More secure deployments via ssh

If we deploy an application automatically we have to grant the CI (Continuous Integration) access to the server. Common practice is to do that via a GitLab Runner or an ssh account on the server.

Personally I would not recommend using a GitLab Runner for deployments, because you have to maintain it. Another potential issue is, that you normally register runners for your whole GitLab instance or groups. That results in a scenario in which everyone can use that runner and accidentally (or not) destroy, for example, your production server. To avoid that you have to register the GitLab Runner in the Project it belongs to only. But even then your production server can be misused as a build worker and therefore create performance issues.

Install cmake 3.11.1 on Ubuntu

Sometimes you just want a newer version than ubuntu ships. This code will update cmake to version 3.11.1 or any other version you want.

Automatic VirtualBox module signing for UEFI

These steps are for all those people who hate to sign the Virtualbox modules every time and don’t want to disable UEFI.

Ubuntu: automatic password for second encrypted disk

I just encountered the problem that I have to type two passwords at startup, for two encrypted disks. My first disk is encrypted through the Ubuntu installer. After some searching I found the perfect solution for that task. In german, it’s called “Schlüsselableitung”, in English derived keys. But perfect solutions often have a big issue why they don’t work, like here. I’m using Ubuntu 16.04 which uses ´systemd´, and that has problems with derived keys. So I found the second most perfect solution for me, using a key-file. Some people argue that this is a security issue, but the derived key is also obtainable with root rights, just like a key-file. And by the way, your private keys of your certificates are also stored on that disks and nearly nobody complains about that.

Installing Redmine 3.0 on clean Ubuntu 14.04

In this tutorial we will install Redmine on a clean installation of Ubuntu server 14.04 with an Apache server and MySql. Redmine wil be reachable under the subdomain redmine.example.com.