reluctant_squidd

I would learn the following at some point (not in order):

• nftables - specifically how tables/chains/rules interact and how to use them correctly (this is a learning process)
• ssh - using non-default port key-only authentication.
• custom routing - more advanced, but is very handy if you plan to have services talking to each other in non-typical ways.
• openvpn and WireGuard - pros/cons, what they do and how they can make connecting to things more secure.
• podman - docker alternative that is imo more secure and open. It can run services in a non-root enabled way (rootless) which is great with you get it working, but can be hard to get there.

Above are more on personal preference in some cases. There are so many options to do things in the Linux world.

Be careful relying on AI to do this stuff for you. I’ve reviewed some generated nft configs that left things wide open in some cases, or added needless fluff that worked, but caused bottlenecks. Better to know what it is doing, so you can catch when it is confidently incorrect.

Ofc, if you want to go back to basics, you should first dive into the file system, data storage, permissions and ownership. Without those, the rest might not be able to protect you no matter how well they are setup.

If I am following, there are a few ways, which shouldn’t involve hacks in nft, but you would need it allowing at least localhost traffic, which I assume you do already.

The keyword “localhost” usually will only work within a network or pod on rootless, however there is a separate address that can work.

host.containers.internal

I use it quite often for extra-user and pod communication. Hopefully this helps.

I setup custom bash scripts eons ago to handle all my subuid/gid and networking stuff, and I’m on the road now, so getting into the code is harder. If I have time tonight, I’ll reply back with how I did it for rootless.

I run everything in rootless podman with quadlets. Be prepared for the docker die-hard crowd to tell you podman is inferior, but it really isn’t. At least not in my 10ish years using it. Is it harder to get going? Sure, but the extra abstraction layer for security is worth it imo.

I have to get ready to update my scripts for the podman 6.0 changes upcoming, but otherwise they pretty much run themselves. Systemd gets a lot of hate sometimes, but when you get it working, it’s pretty much automated.

Want to have program x run after condition y. Use targets, sockets or a small monitor service. I have encrypted volumes that require me to enter the unlock password before they will unlock, the services will just wait until that is done.

Networking and permission issues? Run a pod. Podman unshare is also your friend.

The biggest thing I found getting everything figured out is the lack of step-by-step instructions on how it all works. The docs help, but can be a bit confusing/ambiguous at times.

Feel free to dm me if you have a specific question and I’d be glad to try and help. Just might be a bit delayed on responses for the next bit while I’m travelling.

Everyone unplug from the internet?

I feel like this should be a quarterly post. Really liking all these setups.