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Add two factor auth login protection to WordPress with YubiCo hardware YubiKeys and or 2FA Authenticator App

October 28, 2018 by Simon

Here is a quick guide to show you how to add two-factor auth login protection to WordPress with YubiCo hardware YubiKeys and or 2FA authenticator app

I have a number of guides on moving away from CPanel, Setting up VM’s on AWS, Vultr or Digital Ocean along with installing and managing WordPress from the command line.

Why Secure WordPress

WordPress CMS is a widely targeted CMS for hackers. View the official WordPress stats on WordPress Version/PHP and MySQL Version. View WordPress vulnerabilities here.

Read the Sucuri 2017 report on reported WordPress Hacks here (spoiler 34,371 infected websites in 2017).

Plugins exist to secure and scan WordPress. Read my blog post here on the now-retired Gravityaity Scan plugin and the awesome WordFence security plugin.

You (and hackers) can scan your site with https://wpscans.com/ or other open-source tools like wp-scan from OWASP ZAP. If you manage a WordPress site I’d recommend you install Kali Linux to scan your site.

Running a wp scan in Kali Linux is easy.

wpscan --url https://fearby.com --debug-output 2> ~/Desktop/wpscan.txt

The output from the Kali Linux wpscan tool

What are Hardware YubiCo YubiKeys

Read my guide here to see what YubiCo YubiKeys are and how to use them.

Get the Two-Factor Plugin for WordPress Plugin

Plugin: https://en-au.wordpress.org/plugins/two-factor/

Two-Factor

Plugin Page at WordPress.org

The source code for this plugin is available (nice): https://github.com/georgestephanis/two-factor. This plugin was updated 2 weeks ago (nice).

Downloading the Plugin

FYI: I do not allow downloading or updating of plugins in WordPress (via FTP), I prefer SSH manual downloading. FTP plugin installation and updating are not allowed on my site.

I got the latest download URL (e.g. https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/two-factor.zip) by copying the URL from the download button above.

I connected to my server via SSH and navigated to my WordPress plugin folder

cd /your-www-root/wp-content/plugins

I download the plugin.

user@server:/your-www-root/wp-content/plugins# wget https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/two-factor.zip
--2018-10-28 14:44:27--  https://downloads.wordpress.org/plugin/two-factor.zip
Resolving downloads.wordpress.org (downloads.wordpress.org)... 198.143.164.250
Connecting to downloads.wordpress.org (downloads.wordpress.org)|198.143.164.250|:443... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 47882 (47K) [application/octet-stream]
Saving to: 'two-factor.zip'

two-factor.zip                             100%[=======================================================================================>]  46.76K  --.-KB/s    in 0.001s

2018-10-28 14:44:27 (37.1 MB/s) - 'two-factor.zip' saved [47882/47882]

I extracted the plugin zip file

user@server:/your-www-root/wp-content/plugins# unzip two-factor.zip
Archive:  two-factor.zip
   creating: two-factor/
   creating: two-factor/assets/
  inflating: two-factor/assets/banner-1544x500.png
  inflating: two-factor/assets/banner-772x250.png
  inflating: two-factor/assets/icon-128x128.png
  inflating: two-factor/assets/icon-256x256.png
  inflating: two-factor/class.two-factor-core.php
   creating: two-factor/includes/
  inflating: two-factor/includes/function.login-header.php
   creating: two-factor/includes/Google/
  inflating: two-factor/includes/Google/u2f-api.js
   creating: two-factor/includes/Yubico/
  inflating: two-factor/includes/Yubico/U2F.php
   creating: two-factor/providers/
  inflating: two-factor/providers/class.two-factor-backup-codes.php
  inflating: two-factor/providers/class.two-factor-dummy.php
  inflating: two-factor/providers/class.two-factor-email.php
  inflating: two-factor/providers/class.two-factor-fido-u2f-admin-list-table.php
  inflating: two-factor/providers/class.two-factor-fido-u2f-admin.php
  inflating: two-factor/providers/class.two-factor-fido-u2f.php
  inflating: two-factor/providers/class.two-factor-provider.php
  inflating: two-factor/providers/class.two-factor-totp.php
   creating: two-factor/providers/css/
  inflating: two-factor/providers/css/fido-u2f-admin.css
   creating: two-factor/providers/js/
  inflating: two-factor/providers/js/fido-u2f-admin-inline-edit.js
  inflating: two-factor/providers/js/fido-u2f-admin.js
  inflating: two-factor/providers/js/fido-u2f-login.js
  inflating: two-factor/readme.md
  inflating: two-factor/readme.txt
  inflating: two-factor/two-factor.php
  inflating: two-factor/user-edit.css

Enable the Plugin

Don’t forget to update the plugin in WordPress.

Once the plugin is enabled I can setup Two-factor authentication

Edit your Users

To setup two-factor authentication open your WordPress users screen (/wp-admin/users.php).

Notice the Two-Factor column

Edit your desired user to enable two-factor login options

Scroll down to Two Factor Options header, you will see a QR code that you can scan with your two-factor authentication app (e.g Google Authenticator or YubiCo Authenticator).

Always generate and save backup codes in case you lose your YubiKeys or authenticator app.

You can enable authentication methods as required.

Add the code to your Authenticator app. I will add mine to my Yubico Authenticator app that requires the insertion of a physical YubiKey. I can read my YubiKey via NFC and use my mobile phone to generate one time passwords too. Read here to learn about YubiKey 2FA (touch) devices. I have secured my Ubuntu/Debian and macOSX with these keys,

TIP: Don’t forget to save the user after editing.

Add the YubiKey 2FA (touch) to WordPress logins.

While editing a user click Register New Key under Security Keys

Add your primary and backup YubiKey as required (I added both of mine).

Enable all desired 2FA options

Email (OFF)
Time based One-Time Password (Authenticator App) (ON)
FIDO Universal 2nd Factor (U2F) – YubiKey Insertion and touch (ON)
Backup Codes (ON)

TIP: Don’t forget to save the user after editing.

Users Table

Aim to set up every user who has access to your WordPress to use 2FA.

Mobile 2FA login

I tested logos via mobile and I was prompted to tab my YubiKey to my phone. Nice.

What happens at login?

When One Time Password is enabled as the primary authentication method I am prompted for a one-time password after entering my username and password. I then need to insert my YubiKey (or tap the YubiKey to my phone (via NFC)) to generate a one time password.

