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Stefan Herndlbauer

Maker’s Logbook – CTF Challenges, KNX Bridge Ideas & Hardware Experiments

Published about 2 months ago • 1 min read

Maker's Logbook

by Stefan Herndlbauer

Week 014 (Oct 27–Nov 2): CTF Challenges, KNX Bridge Ideas & Hardware Experiments

✍ Week’s content, if you missed it

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🛠 This Week at the Workbench

  • Spent some time refreshing my cybersecurity knowledge and started solving a few CTF challenges on HackTheBox — it’s amazing how quickly those problem-solving instincts come back.
  • Didn’t focus much on embedded Linux development this week, but I began exploring a new idea: a KNX sensor bridge for Home Assistant to better integrate KNX environmental data.

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💡 Things I Learned or Noticed

  • Took a deep dive into my drawer of old electronics gear, looking for hardware to experiment with for future embedded Linux projects. It’s wild how many cables and forgotten devices accumulate over time.
  • Ordered a professional light for my video recordings — recommended by a friend who’s a videographer. Hoping it helps improve my lighting setup for podcast videos.
  • Tried out OpenAI Codex this week. Setup was straightforward, but I want to test it on a real project soon to see its full potential.

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📸 Snapshot of the Week

🔗 Inspiration & Resources

  • The Biggest Hacking Myths— a fascinating in-depth documentary exploring the infamous Shadow Brokers.
  • Qubes OS — an interesting Linux distro focused on compartmentalized security. Definitely on my list to test.

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🚀 What’s Next

Next week, I don’t have any big experiments planned — mainly preparing everything for the next podcast episode and organizing my upcoming projects.

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Stefan Herndlbauer

I'm a maker and multidisciplinary creator

Join my Maker’s Logbook for weekly behind-the-scenes updates from my workshop — projects, experiments, lessons learned, and small wins you won’t find on my blog or podcast.

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