Setting up my Blog in my Oracle Cloud Server

I have made it a a practise to post about topics/projects that are regarding Cyber Security, Linux, Networking and IT Devops, as I find it very helpful with refinning my knowledge, and also it provides others with my ideas innovations. Leaving that a side in the past I used medium.com as the platform in which I post my projects and experiences in the field. But recently I noticed that for my posts to be viewed a subscription is required. Thats when I got the idea to host my own blog, having oracle free tier server unused which I got for my BSC’s dissertation, why not make use of it. ...

January 21, 2026 · 1 min · Ammar Cader

💡 Discovered a Cool Tool — Lenspect by VirusTotal

Thanks to the Linux Unplugged podcast, I came across Lenspect by VirusTotal — an open-source binary inspection tool for Linux. 🔗 GitHub Repository 🎧 How I Discovered It While tuning into the Linux Unplugged podcast (Episode 638), amongst other things, what caught my attention was Lenspect. Since I’m a Linux user and I follow Cyber Security as my profession, this tool instantly caught my interest. 🧠 What Is This Tool? To put it simply, this is a binary inspection and visualization tool inspired by VirusTotal, designed for Linux machines. It integrates with VirusTotal via an API key (optional) so you can combine local binary inspection with VirusTotal lookups and metadata. ...

2 min · Ammar Cader

🚪🔑 Port Knocking + SSH Security: Hiding Open Ports

Recently when strengthening security of systems running SSH, While researching best practices and strategies came across the process of “Port Knocking” at https://hackers-arise.com/hacking-with-the-raspberry-pi-getting-started-with-port-knocking/. To simply put it “Port Knocking” is the process of keeping a port closed/blocked unless a specific sequence or input is sent to activate it. Installing knockd Current rules for iptables 🔐How it actually works: On the system running the specific service on a port which is open should be blocked/Closed by the firewall eg: iptables. Then using knockd configured with specific sequence numbers which will unblock the respective port if the connection request matches the sequence. The best part is the port is opened to the IP which initiated the correct sequence only and also for a limited time. ...

2 min · Ammar Cader

juniper-dhcp-leak-case-study

Faced a very educative problem which gave me experience and exposure with juniper switches, My first involvement/experience with JunOS. Background: Our office’s CCTV, one interface of NAS, Access Points, and NVR run on a Juniper ex2200 POE switch. The switch doesn’t have DHCP active and all devices are assigned static IPs from the end device’s config. The issue arised when our boss requested a centralized location to view CCTV recordings and live view. Generally this can be achieved with the NVR linked to the mobile app but since the use of different CCTV brands across the various company branches and the existence of the other branches it was not possible with our onsite NVR. Before starting the operation in Sri Lanka to overcome this issue “Videoloft” cloud adapters were used by the different foreign operations to create a centralized CCTV solution. Therefore we were given one. ...

4 min · Ammar Cader

n8n Work Check-in Bot

Automates Telegram messages for work check-in/check-out using n8n The Goal: The main goal for this project was to make use of the trending tool “n8n” and gain experience with it, by also making my tasks more automated Credits to:NetworkChuck Features Sends check-in messages at 7 AM (Mon–Fri) Sends check-out messages at 3 PM (Mon–Fri) Skip holidays via AI commands My Setup/Prerequisite n8n installed in docker container Oracle free tier machine 1gb RAM Ubuntu Server Docker installed A method to expose to public Process n8n installation/setup Started by installing n8n in a docker container with the following docker-compose.yaml: ...

2 min · Ammar Cader

TOOLS

This where I discuss tools I have made use of over my career whether tool is used at work or other instances such as my homelab and learning journey 🔗 Tools Documented Lenspect by VirusTotal (Coming soon) Tailscale

1 min · Ammar Cader

🛡️📹 Turning a Linux Server into a Privacy-Focused NVR (No Cloud, No SD Cards)

Constant cloud payment pop ups, ads to view playback, risk of loosing all recordings if sd card is removed or the entire camera is removed etc, Are some of the issues that are faced when CCTV-CAMs with no NVR is used for home surveillance. I was a victim of this annoying procedure/process, So with a home server(bear-server) already deployed I came up with the idea to use it as a NVR by storing recordings and creating a method to view recordings in an organized manner with proper timestamps. ...

2 min · Ammar Cader

🤖🔍 AI-Powered Recon: Using Gemini + Nmap for Automated Security Scans

After reading the article: https://hackers-arise.com/artificial-intelligence-in-cybersecurity-using-ai-for-port-scanning/ by @Hackers-arise which guides on how to set up a CLI LLM to conduct nmap scans using “LLM NMAP”:https://github.com/peter-hackertarget/llm-tools-nmap I decided to give it a try, as someone who uses “nmap” for most networking and security activities I spend most of the time in the man pages for syntaxes or articles on the different scripts for Nmap Scripting Engine (NSE) for my different needs this process makes the job more simple, efficient and productive. ...

5 min · Ammar Cader