The Ghost Operator's Signal
When you first see a file in Linux, the three-letter string that starts with -rw-r--r-- can look like an alien language.
It tells the system who can read, write, or execute that file. Don’t worry – it’s just a set of rules.
In this post we’ll break those rules down into bite-sized pieces and give you a handy cheat sheet for the most common chmod commands.
Every system admin has a moment when a simple “look at that file” turns
into a three-hour hunt for information. That’s where the old friends
grep, head, tail, cut, less and sed come in. They’re not
fancy new tools; they’re tried-and-true helpers that can save you hours
of repetitive work.
DeadSwitch investigates open source tools not for visibility, but for survival.
No sponsorships. No affiliate codes. No fake enthusiasm.
He moves through the noise, testing what matters – what can be trusted, what can be hardened, what deserves a place in the ghost stack.
This time, it’s Passbolt.
Continue reading “Password Management For Ghosts – Passbolt”
Noise is a weapon. Use it wisely.
The ghost makes sound when needed.
Active recon is signal returned – a dance of questions and echoes.
You make noise to extract truth. But every scan is a footprint.
Controlled, quiet, deliberate – or you’re caught before you begin.
The blade waits. The ghost listens.
You listen before you strike.
Every network hums. Every domain leaks. You don’t touch the system – you listen.
Passive recon is the art of silence. No scans. No log entries. No alerts.
Just eyes, logic, and open signals bleeding into the void.
The blade is legal. The hand must be clean.
Welcome to the edge.
This is not a playground. This is the wire. The digital warfront. You want to hack with purpose – then learn the rules. A blade in the dark is only justified if your hand is clean. That means ethics, permission, scope, and discipline.
Let’s break it down.
By DeadSwitch | The Cyber Ghost
“Your thoughts should never be anyone’s business. Encrypt the silence.”
In a world obsessed with sharing, I write to forget – not to be remembered by others. My journal isn’t a scrapbook for dopamine or a backup for someone else’s algorithm. It’s a log of operations, and operations require secrecy.
So I encrypt mine. With Emacs. In plain text.
This is how DeadSwitch keeps a daily log that even the digital gods can’t peek into.
Why Encrypt a Journal?
Because the mind is sacred.
Because ideas are weapons.
Because tomorrow’s threat often begins with yesterday’s leak.
Encrypted journaling isn’t about fear. It’s about respect – for your thoughts, your process, your silence.
The Setup – Emacs, Org-mode, and GPG
Here’s the toolbox:
org-cryptEmacs Configuration
Drop this into your config:
(require 'org-crypt)
(setq org-tags-exclude-from-inheritance '("crypt"))
(setq org-crypt-key nil) ;; uses your default GPG key
(org-crypt-use-before-save-magic)
This tells Emacs to automatically encrypt any headline tagged with :crypt: before saving.
Decryption happens only when you open the file – and stays in RAM.
A Sample Entry
* May 2025 :crypt:
** [2025-05-04 Sun]
- 5k run - 22:18 [2025-05-04 Sun 09:06]
- Cold shower - difficulty: easy [2025-05-04 Sun 09:28]
- New idea: Emacs Lisp for internal ops [2025-05-04 Sun 14:24]
Your operations, encrypted. Your timestamps, precise. Your log, protected.
Timestamps and Logging Shortcuts
C-c . – insert dateC-u C-c . – insert date and timeC-c ! – inactive timestampC-u C-c ! – inactive date and timeYou want traceability without noise. Emacs delivers.
Why Not Notion, Joplin, Obsidian, or Others?
Because I don’t trust clouds.
Because their encryption isn’t mine.
Because their sync means exposure.
Because when I type, I want code – not JavaScript trying to sell me my own thoughts.
Final Note
“Encryption is not paranoia. It is self-respect.”
Your mind is a fortress. Don’t leave the gate open.
Security Tools That Cost Nothing but Save Everything
Some build walls.
We build fire.
“If your words pass through the wrong gate, they’re no longer yours.”
– DeadSwitch
Email is the first window into your system.
It’s the trailhead of phishing, leaks, impersonation, and silent watchers.
Yet most small businesses still shout through the loudest gates :: Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo.
The servers scan. The ads personalize.
The watchers smile.
You need a quieter way.
By DeadSwitch | The Cyber Ghost
“In silence, we rise. In the switch, we fade.”
Modern web applications are never just one service.
They’re a fortress of moving parts – and every connection is a potential attack surface.
If you’re still putting the entire stack into one fat container…
You’re building your future breach.
Resist in the Light: How to Migrate from Proprietary to FOSS Tools, Safely
They sell you convenience.
They extract your freedom.
This ends now.
By DeadSwitch
You think you have 2FA?
You think you’re safe because your logins need a second factor?
Then you go and store your TOTP codes in the same password manager that holds your passwords.
You’ve built a fortress. Then you handed the keys and the spare keys to the same person.
Continue reading “Your TOTP is Not a Second Factor :: If You Store It Wrong”
“The loudest team wins attention. The quietest team survives the breach.”
– DeadSwitch
They said “just use Teams.”
They said “Slack is fine.”
But behind every cheerful emoji and corporate integration… the watchers log.
Transcripts archived. Metadata mapped.
Sometimes not by you.
“In shadows, the strongest signal is trust.”
You don’t expose your secrets to the streets. You don’t hang your backend out for the world to poke.
You proxy.
Continue reading “🧊 DeadSwitch Technical Dispatch // Fortify the Flow: Proxy Frontlines & The Truth in Certificates”
In the world of chaos, where every exposed port is a door for the enemy, DeadSwitch doesn’t just lock the doors—we automate. We create shields that rise without a command. Ansible is our tool of choice, a silent executor that commands the system without a whisper.
Your server is vulnerable by default, but with the power of automation, you can fortify it. UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) is our first line of defense, and DeadSwitch doesn’t do things manually. We automate the walls, making them strong, silent, and ever-ready. Here’s how to lock down incoming traffic with Ansible, ensuring only the trusted can pass through.
Continue reading “Automating UFW Configuration with Ansible: Locking Down the Digital Fortress”
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