Left your AWS keys in public code? Ouch. That 4 AM commit could cost you a fortune. This article dives into why "just deleting it" isn't enough and how to build bulletproof protection against this common dev blunder. Stop handing hackers your server keys!
bigmike.help/en/posts/sec...
bigmike.help/en/posts/sec...
Secrets in code — how to avoid giving hackers the keys to your server | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and business
Complete guide to protecting Git repositories for beginners: why deleting isn't enough, how to configure .env/.gitignore and automatic protection using Git …
bigmike.help
January 13, 2026 at 8:16 AM
Left your AWS keys in public code? Ouch. That 4 AM commit could cost you a fortune. This article dives into why "just deleting it" isn't enough and how to build bulletproof protection against this common dev blunder. Stop handing hackers your server keys!
bigmike.help/en/posts/sec...
bigmike.help/en/posts/sec...
Your Dockerfiles are chunky, slow, and making your security team cry? This post breaks down how to turn your 'it works' Dockerfile into a lean, mean, production-ready machine through four levels of optimization.
Link: bigmike.help/en/posts/the...
Link: bigmike.help/en/posts/the...
The Perfect Dockerfile: Turning a Hobbyist Build into a Professional Tool | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and business
Four levels of Dockerfile maturity: choosing a base image, build caching, security and secrets, and multi-stage builds with proper signal handling.
bigmike.help
January 12, 2026 at 8:17 AM
Your Dockerfiles are chunky, slow, and making your security team cry? This post breaks down how to turn your 'it works' Dockerfile into a lean, mean, production-ready machine through four levels of optimization.
Link: bigmike.help/en/posts/the...
Link: bigmike.help/en/posts/the...
Struggling with secure remote access? Get your OpenVPN server up and running on MikroTik RouterOS! This guide cuts through the noise, showing you exactly how to set it up, even with RouterOS's quirks. Perfect for legacy systems or clients sticky with older protocols
bigmike.help/en/case/sett...
bigmike.help/en/case/sett...
bigmike.help
January 2, 2026 at 8:17 AM
Struggling with secure remote access? Get your OpenVPN server up and running on MikroTik RouterOS! This guide cuts through the noise, showing you exactly how to set it up, even with RouterOS's quirks. Perfect for legacy systems or clients sticky with older protocols
bigmike.help/en/case/sett...
bigmike.help/en/case/sett...
Tired of Portainer bloat for your home lab or small VPS? Meet Dockge, the lightweight container manager from the Uptime Kuma dev! It's focused, fast, and might just be the minimalist solution you've been craving for Docker. Ditch the heavy Swiss Army knife!
bigmike.help/en/posts/doc...
bigmike.help/en/posts/doc...
Dockge: Why I switched from Portainer to this lightweight tool (and recommend it to you) | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and business
Why Dockge could be the ideal replacement for Portainer for self-hosting and HomeLab use cases.
bigmike.help
December 31, 2025 at 8:30 AM
Tired of Portainer bloat for your home lab or small VPS? Meet Dockge, the lightweight container manager from the Uptime Kuma dev! It's focused, fast, and might just be the minimalist solution you've been craving for Docker. Ditch the heavy Swiss Army knife!
bigmike.help/en/posts/doc...
bigmike.help/en/posts/doc...
Don't blindly sed -i your binaries into oblivion! Learn how to safely mass-replace strings in your code without corrupting files, bloating Git, or regretting your life choices. This guide has the production-grade algorithm you need.
bigmike.help/en/case/safe...
bigmike.help/en/case/safe...
Safe Find & Replace: How Not to Break Binaries | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and business
Production-grade algorithm for bulk URL replacement: text files only, without corrupting binaries, with granular backups.
bigmike.help
December 30, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Don't blindly sed -i your binaries into oblivion! Learn how to safely mass-replace strings in your code without corrupting files, bloating Git, or regretting your life choices. This guide has the production-grade algorithm you need.
bigmike.help/en/case/safe...
bigmike.help/en/case/safe...
Tired of Jitsi recordings collecting dust? This article spills the beans on a slick pipeline to automate everything! Go from Jibri to Notion, transform heavy MP4s into HLS, and serve it all securely via Caddy. Code included for a production setup!
