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it-tips.bsky.social

@it-tips.bsky.social
129 followers 392 following 166 posts

Working in IT gave me perspective on what people actually have problems with. So I made an account that hopefully helps someone out there. I dont have much time for posting so whenever I think of something that made living with computers easier I post it.

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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Access Design: Build processes that still work when one source cannot be trusted yet. Perfect trust is lovely; incidents tend to arrive without that feature installed.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Data Handling: Keep the original export untouched before cleaning data. Editing the only copy is how a simple spreadsheet becomes a historical reconstruction project.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Browser Security: Review your extensions and remove the ones you forgot existed. If a random coupon helper can read every page, maybe do not let it supervise your entire online life.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Support Triage: When something breaks, note the exact time. "This morning" is charmingly human and technically useless. Logs have clocks for a reason.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Remote Work: Close old remote sessions when you are done. Leaving them hanging is how yesterday’s task becomes today’s weird little access mystery.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Device Setup: Take one photo of the label before you toss the box. Model numbers are shy creatures; they vanish the moment support asks for them.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Cloud Files: Look at the sync badge before declaring a file lost. Cloud storage has moods: local, online-only, uploading, confused. The little icon is trying to save you a ticket.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
File Workflow: Before you swear a file vanished, check where the app saved it. Many “lost files” are just documents quietly living in the wrong folder, enjoying witness protection.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Migration Control: Freeze or mark inputs before comparing old and new outputs. Otherwise you are reconciling moving targets and calling the blur “validation.” Brave, but no.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Smart Speakers: Mute the assistant during private calls. If it keeps joining conversations uninvited, that is not smart; it is a conference room with ears.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Login Safety: Do not approve MFA prompts you did not just trigger. That button is not a doorbell. If you did not knock, do not open it.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
6) Test HD+ → FTA → HD+, a recording, reboot recovery and one reader reseat. Then enable OSCam at boot. If HD+ later fails while FTA works, restart OSCam and retune—do not reactivate. Never publish keys, ATR/card IDs, raw logs or Tvheadend credentials.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
5) Tune that known working HD+ channel and leave it selected. Confirm OSCam receives ECM + EMM traffic, then click “Send activation” once in the official HD+ account. Wait for an EMM write, a valid control word and decoded video. Do not channel-hop or spam activation requests.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
4) In Tvheadend add CAPMT / Linux Network DVBAPI and select OSCam network protocol rev ≥10389. Use the same <LOOPBACK-ONLY ADDRESS> and <LOCAL DVBAPI PORT> configured in OSCam. Set CW=Auto and PMT=Auto. Map one HD+ service first: choose one already in Tvheadend with a confirmed signal.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
3) Enter the authorized HD01 RSA/box values only in the root-owned local config. Never put them in posts, chat, shell history, Git or screenshots. If OSCam works in a shell but not under systemd, grant only its service user pcsc-lite access_pcsc + access_card via polkit.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
2) Build OSCam from official Streamboard source with PC/SC, Nagra and DVBAPI only. Run it as a dedicated unprivileged user; keep WebIF off. Reader essentials: protocol=pcsc, device=<OBSERVED INDEX>, caid=1830, maxparallel=1.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
1) Connect the reader directly and insert the card correctly. Install PC/SC: sudo apt install pcscd pcsc-tools libccid usbutils Start pcscd, then run pcsc_scan. “Card inserted” is not enough—you need a valid ATR. If there is none, flip or reseat the card.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Got an HD01 card, a Debian server and Tvheadend? This is the working chain: HD01 → HID OMNIKEY 3121 → pcscd → OSCam → Tvheadend CAPMT → Kodi/PVR. Use your own subscribed card. Keep the whole card-server path local. 🧵
Infographic titled “HD01 → Debian → Tvheadend.” It shows the chain HD01 card (CAID 1830), HID OMNIKEY 3121 reader, pcscd, OSCam, Tvheadend CAPMT, and Kodi/PVR. Seven checklist boxes cover installing PC/SC packages; verifying a valid ATR; building OSCam with PC/SC, Nagra and DVBAPI; keeping RSA/box values and card identifiers private; limiting polkit access to the OSCam service user; configuring Tvheadend CAPMT with matching loopback-only placeholders; tuning a known working HD+ channel and sending one official activation; and testing HD+, FTA, recording, reboot and reader reseat recovery.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Privacy Review: Remove app access you granted for one job and never needed again. Permissions do not become safer because you forgot them in a drawer.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Backups: Time a restore before you need one. A backup that restores in six hours is still useful, but it is not the same plan as one that restores in ten minutes.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Access Design: Give automation the smallest useful permissions. A script that can do everything will eventually do something interesting, and not in the fun way.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Video Calls: Check your camera angle before the meeting starts. Nobody needs the emergency chin broadcast while you discover how laptops work under pressure.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Focus: Turn off low-value notifications. If everything screams, nothing alerts; your phone becomes a tiny panic factory with a glass front.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
