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diff --git a/.md/tutorials/how-to-make-this-site.md b/.md/tutorials/how-to-make-this-site.md deleted file mode 100644 index 0092b00..0000000 --- a/.md/tutorials/how-to-make-this-site.md +++ /dev/null @@ -1,388 +0,0 @@ -## Background -*TL;DR get to *[the point](#thepoint) - -I think it was roughly the end of high school when I first had the idea I -wanted to make *some* kind of website. This would be around 2010 and I did -what I thought would be a good idea and bought a book on the subject: "Web -Sites for Dummies." I was dummy after all... - -I got up to hyper linking with the "a" tag until I hit a wall. I don't want to -link the exact page since I don't want to get sued, but it basically read: - -``` -Web design programs: -- Adobe Dreamweaver -- Adobe Contribute -- Microsoft Expression Web -``` - -Well, damn. I didn't have any of those. And as a stingy high school kid, I -didn't want to buy anything. So I shelved that book and forgot about for a -while since making a website seemed too expensive and needed too much flashy -software to make it. I knew nothing about free software at that age, -other than music software like Audacity which is what I was into at the -time. - -A few years later I caught a bit of a poetry bug--and maybe a bit of a -snooty college kid bug--and tried to run a blog. At that point, I had -learned about WordPress, which lets you easily make a space for sharing -writing, media, content, whatever really. And it's free as in *freedom* -as I understand since it's licensed under the GPL (if you want to take -the time to deploy it yourself). But they also give out free .wordpress -domains and some storage space with a snazzy dashboard to manage it all. - -I had fun with that one, I don't update it anymore, but it's still up at -[postquantumpoetry.wordpress.com](https://postquantumpoetry.wordpress.com). -WordPress got closer to what I wanted, but it still wasn't -*really* my site; it was WordPress's site unless I wanted to pay the -hosting and domain fee. It's pretty modest, but I wasn't sold on -sticking with a .com or .space domain, or even sticking with WordPress. -I was getting tired of blogging anyway. I was getting more interested -in the stuff that made it work; it seemed a lot more fruitful than -writing to no one. - -It's now 2021, five years later, when I write this (and this website -isn't even finished yet). So what led me down the rabbit hole again? -It probably started where the last one left off, when I decided I -wanted to switch to more practical IT things over the academic things -I had previously wanted to pursue. I signed up for a Cybersecurity -program, somehow got in, and eventually managed to land an entry-level -SOC role after graduating. -At this point, it was getting a little weird that I had no web presence ---especially after I decided to take down most of my social media -accounts a few years ago. - -So I was back at "how do I make a website," again, but this time, I -at least had some understanding of what a server was and how networks -work. And more importantly, I had a better idea of what it meant for -a computer to be *mine*. - -Even though--let's be real--it *still isn't.* - -I can't get high-speed Internet easily which I need to host a server -long-term so I'm stuck using some else's computer, otherwise called a -Virtual Private Server (VPS). Even if I could host at home, I'm still -of at the mercy of my ISP. - -Because of that, I think it's important to understand that -"running your own website" is not just a *technical* ordeal, but also an -*economic* one since you have to carefully think about what it means to -you to *own* your server, your software, and your hardware. That doesn't -mean it's hard to do, just that there's options. - -<a id="thepoint"></a> - -## What is a web server and how do I run one? - -*TL;DR a web server is just a program that lets other computers on a -network view files in a chosen folder. All you need to do is download a -web server: apache and nginx are popular ones, but you can easily -program your own with web frameworks like -[Flask](https://flask.palletsprojects.com/en/2.0.x/) or -[Facil](https://facil.io/)* - -You can run a web server for free right now. If you're on windows go -download Apache for Windows -[here](https://httpd.apache.org/docs/current/platform/windows.html) and -follow the set up guide -[here](https://www.liquidweb.com/kb/how-to-install-apache-on-a-windows-server/). -If you're on Linux, you probably already have it installed. - -Find the configuration file in "sites-available/default" (on -windows, this may be led by C:\Program Files\Apache Software -Foundation\Apache2.4\ ). You'll see something like the following: - -``` -<VirtualHost *:80> - ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost - - DocumentRoot /var/www - <Directory /> - Options FollowSymLinks - AllowOverride None - </Directory> - <Directory /var/www/> - Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews - AllowOverride None - Order allow,deny - allow from all - </Directory> -``` - -For now, you don't need to change anything, so don't worry about what it -means. - -But do note the directory set on "DocumentRoot," which may differ for -you. This is where the web server looks for files and folders. -So let's put some stuff there! Put whatever, a picture, a text file. -Run the server, then go to your web browser and type: "http://localhost". -You'll find a directory with your files in it! And you can access them -at "http://localhost/filename.extension" - -The problem is, only you and others on your home network can visit your -site right now. - -Your computer's most likely behind your router's firewall, which will -not