Link: bigmike.help/en/case/full...
Link: bigmike.help/en/case/full...
Full Jitsi Meet recording pipeline: from Jibri to Notion and HLS via Caddy | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and business
A detailed breakdown of a production pipeline for recording meetings in Jitsi Meet: baseline architecture, automatic publishing of links to Notion, asynchronous …
bigmike.help
December 25, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Tired of Jitsi recordings collecting dust? This article spills the beans on a slick pipeline to automate everything! Go from Jibri to Notion, transform heavy MP4s into HLS, and serve it all securely via Caddy. Code included for a production setup!
Link: bigmike.help/en/case/full...
Link: bigmike.help/en/case/full...
Hate wrestling with your Mikrotik? This guide breaks down setting up ANY Mikrotik (from cheap home gear to enterprise beasts) from scratch. Learn RouterOS once, conquer all! Get your network humming like a pro.
Link: bigmike.help/en/case/a-co...
Link: bigmike.help/en/case/a-co...
A Complete Guide to Configuring MikroTik for Office and Home | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and business
A fundamental guide to basic MikroTik setup: connectivity, Internet, LAN, DHCP, NAT, firewall, Wi‑Fi, QoS, and backup.
bigmike.help
December 24, 2025 at 9:08 AM
Hate wrestling with your Mikrotik? This guide breaks down setting up ANY Mikrotik (from cheap home gear to enterprise beasts) from scratch. Learn RouterOS once, conquer all! Get your network humming like a pro.
Link: bigmike.help/en/case/a-co...
Link: bigmike.help/en/case/a-co...
Tired of cloud vendor lock-in or wrestling with Kubernetes? Kamal smashes the dilemma, offering Heroku-like simplicity on your *own* server! Deploy like a boss without breaking the bank or your brain. Escape cloud slavery now!
bigmike.help/en/posts/kam...
bigmike.help/en/posts/kam...
Kamal: a revolution in deployment, or how to escape cloud slavery | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and business
A detailed breakdown of Kamal — a modern deployment tool from 37signals. An alternative to PaaS and Kubernetes: zero-downtime, Docker, no vendor lock-in.
bigmike.help
December 23, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Tired of cloud vendor lock-in or wrestling with Kubernetes? Kamal smashes the dilemma, offering Heroku-like simplicity on your *own* server! Deploy like a boss without breaking the bank or your brain. Escape cloud slavery now!
bigmike.help/en/posts/kam...
bigmike.help/en/posts/kam...
Tired of cloud storage fees and flaky external drives? TrueNAS turns your old PC into a beastly, enterprise-grade NAS. Ditch those pricey Synology boxes and build your own data fortress.
bigmike.help/en/posts/tru...
bigmike.help/en/posts/tru...
TrueNAS: The Ultimate Guide to Building Your Own Cloud. Pros, Cons, and Pitfalls | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and business
Comprehensive guide to TrueNAS: pros, cons, pitfalls, version comparison, hardware recommendations, and real-world use cases.
bigmike.help
December 4, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Tired of cloud storage fees and flaky external drives? TrueNAS turns your old PC into a beastly, enterprise-grade NAS. Ditch those pricey Synology boxes and build your own data fortress.
bigmike.help/en/posts/tru...
bigmike.help/en/posts/tru...
Netcat isn't just telnet! It's the ultimate network Swiss Army knife, a utility so good you'd take it to a deserted digital island. Forget dozens of specialized tools – NC does it all: reading, writing, TCP, UDP. This post shows why it's pure network magic!
bigmike.help/en/case/netc...
bigmike.help/en/case/netc...
Netcat: it's not just Telnet. It's network duct tape and magic. | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
In-depth overview of Netcat's capabilities: diagnostics, data transfer, disk cloning, a web server in 5 seconds, chats, proxies, and reverse shells. A practical …
bigmike.help
November 28, 2025 at 11:42 AM
Netcat isn't just telnet! It's the ultimate network Swiss Army knife, a utility so good you'd take it to a deserted digital island. Forget dozens of specialized tools – NC does it all: reading, writing, TCP, UDP. This post shows why it's pure network magic!
bigmike.help/en/case/netc...
bigmike.help/en/case/netc...