When FIDO is enabled I need to insert my YubiKey and press the button.

Conclusion

I can now secure my WordPress site with 2FA protections without expensive security plugins.

I hope this guide helps someone.

More

Upgrading an Ubuntu server on UpCloud to add more CPU, Memory and Disk Space

June 25, 2018 by Simon

Upgrading an Ubuntu server on UpCloud to add more CPU, Memory and Disk Space

If you have not read my previous posts I have now moved my blog from Vultr to the awesome UpCloud host (signup using this link to get $25 free credit).

Recently I compared Digital Ocean, Vultr and UpCloud Disk IO here and UpCloud came out on top by a long way (read the blog post here). Here is my blog post on moving from Vultr to UpCloud.

Spoiler: UpCloud performance is great.

Why Upgrade

I have 1 CPU, 1 GB memory and 50GB storage and it is running well? I have PHP child workers set up and have set up the preferred use of memory over swap file usage.

Before UpCloud, when I had 512MB ram on Vultr I had multiple NGINX crashed a day so I used a bash script and scheduled a cron job to clear memory cache when memory fell below 100MB (view the script here). To further increase the speed of the WordPress I have configured the OS to use memory over the disk. About once a day free memory falls below 100MB (this is not a problem as my script clears cached items automatically).

I’d like to add more memory as I am working on some things (watch this space) and I will use the extra memory. I’d prefer the server is set up now for the expected workload.

How to Upgrade

This is how I upgraded from 1xCPU/2GB Memory/50GB Storage/2TB Transferred Data to a 2 CPU/4GB Mmeory/80GB Storage/4TB Transferred Data server.

UpCloud Pricing: https://www.upcloud.com/pricing/

Upgrade an UpCloud VM

I shut down my existing VM. Read this guide to setup a VM.

shutdown -P

Login to the UpCloud dashboard, select your server (confirm the server has shut down) and click General Settings, choose the upgrade and click Update.

I confirmed the upgrade options (2x CPU, 4096 MB Memory).

Click Update

After 10 seconds you can start your server from the UpCloud server.

I confirmed the CPU upgrade was visible in the VM

cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor       : 0
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 63
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2687W v3 @ 3.10GHz
stepping        : 2
microcode       : 0x1
cpu MHz         : 3099.978
cache size      : 16384 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 0
cpu cores       : 2
apicid          : 0
initial apicid  : 0
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 13
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon rep_good nopl xtopology cpuid pni pclmulqdq ssse3 fma cx16 pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand hypervisor lahf_lm abm invpcid_single pti fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid xsaveopt arat
bugs            : cpu_meltdown spectre_v1 spectre_v2 spec_store_bypass
bogomips        : 6199.95
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 40 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

processor       : 1
vendor_id       : GenuineIntel
cpu family      : 6
model           : 63
model name      : Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-2687W v3 @ 3.10GHz
stepping        : 2
microcode       : 0x1
cpu MHz         : 3099.978
cache size      : 16384 KB
physical id     : 0
siblings        : 2
core id         : 1
cpu cores       : 2
apicid          : 1
initial apicid  : 1
fpu             : yes
fpu_exception   : yes
cpuid level     : 13
wp              : yes
flags           : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon rep_good nopl xtopology cpuid pni pclmulqdq ssse3 fma cx16 pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes xsave avx f16c rdrand hypervisor lahf_lm abm invpcid_single pti fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms invpcid xsaveopt arat
bugs            : cpu_meltdown spectre_v1 spectre_v2 spec_store_bypass
bogomips        : 6199.95
clflush size    : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes   : 40 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
power management:

Software Tweaks Post Upgrade.

I added these settings to the top of /etc/nginx/nginx.conf to ensure the extra CPU was used.

worker_processes auto;
worker_cpu_affinity auto;

I increased PHP FPM ( /etc/php/7.2/fpm/php.ini ) to increase memory usage and child workers. I doubled child workers and max memory limit.

memory_limit = 3072M
pm.max_children = 80
pm.start_servers = 30
pm.min_spare_servers = 10
pm.max_spare_servers = 30

I restarted NGINX and PHP

nginx -t
nginx -s reload
/etc/init.d/nginx restart
service php7.2-fpm restart

I tweaked WordPress max memory limits

define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT','3072M');
define( 'WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT','3072M');

