Month: March 2018

Securing pfSense SSH2…

Posted on by dk

So, as exposing the HTTPS administration page of pfSense to the big, bad, Internet is a big “no no”, the only proper way should be to set up SSH2 and allow port forwarding.

Now, there are already articles out there telling you that using username+passwords to secure SSH2 is not the way to go… Using certificates is. However, I wanted more… I wanted both… Why is it that pfSense will only allow one or the other when sshd already allows enforcement of both?

So, once again, rolling up my sleeves, I dived into the murky waters of the pfSense shell…

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Software Firewall…

Posted on by dk

The Problem

I have been using an Asus RT-AC68U, followed by an RT-AC87U, running Merlin’s firmware with customised firewall scripts for the longest time. However, both units had a persistent issue with some (not all) sites being inaccessible, total resets and re-configuration from scratch regardless.

Having confirmed it was an issue with the router(s) and not the firmware nor firewall rules nor server-side blocks, and not being able to find a solution, I decided to just utilise a software firewall. One that I knew well and trusted was/is pfSense.

The Other Problem

At the very same time, I finally discovered that the boot failures of my server was actually due to the PSU (read other Amazon reviews citing similar fan-spin-up-then-dies failures). Having not had time to look at the frequently (and randomly rebooting server), I finally purchased whatever SFX module that was in stock at the local “IT complex” – another Silverstone SST-SX600-G unit… Crossing my fingers that the PSU was the culprit…

2018/06/04 Update: Nope, false hope again… Server is still rebooting rather “randomly” despite using a brand new Corsair SF600…

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