Database migrations got you sweating? This breakdown compares AWS, GCP, and Yandex Cloud's tools for moving your precious data. From simple pipes to full-blown ETL, find out who does it best and how to avoid that "open-heart surgery" feeling. Don't lose a transaction!
bigmike.help/en/posts/com...
bigmike.help/en/posts/com...
Comparing database migration tools in AWS, GCP, and Yandex Cloud | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
A detailed review of the capabilities of AWS DMS, Google Cloud Database Migration Service, and Yandex Data Transfer. We compare CDC, schema handling, sources …
bigmike.help
November 21, 2025 at 8:19 AM
Database migrations got you sweating? This breakdown compares AWS, GCP, and Yandex Cloud's tools for moving your precious data. From simple pipes to full-blown ETL, find out who does it best and how to avoid that "open-heart surgery" feeling. Don't lose a transaction!
bigmike.help/en/posts/com...
bigmike.help/en/posts/com...
Shipping code only to find out it's broken for users later on? We've all been there. This dev shares a super quick 15-minute setup to catch those elusive production errors, especially the client-side ones! Stop flying blind and get real-time insights.
bigmike.help/en/posts/how...
bigmike.help/en/posts/how...
How to catch errors in production: setting up monitoring in 15 minutes | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
A practical guide to integrating Sentry for monitoring errors in production. Step-by-step instructions for developers and DevOps engineers.
bigmike.help
November 20, 2025 at 8:18 AM
Shipping code only to find out it's broken for users later on? We've all been there. This dev shares a super quick 15-minute setup to catch those elusive production errors, especially the client-side ones! Stop flying blind and get real-time insights.
bigmike.help/en/posts/how...
bigmike.help/en/posts/how...
Lighthouse shows 100/100, but users still complain about lag? Turns out, synthetic tests don't capture real-world chaos. Check out CrUX Vis – Google's free tool that visualizes actual user experience data!
bigmike.help/en/posts/cru...
bigmike.help/en/posts/cru...
CrUX Vis: how Google shows what your users actually feel | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
Complete breakdown of CrUX Vis — Google's new tool for visualizing Core Web Vitals using real data from billions of Chrome users. How to use it in DevOps, …
bigmike.help
November 19, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Lighthouse shows 100/100, but users still complain about lag? Turns out, synthetic tests don't capture real-world chaos. Check out CrUX Vis – Google's free tool that visualizes actual user experience data!
bigmike.help/en/posts/cru...
bigmike.help/en/posts/cru...
Heads up, n8n users! 🚀 Taming those wild LLMs just got easier. Say goodbye to endless IF nodes and regex hacks for security. The new Guardrails node is here, finally giving you a robust safety net for your AI automations. No more toxic content or data leaks by accident!
bigmike.help/en/posts/gua...
bigmike.help/en/posts/gua...
Guardrails in n8n: a new level of security for LLM automation | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
A detailed overview of the Guardrails node in n8n: data protection, content filtering, prompt injection prevention, and quality control of LLM responses.
bigmike.help
November 18, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Heads up, n8n users! 🚀 Taming those wild LLMs just got easier. Say goodbye to endless IF nodes and regex hacks for security. The new Guardrails node is here, finally giving you a robust safety net for your AI automations. No more toxic content or data leaks by accident!
bigmike.help/en/posts/gua...
bigmike.help/en/posts/gua...
Tired of your code only working on *your* machine? 😤 This guide cuts through the CI/CD hype and gets straight to how automation can save your sanity. Learn the basics, from "git push" to automated deployment, without the jargon. Level up your DevOps game! 👇
bigmike.help/en/posts/ci-...
bigmike.help/en/posts/ci-...
CI/CD: from "it worked on my machine" to automated deployment | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
A simple, step-by-step guide for beginners: what CI/CD is, how Jenkins, GitLab CI, and GitHub Actions differ, and what GitOps is.
bigmike.help
November 14, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Tired of your code only working on *your* machine? 😤 This guide cuts through the CI/CD hype and gets straight to how automation can save your sanity. Learn the basics, from "git push" to automated deployment, without the jargon. Level up your DevOps game! 👇
bigmike.help/en/posts/ci-...
bigmike.help/en/posts/ci-...
