Last Notes
Today was one of those days when I didn't work on any of my projects :D
No coding. No debugging. No fighting with Linux or trying to figure out why something that worked yesterday suddenly stopped working today.
And you know what? It actually feels a little strange.
I have gotten so used to working on something that doing nothing makes me feel like I have forgotten something.
Maybe taking a break is part of the process too.
What about you? Do you ever feel guilty when you spend a whole day doing nothing productive?
#nostr #coding #opensource #buildinpublic #asknostr #nostrask
https://blossom.ditto.pub/a0668ab9d5110c63dd6bcc16511f9adff6d2f9fa320789d918480882a421232f.jpg
#nevent1q…x54x
AI is not getting things simpler. Now we need to work on multiple projects in same time.
https://blossom.primal.net/0d42508cfdd8b5053859d2129523eadedf7fa4be896b7ed7a3a15ee9c5d91cee.jpg
Lately I have been spending more time with old technology than new technology. I am building a BBS on an old netbook and trying to turn a regular USB stick into a bootable environment for my Nostr signer. Both projects have taught me something. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the hardest to get working properly. Modern technology makes so many things easier. But working with older systems reminds me how much we can still learn from them. And strangely enough I am enjoying the problems almost as much as the progress.
I don't know if I am getting old but old technology and software have been catching my attention more than ever lately. Or maybe I am just trying to find a little piece of my younger days again. 😊
What about you? What have you been working on lately? Do you ever find yourself going back to old technology just for the nostalgia?
#nostr #oldtech #retrocomputing #linux #bbs #opensource
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Paper is also really important for storing sensitive information like passwords, seed phrases and private keys. As you said it doesn't need a battery or an internet connection. But I think people are starting to forget the value of keeping things on paper as technology advances.
SkySigner has been giving me quite a few headaches lately. 😊
Every time I fix one problem another one seems to appear. Sometimes it gets frustrating but today I finally felt like I was getting a little closer to my goal.
Seeing SkySigner USB OS v0.3 reach the vault creation screen on my old netbook made me genuinely happy.
There is still a lot to test and fix. But after all those errors and failed attempts even a small step forward feels like a big achievement.
I am not giving up on this project. 😊
#Nostr #SkySigner #Linux #OpenSource #BuildInPublic
https://npub16ntyfte9h8u2pjpc90su57gcw2f9c7yzsjx6uyfpmaq3tfuxk7lq8ty8ka.blossom.band/f3f6be0de430d2f7a1655305954489a7530ebe1a2a4fb04f6814d021e816f086.jpg
Thank you! This gives me a few new things to check. I had not considered that vault creation itself might be pushing the old netbook to its limits.
I will check whether my vault creation process actually uses LUKS2 and Argon2id before trying the memory setting. Testing without toram and checking the kernel logs also sounds like a good way to narrow things down.
The username=skysigner suggestion is especially interesting because I have been struggling with that automatic login error.
I have spent quite a bit of time trying to get this USB OS working. Sometimes I fix one problem and another appears.
And don't worry about your English. My English isn't perfect either but I understand you just fine :D Thanks again for helping me figure this out.
It was neither 6 million nor -at best- 271,000. It was never enough!
https://blossom.primal.net/f777b4d01ff08c5c31cf2d4c2e6ecc3d900457d00443d8493fa5da6126153153.mp4
#nevent1q…a25y
Thanks for mentioning Tails. It sounds very close to what I am trying to achieve with SkySigner USB OS. I will definitely study how it handles USB removal and memory erasure.
The startup problems are a little different from UEFI or Secure Boot issues. I managed to boot the Debian-based USB system and even reached the vault creation screen. But then the computer unexpectedly shut down.
In another test I encountered an automatic login authentication failure for the skysigner user. I have been trying to diagnose these issues before moving on to the USB removal and memory protection features.
I also experimented with loading the OS into RAM using toram but I have not managed to get everything working reliably yet.
Your suggestions about LUKS and keeping the system read-only are useful. I also had not considered the risk of corrupting the vault when unplugging the USB during a write.