allow any traffic in. You'll need to forward a port from your router -(port 80 is for HTTP) to point to the device hosting the server. - -Router's differ when it comes to to exact configuration, but MOST -routers will have some kind of steps similar to this: - -1) Click "Advanced" then click "Firewall" - -2) Scroll to the add new rule form - -3) Put in the following values -- source/original port: 80 -- forward to address/device: your device's local ip -- forward to/destination port: 80 - -You can get your device's local ip by typing "ipconfig" (Windows) or "ip -a" (Linux). Typically it is listed first and will start with "192.168" or -"10.0" but it depends on the manufacturer. Here's my output at home for -example: - -``` -1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 65536 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN group default qlen 1000 - link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00 - inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo - valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever - inet6 ::1/128 scope host - valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever -2: enp7s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UP group default qlen 1000 - link/ether 4c:cc:6a:93:eb:0b brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff - inet 192.168.1.202/24 brd 192.168.1.255 scope global dynamic noprefixroute enp7s0 - valid_lft 74501sec preferred_lft 74501sec - inet6 fe80::4ecc:6aff:fe93:eb0b/64 scope link noprefixroute - valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever -3: wlp5s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 qdisc noop state DOWN group default qlen 1000 - link/ether 82:e2:e4:c2:0c:a1 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff permaddr 98:de:d0:f3:d6:ea -``` - -The device "enp7s0" is my Ethernet adapter (starts with an 'e') and my -current local ip address for the device is shown. If you use wifi, it -will likely start with a "wl." - -Now get your *public* ip address at this site https://who.is/ and share -it with your friends. Watch in horror as they access all the files in -the directory you launched the server! - -## How can make this server available on the Internet *cheaply* and *independently* -<i> -TL;DR Expense scales with independence. It's possible to become your own -service provider, get IP addresses from ICANN, your own hardware to host -it, to host your cat pics; but it's also a lot of time, work and money -to do all that -([this guy](https://hackaday.com/2018/09/20/one-mans-journey-to-become-his-own-isp/) -did it apparently, and so did [Null](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiwi_Farms)) - -Most likely you'll want to rent someone else's server, usually a VPS. -</i> - -Once you understand the basic installation above, you can now populate -your site with content just by adding HTML files to your web directory. -You can use an HTML editor to write these, or you can download a full -content management system to help you. Here are some options I know -about: - -- **You can just write the damn HTML and use apache or nginx** - -This honestly is not that hard, it just takes long and takes away from -the joy of writing in my opinion. But if your content is short and -sweet, or you're mostly hosting files, writing a few basic HTML files in -vim or notepad and adding some CSS goes a long way. - -- [**Neocities**](https://neocities.org/) - -Neocities is based on the old Geocities from the mid 90s which allows -simple static hosting and features and amazing array of creative -projects. Everything is managed through the website, and you can pay to -set your own custom domain. - -- **Wordpress** (but this time, you set it up) - -Before wordpress was a social media blogging thingamajig, it was just a -content management system to spin up a pretty blog. You can download and -install Wordpress by following: - -https://wordpress.org/support/article/how-to-install-wordpress/ - -The benefit of installing yourself is enormous, -since you have full control and can even edit the source if you have -the guts. - -- [**Github pages**](https://guides.github.com/features/pages/) - -In addition to hosting code repositories, you can host small sites on -github for mostly free. I've never used it, but I definitely would if I -needed something like a small wiki. - -But once you have stuff to share, how do you keep this stuff online? - -### Can I run a web server at home - -Technically yes, but practically probably not. At least not at a lot of -extra cost to you. If you do want to host a small thing at home, like -some text or some cat pics, a -[tor hidden service](/site/tutorials/how-to-host-a-tor-hidden-service.html) -is a great option. - -I spent a lot of time searching on this (you can find a full list of -references at the bottom), and I've even tested a little bit by hosting -game servers and web projects for code jams, but the problem is -twofold. First, if you are in the United States and not a business, -you probably have a standard plan with one of the major ISPs (Verizon, -Optimum, etc.). This limits you in a few ways. - -- Your bandwidth is limited, which limits the amount of people you can serve -at one time *and* the rate you can transfer data to them. Think laggy -games and videos that take 10 years to download. - -- Your ISP probably explicitly does not allow this (at least in the US). -I have *never* had my ISP complain about hosting small personal servers -at home, but I imagine if I hosted higher traffic things, I would have -some problems. - -### So what should I do - -Most people will find it cheapest to rent from a VPS provider--VPS -stands for "Virtual Private Server," which just means an -Internet-connected