

2.5 Admins
The Late Night Linux Family
2.5 Admins is a podcast featuring two sysadmins called Allan Jude and Jim Salter, and a producer/editor who can just about configure a Samba share called Joe Ressington. Every week we get together, talk about recent tech news, and answer some of your admin-related questions.
Episodes
Mentioned books

9 snips
Jun 1, 2023 • 33min
2.5 Admins 145: Bad Standards
An unfixable bug shines a light on a fundamental issue with Windows, why M.2 is a terrible connector for SSDs, the pros and cons of 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi, and the state of ZFS encryption.
Plugs
Support us on patreon
OpenZFS For HPC Clusters
News/discussion
Windows 11 is so broken that even Microsoft can’t fix it
You know M.2 SSDs suck, right?
Why 2.4GHz Wi-Fi is both the savior and the scourge of the smart home
Free Consulting
We were asked about the state of ZFS encryption.
Factor
Factor’s fresh, never frozen, meals are ready in just 2 minutes, so all you have to do is heat them up and enjoy. Go to factormeals.com/25a50 and use code 25a50 to get 50% off your first box.
The Traceroute Podcast
Listen and subscribe to the new season of the Traceroute Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the website.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

May 25, 2023 • 33min
2.5 Admins 144: AMRadio.zip
Google’s new TLDs are silly but not as dangerous as some people think, whether we should cling on to AM radio, Microsoft scans password-protected zip files, and how to assess open source software for its trustworthiness.
Plug
Support us on patreon
News
Google pushes .zip and .mov domains onto the Internet, and the Internet pushes back
Google’s .zip and .mov domains aren’t the end of the world
Congress wants AM radio in all new cars—trade groups say that’s a mistake
Ford decides it won’t kill AM radio after all
Microsoft is scanning the inside of password-protected zip files for malware
Free Consulting
We were asked about how to assess open source software for its trustworthiness.
Kolide
Kolide can help you nail third party audits and internal compliance goals with endpoint security for your entire fleet. Learn more at kolide.com/25a
Tailscale
Tailscale is a VPN service that makes the devices and applications you own accessible anywhere in the world, securely and effortlessly. Go to tailscale.com and try it for free on up to 20 devices.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

May 18, 2023 • 31min
2.5 Admins 143: Even Stars Die
Adobe’s vague threats show why open source is often the pragmatic choice, Russians craft a poor man’s ransomware with WinRAR, Chrome drops the padlock icon, Amazon pulls a Google, and using a keyfile with a password manager.
Plugs
Support us on patreon
Understanding ZFS vdev Types
News/discussion
Adobe Tells Users They Can Get Sued for Using Old Versions of Photoshop
Russian hackers use WinRAR to wipe Ukraine state agency’s data
Google Chrome to get rid of padlock icon
Our decision to wind down Amazon Halo
Free Consulting
We were asked about using a keyfile with a password manager.
Axiom
Axiom unlocks observability at any scale. Go to axiom.co/25a, create an account, and start your 14-day free trial. You can do better than legacy logging, with Axiom.
HelloFresh
With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep. Get 16 free meals plus free shipping at hellofresh.com/25admins16 using the promo code 25admins16.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

May 12, 2023 • 34min
2.5 Admins 142: Intel Key Party
Google’s attempt to replace passwords with keys, why Jim thinks IBM is dragging Red Hat in the wrong direction, Intel’s rudimentary error that breaks a security feature, and protecting your files from other users on your system.
Plugs
Support us on patreon
What Makes OpenZFS the Ideal Storage Solution for University Environments
News
Google Online Security Blog: So long passwords, thanks for all the phish
opensource.com
Intel BootGuard key leaked
Free Consulting
We were asked about protecting your files from other users on your system.
Kolide
Kolide can help you nail third party audits and internal compliance goals with endpoint security for your entire fleet. Learn more at kolide.com/25a
Tailscale
Tailscale is a VPN service that makes the devices and applications you own accessible anywhere in the world, securely and effortlessly. Go to tailscale.com and try it for free on up to 20 devices.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

