Free, Libre, and Open Source Software Leftovers

posted by Roy Schestowitz on Jul 24, 2025

• Web Browsers/Web Servers

  • [Old] HTTP Toolkit ☛ What is X-Forwarded-For and when can you trust it?

    The X-Forwarded-For (XFF) HTTP header provides crucial insight into the origin of web requests. The header works as a mechanism for conveying the original source IP addresses of clients, and not just across one hop, but through chains of multiple intermediaries. This list of IPv4 and IPv6 addresses is helpful to understand where requests have really come from in scenarios where they traverse several servers, proxies, or load balancers.

• SaaS/Back End/Databases

  • LWN ☛ Discovering and recovering from PostgreSQL corruption on Matrix.org

    Richard van der Hoff, a member of the team that runs the Matrix.org homeserver, has written a detailed blog post about diagnosing and fixing a problem where Matrix rooms would simply stop working: [...]

• Education

  • Klara ☛ FreeBSD Guide to Lock-In Free Infrastructure

    This curated roundup covers practical strategies for building lock-in-free infrastructure with FreeBSD. From running your own DNS and NTP to managing ZFS storage and customizing the kernel, these articles show what it takes to take control of every layer—securely, efficiently, and on your terms.

• Public Services/Government

  • Techdirt ☛ Libraries, Journalists, And Public Interest Groups Oppose Private Control Of Law

    The Pro Codes Act is back (first as H.R. 4009, but refiled as H.R. 4072) in almost identical form to bill H.R. 1631 in the 118th Congress. The previous version was brought to the floor under suspension of the rules—a procedural mechanism typically reserved for non-controversial legislation—but failed to achieve the required two-thirds majority for passage. The use of suspension of the rules was particularly notable given that the Pro Codes Act is far from non-controversial. The Pro Codes Act has not received a committee hearing in this Congress or any previous one.

  • Association of Research Libraries ☛ Re: Opposition to H.R. 4072, the “Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act” (Pro Codes Act) [PDF]

    The undersigned organizations strongly oppose the “Protecting and Enhancing Public Access to Codes Act” (Pro Codes Act), which would inappropriately grant copyright protection to standards that have been incorporated by reference into law. The law should be freely accessible to all. We urge you and other members of the Judiciary Committee to not support this harmful legislation.