Category: IT

Base64

Base64 is a form of binary-to-text encoding that is very widely used, you can encode almost anything into Base64. Learning how to leverage Base64 has been a major eye-opener for me. I’ve seen Base64 used in countless places such as SSL certificates. Ransomware loves to use it, as a lot of basic Antivirus don’t check…

ONIE and Onyx (MLNX-OS) Install

Switches that support ONIE (Open Network Install Environment) are amazing switches because you can just change which NOS (Network Operating System) you are running relatively easily. ONIE was created by Cumulus Networks in 2012. In 2020 Nvidia bought Cumulus just after purchasing Mellanox the year before. I will detail step-by-step how to install ONIE and…

FortiGate Policy Mode vs Profile Mode

By default all Fortinet FortiGates are in Profile-based NGFW mode. There is nothing wrong with the default mode. However, I personally prefer policy mode more. Profile mode works like most firewalls like SonicWall, pfSense and UniFi for example. All your rules are based on ports. Policy mode works like Palo Alto Networks firewalls. All your…