MySQL Tweaks: I logged into MySQL

mysql -u root -p

I ran “SHOW GLOBAL STATUS” to view stats

mysql> SHOW GLOBAL STATUS;
+-----------------------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Variable_name                                 | Value                                            |
+-----------------------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Aborted_clients                               | 0                                                |
| Aborted_connects                              | 0                                                |
| Binlog_cache_disk_use                         | 0                                                |
| Binlog_cache_use                              | 0                                                |
| Binlog_stmt_cache_disk_use                    | 0                                                |
| Binlog_stmt_cache_use                         | 0                                                |
| Bytes_received                                | 3179986                                          |
| Bytes_sent                                    | 223872114                                        |
| Com_admin_commands                            | 0                                                |
| Com_assign_to_keycache                        | 0                                                |
| Com_alter_db                                  | 0                                                |
| Com_alter_db_upgrade                          | 0                                                |
| Com_alter_event                               | 0                                                |
| Com_alter_function                            | 0                                                |
| Com_alter_instance                            | 0                                                |
| Com_alter_procedure                           | 0                                                |
| Com_alter_server                              | 0                                                |
| Com_alter_table                               | 0                                                |
| Com_alter_tablespace                          | 0                                                |
| Com_alter_user                                | 0                                                |
| Com_analyze                                   | 0                                                |
| Com_begin                                     | 0                                                |
| Com_binlog                                    | 0                                                |
| Com_call_procedure                            | 0                                                |
| Com_change_db                                 | 284                                              |
| Com_change_master                             | 0                                                |
| Com_change_repl_filter                        | 0                                                |
| Com_check                                     | 0                                                |
| Com_checksum                                  | 0                                                |
| Com_commit                                    | 0                                                |
| Com_create_db                                 | 0                                                |
| Com_create_event                              | 0                                                |
| Com_create_function                           | 0                                                |
| Com_create_index                              | 0                                                |
| Com_create_procedure                          | 0                                                |
| Com_create_server                             | 0                                                |
| Com_create_table                              | 0                                                |
| Com_create_trigger                            | 0                                                |
| Com_create_udf                                | 0                                                |
| Com_create_user                               | 0                                                |
| Com_create_view                               | 0                                                |
| Com_dealloc_sql                               | 0                                                |
| Com_delete                                    | 18                                               |
| Com_delete_multi                              | 0                                                |
| Com_do                                        | 0                                                |
| Com_drop_db                                   | 0                                                |
| Com_drop_event                                | 0                                                |
| Com_drop_function                             | 0                                                |
| Com_drop_index                                | 0                                                |
| Com_drop_procedure                            | 0                                                |
| Com_drop_server                               | 0                                                |
| Com_drop_table                                | 0                                                |
| Com_drop_trigger                              | 0                                                |
| Com_drop_user                                 | 0                                                |
| Com_drop_view                                 | 0                                                |
| Com_empty_query                               | 0                                                |
| Com_execute_sql                               | 0                                                |
| Com_explain_other                             | 0                                                |
| Com_flush                                     | 0                                                |
| Com_get_diagnostics                           | 0                                                |
| Com_grant                                     | 0                                                |
| Com_ha_close                                  | 0                                                |
| Com_ha_open                                   | 0                                                |
| Com_ha_read                                   | 0                                                |
| Com_help                                      | 0                                                |
| Com_insert                                    | 342                                              |
| Com_insert_select                             | 0                                                |
| Com_install_plugin                            | 0                                                |
| Com_kill                                      | 0                                                |
| Com_load                                      | 0                                                |
| Com_lock_tables                               | 0                                                |
| Com_optimize                                  | 0                                                |
| Com_preload_keys                              | 0                                                |
| Com_prepare_sql                               | 0                                                |
| Com_purge                                     | 0                                                |
| Com_purge_before_date                         | 0                                                |
| Com_release_savepoint                         | 0                                                |
| Com_rename_table                              | 0                                                |
| Com_rename_user                               | 0                                                |
| Com_repair                                    | 0                                                |
| Com_replace                                   | 0                                                |
| Com_replace_select                            | 0                                                |
| Com_reset                                     | 0                                                |
| Com_resignal                                  | 0                                                |
| Com_revoke                                    | 0                                                |
| Com_revoke_all                                | 0                                                |
| Com_rollback                                  | 0                                                |
| Com_rollback_to_savepoint                     | 0                                                |
| Com_savepoint                                 | 0                                                |
| Com_select                                    | 16358                                            |
| Com_set_option                                | 849                                              |
| Com_signal                                    | 0                                                |
| Com_show_binlog_events                        | 0                                                |
| Com_show_binlogs                              | 0                                                |
| Com_show_charsets                             | 0                                                |
| Com_show_collations                           | 0                                                |
| Com_show_create_db                            | 0                                                |
| Com_show_create_event                         | 0                                                |
| Com_show_create_func                          | 0                                                |
| Com_show_create_proc                          | 0                                                |
| Com_show_create_table                         | 0                                                |
| Com_show_create_trigger                       | 0                                                |
| Com_show_databases                            | 3                                                |
| Com_show_engine_logs                          | 0                                                |
| Com_show_engine_mutex                         | 0                                                |
| Com_show_engine_status                        | 0                                                |
| Com_show_events                               | 0                                                |
| Com_show_errors                               | 0                                                |
| Com_show_fields                               | 921                                              |
| Com_show_function_code                        | 0                                                |
| Com_show_function_status                      | 0                                                |
| Com_show_grants                               | 0                                                |
| Com_show_keys                                 | 1                                                |
| Com_show_master_status                        | 0                                                |
| Com_show_open_tables                          | 0                                                |
| Com_show_plugins                              | 0                                                |
| Com_show_privileges                           | 0                                                |
| Com_show_procedure_code                       | 0                                                |
| Com_show_procedure_status                     | 0                                                |
| Com_show_processlist                          | 0                                                |
| Com_show_profile                              | 0                                                |
| Com_show_profiles                             | 0                                                |
| Com_show_relaylog_events                      | 0                                                |
| Com_show_slave_hosts                          | 0                                                |
| Com_show_slave_status                         | 0                                                |
| Com_show_status                               | 6                                                |
| Com_show_storage_engines                      | 0                                                |
| Com_show_table_status                         | 0                                                |
| Com_show_tables                               | 2                                                |
| Com_show_triggers                             | 0                                                |
| Com_show_variables                            | 6                                                |
| Com_show_warnings                             | 1                                                |
| Com_show_create_user                          | 0                                                |
| Com_shutdown                                  | 0                                                |
| Com_slave_start                               | 0                                                |
| Com_slave_stop                                | 0                                                |
| Com_group_replication_start                   | 0                                                |
| Com_group_replication_stop                    | 0                                                |
| Com_stmt_execute                              | 4                                                |
| Com_stmt_close                                | 4                                                |
| Com_stmt_fetch                                | 0                                                |
| Com_stmt_prepare                              | 4                                                |
| Com_stmt_reset                                | 0                                                |
| Com_stmt_send_long_data                       | 4                                                |
| Com_truncate                                  | 2                                                |
| Com_uninstall_plugin                          | 0                                                |
| Com_unlock_tables                             | 0                                                |
| Com_update                                    | 70                                               |
| Com_update_multi                              | 0                                                |
| Com_xa_commit                                 | 0                                                |
| Com_xa_end                                    | 0                                                |
| Com_xa_prepare                                | 0                                                |
| Com_xa_recover                                | 0                                                |
| Com_xa_rollback                               | 0                                                |
| Com_xa_start                                  | 0                                                |
| Com_stmt_reprepare                            | 0                                                |
| Connection_errors_accept                      | 0                                                |
| Connection_errors_internal                    | 0                                                |
| Connection_errors_max_connections             | 0                                                |
| Connection_errors_peer_address                | 0                                                |
| Connection_errors_select                      | 0                                                |
| Connection_errors_tcpwrap                     | 0                                                |
| Connections                                   | 292                                              |
| Created_tmp_disk_tables                       | 1124                                             |
| Created_tmp_files                             | 30                                               |
| Created_tmp_tables                            | 1369                                             |
| Delayed_errors                                | 0                                                |
| Delayed_insert_threads                        | 0                                                |
| Delayed_writes                                | 0                                                |
| Flush_commands                                | 1                                                |
| Handler_commit                                | 6094                                             |
| Handler_delete                                | 33                                               |
| Handler_discover                              | 0                                                |
| Handler_external_lock                         | 38571                                            |
| Handler_mrr_init                              | 0                                                |
