Install and Configure WSL: From Zero to Productive
A practical guide to installing WSL on Windows, configuring your Linux user, moving files between Windows and Linux, and going further with web servers, PowerShell, and VS Code.
Posts
Zero-Byte Deploys and Zombie Jobs: A Failover War Story
Building a 60-second failover standby for my dev environment — and the two outages that taught me to never trust an all-green deploy chain.
Three Machines, One Shell: Relaying Commands from an AI Agent to WSL via a VPS
A persistent, bidirectional command channel between an AI agent VM, a small VPS relay, and a Windows laptop's WSL — what each piece does, how to set it up, and the dozen pitfalls I actually hit.
Protecting a PowerShell Watchdog Script from Tampering
A scheduled PowerShell script running as SYSTEM is a high-value target. Lock it down with NTFS ACLs, code signing, auditing, and central deployment.
Create a Watchdog in Windows: Keep Your Cellular APN Correct and Connected
A scheduled PowerShell watchdog that checks the Windows WWAN APN every 5 minutes and reinstalls the profile and reconnects when it drifts.
Tailscale Postmortem: Control Plane vs SSH Failures
A Tailscale terminal-access postmortem: separate control-plane failures from SSH, trace TCP resets, and choose an authenticated access path.
Copilot for Windows Admins: Which One Do You Actually Need?
A practical guide to Microsoft Copilot, Microsoft 365, GitHub Copilot, phone and web apps, IDE integrations, prices, and alternatives.
SSH Tunnel to VPS: A Reverse Tunnel Blocked by Egress Filtering
A reverse SSH tunnel test with an Oracle Cloud VPS, Ubuntu socket activation, proxy diagnostics, and the egress policy that stopped connectivity.
Windows 11 Hardening: 5 Areas I Lock Down
Practical Windows 11 hardening steps for local accounts, network protocols, Remote Desktop, memory integrity, and Defender ASR rules.
WSL Update Failed with 1618
How to troubleshoot and fix WSL update error 1618 (Wsl/UpdatePackage/0x80070652) caused by concurrent Windows Installer locks and pending system reboots.