May 4, 2023 • 34min
2.5 Admins 141: Sysadmin Hunt
What the challenge of building a web browser from scratch tells us about the state of the modern web, why some people are frying their AMD CPUs, more on basic password managers and regularly powercyling network gear, moving from Mercurial to Git, running old applications on modern Ubuntu, and more.
Plugs
Support us on patreon
Leveraging OpenZFS to Build Your Own Storage Appliance
News/discussion
How we’re building a browser when it’s supposed to be impossible
New BIOS updates attempt to keep Ryzen 7000X3D processors from frying themselves
Feedback
Pass
Free Consulting
We were asked about moving from Mercurial to Git, and running old applications on modern Ubuntu.
Factor
Factor’s fresh, never frozen, meals are ready in just 2 minutes, so all you have to do is heat them up and enjoy. Go to factormeals.com/25a40 and use code 25a40 to get 40% off your first box.
The Traceroute Podcast
Listen and subscribe to the new season of the Traceroute Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the website.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Apr 27, 2023 • 33min
2.5 Admins 140: /dev/nullvad
How not to practice responsible disclosure, Mulvad proves that its claims stand up, whether to be worried about public phone chargers, an “anti-ransomware” SSD, and monitoring ZFS with Zabbix.
Plugs
Support us on patreon
Comparing Modern Open-Source Storage Solutions: OpenZFS vs. The Rest
News
Vague warning about an Amazon compromise
Mullvad VPN was subject to a search warrant. Customer data not compromised
Be Skeptical of FBI Warnings About Phone Chargers
Let’s take a closer look at these claims of anti-ransomware SSDs
Free Consulting
We were asked about monitoring ZFS with Zabbix.
Kolide
Kolide can help you nail third party audits and internal compliance goals with endpoint security for your entire fleet. Learn more at kolide.com/25a
Tailscale
Tailscale is a VPN service that makes the devices and applications you own accessible anywhere in the world, securely and effortlessly. Go to tailscale.com and try it for free on up to 20 devices.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Apr 20, 2023 • 31min
2.5 Admins 139: Just Abandon Twitter
The new and up and coming tech that we’re excited about including RISC-V, hard drive innovation, Arm servers, and the Fediverse. Plus whether FreeBSD’s license has held it back, and generating SSL certificates on a router.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Apr 13, 2023 • 36min
2.5 Admins 138: Drive Failure
Google Drive’s arbitrary file limit, SMR disks probably die sooner, Western Digital’s My Cloud outage locks some people out of their data, why we don’t talk much about Veeam, and running containers as root.
Plugs
Support us on patreon
Managing Disk Arrays on FreeBSD and TrueNAS
News
Google Drive quietly introduced (then pulled) a file creation limit for all users
HDD average life span misses 3-year mark in study of 2,007 defective drives
Users fume after My Cloud network breach locks them out of their data
Free Consulting
We were asked about running containers as root.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
Kolide
Kolide can help you nail third party audits and internal compliance goals with endpoint security for your entire fleet. Learn more at kolide.com/25a
Tailscale
Tailscale is a VPN service that makes the devices and applications you own accessible anywhere in the world, securely and effortlessly. Go to tailscale.com and try it for free on up to 20 devices.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Apr 6, 2023 • 32min
2.5 Admins 137: Schrodinger’s Backup
Yet another reason not to plug random USB drives into your laptop, how Reddit learned about the importance of testing your backups, and we brainstorm a sysadmin’s version of a minimal password manager.
News/discussion
Journalist plugs in unknown USB drive mailed to him—it exploded in his face
You Broke Reddit: The Pi-Day Outage
Free Consulting
We were asked about rolling your own password manager.
HelloFresh
With HelloFresh, you get farm-fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and seasonal recipes delivered right to your doorstep. Get 50% off at hellofresh.com/25admins50 using the promo code 25admins50
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

Mar 30, 2023 • 32min
2.5 Admins 136: Red Scare
Why the RESTRICT Act is about much more than banning Tik Tok, what recent Tesla hacks tell us about the way the security research community is changing, and what server manufacturers we recommend.
Plugs
Support us on patreon
News
TikTok ban hearing: all the news on the US’s crackdown on the video platform
The ‘Insanely Broad’ RESTRICT Act Could Ban Much More Than Just TikTok
Tesla Model 3 Hacked in Less Than 2 Minutes at Pwn2Own Contest
Free Consulting
We were asked about what server manufacturers we recommend.
Linode
Simplify your cloud infrastructure with Linode’s Linux virtual machines and develop, deploy, and scale your modern applications faster and more easily. Go to linode.com/25a and get started with $100 credit.
Kolide
Kolide can help you nail third party audits and internal compliance goals with endpoint security for your entire fleet. Learn more at kolide.com/25a
See our contact page for ways to get in touch.