| Handler_prepare                               | 0                                                |
| Handler_read_first                            | 2299                                             |
| Handler_read_key                              | 134761                                           |
| Handler_read_last                             | 237                                              |
| Handler_read_next                             | 310119                                           |
| Handler_read_prev                             | 2733                                             |
| Handler_read_rnd                              | 222350                                           |
| Handler_read_rnd_next                         | 472820                                           |
| Handler_rollback                              | 0                                                |
| Handler_savepoint                             | 0                                                |
| Handler_savepoint_rollback                    | 0                                                |
| Handler_update                                | 15605                                            |
| Handler_write                                 | 17310                                            |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_dump_status                | Dumping of buffer pool not started               |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_load_status                | Buffer pool(s) load completed at 180624 23:38:01 |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_resize_status              |                                                  |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_data                 | 1035                                             |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_bytes_data                 | 16957440                                         |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_dirty                | 0                                                |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_bytes_dirty                | 0                                                |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_flushed              | 1936                                             |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_free                 | 7144                                             |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_misc                 | 13                                               |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_pages_total                | 8192                                             |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_read_ahead_rnd             | 0                                                |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_read_ahead                 | 0                                                |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_read_ahead_evicted         | 0                                                |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_read_requests              | 306665                                           |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_reads                      | 950                                              |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_wait_free                  | 0                                                |
| Innodb_buffer_pool_write_requests             | 26509                                            |
| Innodb_data_fsyncs                            | 1229                                             |
| Innodb_data_pending_fsyncs                    | 0                                                |
| Innodb_data_pending_reads                     | 0                                                |
| Innodb_data_pending_writes                    | 0                                                |
| Innodb_data_read                              | 16273920                                         |
| Innodb_data_reads                             | 1078                                             |
| Innodb_data_writes                            | 2857                                             |
| Innodb_data_written                           | 53379584                                         |
| Innodb_dblwr_pages_written                    | 1275                                             |
| Innodb_dblwr_writes                           | 109                                              |
| Innodb_log_waits                              | 0                                                |
| Innodb_log_write_requests                     | 450                                              |
| Innodb_log_writes                             | 585                                              |
| Innodb_os_log_fsyncs                          | 793                                              |
| Innodb_os_log_pending_fsyncs                  | 0                                                |
| Innodb_os_log_pending_writes                  | 0                                                |
| Innodb_os_log_written                         | 664064                                           |
| Innodb_page_size                              | 16384                                            |
| Innodb_pages_created                          | 56                                               |
| Innodb_pages_read                             | 988                                              |
| Innodb_pages_written                          | 1936                                             |
| Innodb_row_lock_current_waits                 | 0                                                |
| Innodb_row_lock_time                          | 0                                                |
| Innodb_row_lock_time_avg                      | 0                                                |
| Innodb_row_lock_time_max                      | 0                                                |
| Innodb_row_lock_waits                         | 0                                                |
| Innodb_rows_deleted                           | 2                                                |
| Innodb_rows_inserted                          | 19219                                            |
| Innodb_rows_read                              | 249102                                           |
| Innodb_rows_updated                           | 77                                               |
| Innodb_num_open_files                         | 81                                               |
| Innodb_truncated_status_writes                | 0                                                |
| Innodb_available_undo_logs                    | 128                                              |
| Key_blocks_not_flushed                        | 0                                                |
| Key_blocks_unused                             | 12751                                            |
| Key_blocks_used                               | 645                                              |
| Key_read_requests                             | 321877                                           |
| Key_reads                                     | 648                                              |
| Key_write_requests                            | 196                                              |
| Key_writes                                    | 150                                              |
| Locked_connects                               | 0                                                |
| Max_execution_time_exceeded                   | 0                                                |
| Max_execution_time_set                        | 0                                                |
| Max_execution_time_set_failed                 | 0                                                |
| Max_used_connections                          | 3                                                |
| Max_used_connections_time                     | 2018-06-24 23:43:48                              |
| Not_flushed_delayed_rows                      | 0                                                |
| Ongoing_anonymous_transaction_count           | 0                                                |
| Open_files                                    | 229                                              |
| Open_streams                                  | 0                                                |
| Open_table_definitions                        | 206                                              |
| Open_tables                                   | 786                                              |
| Opened_files                                  | 502                                              |
| Opened_table_definitions                      | 208                                              |
| Opened_tables                                 | 817                                              |
| Performance_schema_accounts_lost              | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_cond_classes_lost          | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_cond_instances_lost        | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_digest_lost                | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_file_classes_lost          | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_file_handles_lost          | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_file_instances_lost        | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_hosts_lost                 | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_index_stat_lost            | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_locker_lost                | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_memory_classes_lost        | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_metadata_lock_lost         | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_mutex_classes_lost         | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_mutex_instances_lost       | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_nested_statement_lost      | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_prepared_statements_lost   | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_program_lost               | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_rwlock_classes_lost        | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_rwlock_instances_lost      | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_session_connect_attrs_lost | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_socket_classes_lost        | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_socket_instances_lost      | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_stage_classes_lost         | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_statement_classes_lost     | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_table_handles_lost         | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_table_instances_lost       | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_table_lock_stat_lost       | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_thread_classes_lost        | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_thread_instances_lost      | 0                                                |
| Performance_schema_users_lost                 | 0                                                |
| Prepared_stmt_count                           | 0                                                |
| Qcache_free_blocks                            | 1                                                |
| Qcache_free_memory                            | 16760152                                         |
| Qcache_hits                                   | 0                                                |
| Qcache_inserts                                | 0                                                |
| Qcache_lowmem_prunes                          | 0                                                |
| Qcache_not_cached                             | 16355                                            |
| Qcache_queries_in_cache                       | 0                                                |
| Qcache_total_blocks                           | 1                                                |
| Queries                                       | 19164                                            |
| Questions                                     | 19155                                            |
| Select_full_join                              | 0                                                |
| Select_full_range_join                        | 0                                                |
| Select_range                                  | 2677                                             |
| Select_range_check                            | 0                                                |
| Select_scan                                   | 2098                                             |
| Slave_open_temp_tables                        | 0                                                |
| Slow_launch_threads                           | 0                                                |
| Slow_queries                                  | 0                                                |
| Sort_merge_passes                             | 12                                               |
| Sort_range                                    | 4859                                             |
| Sort_rows                                     | 244452                                           |
| Sort_scan                                     | 854                                              |
| Ssl_accept_renegotiates                       | 0                                                |
| Ssl_accepts                                   | 0                                                |
| Ssl_callback_cache_hits                       | 0                                                |
| Ssl_cipher                                    |                                                  |
| Ssl_cipher_list                               |                                                  |
| Ssl_client_connects                           | 0                                                |
| Ssl_connect_renegotiates                      | 0                                                |
| Ssl_ctx_verify_depth                          | 0                                                |
| Ssl_ctx_verify_mode                           | 0                                                |
| Ssl_default_timeout                           | 0                                                |
| Ssl_finished_accepts                          | 0                                                |
| Ssl_finished_connects                         | 0                                                |
| Ssl_server_not_after                          |                                                  |
| Ssl_server_not_before                         |                                                  |
| Ssl_session_cache_hits                        | 0                                                |
| Ssl_session_cache_misses                      | 0                                                |
| Ssl_session_cache_mode                        | NONE                                             |
| Ssl_session_cache_overflows                   | 0                                                |
| Ssl_session_cache_size                        | 0                                                |
| Ssl_session_cache_timeouts                    | 0                                                |
| Ssl_sessions_reused                           | 0                                                |
| Ssl_used_session_cache_entries                | 0                                                |
| Ssl_verify_depth                              | 0                                                |
| Ssl_verify_mode                               | 0                                                |
| Ssl_version                                   |                                                  |
| Table_locks_immediate                         | 11962                                            |
| Table_locks_waited                            | 0                                                |
| Table_open_cache_hits                         | 19395                                            |
| Table_open_cache_misses                       | 817                                              |
| Table_open_cache_overflows                    | 12                                               |
| Tc_log_max_pages_used                         | 0                                                |
| Tc_log_page_size                              | 0                                                |
| Tc_log_page_waits                             | 0                                                |
| Threads_cached                                | 2                                                |
| Threads_connected                             | 1                                                |
| Threads_created                               | 3                                                |
| Threads_running                               | 1                                                |
| Uptime                                        | 2944                                             |
| Uptime_since_flush_status                     | 2944                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
353 rows in set (0.00 sec)

