About the Author

Who am I?

I'm MS, also known as Miguel Sea, a Linux, homelab and security enthusiast documenting real systems, old hardware, Docker services and defensive security experiments.

I enjoy restoring capable older hardware and using it for low-cost experiments. One of the ideas behind this blog is to show that, with careful optimization, even an old computer can become a useful and secure server.

My academic background is an MSc in Computer Science. Professionally, I have worked across software development for critical systems and cybersecurity, with more than 17 years of experience. I also hold CompTIA Security+ and CompTIA CySA+ and CompTIA Casp+ certifications.

IT Random Stuff is a personal technical blog about Linux, homelabs, computer security, old hardware, laptops, honeypots, Docker, firewalls and practical sysadmin experiments.

The goal of this blog is simple: to document useful IT things in a way that is practical, understandable and based on real-world tinkering.

This is not a corporate security blog. It is not a place for buzzwords, vendor slides or perfect lab conditions. It is a place for notes, guides, checklists and lessons learned while working with Linux systems, home servers, containers, networking tools and older hardware that still has plenty of life left.

What this blog covers

The main topics here include:

• Linux home server setup and hardening;

• Docker and self-hosted services;

• UFW firewall rules and SSH security;

• Fail2ban, Lynis and other defensive security tools;

• honeypots and small security labs;

• backup strategies for home servers and containers;

• old laptops and workstations used as cheap homelab machines;

• small fixes, tweaks and experiments that are useful enough to document.

Why I write these posts

A lot of useful IT knowledge comes from small practical problems:

• Why is this port open?

• How do I avoid locking myself out of SSH?

• Where is my Docker container actually storing data?

• How do I make this old machine useful again?

• What should I fix first after running a security audit?

When I solve something or find a setup worth keeping, I try to write it down here. Sometimes the result is a checklist. Sometimes it is a command reference. Sometimes it is just a practical guide that future me would want to find again.

Security focus

Many posts on this blog are related to computer security, but the focus is defensive and educational.

The guides here are written for people who want to secure their own systems, understand their home networks, monitor their services, harden Linux servers, experiment safely with honeypots, or learn more about how common tools behave in a real environment.

Nothing here should be treated as professional security advice for critical systems. Always understand a command before running it, test changes carefully, and keep backups before modifying important servers.

Homelab approach

I like practical setups that normal people can actually run:

• old desktops reused as servers;

• old laptops running Linux;

• small Docker stacks;

• simple monitoring;

• basic but useful firewall rules;

• boring backups that actually restore.

Perfect enterprise architecture is nice, but most home labs start with whatever hardware is available and a willingness to learn.

That is the spirit of this blog.

About the content

The posts are written to be practical and easy to follow. I try to include commands, examples, explanations and warnings where something can break.

Technology changes, packages change and distributions change, so always check official documentation when applying something to an important system. If you spot something outdated or incorrect, feel free to get in touch through the contact page.

Start here

If you are new to the blog, a good starting point is the Start Here page. It groups the main Linux, homelab, Docker and security posts into a suggested reading order.

Thanks for reading. I hope something here saves you time, prevents a mistake, or gives you an idea for your own setup.