2.5 Admins 283: FSOD

2.5 Admins 283: FSOD

Author: The Late Night Linux Family January 22, 2026 Duration: 25:10

The last method to activate Windows without the Internet has gone away, malware that tricks users with a fake blue screen of death, and recovering from bad RAM with ZFS.

 

Plugs

Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early episodes sometimes

Understanding ZFS Scrubs and Data Integrity

 

News/discussion

Windows activation by phone is seemingly dead

How Fake BSODs and Trusted Build Tools Are Used to Construct a Malware Infection

 

Free consulting

We were asked about recovering from bad RAM with ZFS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See our contact page for ways to get in touch.

 


Ever wondered what happens when two seasoned system administrators and a producer who knows just enough to be dangerous get together for a weekly chat? That’s the premise behind 2.5 Admins, a refreshingly honest tech podcast from The Late Night Linux Family. Hosts Allan Jude and Jim Salter bring their deep, real-world expertise to the table, while Joe Ressington-the “0.5” who can configure a Samba share on a good day-keeps the conversation grounded and relatable. Each episode feels like eavesdropping on a lively breakroom discussion, where the latest headlines in technology are dissected not with sterile analysis, but with the practical, sometimes weary perspective of people who keep the digital lights on. You’ll hear them tackle listener-submitted admin questions, offering solutions that are tried and tested rather than purely theoretical. This isn’t about hype or buzzwords; it’s about the tools, headaches, and occasional triumphs that define life in IT. The chemistry between the hosts makes complex topics accessible, and the blend of professional insight with Joe’s every-user viewpoint creates a uniquely balanced listen. If you’re looking for a tech podcast that feels like talking shop with knowledgeable friends, this is it.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

2.5 Admins
Podcast Episodes
2.5 Admins 211: Open Sourceless [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:20
Another example of the downsides of abstraction, whether AI can ever be truly “open source”, and the security benefits and drawbacks of different types of VPN. Plug Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with…
2.5 Admins 210: Ryzen Up [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:34
AMD will patch some old Ryzens against SinkClose now, but their benchmarking methods for newer CPUs didn’t live up to everyday reality. Plus Bcachefs devs annoy Linus Torvalds, the US government sues a college over compl…
2.5 Admins 209: Faulty Defaults [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:25
Insecure SSH implementations and a weak key that let a researcher control 200 MW of electrical capacity reignites the debate about versioned protocols vs pluggable protocols, follow-up on sharing files from your LAN with…
2.5 Admins 208: All CPUs suck [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:10
Forcing Windows to undo updates and a separate IPv6 vulnerability, hardware bugs in AMD and Intel CPUs, and using Samba on Linux with Active Directory. Plug Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS feed with early ep…
2.5 Admins 207: Insecure Boot [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:55
Secure boot is compromised on hundreds of devices, Amazon’s desperate attempt to make money from Alexa, and how to decide which open source software on GitHub to trust. Plug Support us on patreon and get an ad-free RSS f…
2.5 Admins 206: CrowdStruck [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:36
How and why the recent huge Windows outage was caused by a bad CrowdStrike update and how it could have been avoided, a hilariously dumb ESXi vulnerability, and using SAS drives with a PCIe card. Plug Support us on patre…
2.5 Admins 205: Dogs Hate BTC [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 30:24
How a Bitcoin mine made life in a Texas town absolutely miserable, why paying for extended support for end of life Windows versions is just doubling down on technical debt, and the best way to manage router redundancy. P…
2.5 Admins 204: Maybe Don’t 5 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:00
A widely-used login system is still using MD5 which is bad news, miscreants took over some domains when they moved from Google to Squarespace, Linksys’ sloppy app isn’t a huge problem but is a bad sign, and why backing u…
2.5 Admins 203: Yet more free consulting [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:38
We didn’t get to all of your questions for our Episode 200 free consulting special so here is another full episode of your questions and our answers. Our thoughts on a new UK smart devices law, backing up 30TB off-site,…

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