server stored somewhere in someone's private data -center. You pay them for the storage and to keep your server online and -accessible. - -Once you've got enough content and a way to manage it, all you have to -do is just copy all that stuff over to your VPS. Usually that looks -like: - -- Installing a web server and a CMS tweaked to your liking -- Copying over your stuff to the web directory -- Opening up your ports to the outside world. - -And in a nutshell that's it. There's fancy stuff of course, like you'll -want a [domain name](#dns) probably and I'll talk about that too, but at -this point, your stuff is on the Internet! Just tell your friends to -paste in your public ip address (your VPS provider will tell you this) -and there's your stuff! - -<a id="dns"></a> - -## What's a "Domain Name" - -Expecting people to save your IP address is not really a good idea -though. It's better to have an easy name they can remember. Enter DNS, -the Domain Name System. If an IP address is a telephone number, DNS is -the telephone book. ICANN and IANA host the top level servers, which -point to local domain registries who buy names like "mjfer.net" on -behalf of their customers. - -The actual business of domain names is complicated and not something I -understand all that well. But setting up a domain name to point to an IP -address is typically easy, once you've chosen a domain registrar (just -search that online and you'll find a ton) and name you like. Be aware -that shorter names are rarer and usually more expensive and different -TLDs (like ".net" and ".io") will be priced differently. - -Once you have a domain name, you'll need to set up a DNS record. Again, -this varies a bit based on the provider, but all will have some kind of -text input of API where you can edit DNS records. You'll want to make -two records - -- A Type A that will be your main record - - + set the HOST to your domain name (like mjfer.net) - - + set the ANSWER to your IP address (like 8.9.36.54) - -- A CNAME record, that will help point to all your other records - - + set the HOST to your domain name, with a wildcard subdomain (like \*.mjfer.net) - - + set the ANSWER to your main record (like mjfer.net) - -The reason for the second record is in case you want to set subdomains -on the same IP address like "git.mjfer.net". - -Wait a few minutes for the DNS servers to update and you should now be -able access your server by name. - -## Setup HTTPS and TLS, a false sense of security - -A decade of half-though through security advice has convinced everyone -that HTTPS and *only* HTTPS is secure. This is simply not true. Using -HTTP alone doesn't inherently make you insecure and using HTTPS -doesn't automatically guarantee the app your communicating with is -secure. - -What HTTPS means is that the *data you send to the server* is -encrypted. This only provides security in contexts where you're entering -information like a credit card number or a password. In those cases -*you need HTTPS*. But if you're just requesting a text document, or a -cat picture, and not sending any data, HTTP is perfectly acceptable for -retrieving that information. - -Web browsers have largely responded to this fact by assuming that HTTP -is always insecure and printing a warning when you visit a site without -HTTPS enabled. Unfortunately, most users interpret this to mean the site -is somehow dangerous, even if it doesn't collect any information about -the user. Because of that, most you will want to go the extra mile to -make your visitors feel warm and fuzzy inside and implement HTTPS. - -Fortunately, this is now much easier than is used to be thanks to -[LetsEncrypt](https://letsencrypt.org/). LetsEncrypt generously serves -as a free certificate authority, which allows you to generate signed -certificates that are recognized by every web browser in the world. The -tool they recommend, [certbot](https://certbot.eff.org/) is painless to -install. I've rarely had to do much more than "certbot certonly" and -follow the prompts to get a certificate. Once you've obtained one, add -it to -[apache](https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/ssl/ssl_howto.html) -or -[nginx](https://www.nginx.com/blog/nginx-ssl/#Examples), -switch the port to 443 instead of 80 and bam, you've got HTTPS! - -## References - -1. https://dataswamp.org/~solene/2021-07-23-why-selfhosting-is-important.html -2. https://selfhostedweb.org/yourserver/ -3. https://www.howtogeek.com/362602/can-you-host-a-web-server-on-your-home-internet-connection/ -4. https://googiehost.com/blog/create-your-own-server-at-home-for-web-hosting/ -5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICANN - -### Terms of service for certain ISPs - -There's always more ISPs out there, but I went the one's I'm most -familiar with in my area. I'll probably expand this as I go, let me know -if there are important ones in your area worth listing here for others. - -#### Verizon - -- https://www.verizon.com/support/lte-home-internet-legal/ - + Point 5. - -- https://www.verizon.com/support/residential/announcements/terms-of-service - + p. 23, section 1 "Restrictions on use" - -#### Optimum - -- https://www.optimum.net/pages/terms/general-residential.html - + Point 11 a. "Residential Use" - -- https://www.optimum.com/terms-of-service/residential/internet - + Point 11. "Additional Restrictions" - -#### Spectrum - -- https://www.spectrum.com/policies/internet-use-policy - + Point 2 j through l - -#### AT&T - -- https://www.att.com/legal/terms.consumerServiceAgreement.html - + 2.5.3 Examples of Prohibited Network Uses of Data Service - -#### Cox Communications - -- https://www.cox.com/aboutus/policies/acceptable-use-policy.html - + 1. Prohibited Activities, point 5 |