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I find I'm often writing batch scripts to 'do stuff' and whilst most are in Powershell the old 'DOS' CLI still has it's uses. So when a script as done stuff - or failed - it's useful to know and so the ability to send an email is helpful. There are various tools out there - such as Blat - but my current favourite is SwithMail, at v 2.2.4.0 as I [...] Read more

Sometimes it is useful to be able to capture a complete website for archival or testing purposes off line. First and foremost, it's worth noting that sometimes this is just not possible, due to the dynamic nature of the site or how it is structured. But... there are some decent tools out there which are worth investigating. HTTrack To jump to our [...] Read more

I've just been setting up some Mint boxes (& Ubuntu too but that's another story..) for a client and set up RDP access so I could remotely login for support and so on. Her's how to do it. Open a Terminal session in Mint. (Menu or Crtl+Alt+T) Install the FOSS XRDP protocol server, by this command. sudo apt install xrdp Find the IP address of [...] Read more

This site is written in the GetSimple CMS, which has been around for many years (2009) and like much FOSS is not updated regularly, as the original developers change jobs, change lives etc. But in the last few years, a 'community edition' has been forked, which is backwardly compatible but also allows for use on more modern systems - such as [...] Read more

I recently installed some Draytek 2865 routers and noticed that whilst being very similar to the 2862 series, they now include WireGuard as a VPN option. Now Wireguard is a new-ish (2016) VPN 'standard' which is Open Source and freely available for most operating systems - Linux, Android, Windows and Macs. It is simple to set up and very fast and [...] Read more

This is very fast, works well, is well supported and, of course FOSS. https://github.com/qarmin/czkawka/releases/tag/8.0.0

A few years ago we talked about using DISM to edit the 'Edition' of Windows to go from Datacentre to Standard and also converting evaluation versions to full versions so a VLA could be installed. We recently cam across some FOSS which simplifies this and also allows keys to be removed, inspected and inserted. Go along to Gravesoft and check out [...] Read more

This used to be possible on older versions of Windows but now it is not possible to connect to a VPN until after one logs on, without some creative effort. There are several ways to archive this but they all end up with a new icon on the pre logon screen so one can open a VPN to a remote Domain and then logon as a normal Domain PC or laptop. [...] Read more