Getting fail2ban to Ban / Unban a Class C at a time

Fail2ban is great, but with the rise of AI bots and other malware I am finding that maintaining 10’s of thousands of IP addresses to ban is causing slowdowns on the server. I’ve long wanted to be able to ban a class C when any IP address in the range matches, but I could not…

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Migrating off serverpilot.io

In my day job I recently needed to disconnect a web server system from Serverpilot. There is very little third party documentation on this, and the documentation from Server Pilot does not tell the whole story. One of the slightly hidden Gotchas of moving off Server Pilot is – as far as I can see…

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Writing to Solax X1-Hybrid-5.0-N-I Modbus

I have a Solax X1 Hybrid system and a complex power plan which the in-built logic of the Solax system can’t take full advantage of. I also have a bit of a complex about sending my data overseas (still working on that, but these scripts help, along with documentation I have found in obscure places…

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Fixing Microwave Oven Ring with detached wheel

I have an older Panasonic Microwave oven (model NN-ST680S).   Other then the light not working (and the replaced light failing after a few days!), the unit has worked well until recently. One of the  roller wheels on the the oven decided to come off recently – and after popping it back, it kept on coming…

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Tasmota and IR Blaster – Neo Coolcam NAS-IR03W

After my previous debacle getting an IR Blaster to work with Tasmota, I purchased a Neo Coolcam from Aliexpress (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33040426244.html) – and I’m glad I did.  Other then the firmware version this proved to be really good for hacking. The board is trivial to open (just rotate the top off, like opening a jar).    The…

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Aercus WeatherSleuth Weatherstation / MQTT / Security thoughts

I recently got my hands on an Aercus Weathersleuth Weatherstation. This is a fairly nice piece of kit. One of its benefits is it can talk to the internet or an arbitrary server. A bit of poking around revealed it communicates by way of an HTTP post request which looks as follows – http://ADDRESS.SPECIFIED.IN.CONFIG/weatherstation/updateweatherstation.php?ID=IDINCONFIG&PASSWORD=PWINCONFIG&tempf=64.8&humidity=79&dewptf=58.1&windchillf=64.8&winddir=48&windspeedmph=2.46&windgustmph=2.46&rainin=0.00&dailyrainin=0.00&weeklyrainin=0.00&monthlyrainin=0.00&yearlyrainin=0.00&solarradiation=152.45&UV=1&indoortempf=-9999&indoorhumidity=-9999&baromin=-9999&lowbatt=0&dateutc=20165-10-0%202:29:46&softwaretype=Weather%20logger%20V2.1.9&action=updateraw&realtime=1&rtfreq=5 On…

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TZT AT89C2051 Digital LED Display 4 Bits Electronic Clock Electronic Production Suite DIY Kit 0.56 Inch Red Two Alarm Programming / Instruction

I purchased a kit-set clock/alarm kit for my kids to build to learn to solder. Unfortunately, while it came with soldering instructions (which it didn’t need), it did not come with programming instructions and the supplier is no more. Below are partial instructions I’ve discovered through the web and playing around. The clock has 2…

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Owners Manual for ProRunner 310R Motorized Treadmill

I purchased said Treadmill from Torpedo 7 a few months ago, and the manual has been sitting around the machine, looking ugly. As its only 16 pages, black and white, I cant be bothered finding a place to keep it. (It would make my library of exercise machinery manuals to large), so I’ve digitized a…

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Dissecting a cheap Time Release Lock

Some months ago I acquired a dead-on-arrival time release lock – the type that typically sells on Aliexpress and eBay for about US$20, appropriately described as “Multipurpose Time Lock” but more commonly “Fetish Electronic Timer” or, in the type of English unique to China “Adult Game Fetish Handcuffs”. Unfortunately there does not seem to be…

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