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opinions on home email services

by Mike Peckar

Hi, I've noted that many of you host your own email and file servers, and I've wanted to do this for several years, but I've been avoiding taking this on myself. This is due to the time investment (to learn tech I don't necessarily want to learn) and the added weight of responsibility for security. Quite frankly, I'm getting lazy in my old age and I'm considering a packaged solution/service like The Helm. I guess my question is, are the tech barriers to setting up a home email server really as formidable as claimed in the below justification from The Helm's web site? If a lazy guy like me sets up an email server, but then doesn't get around to applying security updates for half a year, is he just asking to be hacked? For context, I am a local Charter customer with a standard internet-only subscription. From: https://blog.thehelm.com/post/how-helm-works-part-1-networking [quoted text] For an email server to send and receive email with other servers on the internet, they need port 25 to be open. Unfortunately, ISPs in the U.S. block port 25 by default, a practice started in the 90s when home computers were hacked and turned into open relays abused for spamming. Sometimes it’s possible to get this port unblocked, but it’s not uncommon for the ISP to ask for a significantly more expensive class of service in exchange. ISPs also typically assign dynamic IPs to residential internet connections. Large email service providers block residential dynamic IPs en masse also due to the issue raised above. While it’s possible to get a static IP address from your ISP, they will charge for it and potentially require a more expensive class of service. PTR records, or reverse DNS, is also a key requirement for trustworthiness when setting up an email server. Getting this type of record with a residential internet connection can be a significant challenge and may also incur additional costs. To summarize, port blocking, dynamic IPs and challenges in establishing a PTR record all interfere with easily running an email server at home. It can cost hundreds of dollars per year and consist of a significant investment of time with your ISP to get things set up just right. After thinking about this problem and experimenting for a while, we managed to find a better way. [end quoted text] Thanks, Mike

June 15, 2021

Re: WLUG Meeting tomorrow! June 10th, 2021 at 7pm!

by Jon "maddog" Hall

I enjoyed the meeting, but I had to leave quickly too. My spouse was calling on another line, and I think most of us can understand and forgive the situation. md On Fri, Jun 11, 2021 at 9:52 AM Tim Keller via WLUG <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> wrote: > No worries! > > We wrapped up the meeting by ~930, finished by Maddog regaling us with > tails of IBM! > > I hope to soon hear from the Technopia people and then we can decide what > we want to do. > > Later, > Tim. > > On Thu, Jun 10, 2021 at 10:44 PM Keith Wright via WLUG < > wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> wrote: > >> Tim Keller via WLUG <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> writes: >> >> >> > We've got a WLUG meeting tomorrow June 10th, 2021 at 7pm. >> >> Sorry I left the meeting so abruptly. >> I am not sure if I pushed the wrong button, >> or if one of the ten-thousand loose connections >> that we call internet service, jiggled. >> >> Suddenly I was not connected. >> >> At that point reality shook me and said: >> That's enough anyway! >> >> It did not seem worth the time to log back on >> just to make a tearfull goodbye. >> >> Good Bye <snif>, >> >> -- Keith >> >> _______________________________________________ >> WLUG mailing list -- wlug(a)lists.wlug.org >> To unsubscribe send an email to wlug-leave(a)lists.wlug.org >> Create Account: https://wlug.mailman3.com/accounts/signup/ >> Change Settings: >> https://wlug.mailman3.com/postorius/lists/wlug.lists.wlug.org/ >> Web Forum/Archive: >> https://wlug.mailman3.com/hyperkitty/list/wlug@lists.wlug.org/message/MWQAE… >> > > > -- > I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their > constituents as "consumers". > _______________________________________________ > WLUG mailing list -- wlug(a)lists.wlug.org > To unsubscribe send an email to wlug-leave(a)lists.wlug.org > Create Account: https://wlug.mailman3.com/accounts/signup/ > Change Settings: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/postorius/lists/wlug.lists.wlug.org/ > Web Forum/Archive: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/hyperkitty/list/wlug@lists.wlug.org/message/QZUIH… >