File Management: Move important files out of Downloads. That folder is a lobby, not a retirement home for invoices, drivers, and mystery ZIPs.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Operations: Check dependency timing before blaming your service. A failed login, expired cert, or upstream outage can make your app look guilty in very convincing shoes.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Helpdesk: Put one problem per ticket when you can. Bundling five issues together just guarantees the easiest one gets answered and the weird one grows roots.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Phishing: Check the sender before trusting the logo. A nice header image is not identity proof; it is clip art wearing a tie.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Observability: A good log line points to the next question. A bad one says 'failed' with the confidence of a shrug and the usefulness of wet cardboard.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Software Safety: Before installing a random file converter, check whether your device can already export the format. Every tiny utility does not deserve backstage access to your files.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Incident Response: If nobody owns the next action, escalate ownership first. A brilliant theory with no responsible hand on it is just expensive background noise.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Phone Setup: Put your banking, transit, and authenticator apps where your thumb can find them. Searching five screens while a line forms behind you is not a workflow.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Data Sharing: Review “anyone with the link” files. That setting is convenient, yes, and so is leaving the office door on a charming little latch.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 30/08/2026
Change Management: Know the rollback before the rollout. If undoing the change is “we’ll figure it out live,” congratulations, you planned a cliff.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Support: Capture the exact error text. “It hates me” is emotionally valid, but sadly not searchable in the admin console.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Browser Hygiene: Use separate browser profiles for work and personal stuff. Mixing accounts in one window is how you accidentally make troubleshooting feel haunted.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Access Control: Give systems the access they need, not the access that makes setup faster. Convenience has a habit of sending invoices during incidents.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Workflow: Pin the one browser tab you keep needing today. Hunting it every 12 minutes is not multitasking; it is a tiny productivity tax with a favicon.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Change Safety: Before a big update or config change, make the rollback point first. Confidence is cute, but a snapshot is what gets you home when the update decides to improvise.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Device Safety: If your laptop trackpad is lifting, stop pretending it is a design choice. Power it down, unplug it, and get the swollen battery handled before your desk becomes the incident report.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
Inventory: Rename your devices so humans can identify them. "DESKTOP-7F3Q" is not a naming strategy; it is a small cry for help.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
Digital Records: Photograph important tech receipts the day you buy the thing. Paper fades, wallets mutate, and warranty claims do not accept vibes.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
sometimes yeah but since i do it for a living, post practically write themselves
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Office Tech: Set the correct default printer before the rush. Nothing says “smooth morning” like confidential pages sprinting to the device across the building.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 17/08/2026
Hardware Care: Clean the keyboard once in a while. If your spacebar crunches, that is not tactile feedback; that is lunch entering its legacy support phase.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 16/08/2026
Configuration: Review defaults that control exposure, retention, and recovery. “It came that way” is an explanation, not a security strategy.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Privacy: When an app asks for contacts, pause for one second. If the feature you are using does not need your address book, the answer is probably no.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Attention: Turn off one noisy app notification today. The goal is not silence; it is making the important buzz feel important again.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Email Safety: Before trusting a surprising message, tap or expand the sender details. Display names are cheap; the actual address tells you more.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Monitoring Strategy: Silence can be a signal. If a job normally reports every hour, the missing report may be the cleanest alert you get.
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it-tips.bsky.social @it-tips.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
Triage: Early incident work should shrink uncertainty. Knowing what is not affected can be more useful than adding another page of symptoms.
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