Much of my time I work with enterprise technologies, but when I get the chance to view Linux as a hobby again, I find myself solving problems by using only a simple script and a limited number of tools. My last foray into customizing Linux was securing a CCTV (closed circuit television) server that helps protect my home. In this article, I'll demonstrate how I solved a problem by using what I'm going to call a "Magic URL."

By Magic URL I mean that despite having what some would consider to be a highly secure Linux server (a firewall, two-step verification, fail2ban, TCP Wrappers, and htaccess), I don't need a fixed IP address to connect over a cellphone network from anywhere on the planet, just a spare 30 seconds, an SSH client, and access to a valid two-step verification code. I'll assume you have an Apache web server installed, preferably with HTTPS for a little more htaccess password secrecy. An htaccess configuration file is used to add simple password controls and is loaded and executed by the Apache web server software [1].

It's worth saying that I'm sure you can solve similar problems in other ways, and some will suit your needs to a greater extent; however, this solution works for me, and you might find you can apply it or modify it to work for you in a future scenario. I've no doubt that after tinkering with this solution, I'll end up using something I've learned here on another project.

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