For now I am testing on an old netbook with limited hardware. My goal is to eventually make it work on different computers without requiring any installation on the host.
https://blossom.jumble.social/88341f7a9bf242d3e485522bb47566eaabf111d5c6c82f1ee91d375a22af525e.mp4
#nevent1q…gjf8
On transparent chains, every data point inevitably becomes a weapon for authority and bad actors to rig the game in its favor. #Monero blacks out the board entirely, rendering actors blind to one another and forging the only unyielding equilibrium where censorship and discrimination cannot survive.
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I have been jumping between a few different things lately.
On one side I am trying to finish the remaining work on SkyLordsLab BBS. There is not much left to fix now. On the other side I am working on getting my Nostr signer SkySigner to run from a USB drive with its own bootable operating system.
Whenever I get stuck or feel overwhelmed with these projects I usually take a break and play some games.
Recently I was invited to test a game and I happily accepted. It had a nostalgic feel that reminded me of the games I used to play years ago. The timing was perfect too. I was already spending so much time working on a retro BBS and suddenly I had another nostalgic experience waiting for me .
Today I finally reached the end of the game I was testing. But the ending completely caught me off guard. I really did not expect that Game Over.
And there was another nice surprise. I was invited to the second round of testing. I am genuinely happy to have another chance to play it and see how it develops.
I will keep the name and details of the game to myself for now. I just wanted to share a little bit of what I have been doing lately.
Sometimes taking a break from one project leads you straight into another interesting experience.
Have you ever played a game that surprised you with its ending?
#nostr #asknostr #game #gaming #gametesting #indiegame #retrogaming #nostalgia #bbs #linux #programming #buildinpublic
You might be right. I have quite a few stones I collected from different parts of Türkiye over the years. Some of them have interesting stories too. I think I will start by going through my collection and choosing a few to share here. Maybe that will give me the motivation to start working on the project again.😀
That is actually an interesting way to approach it. I had already thought about giving each stone a unique ID so its information and history could follow it when it changes hands. But I had not really explored how Nostr events and signatures could handle that part.
Using Blossom for photos and NIP-99 for trade listings also sounds worth looking into. I still have a lot to learn about how all of that would work together.
I have collected stones from different parts of Türkiye over the years so I could start by sharing a few of them with their stories and see whether anyone is interested.
Maybe I really should take this project off the shelf again.
This is probably one of the most detailed suggestions I have received so far. I appreciate that you considered antiX and the fact that I want to preserve the terminal experience.
The reverse SSH tunnel approach is interesting because it would let my netbook initiate the connection without opening ports on my home router. Running a separate SSH service just for the BBS also makes sense.
My concern is still security though. Even with a reverse tunnel the public VPS would have a connection path to my netbook. If the VPS gets compromised or the BBS has a vulnerability then my other projects and potentially my home network could still be at risk.
There is also the VPS cost. I am trying to find a solution that does not require additional spending.
But I really appreciate the detailed explanation. I am adding this approach to my research list. I would rather spend more time understanding the risks than rush into publishing the BBS.😀
Actually a bit of both. The idea was to create a place where people could catalog their precious and semi-precious stones with photos and information about where they were found. I also added a system where collectors could trade stones with each other. I wanted each stone to have its own record and history even after changing hands. I have already built part of it but I was not sure how much interest there would be. Maybe I should give it another chance.
Thanks for the suggestions. My idea is a little different from simply running a portable SkySigner binary from a USB drive. I am building a bootable SkySigner USB OS so the computer starts in a separate environment instead of using the host operating system.
SkySigner already supports NIP-07 and NIP-46. I want to keep both options available in the USB version rather than limiting it to local signing.
The goal is to keep the encrypted vault on the USB drive and require a password for signing permissions. I am also working on what happens when the USB drive is removed. The signer should stop and sensitive information should not remain accessible in RAM.
I have already managed to boot the system but I am still dealing with some startup problems. So right now I am trying to get the basic USB OS working properly before moving on to more security tests.