Read more on SHOW GLOBAL STATUS here. Read more on the values here.

I can see NO major errors here (possibly due to UpClouds awesome disk IO) so I won’t be making memory tweaks in MySQL. Sign Up using this link and get $25 credit free on UpCloud and see for yourself how fast they are.

Configure Ubuntu System Memory Usage

Edit /etc/sysctl.conf

Add the following to allow things to sit in ram longer

vm.vfs_cache_pressure=50

Snip from: https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/sysctl/vm.txt

This percentage value controls the tendency of the kernel to reclaim the memory which is used for caching of directory and inode objects.

At the default value of vfs_cache_pressure=100 the kernel will attempt to reclaim dentries and inodes at a "fair" rate with respect to pagecache and swapcache reclaim.  Decreasing vfs_cache_pressure causes the kernel to prefer to retain dentry and inode caches. When vfs_cache_pressure=0, the kernel will never reclaim dentries and inodes due to memory pressure and this can easily lead to out-of-memory conditions. Increasing vfs_cache_pressure beyond 100 causes the kernel to prefer to reclaim dentries and inodes.

Increasing vfs_cache_pressure significantly beyond 100 may have negative performance impact. Reclaim code needs to take various locks to find freeable directory and inode objects. With vfs_cache_pressure=1000, it will look for ten times more freeable objects than there are."

Read these pages here and here regarding setting MySQL memory.

Reboot

shutdown -r now

Resize the disk

The 2x CPU, 4GB memory plan comes with 80GB storage allowance. My disk at present is 50GB and I will update the size soon following this guide soon.

Quick Benchmark

I used loader.io to load 500 users to access my site in 1 minute.

The benchmark worked with no errors.

This benchmark was performed with no Cloudflare caching. I should get Cloudflare caching working again to lower the average response time. I loaded my website manually in Google Chrome while loader.io threw 500 users at my site and it loaded very fast.

Conclusion

After a few days, I checked my memory logs and there were no low memory triggers (just normal internal memory management triggers). Ubuntu was happier.

This graph was taken before I set “vm.vfs_cache_pressure” so I will update this graph in a few days.

I hope this guide helps someone.

Please consider using my referral code and get $25 credit for free.

https://www.upcloud.com/register/?promo=D84793

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Revision History

1.0 Initial Post

Using Cloudflare DNS servers to speed up the internet and add privacy on OSX

April 2, 2018 by Simon

Below is how I setup my OSX to use Cloudflare’s new DNS servers to speed up internet browsing and add privacy on OSX

Cloudflare has launched a DNS service: https://blog.cloudflare.com/announcing-1111/

DNS Performance

You can view worldwide DNS performance by viewing https://www.dnsperf.com/#!dns-providers

I check the DNS at my router, I am using ISP provided DNS servers.

Cloudflare DNS

On April Fools 2018 Cloudflare Released a DNS server service.

Snip from here: “DNS: Internet’s Directory Nearly everything on the Internet starts with a DNS request. DNS is the Internet’s directory. Click on a link, open an app, send an email and the first thing your device does is ask the directory: Where can I find this? Unfortunately, by default, DNS is usually slow and insecure. Your ISP, and anyone else listening in on the Internet, can see every site you visit and every app you use — even if their content is encrypted. Creepily, some DNS providers sell data about your Internet activity or use it target you with ads.”

https://1.1.1.1/

Set Cloudflare Nameservers using OSX

Open the Apple System Preferences, click Network, click on your Network (Wifi or ethernet), Click Advanced then DNS and add 1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1

Alternatively, you can manually set your DNS servers in OSX by editing the /etc/resolv.conf, by default SX will inherit DNS settings from our router.

cat /etc/resolv.conf
#
# macOS Notice
#
# This file is not consulted for DNS hostname resolution, address
# resolution, or the DNS query routing mechanism used by most
# processes on this system.
#
# To view the DNS configuration used by this system, use:
#   scutil --dns
#
# SEE ALSO
#   dns-sd(1), scutil(8)
#
# This file is automatically generated.
#
domain home
nameserver 1.1.1.1
nameserver 1.0.0.1

