2.5 Admins

A TV station struggles to retrieve its data from the data centre company that a defunct intermediary used, why we don’t want AI to manage our networks (even if Microsoft thinks we should), and understanding vdevs, and datasets in ZFS.

Plugs

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

OpenZFS User and Developer Summit 2026 CfP is open until September 11

FreeBSD Security in Production: Vulnerability Response and Operational Best Practices

News/discussion

Nine PBS sues Iron Mountain over blocked access to archival data

Judge sets framework for Nine PBS to retrieve archival data

The patch window is collapsing: Why security needs a new control plane

Free consulting

We were asked about pools, vdevs, and datasets in ZFS.

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Microsoft claims that Windows 11 will work well with 8GB of RAM, some of the innovations coming to high end SSDs, the arguments for TP-Link Omada over Ubiquiti UniFi.

Plugs

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

FreeBSD Support: Greatest Hits

Discussion

Microsoft says 8 GB of RAM should be enough for anyone running Windows 11

Windows quality: an update on the commitment we made in March

Free consulting

We were asked about the arguments for TP-Link Omada over Ubiquiti UniFi.

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

In a world where photos can no longer be trusted, Jim argues that we should move to a default distrust model where images are signed at every stage of the process of creation. We get into some of the potential issues. Plus how to ensure continuity for your clients in the event of your demise, and setting up a system to demonstrate ZFS replication capabilities.

Plugs

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

Piss up at The Shipwrights Arms (just next to London Bridge station) on Saturday 5th September from 5pm until late

Discussion

Google Earth risked ruin with retracted AI tool for making fake satellite pics

Apple is working on a way to authenticate that a photo came from an iPhone camera

Free consulting

We were asked about how to ensure continuity for your clients in the event of your demise, and setting up a system to demonstrate ZFS replication capabilities.

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Microsoft restored an account including files that it initially claimed wasn’t possible, Apple might lock down phones if people don’t keep up their lease payments, ZFS scrubs shouldn’t be painful, and accessing another network from a locked-down work machine.

Plugs

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

ZFS vs Ceph: Do You Actually Need Ceph?

News/discussion

Microsoft restores player’s 25-year-old account following widespread backlash

iOS 27 code suggests Apple could restrict leased devices after missed payments

If Scrubs Hurt, Your ZFS Design Is Broken

Free consulting

We were asked about accessing another network from a locked-down work machine.

Teleport Community

Apache Guacamole®

Linux After Dark – Episode 120

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Google wants you to use a selfie video for account recovery, LG will stop apps turning their smart TVs into residential proxy nodes, we disagree about how serious OpenAI’s agent hacking Hugging Face is, FreeBSD removes the last bits of GPL software and suffers an embarrassing git flub , and backing up to an encrypted NAS without ZFS.

Plug

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

News/discussion

Introducing selfie for sign-in: a new, easy way to access your Google Account

LG to Ban Residential Proxies from Smart TV Apps

OpenAI says its AI agent broke out of testing sandbox to hack Hugging Face

FreeBSD 16 Retires The Last Of Its GPL Code From Its Base System

Ports Repository Freeze

Free consulting

We were asked about backing up to an encrypted NAS without ZFS.

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

A new HTTP caching standard looks promising but might struggle to get adopted, a terrible space mirror idea is actually happening, cars will spy on us all, and picking a VPN for use with an IP that doesn’t change very often.

Plug

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

News/discussion

HTTP gets a QUERY method so complex searches can stop pretending to be POST

FCC grants approval for sun-reflecting space mirror that’s been widely criticized by astronomers

Feels like all of us need to pay way more attention to the new rules affecting EU and US folk, requiring all new cars to include a driver monitoring camera aimed at your face

Free consulting

We were asked about picking a VPN for use with an IP that doesn’t change very often.

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Microsoft really wants your Windows settings data, secure boot has been useless for a decade, our thoughts on (the idea of) Incus and IncusOS, and configuring ZFS for a Lightning Memory Mapped Database.

Plugs

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

Jails, Not Containers: FreeBSD Isolation Done Right

News/discussion

Microsoft flips Windows Backup to on by default unless you’re in the EU

Microsoft’s Secure Boot has been broken for a decade and no one noticed until now

IncusOS

Incus

Free consulting

We were asked about configuring ZFS for a Lightning Memory Mapped Database.

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Follow-up on rebooting to update, portable power stations, glass storage, and objective news sources. Plus whether to use one ZFS pool per vdev, or just one large pool.

Plugs

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

Native inotify in FreeBSD

Feedback

Anker SOLIX EV Charger Adapter (For F3000, J1722 only)

EcoFlow EV Charger to Portable Power Station Adaptor (SAE J1772 to 5P8 Port, 50A)

WattCycle First-to-Market: WattLINK – EcoFlow Delta 2/3 Series PPS E

Free consulting

We were asked about whether to use one ZFS pool per vdev, or just one large pool.

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Why setting up commercial email and VPN services is incredibly hard, avoiding TrueNAS’s move from FreeBSD to Linux, why we avoid virtualising storage systems, and bridging WiFi to an external building.

Plugs

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with some early episodes

Using Object Storage with OpenZFS and SeaweedFS

Discussion

Jeff Moss explains why setting up private email and VPN services are so difficult

Feedback

XigmaNAS

Free consulting

We were asked about bridging WiFi to an external building.

Point-to-point Wi-Fi bridging between buildings—the cheap and easy way

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

The one tool in our IT tool belt that we value the most. This is a short episode because Joe is having a summer break.

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.