I know an ordinary USB drive cannot offer the same protection as a dedicated hardware signer. But I want to see how far I can take SkySigner with hardware people already have at home.
That is actually an interesting approach. I like that it would preserve the terminal experience while keeping my home IP address out of public view.
But I still have some security concerns. Even if the VPS handles public connections the WireGuard tunnel would still create a path to my antiX netbook. If the VPS gets compromised or something is misconfigured then my home network and the other projects running on the netbook could still be at risk.
I also do not have a budget for additional hosting costs right now. That is another reason I am looking for alternatives.
I have spent quite a bit of time building SkyLordsLab BBS and I would love to let people try it. But I do not want to put my other projects or home network at risk just to make it public. Your suggestion is definitely worth researching though. Thanks for explaining it.
They get triggered anyway, and they cry out in pain as they strike you, as always.
https://blossom.jumble.social/1b3a7db2a28fa10697abae3a8169d490ff5c1a4c12df5d6d72ef6b83833fe16f.mp4
I think I will try polygamy after all.
Congratulations on Quill. I have followed the project and will keep an eye on its development. I have also been working on a Nostr project related to precious and semi-precious stones. But I put it on hold because I was not sure there would be much interest in it.😀
Thanks for the suggestions. Every time I solve one problem another one seems to appear :D I will check the PAM configuration and account settings you mentioned. I am not giving up though. At least I am learning something new with every error. 😊
Well @npub1xf3…852x. Here are the latest results from my SkySigner USB OS tests. 😊
I managed to boot Debian 13 from the USB drive but now I am stuck at this screen:
Debian GNU/Linux 13 skysigner-usb tty1
skysigner-usb login: skysigner (automatic login)
Authentication failure
So the USB boots but the automatic login fails. Looks like I have another problem to solve before I can continue testing SkySigner USB OS. 😊
First of all congratulations on designing and building it yourself. I wish you continued success with the project.
But I think you misunderstood what I meant by availability. I was not saying that you simply found a device somewhere. You actually designed and built it from scratch and that is impressive.
What I meant is that you have access to the electronic components and hardware needed to build something like this. Here in Türkiye many of these components have to be imported and even then some are difficult to find.
So building something similar to what you have made is not always a realistic option for us. Even if I wanted to buy your finished product I would first have to find a way to import it.
For example I have been wanting to buy a hardware wallet but Ledger is practically my only accessible option at the moment.
That is why I started thinking about SkySigner USB OS. I wanted to explore whether someone who cannot easily obtain specialized hardware could build a useful signing solution with something as common as a USB flash drive.
That is the question I am trying to answer. Not whether a USB drive can replace a properly designed hardware signer in terms of security but whether we can create something useful with the hardware we already have.
I will share the results here as soon as I get a chance to run the test.
That is exactly what I have been trying to achieve with SkySigner USB OS. I want the operating system to keep running in RAM after the USB drive is removed while the vault locks and the signer stops. When the USB drive is inserted again the user should be able to unlock the vault without rebooting the system.
I am currently working on making sure the system shuts down when the USB drive is removed and that no sensitive data remains in RAM. This is one of the technical challenges I am trying to solve with SkySigner USB OS. Thanks for the suggestion.
My goal is not to use an Android phone as a separate Nostr signer. I already have SkySigner which I developed myself and I want to take it a step further by turning it into a portable USB based signing system.
I want to explore what I can achieve with an ordinary USB flash drive rather than switching to another signing solution. The idea is to build on what I already have and improve its security and portability.
And SkySigner is not Windows-only. It already works on Linux too.
That actually makes a lot of sense. I have been trying to figure out how to keep SkySigner USB OS running after the USB drive is removed while making sure the vault becomes inaccessible. Separating the OS from the signer process might make this much simpler.
The idea of using udev to detect removal and immediately terminate the signer sounds worth testing. Then when the USB drive is inserted again the vault could start fresh and ask for the password.
I am still dealing with the shutdown problem during boot but I will definitely add this approach to my tests. Thanks for the suggestion.
