting Gitorious on Ubuntu 9.10: 2011 Notes
A 2011 account of running Gitorious on Ubuntu 9.10, with installation references and the goal of sharing school district code.
Read articleApple XRAID Drive Replacement: 2011 Progress Update
A February 2011 update on replacing Apple XRAID drives with notebook disks and formatting five arrays for a storage project.
Read articleUbuntu 9.10 on ESX: Intel e1000 Driver Notes
Historical troubleshooting steps for an Intel e1000 network adapter in an Ubuntu 9.10 guest on an ESX environment.
Read articleFirst Gitorious Server Build: January 2011
A January 2011 project update on building a self-hosted Gitorious server, preceding the longer installation note.
Read articleMac App Store Licensing Discussion: January 2011
A January 2011 link and short comment about Mac App Store installation terms at launch, retained as a historical reference.
Read articleReplacing Apple XRAID Drives with Notebook Disks: 2010 Test
A 2010 hardware experiment using a StarTech IDE-to-SATA adapter and a 750 GB notebook drive in an Apple XRAID enclosure.
Read articleGluster 3.1 Storage Build with Dell Servers and XRAID
A 2010 Gluster 3.1 build log using Dell PowerEdge servers, Apple XRAID storage, and a USB installer for shared storage.
Read articleLogging Apache Requests to MySQL with mod_log_sql
Archived 2010 setup notes for Apache mod_log_sql, MySQL libraries, log-table creation, and the relevant module documentation.
Read articleGoogle Documents in the Windows New Menu: 2010 Link
A 2010 reference to adding Google Documents shortcuts to the Windows Explorer New menu, linking to the original tutorial.
Read articlePlanning a Gluster Storage Cluster: 2010 Notes
Initial 2010 plans for using Gluster as shared storage for a web-server cluster, followed by links to the build notes.
Read articleGoogle Apps mailto Handlers on Windows and Mac: 2010 Notes
Archived Windows registry and Mac Webmailer notes for opening mailto links in a Google Apps domain in 2010.
Read articleActive Directory to Google Apps Password Sync: 2010 Notes
A historical account of Hashing Password Filter, a custom Active Directory attribute, and Google Apps password synchronization in 2010.
Read article