azure

Discover how I deployed and secured a Signal Proxy service on Azure to help users bypass government censorship while learning new cloud infrastructure skills. I share my experience setting up the lightweight Docker containers on a cost-effective Ubuntu VM and explain why I ultimately shut down the service after a month due to unexpectedly high personal costs.

I wanted to solve the missing RSS feed issue in my static WordPress site by building a custom tool rather than relying on plugins. I decided to leverage the WordPress REST API to fetch post data as JSON, avoiding the complexities of parsing static HTML files, to generate a proper XML feed for my readers.

Although this post focuses on deploying the open-source Tesla tracking tool Teslamate, I believe it offers valuable insights into Azure’s flexibility for securing services that might apply to your own projects. I walk through my experience hosting Teslamate on a Synology NAS to handle its Docker requirements, while leveraging Azure to establish a secure, authenticated access layer over the default unencrypted HTTP connection.

Having worked remotely since 1997, I share my experience building the perfect remote workstation using Microsoft Azure’s DevTest Labs for superior productivity and control. I walk you through the step-by-step process of setting up your own cloud-based environment, from creating resource groups to configuring automatic shutdowns, so you can achieve a reliable and efficient virtual workspace.

If you have ever wondered whether blocking all traffic in your firewall completely cuts off access to Microsoft Azure, I decided to test this scenario in a controlled lab environment. I configured a Windows 10 VM to deny all outbound connections and confirmed that Azure access is indeed blocked, prompting an investigation into how to selectively allow necessary traffic using Microsoft’s published IP ranges.