June 11, 2021

Re: WLUG Meeting tomorrow! June 10th, 2021 at 7pm!

by Tim Keller

No worries! We wrapped up the meeting by ~930, finished by Maddog regaling us with tails of IBM! I hope to soon hear from the Technopia people and then we can decide what we want to do. Later, Tim. On Thu, Jun 10, 2021 at 10:44 PM Keith Wright via WLUG <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> wrote: > Tim Keller via WLUG <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> writes: > > > > We've got a WLUG meeting tomorrow June 10th, 2021 at 7pm. > > Sorry I left the meeting so abruptly. > I am not sure if I pushed the wrong button, > or if one of the ten-thousand loose connections > that we call internet service, jiggled. > > Suddenly I was not connected. > > At that point reality shook me and said: > That's enough anyway! > > It did not seem worth the time to log back on > just to make a tearfull goodbye. > > Good Bye <snif>, > > -- Keith > > _______________________________________________ > WLUG mailing list -- wlug(a)lists.wlug.org > To unsubscribe send an email to wlug-leave(a)lists.wlug.org > Create Account: https://wlug.mailman3.com/accounts/signup/ > Change Settings: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/postorius/lists/wlug.lists.wlug.org/ > Web Forum/Archive: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/hyperkitty/list/wlug@lists.wlug.org/message/MWQAE… > -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

June 11, 2021

Re: WLUG Meeting tomorrow! June 10th, 2021 at 7pm!

by Keith Wright

Tim Keller via WLUG <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> writes: > We've got a WLUG meeting tomorrow June 10th, 2021 at 7pm. Sorry I left the meeting so abruptly. I am not sure if I pushed the wrong button, or if one of the ten-thousand loose connections that we call internet service, jiggled. Suddenly I was not connected. At that point reality shook me and said: That's enough anyway! It did not seem worth the time to log back on just to make a tearfull goodbye. Good Bye <snif>, -- Keith

June 11, 2021

WLUG Meeting tomorrow! June 10th, 2021 at 7pm!

by Tim Keller

Hey Everybody, We've got a WLUG meeting tomorrow June 10th, 2021 at 7pm. This will be a totally virtual meeting, but hopefully our last!! Topic: I thought I'd give a quick update on my CNC machine and my quest to have a full FOSS toolchain.. what's worked, what hasn't, etc. I expect that'll only take a couple of minutes and then we'll move on to our usual banter! Location: https://meet.jit.si/WlugMA See ya there! Later, Tim. -- I am leery of the allegiances of any politician who refers to their constituents as "consumers".

June 9, 2021

PipeWire pro audio support

by Joshua Stone

Hey everyone! The PipeWire project has been an exciting project to follow, as there has been heavy development for broad audio use case coverage: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/wikis/home https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/blob/master/NEWS It seems that the developers are currently prioritizing pro-audio use cases as of late: https://twitter.com/PipewireP/status/1401885732587847680 >A little question for our pro-audio friends out there. Now that we got freewheeling and latency reporting implemented, what is at the top of your wishlist for PipeWire features? This should be quite exciting! I've tried several DAWs over the years, and admittedly they seemed to require more effort than necessary to configure correctly with the Linux audio stack. I'm hoping PipeWire will be able to resolve this weakness! What do you think could use more improvement? - Josh

