The Dark Assassins Podcast

Microsoft revealed a new AI-powered feature called "Recall" for Copilot+ PCs at their event they held last week. This Windows 11 feature allows users to search for and retrieve their past activities on their PC. That, of course, comes at a cost to not only system resources but also raises concerns over privacy. In this episode, we dive into what this “Recall” feature is all about and if it is worth using or if you should disable it. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Anyone remember the Apple Developer Transition Kit (DTK)? Dr. Frankenstein (aka. dosdude1) sure does. In this episode, we look at developing for Apple Silicon and how an iPad chip beats the pants off of a, albeit former, top-of-the line workstation in not only performance but also at a fraction of the power. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Ansible is a popular open-source configuration management and automation tool that is loved by many system administrators and DevOps professionals, and today we are going to dive into why it is so freaking awesome and just some of the many use cases for it. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Apple just held their “Let Loose” event, where they unveiled new iPads. In this episode, we will discuss what these new changes are and the mind-blowing fact that if you want the latest and greatest Apple Silicon, you need to buy an iPad. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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The Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) “free money glitch” saga continues. In theory, gaining root access to any already authenticated RHEL system will allow you to access an infinite number of RHEL systems for free without having to register any of them. Also in this episode, we, once again, touch on how awesome Ansible is and how easily you can remove the friction induced by manually performing tasks on a server(s) by automating everything. Lastly, we discuss the pros and cons of embedding assets, such as images, audio, fonts, etc., directly into your binaries vs. having your binary reach out to a resources folder. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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We talk a lot about software development and homelabbing, but where and how do you start? Today we start from zero and give you the road map for how to get started with software development and/or homelabbing, assuming you’ve never written a line of code or deployed a server or virtual machine in your life, but you want to do one or both of those. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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In this episode, we explore why writing a simple HTTP server serves as the perfect introduction to both cybersecurity and software development. From understanding networking protocols to writing robust software by fortifying systems against security vulnerabilities, we look at why writing your own HTTP server offers valuable insights for those wanting a better understanding of not just software development but cybersecurity as well. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Error handling and exception handling are crucial aspects of software development aimed at managing unexpected events and errors that may occur during the execution of a program. In this episode, we’ll take a look at some strategies for handling errors and exceptions, including error propagation, error recovery, and defensive programming techniques. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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A massive backdoor exploit was found in the XZ Utils library, which is included with almost all Linux distributions, granting root access to an attacker just by logging in to a server via SSH. In this episode, we are covering the intricate workings of how the exploit works from building and including into the library itself, to actually exploiting. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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The technology sphere has a lot of buzzwords, but what do they all mean? In this episode, we take a lighthearted look at the “true” meaning of some of these buzzwords. Also in this episode, we revisit our cache performance discussion from last week to show the real-world, absolutely mind-bending performance gains cache hits have. Finally, we talk about what it’s like to write code for MS-DOS. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Have you ever wondered what it was like to write code back in the late 80’s and early 90’s or why minor tweaks to your code can cause massive performance improvements? In this episode, we are going back in time to the MS-DOS days to see what it was like to write software back in the day. We are also going to talk about cache performance and why optimizing your code to have more cache hits rather than misses can have such a drastic improvement on your program's overall performance. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Artificial Intelligence can be a powerful tool, but it is not without its pitfalls. In this episode, we tackle whether Large Language Models (LLMs) are worth using for software developers and if they do more harm than good, as well as looking at their pros and cons. Also this week, we look into the recent legislation “TikTok Ban” that just passed the United States House of Representatives and what that actually means for data privacy and cybersecurity. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Two of the most common architectures in software development are Monolithic and Microservices. Microservices might be the hip new kid on the block, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it's the best architecture for every software application. In this episode, we break down each architecture and compare what use cases suit which architecture to help you decide what is best for your next software development project. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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The White House published a report calling for the reduction of memory safety vulnerabilities at scale and how creators of software and hardware can better secure the building blocks of cyberspace. In this episode, we dive deep into what memory safety is and the challenges associated with migrating all code to memory-safe programming languages. We will also look at what mitigation steps can be taken, such as secure coding, in order to better protect code written in memory-unsafe languages from common memory-safety vulnerabilities. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been all the rage for over a year now. Previously, AI was thought to only be relegated to datacenters with tons of GPUs, but now you can run Large Language Models (LLMs) in your very own homelabs! Speaking of homelabs, what do our AI overlords think of homelabs? We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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C++ has a lot of quality-of-life improvements compared to C. In this episode, we are diving deep into the C++ STL containers and smart pointers to try and determine if these quality of life improvements are actually worth using, like the C++ evangelists say. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Honeypots are not only vessels for the sweet and sugary substance known as honey. They are also tools used by cybersecurity researchers and enthusiasts alike to lure in threat actors and analyze their movements, actions, malware, etc. In this episode, we will take a look at the use cases and goals of honeypots, as well as things to keep in mind or be wary of if you want to set one up yourself. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Technical debt is something no one wants but always seems to creep up on, and possibly overwhelm, code bases. But what is technical debt? In this episode, we will answer that question, as well as what procedurally generated graphics are and how they work. Lastly, we have a major milestone we would like to celebrate to cap off the episode. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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What is more important, cybersecurity or productivity? In this episode, we tackle one of the hot topics in the IT world. Should developers have administrator access to their devices? We look at both sides: how it can make developers more productive, but at the cost of security, or how it can make you more secure, but at the cost of developers being less productive. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Productivity tracking applications are ubiquitous with professional software development, but that doesn’t mean it’s for the best. In this episode, we look at the pros and cons of using such applications to try and understand if they are even worth using in the first place for optimal performance of development teams and personal use. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility, especially the developers that write the applications and software we use every day. In this episode, we look at why secure coding is so important, what it is, some best practices about how to go about doing it, and why every developer should implement it when they write their code and not as an afterthought after the fact. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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It’s a new year, and that means it's time to start working on, or return to, personal projects. The Dark Assassins Podcast champions how beneficial personal projects are. Whether that is installing services or hardware in a homelab or developing your own software projects, regardless of the domain, personal projects not only give you enjoyment but also useful skills that enterprises are dying to have. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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If you only had a set amount of money to rebuild your homelab from scratch, how would you do this? In this episode, we take a look at various possible homelab configurations, from the most budget-friendly options to creating a full-on datacenter. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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In this episode, we take a look at some of the best open-source projects. We look at a wide range of projects, from things you can run in your homelab to everyday pieces of software, development tools, and more. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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A recent flaw in Bluetooth could leave your devices vulnerable. What is it, and how can you protect yourself until patches are rolled out? Running macOS, on Linux? Yes, and it’s awesome and an excellent complement to any developer or homelabbers environment. Lastly, we discuss why you should never count out a programming language just because you don’t like it and how having a broad knowledge of many programming languages can improve your career as a software developer. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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While controversial and not as common nowadays, with software moving towards a subscription model, software licenses, and specifically software license keys, played a pivotal role in the history of software development. In this episode, we look at what software license keys do, how they work, the information encoded in them, and the cybersecurity principles at play when generating and reverse engineering them. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Apparently, “common sense” cybersecurity measures aren’t so common, according to findings by the NSA and CISA. In this episode, we are taking a look at the “Top 10 cybersecurity misconfigurations” and how to mitigate or prevent them. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Why use a prebuilt library or program when you can just build it all from source yourself? In this episode, we're talking about why opting to build the libraries yourself can add a lot of flexibility to your build system. Also in this episode, we take a dive into ZFS cache and how to utilize it effectively, whether that is for a NAS or a hypervisor. Finally, we expose the truth about Thanksgiving and how, in reality, it is just one big allegory for software development and computer science topics. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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The famous saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day” applies to more than just civilizations, it also applies to your personal projects and your homelab. In this episode, we take a look at why you should focus on the small wins and how you can stay motivated even when it may seem like there is so much more to do or implement. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Game development is basically the Swiss Army knife when it comes to all things technology, but specifically computer science and software development. In this episode, we’ll be breaking down all the various aspects of computer science, software development, and technology in general that developing your own video game will teach you. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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How fast is “Scary Fast”? In this episode, we are discussing Apple’s latest announcement of their new chips and the devices they’re in. We also take a moment to look back at some of the great Intel Macs and how these former titans compare to the latest and greatest from Apple. Finally, we look at a perfect marriage between software development and homelabbing. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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As more and more things become controlled by software and electronics, when that software or those electronics stop working, it can cause major problems in your day-to-day routines and even put you at risk. In this episode, we’ll be covering why we need more analog devices as well as what state machines are and how they work. Of course, finally, long live the Xserve! Even though Apple discontinued it well over a decade ago, it keeps on kicking even with the latest macOS. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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According to industry data, developers have the highest turnover ratio out of all professions and change jobs, on average, twice as often as other non-developers. Why is this? Are developers just not loyal to companies? In this episode, we’ll be looking into the reasons why developers elect to leave companies so frequently and what both the developers and management can do to alleviate these issues. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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One of the worst ways you can be hacked is when you weren’t even hacked yet got your personal information stolen anyway from someone you know getting hacked. In this episode, we’ll be taking a look at the recent 23andMe hack and what it means. Also in this episode, we look at some shenanigans hardware vendors pull when it comes to the compatibility of SFP+ transceivers. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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VLANs are a staple in any corporate or enterprise networking solution, and even some homelabs. However, VLANs can be hard to grasp and implement for those who aren’t all that familiar with them. In this episode, we’ll be looking at not just how VLANs work but also how they are implemented. All while not changing how your code interfaces with the rest of the software. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Writing optimized code in terms of memory footprint performance should be goals of every software developer. In this episode, we’re taking a look at how properly aligning your data and even packing multiple variables into a single variable with bit-packing can save you a lot of memory you would otherwise be wasting. All while not changing how your code interfaces with the rest of the software. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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“My homelab is finally complete"—the infamous words of a homelabber before they inevitably upgrade something else. Homelabs are a constantly growing and evolving thing, and in this episode, we were going over tons of hardware and other infrastructure changes, as well as some software changes as well. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Apple just held their September "Wonderlust" event, where they unveiled the new Series 9 and Ultra 2 Apple Watches, as well as the new iPhone 15 and iPhone Pro lines. In this episode, we’ll be covering what’s new, if it's worth upgrading, and what these updates mean for the future of other Apple products. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Apple was all in the news this week for exploits, security patches, and their announcement of their September event, Wonderlust. Also, we’ll discuss how becoming a contributor to an open-source project might not seem as farfetched as it sounds and how it is totally within the reach of all developers. Lastly, we are taking a look at a cool tool for your homelab that will allow you to get real-time updates and monitoring of everything happening in your homelab sent directly to your phone. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Loops play an integral role when it comes to software development. However, if you aren’t careful, they can cause your program to run forever or outright crash from a stack overflow (yes, that’s a real thing, not just a website). In this episode, we’re looking at the various kinds of loops, how they're used, and why you may or may not want to use one over the other given your use case. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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When it comes to sourcing your next server, or even your first server, a common debate arises: do you buy a pre-built server, or do you custom build one? In this episode, we are breaking down the pros and cons of each to help you decide which is right for you. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Ready Player One offers an online utopia built in virtual reality where you can do anything and be anything you want, but how realistic is that future in our world? What are the data and privacy implications of such a world? Also in this episode, we go over a number of software updates and also discuss what a web scraper is and why Python is so darn good at it. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Whether you are working in a company, on a school project, on an open source project, or on any project where the codebase is not entirely your own, you will inevitably run into a scenario where you have to patch someone else’s code. In this episode, we are looking at an instance of patching someone else’s code to improve the number of systems it supports, as well as patching code to prevent it from crashing. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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File compression is all around us, from the photos we take to the shows and movies we watch to the music and podcasts we listen to to the backup archive of our old files from school. But how does it work? In this episode, we’ll be looking at real-world examples of compression and diving into the differences between lossless and lossy compression, as well as why you would want to use compression. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Personal projects are a staple for any software developer worth their salt. However, are the personal projects we make that we never release and never release the source code for closed-source? What makes a project open-source vs. closed-source? In this episode, we’ll tackle that very debate about whether or not personal projects that you don’t release publicly are closed-source. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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We done goofed and posted last weeks episode as this weeks, whoops. Here's the right one.

The idea of logging has been tarnished over the years by Governments, Social Media companies, and many other companies that provide software, hardware, and services to spy on, surveil, and sell the data they harvest from their users to the highest bidder. At the same time, logging plays a pivotal role in software development. In this episode, we are talking about why logging is so important when it comes to developing software and managing your server infrastructure, whether that’s in a homelab or in a corporate environment. Lastly, we’ll also discuss how you can log data from users to improve your software, website, etc. without actually knowing a single thing about any of them and without taking the route a lot of companies go down of harvesting as much user data as possible to sell to the highest bidder. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Failure is inevitable in life, especially in software development and in having a homelab. In this episode, we look at ways you can overcome failures and use them as learning experiences to make you a better software developer and maintainer of your homelab. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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In this episode, we’re covering the huge win for newbie developers trying to learn to code with the new updates coming to the Java SDK. Speaking of code, what is dead code, and why is it something you want to remove from your projects? Lastly, what do Red Hat’s changes mean for what Linux distros you run in your homelab, workstations, dev- and production environments, etc., and for the open source community at large? We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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If anyone tells you software development is a great field for anyone who doesn’t like math or physics, they are severely mistaken. In this episode, we’ll dive into how intertwined software development and physics are and how sometimes software development is, in fact, rocket science. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

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Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) are crucial for not only developers to make better apps and their lives easier, but in doing so, they also make the end experience for the user that much better. In this episode, we’re looking at how APIs work, the pivotal role they play in developers writing the best apps they can, and how this relates to Reddit's decision to charge for their API and the subsequent protest going on the site. We are covering all of this and more on this episode of The Dark Assassins Podcast.

If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a rating, review, and subscribe if you haven’t already. Also, share it with a friend or family member who you think would enjoy it or benefit from it.