How to retrieve a Twitter user timeline using the Twitter API version 1.1 in PHP

There are various PHP Twitter libraries which each have their advantages and disadvantages, however sometimes it is easier to code it yourself rather than learning and working within the limitations of an existing library. The first step is to create a new Twitter application at https://apps.twitter.com/ (there are various tutorials available online on how to
Read More »

How to force HTTPS behind an Amazon Web Services Elastic Load Balancer

Recently I have been learning the Amazon Web Services (AWS) platform and have created a setup with two web servers running NGINX and PHP behind an Elastic Load Balancer (ELB). Later I added HTTPS support and I came across an issue where HTTPS requests were getting redirected to HTTP. Luckily the ELB supports the HTTP
Read More »

How to find your Windows product key

If you’re planning on doing a re-installation of Windows, it’s a good idea to make a backup of your product key. If the Certificate of Authenticity has become unreadable due to wear and tear and you don’t have a note of it anywhere else then this simple script will tell you what your product key
Read More »

How to patch your server against CVE-2015-5477

CVE-2015-5477 is a vulnerability in the popular BIND DNS software. Below is a guide on how to patch your server against this vulnerability: Ubuntu: CentOS: You will need to enable the Continuous Release (CR) Repository in order to get this patch, this can be done using the following commands Optionally, once the above steps have
Read More »

Enabling SPDY on NGINX

SPDY (pronounced speedy) is the new protocol developed by Google to replace HTTP and is supported in all major browsers. It is very simple to enable to get this up and running, all you need in NGINX installed on your web server with an SSL certificate. Firstly, ensure your NGINX is enabled with SPDY support
Read More »