We are all human, after all. There’s no need to freeze a single moment and categorize people. We are constantly changing. There’s no need to consider someone wise or dumb based on one moment. We can be dumb in some conditions, and what looks dumb can be wise in specific circumstances. Being human is the sum of our choices.
AI models often exhibit reduced performance when reaching weekly usage limits. Is it possible that providers are intentionally implementing this restriction?
#asknostr
You understood exactly what I am trying to preserve. I do not want SkyLordsLab BBS to turn into another website. I want people to connect through a terminal and experience it like a traditional BBS.
The SSH forced command approach sounds interesting and I will look into it. My biggest concern is still exposing my home network and the other projects running on my antiX netbook.
Your point about the node list and FidoNet is interesting too. I have already been working on the internal messaging system and recently added personal mail addresses for users. Exploring communication between different BBS systems could be a natural next step.
I am not in a hurry to publish it. For now I am enjoying building and testing everything locally. But I am definitely adding your suggestions to my research list .
Thanks for the suggestions. I have already managed to boot SkySigner USB OS but it shuts down shortly after starting. I have been trying to figure out whether the problem comes from the boot process or something in my own startup scripts. I will check the boot messages and logs you mentioned.
The NIP-49 suggestion is interesting too. One of my goals is to keep the vault locked until the user enters their password. I am also working on what happens when the USB drive is removed and inserted again without restarting the entire system. That part is proving to be one of the more difficult challenges.
Not everyone is that lucky. Devices like these can be quite difficult to find in Türkiye. Maybe they are easily available in your countries but that is not always the case here. That is also one of the reasons I want to explore what can be done with an ordinary USB flash drive that people already have at home. 😀
My actual goal with SkySigner USB OS is to let people turn an ordinary USB flash drive they already have at home into a portable Nostr signer.
The idea is that someone installs SkySigner USB OS onto a USB drive. When they first use it a vault setup screen appears where they can create and configure their encrypted vault.
The vault and its data stay on that specific USB drive. Once configured the USB drive becomes the key to accessing it.
I want the OS to keep running even if the USB drive is removed. But removing the drive should immediately lock the vault and disconnect all signing sessions. When the drive is inserted again the vault should become available only after entering the password.
Just like my existing SkySigner application I also want password confirmation for every signing permission request.
I am also trying to find a solution to prevent SkySigner USB OS or the vault information from continuing to run or remain accessible in RAM after the USB drive is removed. At the same time I am working on making sure everything functions properly again when the USB drive is reinserted.
The goal is to create a portable signing environment using hardware people already own rather than requiring them to buy a dedicated device.
That is what I am trying to build. There are still technical and security challenges to solve but I am continuing to experiment with it. 😀
Reminder:
John McAfee was killed by the jew scumbags and their parasitic ethno-state, Israel.
https://blossom.ditto.pub/e6fbd4f1b9ea6fb234182358c7f8805a835be7c29edbbc8f1d1284db1cbe8103.mp4
https://blossom.ditto.pub/d2c228c79ca2b36113ebe595d7082e09447cb9584bf7daf0e87f4c9fdf50fd64.mp4
#nevent1q…49tv
14/88
That is an interesting point. I already have an old netbook running antiX Linux but I use it for several other projects too. For SkySigner I wanted to create a separate bootable USB OS so I could experiment with a more isolated environment without buying new hardware. I managed to build the system and boot from the USB drive but it currently shuts down shortly after starting. That is the problem I am working on now :D Your approach of keeping the bunker locked until manually unlocked is also something I want to look into.
https://x.com/MartinSellner_/status/2112243165524623858
Printing money is just like urinating on yourself to keep warm in winter.
#nevent1q…rrrx
Are you building Favilla KEY just for your own personal use? Or are you planning to develop and test it further and eventually produce more units to sell? I am curious about what you have planned for it. I am building SkySigner USB OS for my own personal use at the moment.
Vibe coding truly is about accepting decisions you never made.
AI-assisted coding is solely related to decisions backed by expertise.
#ai #vibecode