June 7, 2021

Re: Fedora 34 updates

by joshua.gage.stone＠gmail.com

Hey Ron, Under normal circumstances, `dnf upgrade` will decide to automatically update its metadata depending on the age of the cache: $ dnf repolist --verbose | grep --extended-regexp '^Repo-(id|expire)' Last metadata expiration check: 0:03:23 ago on Fri 21 May 2021 10:18:52 AM EDT. Repo-id : fedora Repo-expire : 604,800 second(s) (last: Sat 15 May 2021 12:40:46 AM EDT) Repo-id : fedora-cisco-openh264 Repo-expire : 1,209,600 second(s) (last: Fri 21 May 2021 10:18:40 AM EDT) Repo-id : google-chrome Repo-expire : 172,800 second(s) (last: Fri 21 May 2021 10:18:50 AM EDT) Repo-id : rpmfusion-free Repo-expire : 1,209,600 second(s) (last: Fri 21 May 2021 10:18:50 AM EDT) Repo-id : rpmfusion-free-updates Repo-expire : 172,800 second(s) (last: Fri 21 May 2021 10:18:51 AM EDT) Repo-id : rpmfusion-nonfree Repo-expire : 1,209,600 second(s) (last: Fri 21 May 2021 10:18:51 AM EDT) Repo-id : rpmfusion-nonfree-updates Repo-expire : 172,800 second(s) (last: Fri 21 May 2021 10:18:52 AM EDT) Repo-id : updates Repo-expire : 21,600 second(s) (last: Fri 21 May 2021 10:18:43 AM EDT) This has the benefit of keeping package metadata up to date so installing outdated packages doesn't happen often. Running `dnf upgrade --refresh` will have a similar effect to `apt update && apt full-upgrade`, where you'd be forcing a metadata cache update with every upgrade. You can also force dnf to stick to just the local cache and skip metadata updates with `dnf upgrade --cacheonly`. You can learn more about different supported options by running `dnf upgrade --help`. - Josh On Fri, 2021-05-21 at 14:08 +0000, THE HAMMER via WLUG wrote: > I just installed Fedora 34 on a "junk laptop" to play along with. > Looked on line and wound up with a couple different answers, and so > perhaps they are all correct. My question is when I want to update > all the packages in the lap top what is the correct/best command? > > Also what is the difference between > > dnf upgrade > > and > > dnf upgrade --refresh > > Thanks > > Ron > _______________________________________________ > WLUG mailing list -- wlug(a)lists.wlug.org > To unsubscribe send an email to wlug-leave(a)lists.wlug.org > Create Account: https://wlug.mailman3.com/accounts/signup/ > Change Settings: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/postorius/lists/wlug.lists.wlug.org/ > Web Forum/Archive: > https://wlug.mailman3.com/hyperkitty/list/wlug@lists.wlug.org/message/X4PAR…

May 21, 2021

Re: [EXT] Fedora 34 updates

by Krichevsky, Nicholas J.

Unlike something like apt, dnf periodically refreshes its caches (I don't know what the condition is off the top of my head). Using just dnf upgrade will either 1) use the current local version of the caches, if it still considers them valid or 2) perform a refresh. Once that happens, it will calculate the upgrade. Adding --refresh forces #2. I usually opt for --refresh just to make sure I have the latest packages. ________________________________ From: THE HAMMER via WLUG <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> Sent: Friday, May 21, 2021 10:08:57 AM To: WLUG LIST <wlug(a)lists.wlug.org> Cc: THE HAMMER <hammerron(a)hotmail.com> Subject: [EXT] [WLUG] Fedora 34 updates I just installed Fedora 34 on a "junk laptop" to play along with. Looked on line and wound up with a couple different answers, and so perhaps they are all correct. My question is when I want to update all the packages in the lap top what is the correct/best command? Also what is the difference between dnf upgrade and dnf upgrade --refresh Thanks Ron

May 21, 2021

Fedora 34 updates

by THE HAMMER

I just installed Fedora 34 on a "junk laptop" to play along with. Looked on line and wound up with a couple different answers, and so perhaps they are all correct. My question is when I want to update all the packages in the lap top what is the correct/best command? Also what is the difference between dnf upgrade and dnf upgrade --refresh Thanks Ron