Ever wondered how "google.com" turns into an IP address? It's all thanks to DNS, the internet's phonebook! Dive deep into different DNS record types—from A to ALIAS—and uncover the magic behind every website visit. This guide breaks down the internet's backbone in simple
bigmike.help/en/case/the-...
bigmike.help/en/case/the-...
📞 The Internet's Phonebook: A Complete Guide to DNS Records (from A to ALIAS) | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
A detailed explanation of how DNS works: TTL, delegation, basic and special-purpose records, GeoDNS, ALIAS, SRV, and a practical setup checklist.
bigmike.help
November 13, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Ever wondered how "google.com" turns into an IP address? It's all thanks to DNS, the internet's phonebook! Dive deep into different DNS record types—from A to ALIAS—and uncover the magic behind every website visit. This guide breaks down the internet's backbone in simple
bigmike.help/en/case/the-...
bigmike.help/en/case/the-...
Got a ton of remote clients or IoT devices and need logs without breaking the bank on Splunk? Good news! If your devices can do HTTP, you're almost there. Learn how to set up a super basic, super cheap log collection system. No fancy tools needed, just pure web magic!
bigmike.help/en/case/chea...
bigmike.help/en/case/chea...
Cheap and dirty: how to collect logs from remote clients over HTTP | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
How to collect logs from remote clients over HTTP without spending much money: from a simple script to serverless solutions.
bigmike.help
November 12, 2025 at 8:15 AM
Got a ton of remote clients or IoT devices and need logs without breaking the bank on Splunk? Good news! If your devices can do HTTP, you're almost there. Learn how to set up a super basic, super cheap log collection system. No fancy tools needed, just pure web magic!
bigmike.help/en/case/chea...
bigmike.help/en/case/chea...
Tired of Google Photos fees and losing control of your memories? Ditch the cloud giants and host your own photos! Immich is here to give you back control, offering a slick, private alternative to manage your precious pics. Stop paying, start owning!
Link: bigmike.help/en/posts/imm...
Link: bigmike.help/en/posts/imm...
Immich: Your personal Google Photos. Why you need it and why it's convenient. | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
How to regain control of your photos without sacrificing convenience — a review of the self-hosted solution Immich.
bigmike.help
November 11, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Tired of Google Photos fees and losing control of your memories? Ditch the cloud giants and host your own photos! Immich is here to give you back control, offering a slick, private alternative to manage your precious pics. Stop paying, start owning!
Link: bigmike.help/en/posts/imm...
Link: bigmike.help/en/posts/imm...
Tired of juggling a million AI tabs? Open Web UI is your new secret weapon! Manage ChatGPT, Claude, Llama 3, and more from one slick interface. Stop the tab madness and finally conquer your AI workflow.
bigmike.help/en/posts/ope...
bigmike.help/en/posts/ope...
Open Web UI: Your personal AI control center | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
In-depth review of Open Web UI — a unified interface for local and cloud AI models. How to combine Ollama, GPT-4, Claude, and other models in one place.
bigmike.help
November 7, 2025 at 8:56 AM
Tired of juggling a million AI tabs? Open Web UI is your new secret weapon! Manage ChatGPT, Claude, Llama 3, and more from one slick interface. Stop the tab madness and finally conquer your AI workflow.
bigmike.help/en/posts/ope...
bigmike.help/en/posts/ope...
Jitsi Meet + Active Directory? Yes, please! Get seamless corporate logins and ditch those separate accounts. This guide shows you exactly how to integrate Jitsi (in Docker) with AD, plus pro tips to squash common bugs. Your IT team will thank you!
bigmike.help/en/case/conn...
bigmike.help/en/case/conn...
Connecting Jitsi Meet to Active Directory: A Complete Guide to Configuration and Troubleshooting | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
How to connect Jitsi Meet running in Docker to Active Directory via LDAP/LDAPS. A step-by-step guide and detailed troubleshooting based on practical experience.
bigmike.help
November 6, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Jitsi Meet + Active Directory? Yes, please! Get seamless corporate logins and ditch those separate accounts. This guide shows you exactly how to integrate Jitsi (in Docker) with AD, plus pro tips to squash common bugs. Your IT team will thank you!
bigmike.help/en/case/conn...
bigmike.help/en/case/conn...