Troubleshooting: Clear DNS Cache

sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

Debug DNS Data

scutil --dns
DNS configuration

resolver #1
  search domain[0] : home
  nameserver[0] : 1.1.1.1
  nameserver[1] : 1.0.0.1
  flags    : Request A records
  reach    : 0x00000002 (Reachable)

resolver #2
  domain   : local
  options  : mdns
  timeout  : 5
  flags    : Request A records
  reach    : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable)
  order    : 300000

resolver #3
  domain   : 254.169.in-addr.arpa
  options  : mdns
  timeout  : 5
  flags    : Request A records
  reach    : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable)
  order    : 300200

resolver #4
  domain   : 8.e.f.ip6.arpa
  options  : mdns
  timeout  : 5
  flags    : Request A records
  reach    : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable)
  order    : 300400

resolver #5
  domain   : 9.e.f.ip6.arpa
  options  : mdns
  timeout  : 5
  flags    : Request A records
  reach    : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable)
  order    : 300600

resolver #6
  domain   : a.e.f.ip6.arpa
  options  : mdns
  timeout  : 5
  flags    : Request A records
  reach    : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable)
  order    : 300800

resolver #7
  domain   : b.e.f.ip6.arpa
  options  : mdns
  timeout  : 5
  flags    : Request A records
  reach    : 0x00000000 (Not Reachable)
  order    : 301000

DNS configuration (for scoped queries)

resolver #1
  search domain[0] : home
  nameserver[0] : 1.1.1.1
  nameserver[1] : 1.0.0.1
  if_index : 7 (en0)
  flags    : Scoped, Request A records
  reach    : 0x00000002 (Reachable)

Confirm Cloudflare DNS from the OSX Comand line

nslookup www.fearby.com
Server:		1.1.1.1
Address:	1.1.1.1#53

Non-authoritative answer:
Name:	www.fearby.com
Address: 104.27.154.69
Name:	www.fearby.com
Address: 104.27.155.69

Privacy

I am not sure if Cloudflare is any more private than using ISP DNS but I’ll happily use it.

Several people have asked me about Cloudflare’s new 1.1.1.1 privacy DNS service. To be clear: it DOES NOT stop your ISPs from collecting your browsing history. ISPs can still see the sites you’re connecting to — even if the site is over HTTPS. You will still send a hostname.

— Zack Whittaker (@zackwhittaker) April 2, 2018

Speed

I can’t tell if DNS is faster, I did ping my ISP DNS before switching and it was about the same (sub 25ms), time will tell.

Conclusion

I have used https://www.opendns.com/ before and loved the dashboards, I hope Cloudflare add dashboard options too.

I hope this guide helps someone.

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Revision History

v1.0 Initial post

Add email alias to an existing GSuite email account

January 14, 2018 by Simon

This short post will show you how (and why) you should add email aliases to email accounts for previously added domains.

Here are my two posts related to setting up a new suite account and adding a second domain to an existing GSuite account. I used to have my own C Panel domain but moved all servers to self-managed servers first on Digital Ocean then AWS then Vultr. Vultr is now my preferred hosts as they are affordable and have server locations in Australia.

Click Users

I tried to add an email alias to existing 2x domains in Google Suite (the help did not align with the screens I was seeing in my admin consoles), there was no email alias section)??

Official Google Help: https://support.google.com/domains/answer/6304345?hl=en-AU

Snip:

Every user in a G Suite account has a

primary address

 for signing in to their account and receiving mail. If a user wants another email address, you can create an

email alias

 for them.

Why use an alias?

 If [email protected] wants a sales address to post to the company website, you can create the alias

[email protected]

. Mail sent to either address then appears in Ann's Gmail inbox.

You can add up to 30 email aliases for each user. Users continue to sign in to their G Suite account with their primary address, not an email alias.

I fired up the G Suite support

I wanted to add the following email aliases of “security@..”, “admin@..” and “root@..” to an existing email on 2 domains to support security disclosures (post soon (nope Troy Hunt beat me, read his post on security disclosure here)).

While I was waiting for the support chat I figured out the email alias thing, it turned out I needed to click the “Account” header on the user screen (I did not realise “account word was clickable).

Solution: How to add Aliases

You need to click the account heading (It’s a link apparently).

When the Ajax content loads you can scroll down to alias section.

Tip: There is no “Apply” or “OK” button when adding aliases so just press enter.

Now if you want to be able to send as the new alias you need to add the aliases in Gmail.

Now you can send via this email alias in GMail or via CLI via the primary account 🙂

sendemail -f [email protected] -t [email protected] -u "Test email via alias" -s smtp.gmail.com:587 -o tls=yes -xu si[email protected] -xp YourPa$w0rdH3r3 -m "Test email via alias"

Read my blog post on sending email from the command line via G Suite.

Donate and make this blog better

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Revision History
v1.1 Added Troy Hunt “Data Breach Disclosures” link

v1.0 Working Copy.

Hope this helps someone.

Setting up GitHub on an iMac and creating a project

June 25, 2017 by Simon

Here is my quick guide on setting up a new GitHub repository on an iMac adding files and syncing with a repository. Read the GitHub 101 if you are a beginner. Read my BitBucket guide here.

Why

Using git allows you to make backups, use code versioning, rollback code, use multiple development machines/have multiple users, auto merging code etc.

Github can be cheaper, more flexible and offer more features than something like Dropbox.

How

Create an account at GitHub and Login ( https://github.com/login ).

Don’t forget to set up Two Factor Authentication for extra security.

Enter your Two Factor Authentication code every time you login.

Before you can read or write to your Git repository you need to set up a link between your computer (Mac) and GitHub by Setting up a Secure SSH Key with GitHub. About SSH.

If you have read any of my guides on setting up servers (e.g The quickest way to setup a scalable development IDE and web server, How to buy a new domain and SSL cert from NameCheap, a Server from Digital Ocean and configure it or Connecting to an AWS EC2 Ubuntu instance with Cloud 9 IDE as user ubuntu and root ) you will be familiar with SSH keys.

You can check your existing SSH Keys by typing the following.

ls -al ~/.ssh

Follow this GitHub guide on creating a new SSH key to use with GitHub.

