CloudFlare is a free DNS service that not only allows you to control DNS records, but also speeds up your website by caching it on various servers around the globe, hides your IP address, keeps site online even if your server isn't, protects against various threats including DDoS and provides unique analytics tools.
I don't use DVDs or CDs to install operating systems anymore, USB sticks or SD cards are a lot faster, more convenient and more compatible, since slim devices don't come with CD/DVD drives anymore, I don't even have one in my desktop computer. I grew tired of rebuilding different OSes on my flash drives over and over again though, and to stop wearing them out, I've decided to make an all-in-one Windows 7 image. Since I couldn't find a comprehensive guide (there are few, but they still miss some helpful information), I glued them all together and made my own. Just remember, that making of an image must be done on a 64-bit operating system, otherwise you will encounter problems.
There are lots of choices when it comes to VoiP software, I chose TeamSpeak because it was the first one I've ever used. Switched to Skype later on, but when Microsoft acquired it I wasn't really happy about my privacy as they let agencies listen on people's calls and quite intrusive adds started popping up, so I decided to build my own TeamSpeak server, which turns out to be extremely easy. Just download, extract and run. Though I'm still going to put installation details on paper, well, the internet in this case.
I recently ran out of storage on one of my VMs and a great thing about LVM is that everything can be done on the fly. Provisioned additional storage to a running machine in vSphere, and with few simple commands extended my currently full root partition. LVM has a hierarchy-like structure where all your Physical Volumes can be pooled into Volume Groups, which hold your Logical Volumes. So, first of all we have to deal with physical side of things by adding Physical Volume to Volume Group.
The first time I tried Apache, I didn't really care about security or configuration tuning, because it runs fine right off the bat, just drop your website in /www and you're live. Since my site is exposed now, I've decided to compile some of my configurations to avoid mistakes in the future if I ever try to run it again. I was mainly confused by Virtual Hosts, but it didn't take long to figure them out, Apache documentation is amazing. I'm running 2.2.22 version at the moment, weirdly current Ubuntu apt-get package list doesn't include 2.4 version, which is slightly faster and has few new modules. If you want 2.4.x, download it from here.
Best way to protect your SSH server is to use encrypted keys. Download PuTTY and PuTTYGen. Run puttygen.exe, press 'Generate', move around your mouse cursor in the gray area. Enter a pass phrase, though don't forget it as you will need it, when connecting to your machine. You can also leave it blank, but it makes connection less secure albeit more convenient. Save public and private keys and don't close the window yet. Connect to your GNU/Linux machine with a user you wish to secure and create a file.
Most of this guide will suit other GNU/Linux distributions, especially Debian/Ubuntu. I chose Debian because it is most stable and secure. I won't go into much detail with OS setup itself, but start with downloading an ISO image. If you're planning to host a server with more than 4GB of RAM go with amd64 version of the operating system, otherwise choose i386. From the large file list pick 'debian-*-CD1.iso.torrent', burn it/flash it, boot it. Installation is pretty straight forward, keep reading and choose what is best for your location and server setup. If you have no idea what you're doing, refer to this guide, just don't forget during package selection to tick 'OpenSSH Server' and untick 'Graphical Desktop Environment', you don't need a GUI, really. Wait for installation to complete.
Download Cygwin. Choose installation location. It's best not to pick a directory path with spaces in it, then location for all the packages you will be downloading, and finally a mirror, preferably a location close to you. This is an important bit - package selection. If you're not familiar with linux just type in "openssh" in the search box and collapse the "Net" directory. Tick the [X] box in the "Bin" selection column and press next. Accept additional libraries that comes along with it. Also you can run Cygwin setup.exe again if you need additional packages. You won't be reinstalling the application, it will detect current packages on your system.