Running Jitsi Meet in Docker but stuck on ports or SSL with other apps? This guide shows how to easily put Nginx in front of your Jitsi containers. Nginx handles all the boring stuff (SSL, 80/443), so your video calls just work. No more port conflicts! bigmike.help/en/case/jits...
Jitsi Meet (Docker) behind an Nginx reverse proxy | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
Step-by-step guide to configuring Jitsi Meet (Docker) behind an Nginx reverse proxy with support for WebSocket and UDP traffic.
bigmike.help
November 5, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Running Jitsi Meet in Docker but stuck on ports or SSL with other apps? This guide shows how to easily put Nginx in front of your Jitsi containers. Nginx handles all the boring stuff (SSL, 80/443), so your video calls just work. No more port conflicts! bigmike.help/en/case/jits...
Forget bloated Linux distros! Yocto lets you custom-craft your own minimal, super-stable OS like LEGO bricks. Perfect for embedded devices, industrial giants, or if you just want a tiny 15MB image with a 10-year lifespan. Stop settling, start building!
bigmike.help/en/posts/yoc...
bigmike.help/en/posts/yoc...
Yocto Project: assemble your own Linux like LEGO bricks | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
Yocto isn't a distribution; it's a set of tools for building your own Linux.
bigmike.help
November 4, 2025 at 12:16 PM
Forget bloated Linux distros! Yocto lets you custom-craft your own minimal, super-stable OS like LEGO bricks. Perfect for embedded devices, industrial giants, or if you just want a tiny 15MB image with a 10-year lifespan. Stop settling, start building!
bigmike.help/en/posts/yoc...
bigmike.help/en/posts/yoc...
Forget flimsy firewalls! pfSense is the battle-hardened tank of network security. Rock-solid, stable for years, and packed with features like multi-WAN and VPNs, it's perfect for anyone who values reliability over flashy updates.
bigmike.help/en/posts/pfs...
bigmike.help/en/posts/pfs...
pfSense: a legend proven over decades | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
pfSense — a rock-solid firewall trusted by corporations worldwide
bigmike.help
November 3, 2025 at 8:59 AM
Forget flimsy firewalls! pfSense is the battle-hardened tank of network security. Rock-solid, stable for years, and packed with features like multi-WAN and VPNs, it's perfect for anyone who values reliability over flashy updates.
bigmike.help/en/posts/pfs...
bigmike.help/en/posts/pfs...
Forget clunky firewalls! OPNsense is here, making enterprise-grade security simple enough for anyone. Think slick UI, easy setup, built-in WireGuard, and an API for automation. Get your office network locked down in minutes, not hours.
bigmike.help/en/posts/opn...
bigmike.help/en/posts/opn...
OPNsense: the firewall of the future that newbies install | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
Installing OPNsense in 5 minutes: a modern, sleek, and reliable firewall for the office
bigmike.help
November 2, 2025 at 9:01 AM
Forget clunky firewalls! OPNsense is here, making enterprise-grade security simple enough for anyone. Think slick UI, easy setup, built-in WireGuard, and an API for automation. Get your office network locked down in minutes, not hours.
bigmike.help/en/posts/opn...
bigmike.help/en/posts/opn...
Got an old router collecting dust? ♻️ Don't toss it! Flash OpenWRT onto it and turn that relic into a beast! 🚀 Block ads network-wide, set up a VPN for the whole house, or build a mesh system. All with an old device and zero subscriptions. Seriously, it's a game-changer. bigmike.help/en/posts/ope...
OpenWRT: turning an old router into a powerhouse | BigMike.help - IT support for startups, developers and small business
How to install OpenWRT in 15 minutes and turn an old router into a powerful home server
bigmike.help
November 1, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Got an old router collecting dust? ♻️ Don't toss it! Flash OpenWRT onto it and turn that relic into a beast! 🚀 Block ads network-wide, set up a VPN for the whole house, or build a mesh system. All with an old device and zero subscriptions. Seriously, it's a game-changer. bigmike.help/en/posts/ope...