I found I had to do the following in the Mac terminal to get this to work.

eval "$(ssh-agent -s)"
mkdir /gitrsatemp
cd /gitrsatemp
sudo ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "[email protected]"
# specify output as /gitrsatemp/githubrsa
# used a passphrase from https://www.grc.com/passwords.htm
mv /gitrsatemp/* ~/.ssh/
cd ~/.ssh/
ssh-add -K ./githubrsa

You can now add your SSH key to GitHub.

cd ~/.ssh/ 
sudo pbcopy < ./githubrsa.pub

You can then add your public key to https://github.com/settings/keys

Add the SSH Key.

You can then test the SSH connection to GitHub.

At first, I tried this but got an error.

sudo ssh -T [email protected]
The authenticity of host 'github.com (192.30.255.113)' can't be established.
RSA key fingerprint is SHA256:key_redacted.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes
Warning: Permanently added 'github.com,192.30.255.113' (RSA) to the list of known hosts.

This is what I got when I added my SSH Key to my GitHub account. This worked for me (this updated my known_hosts file).

sudo ssh -T [email protected]
Hi SimonFearby! You've successfully authenticated, but GitHub does not provide shell access.

Tip: Don’t forget to save adding your SSH Key to GitHub

If you need help contact GitHub.

GitHub Pricing

GitHub offers free public repository pricing or $7 a month for unlimited personal repositories for personal use. Bitbucket is the Atlassian owned alternative to GitHub, they have free repositories for up to 5 users with 1TB.

Read my Setting up BitBucket on an iMac and creating a project guide.

Read on the differences between GitHub and BitBucket.

Create your first test public Repository.

Load https://www.github.com and click Start a Project, or go to https://github.com/new

To specify a Readme file and an ignore file if need be (we can do this later). You will need to be a paid Git member to create private repositories.

When your repository is created it will be ready to upload files: https://github.com/SimonFearby/testgitproject001

Creating a local folder

Create a local folder for the repository etc.

# create a folder on your desktop
cd ~/Desktop/
mkdir testgitproject001
cd testgitproject001/

# Check the git status
git status
fatal: Not a git repository (or any of the parent directories): .git

# the folder is now ready files from the repository.

Liking the remote repository to the local folder.

First, we need to initialize git locally by typing the following.

git init
> Initialized empty Git repository in /Users/simon/Desktop/testgitproject001/.git/

Now we can add the remote “origin” repository to the local repo.

git remote add origin [email protected]:SimonFearby/testgitproject001.git

We can now see connected remote repositories by typing the following

git remote -v
origin	[email protected]:SimonFearby/testgitproject001.git (fetch)
origin	[email protected]:SimonFearby/testgitproject001.git (push)

Syncing (Pulling) the Repository

Generally, you want to pull all files from the remote repository after you create it (and the readme file).

git pull origin master

This worked 🙂

# What directory are we in
pwd
/Users/simon/Desktop/testgitproject001

# No files
ls -al
total 0
drwxr-xr-x   3 simon  staff   102 28 Jun 00:19 .
drwx------+ 53 simon  staff  1802 28 Jun 00:00 ..
drwxr-xr-x  10 simon  staff   340 28 Jun 00:21 .git

# Let's get the repo files

git pull origin master
remote: Counting objects: 4, done.
remote: Compressing objects: 100% (3/3), done.
Unpacking objects: 100% (4/4), done.
remote: Total 4 (delta 0), reused 0 (delta 0), pack-reused 0
From github.com:SimonFearby/testgitproject001
 * branch            master     -> FETCH_HEAD
 * [new branch]      master     -> origin/master

# Is the readme is there.
ls -al
total 32
drwxr-xr-x   5 simon  staff    170 28 Jun 00:30 .
drwx------+ 53 simon  staff   1802 28 Jun 00:00 ..
drwxr-xr-x  13 simon  staff    442 28 Jun 00:30 .git
-rw-r--r--   1 simon  staff  11357 28 Jun 00:30 LICENSE
-rw-r--r--   1 simon  staff     49 28 Jun 00:30 README.md

Pulling, Pushing, Branches and Forking.

You can read more about pulling, pushing, branches and forking here.

This course helped me https://www.udemy.com/learn-android/

Adding your first local file(s) to the repository

Adding all files to the new directory.

git add -A

Adding a single file:

git add newfilename.txt

Here is an example of adding a new file.

# Create a new file
touch newfilename.txt

#edit the file.
sudo nano newfilename.txt

# Tell git we want this file to be managed
git add newfilename.txt

# What is the status of this repository
git status
On branch master
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)

Set your default commit username (help)

git config --global user.name "Mona Lisa"

Set your default commit email address (help).

git config --global user.email "[email protected]"

Double-check config here

git config --global --edit

You will need to use vim to insert then save changes. I like the nano text editor better so I am changing the default editor.

Setting your default as nano (and not vim)

nano (and not vim)

git config --global core.editor nano

Submitting (pushing) changes

# Create a new file locally
touch newfilename.txt

# edit the local file
sudo nanonewfilename.txt

# Tell git we want to include it.
git addnewfilename.txt

# commit the file to the remote (origin) server with a commit message
git commitnewfilename.txt -m "addednewfilename.txt"

# Merge all changes with the remote (origin) server
git push origin master

The changes have been pushed (merged)

Adding another file.

This is how I added another single file locally and pushed to the remote (origin) server

# Create a new file locally
touch anothernewfile.txt

# edit the local file
sudo nano anothernewfile.txt 

# Tell git we want to include it.
git add anothernewfile.txt 

# commit the file to the remote (origin) server with a commit message
git commit anothernewfile.txt -m "added anothernewfile.txt"

# Merge all changes with the remote (origin) server
git push origin master

Now we have two new public files in a repository and locally.

README.md and markdown

Now we need to make the README.MD file look nice and reflect the changes.

More info in markdown formatting here, here, here and here. Here is a good markdown table generator.

I made some changes (see) and pushed to the repository (origin).

# edit the file
sudo nano README.md 

# Tell git we want to commit the changes
git commit README.md -m "edited README.md"

# Merge local changes with the remote repository (origin)
git push origin master

My local README.md markdown changes

# testgitproject001
Simon's Test Git Project 001

# *Added* **two** test __text__ files (~~they are not important~~)

- [x] newfilename.txt
- [x] anothernewfilename.txt
- [ ] notmergedlocalfile.txt

## This is for my (GitHub guide on my blog](https://www.fearby.com/article/setting-up-github-on-an-imac-and-creating-a-project/)

Inline-style: 
![Simon Fearby Avatar](https://fearby.com/Avatar.jpeg "Simon Fearby Avatar")

This is what is looks like on GitHub after I commit and push

You can use pages on GitHub with markdown to create versioned documentation and help.

