Reclaiming an Old Laptop

I’ve had my fair share of old laptops collecting dust, but instead of throwing them away, I like to breathe new life into them. Recently, I found an old laptop in my storage room and decided to install Fedora, a lightweight and secure Linux distribution. This project was a great way to learn about the current state of Linux on older hardware and to create a useful device for everyday tasks. I’ve seen this go wrong when people try to install a resource-intensive distribution on old hardware, so it’s essential to choose the right one.

Introduction to My Home Server Migration

I’ve been running Ubuntu on my home server for years, but after the 2025 release, I decided it was time for a change. I chose Fedora as my new distribution, mainly due to its bleeding-edge packages and robust community support. This article documents my journey of replacing Ubuntu with Fedora on my home server, including the tweaks, lessons learned, and trade-offs I encountered along the way.

Introduction to My Home Server Setup

I’ve been running Ubuntu on my home server for years, but after the 2025 release of Fedora 38, I decided it was time to switch. The prospect of using the latest Linux kernel, improved systemd integration, and a more streamlined package manager was too enticing to resist. In this article, I’ll walk you through the process of replacing Ubuntu with Fedora on my home server, highlighting what broke and how I fixed it.

Introduction to My Home Server Migration

I recently decided to ditch Ubuntu for Fedora on my home server, and as expected, some things didn’t quite work out of the box. In this article, I’ll walk you through the issues I encountered and how I managed to fix them. My home server is a pretty straightforward setup, with a few services like SSH, HTTP, and NFS, so I thought the transition would be relatively smooth. But, as it often does, reality had other plans.

Introduction to My Linux Migration

I’ve been an Ubuntu user for years, but after the 2025 release, I figured it was time to try something new. Fedora’s been on my radar, and as someone who’s always tinkering with Linux, I thought, why not? In this article, I’ll share my experience of ditching Ubuntu for Fedora on my laptop, including the tweaks and surprises I encountered along the way.

Preparing for the Migration

Before making the switch, I backed up all my important files using rsync to an external hard drive - don’t bother with anything less, you never know when you’ll need it. I also made a list of the packages I had installed on Ubuntu, so I could easily reinstall them on Fedora. To get a feel for the Fedora environment, I created a virtual machine using virt-manager and played around with the distribution before committing to a full installation. This is where people usually get burned, so take your time and test things out.

Introduction to Self-Hosting

I’ve spent years running my own Linux servers, and over time, I’ve experimented with a bunch of self-hosted services. Recently, I decided to take a step back and simplify my setup. This involved figuring out what actually works for me and what I’d self-host again on Linux.

Choosing the Right Services

It’s easy to get carried away with all the services available for self-hosting. I’ve seen this go wrong when people try to host too many services at once. The real trick is to prioritize what’s truly necessary. For me, that includes a personal wiki, a photo gallery, and a Git server. These services are crucial for my daily workflow and personal projects.

Artificial Intelligence Powered Intrusion Detection Systems for Linux

As a Senior Linux Security Architect, I have witnessed significant advancements in the field of Linux security, particularly with the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS). In 2025, we saw a surge in the adoption of AI-powered IDS, and now in 2026, this trend continues to gain momentum.

Introduction to AI-Powered IDS

AI-powered IDS utilizes machine learning algorithms to analyze network traffic and identify potential security threats. These systems can learn from experience, adapt to new patterns, and detect anomalies that may evade traditional signature-based IDS. The use of AI in IDS has improved the accuracy of threat detection, reduced false positives, and enhanced the overall security posture of Linux systems.

Implementing Post-Quantum Cryptography in Linux: A Technical Deep Dive

The advent of quantum computing poses a significant threat to classical cryptographic systems, prompting the need for post-quantum cryptography (PQC) solutions. As a Senior Linux Security Architect, I will delve into the technical implementation of open-source PQC in Linux, exploring the current state of PQC, its integration into the Linux kernel, and the mitigation of potential attacks using MITRE ATT&CK techniques.

Countering AI-Powered Rootkits with Hardware-Root-of-Trust on Linux

The escalating threat landscape of Linux systems has led to the development of sophisticated rootkits, some of which are now powered by artificial intelligence (AI). These AI-driven rootkits can evade detection by traditional security measures, making them a significant concern for system administrators and security professionals. To counter this threat, we can leverage the concept of a Hardware-Root-of-Trust (HRoT) on Linux systems.

Understanding AI-Powered Rootkits

AI-powered rootkits utilize machine learning algorithms to analyze system calls, network traffic, and other system activities to evade detection by security software. They can also adapt to changing system configurations and security measures, making them highly resilient. According to the MITRE ATT&CK framework, these rootkits can employ various techniques, including:

Introduction to XZ Utils and Supply Chain Threats

XZ Utils is a suite of data compression tools that are widely used in Linux distributions. The compression utility, known as xz, is often used to compress and decompress files, particularly in software packages and archives. However, the XZ Utils have been found to be vulnerable to backdoor-style supply chain threats, which can have severe consequences for Linux security. In this blog post, we will analyze the latest XZ Utils backdoor-style supply chain threats and discuss the potential risks and mitigations.