* michael.de.roover.eu.org
Hi! I am Michael, a system administrator from Antwerp, Belgium. I like tinkering with Linux systems, as well as building my own electronics devices. Sometimes I even manage to make programs that aren't ridden with bugs. That's a rare occurrence though.
Aside from that, I also like to play videogames, usually action or turn-based RPGs. Think Persona, Pokemon, Hyperdimension Neptunia, RuneScape, Genshin Impact etc.
** Skills
- Linux system administration (2014-now)
For the most part, I like working with Debian and Alpine Linux. I use these to build servers, workstations, and containerized services. I am also writing a bunch of tooling for Debian, in the hopes of one day releasing a server-oriented distribution of my own.
- Information security (2015-now)
I believe that no system deployment is complete without a suitable threat model. One must think not only about how it is to be used, but also how it can be abused. Especially if it's deployed to the Internet, it will inevitably be under constant attack. In practice, I usually see this play out in open mail relays, and infected WordPress sites. Both are used for dragnet-style phishing campaigns.
Interestingly, I find cats to think very similarly to how we should treat information security. Their world view revolves around territory, and "to hunt or be hunted". I like studying my cat's behaviour, to be applied into how I manage computer systems.
- Electronics (2016-now)
I like tinkering with hardware, and designing circuits of my own. For now, it's mostly LED lighting, Arduino, and adding DC UPS boards to various server-related hardware of mine. Like a 9V or 12V UPS board tied to a router or a switch, or a 5V UPS to the GPIO lines of a Raspberry Pi. They tend to be made redundant using Schottky diodes too.
- Programming (2019-now)
My primary languages are English and Bash. They are followed by Dutch and Python, and lately I've been trying to wrap my head around Portuguese and C++ as well. Fortunately Arduino's flavour of C++ does not use a heap. But in exchange, memory in general comes at a significant premium. Every byte counts.
- Procrastination (1996-now)
** Highlighted Projects
- relogino - my Arduino powered wristwatch
- ubot - my Telegram userbot
- konata - my Telegram bot
- cv - a COVID-19 tracker for Linux
- tpfan - a Linux fan driver for ThinkPads