Commit and check the git status frequently

It is strongly advisable to frequently commit files (to a staging/not master repository) and check local it status for any issues. Commit as frequently as you remember.

# A forgotten local edit
sudo nano README.md 

# Show a gitstatus report
git status
On branch master
Changes not staged for commit:
  (use "git add <file>..." to update what will be committed)
  (use "git checkout -- <file>..." to discard changes in working directory)

	modified:   README.md

no changes added to commit (use "git add" and/or "git commit -a")

You can push or delete changes if need be.

Adding many subfolders and many files.

Let’s say you have just added three subfolders (iOS Project Code (12 files), Android Projet Code (1255 items) and a Windows Desktop Project Code (.NET) folder (27 items) and you want to add them all to the remote repository (origin).

Now we need to add the 1,294 files to the local repository.

We can simply type the following to tell git we want it to manage all the local files.

# Add all sub folders and files in tbhis folder.
git add .

# Show a local status report.
simon$ git status
On branch master
Changes to be committed:
  (use "git reset HEAD <file>..." to unstage)

	new file:   .DS_Store
	new file:   Android Project Code/.gitignore
	new file:   Android Project Code/.idea/.name
	new file:   Android Project Code/.idea/compiler.xml
	new file:   Android Project Code/.idea/copyright/profiles_settings.xml
.. 1000+ orther files are listed

Now you can merge the files top remote repository (origin).

git push origin master

Don’t forget to updates your README.md file with changes.

fyi: GitHub may take a minute or two to show changes.

# Edt the README.md
sudo nano README.md 

# Commit the changed file
git commit README.md -m "edited README.md again"

# merge chnages.
push origin master

Ignoring local files

You may want to ignore local files or folders. In your git folder type. I like to ignore all files with “secret” in the filename.

AWS recommend you ignore secret keys and logs to prevent inadvertent account access via sharing secret keys.

# Edit your repositories ignore file
sudo nano .git/info/exclude

# Add These exclusions
secret*.*
*secret.*
*secert*.*
*.secret*
*.*secret
*.*secret*

You can find other things to ignore here. You can setup global ignore list by reading this.

You can see I have created a few secret files and new thirdnewfile.txt (and added it to git) and committed and pushed and the secret files remain local (they will remain local while they match the ignored list).

ls -al
total 112
drwxr-xr-x  15 simon  staff    510 28 Jun 15:31 .
drwx------+ 53 simon  staff   1802 28 Jun 14:53 ..
-rw-r--r--@  1 simon  staff  12292 28 Jun 15:00 .DS_Store
drwxr-xr-x  14 simon  staff    476 28 Jun 15:34 .git
drwxr-xr-x  15 simon  staff    510 28 Jun 14:59 Android Project Code
-rw-r--r--   1 simon  staff  11357 28 Jun 00:30 LICENSE
-rw-r--r--   1 simon  staff    544 28 Jun 15:19 README.md
drwxr-xr-x   6 simon  staff    204 28 Jun 15:00 Windows Desktop Project Code
-rw-r--r--   1 simon  staff     10 28 Jun 14:06 anothernewfile.txt
drwxr-xr-x   5 simon  staff    170 28 Jun 14:49 iOS Project Code
-rw-r--r--   1 simon  staff     17 28 Jun 15:30 my.secret
-rw-r--r--   1 simon  staff     10 28 Jun 01:10 newfilename.txt
-rw-r--r--   1 simon  staff     26 28 Jun 15:23 secertapikey.txt
-rw-r--r--   1 simon  staff     22 28 Jun 15:23 secretfile.txt
-rw-r--r--   1 simon  staff     21 28 Jun 15:31 thirdnewfile.txt

GitHub view.

Local Git View

Note the secret files.

GitHub Desktop Application

I checked out the GitHub Desktop application at https://desktop.github.com/.

The downloaded compressed file.

I extracted and copied the app to the Applications folder.

Now I logged into to the application.

Much respect to GitHub for integrating Two Factor Authentication into the login.

Unfortunately, GitHub Desktop thinks I have zero repositories (I have 9 repositories when I log in via the web using the same email address). I contacted support on Twitter but have not had a response yet?

I was able to clone the repository I made via the command line earlier or add a local repository.

I added a new text file (afileaddedwithgithubdesktop.txt) to the folder and GitHub Desktop noticed this new file straight away. I added this file to the repository.

I pushed all local changes to the origin/remote master repository.

All local changes were merged with the remote origin master (I could never do this with Atlassian’s SourceTree application).

Conclusion

Now I can sync up my projects that to GitHub repositories from the terminal and GitHub Desktop application and benefit from the features of git (backups, versioning, rollbacks, multiple machines/multiple users, auto merging etc).

Next

I will add how to pull a repository to a $5 month Digital Ocean and or AWS (Ubuntu) VM.

Read my Setting up BitBucket on an iMac and creating a project guide.

Git repositories on Raspberry Pi’s.

Related guides

Setting up a development environment on Digital Ocean 14.04

https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-install-git-on-ubuntu-14-04

Tips and Troubleshooting

GitHub has a good tips page here. I had @GitHubHelp pro-actively contact me for support on Twitter. Contact GitHub here.

How to add all local files and commit all local files.

git add -A && git commit

I hope this is helpful to someone.

20 essential git tips.

P.S Don’t edit live code, use GitHub.

Agile Project Management

Read my blog post on developing software and staying on track here.

I highly recommend you follow Dmitri Iarandine at http://joinagile.com/ (Agile Coach, Trainer, Host of Lean and Mean Agile). Podcast. Author of GET HIRED as SCRUM MASTER).

Dmitri can be found here too.

Soundcloud (Lean and Mean Agile Podcast):
https://soundcloud.com/user-364782318

iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/lean-and-mean-agile-podcast/id1269551866

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC00OZqfM9VmznEOTVzrQQxw

Twitter:
http://twitter.com/iarandine

Udemy:
https://www.udemy.com/agile-coaching-101/

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/author/iarandine

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v1.7 added info on agile and staying on track,

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