May 21, 2021

Re: Carbon-neutral living

by Chris Thompson

Great start, thanks Joshua! Definitely agree that moving heat is one of the better items to be considering. There are a good few options for the ground-based systems depending on space available and funds. You hit on some YT channels that I typically look at on renewable/green info. One that I'd add to that pile is "Just Have a Think": https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRBwLPbXGsI2cJe9W1zfSjQ There's also a couple Tesla fan-boys @ "Now You Know". They do a good job covering some interesting renewable tech outside of Tesla as well, including other new (generally electric) transportation options and more: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMFmrcGuFNu_59L0pHcR0OA As an aside, Battery Hookup is great for sourcing used low-cycle count batteries that are ideal for things like DIY power-walls for home solar, if you really want to geek out on storage. They've also got a few (small-scale - i.e. camping-size) solar items still available from the Renogy liquidation sale that started a few days ago: https://batteryhookup.com/ (use a code on checkout - BATTERY or DIY normally work for at least 5%) Regards, Chris On 5/14/21 1:45 PM, joshua.gage.stone--- via WLUG wrote: > Hey everyone! > > Thanks for another night full of discussion covering many interesting > topics! > > I'm interested to learn more about everyone's longterm plans for > carbon-neutral/carbon-negative living! My wife and I have been > researching on this topic for some time as we believe there are > numerous benefits in reducing energy requirements, and we hope that > when it comes time to become home owners we'll be able to start from > the ground up with this type of living ingrained in our household! > > It turns out that there's a *lot* of room for improvement in energy > efficiency, and by extension, carbon reduction. While I think > transition to green energy is immensely important as a longterm plan, I > also think it's important for us to evaluate ways to reduce our carbon > footprint as individuals > > Examples include: > > - Switching to induction stoves which are more efficient and safer than > traditional electric stoves > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pftcQ6NGPfc > > - Switching to heat pump dryers for reducing energy usage with the > added bonus of eliminating the need for vents > > https://www.energystar.gov/products/heat_pump_dryer > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh-j0sWBEJA > > - Switching to heat pump water heaters > > https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/heat-pump-water-heaters > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omivdhxdGv0 > > - Switching to air-source/ground-source heat pumps to replacing > gas/oil/electric heating for hot water and heating > > https://www.energystar.gov/products/heating_cooling/heat_pumps_geothermal > https://www.energystar.gov/products/heating_cooling/heat_pumps_air_source > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zrx-b2sLUs > > I think heat pump technology could be very promising for a wide number > of applications, as it turns out that the most efficient way to work > with heat is to simply *move* it around, rather than generate more heat > through gas, oil, etc. With climate change and global warming being an > existential threat, the last thing we want to do is add more heat to > the problem! > > > A more ambitious longterm goal my wife and I have is that we would like > to someday have a house built to Passive House standards, which is said > to reduce home heating requirements by up to 90%: > > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=secB3R0sIYU > https://phmass.org/ > https://www.buildwithrise.com/stories/texas-passive-house-weathered-the-202… > https://zeroenergy.com/portfolio/all-projects > https://zeroenergyproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/RPA_Scranton_Passi… > https://www.phius.org/home-page > > Something I find especially interesting about Passive Houses is that > they're often able to achieve net positive energy production and EV > charging with even a modust solar panel installation. This means they > can give back to the power grid with fewer panels compared to other > houses built to code, reducing the total environmental impact from > solar panel manufacturing. > > Of course, there's a high upfront monetary cost to transitioning to > eco-friendly living, but at least there are programs in place to help: > > https://www.masssave.com/ > https://multifamily.fanniemae.com/financing-options/specialty-financing/gre… > > > Hope to hear everyone's thoughts! > > > - Josh > > _______________________________________________ > WLUG mailing list -- wlug(a)lists.wlug.org > To unsubscribe send an email to wlug-leave(a)lists.wlug.org > Create Account: https://wlug.mailman3.com/accounts/signup/ > Change Settings: https://wlug.mailman3.com/postorius/lists/wlug.lists.wlug.org/ > Web Forum/Archive: https://wlug.mailman3.com/hyperkitty/list/wlug@lists.wlug.org/message/ZD5QG…

May 14, 2021