Forem: Maxi

How I Built JMServices: Challenges, Strengths, and Lessons from My SaaS Journey

Maxi — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 13:51:51 +0000

JMServices began as a little side project of mine, born out of necessity. My family runs a locksmith business, and I was overwhelmed by the endless stacks of paperwork piling up everywhere in our house, it wasn’t hard to miss. It was clear there had to be a better way to streamline the operations—and that’s when the idea for JMServices took root.

Initially, I set out to create a simple backend system, which quickly evolved into the foundation of what would become JMServices today. Back then, I hadn’t even settled on a name—it was just my attempt to solve a pressing problem. As a backend developer at heart, I focused on building a robust core system first. Gradually, I crafted the frontend using TailwindCSS, which has grown into the platform you see today. With over 1,500 commits to the project, I’m excited to share the journey through the tools and technologies I’ve used along the way.

The first tool I embraced was Nest.js, which laid the groundwork for the backend of JMServices and shaped the first two versions of the API. One of my main focuses was on building the authentication section, as securing user data was crucial. I started by creating the authentication routes and integrated Prisma ORM with a MongoDB database for seamless data storage. Adding my first user was a huge milestone, marking the beginning of what would soon become a more comprehensive solution. As I continued refining the platform, I experimented with various design tools but ultimately settled on TailwindCSS because of its user-friendly nature and my long-standing desire to learn it. This choice allowed me to effectively craft the initial login and signup routes. Initially, the system was designed for just one company, so the signup route only accepted authorized company email addresses. However, as I envisioned a commercial version of JMServices, I implemented features that allowed multiple companies to sign up and manage payments—a topic I’ll dive into shortly.

When I first designed the interface using TailwindCSS, I kept it simple, focusing on three main menus: Jobs, Customers, and Inventory. These served as the foundational building blocks of JMServices. Each menu featured straightforward DataTables, allowing users to interact with their data easily. The minimalist design focused on functionality and usability, which enabled me to gather valuable feedback as I continued developing the platform. This simplicity laid the groundwork for future enhancements while ensuring that users could navigate the system effortlessly from the start.

Initially, I integrated Stripe as our payment solution to handle transactions smoothly and securely. However, as JMServices evolved, I recognised the need for a more customisable billing solution. That’s when I began exploring Lago, an open-source billing platform. This shift will allow me to tailor the payment process to better suit the needs of our growing user base, offering more flexibility and control over subscription management and billing features. I’m excited about the potential that Lago brings and how it will enhance our service offerings moving forward.

What began as a solution tailored for one company quickly evolved as I recognized the potential for a much broader application. The vision for JMServices shifted toward a multi-tenant architecture, allowing multiple companies to benefit from the platform simultaneously. This transition was driven by my desire to create a scalable service model that could cater to diverse businesses, providing them with a tailored experience while optimising resource utilisation. By developing a multi-tenant framework, we could offer features like customised dashboards and user management for each company, paving the way for a more dynamic and collaborative service. This strategic pivot not only expanded our target market but also positioned JMServices as a versatile tool that could adapt to the unique needs of various industries.

Throughout this journey, my father has been an invaluable partner. With his experience running the family locksmith business, he provided insights into the practical challenges faced by small companies, helping me understand how JMServices could address those needs effectively. Our collaboration has been pivotal in shaping the platform’s direction, especially as we transitioned to a multi-tenant model. Together, we brainstormed features and enhancements that would not only streamline operations for our users but also align with our vision of creating a scalable service model.

Now, let’s dive back into some technical details. After reaching version 3, we made a significant decision to transition our entire codebase from TailwindCSS to a new design system called Chakra UI. This shift not only enhanced our design consistency but also improved the overall user experience with its modular and accessible components. Chakra UI allowed us to create a more cohesive and visually appealing interface, leading us to the polished solution we see today. Alongside this transition, we also started using Redis to implement caching between the frontend and backend. This addition significantly improved our application’s performance by reducing response times and easing the load on our databases. The combination of Chakra UI for design and Redis for caching was a crucial step in refining JMServices, ensuring that our platform remains user-friendly and adaptable to future updates.

Integrating Docker into my workflow was a game-changer for speeding up development. As a solo developer, I often found myself battling the frustrating “it works on my machine” problem. Docker allowed me to create consistent and reproducible environments that made this issue a thing of the past. I loved how it simplified managing dependencies and setting up my application across different stages of development. This not only saved me time but also gave me peace of mind, knowing that I could quickly share my environment with any collaborators without worrying about compatibility. Overall, Docker has become an essential tool in my arsenal, freeing me to focus more on building features and less on troubleshooting environment-related headaches

Once the groundwork was laid, we turned our attention to building out additional features that would enhance the platform. We integrated AWS S3 buckets to facilitate image uploads, allowing users to store and manage their visuals efficiently. To improve user engagement, we also implemented Intercom, enabling real-time chat support and fostering better communication with our users. As our user base grew, so did our business, and the platform evolved into the comprehensive solution you see today. Remarkably, I’m still the solo developer behind this project, continuing to build upon the foundation I established over two years ago, driven by the same passion and vision that sparked the creation of JMServices.

As I navigated the development of JMServices, I faced numerous challenges as a solo developer. With no team to rely on, I leaned heavily on the support of colleagues I’ve met along the way and the vast resources available on platforms like Stack Overflow. While many issues were easily resolved with a bit of research and experimentation, some presented significant obstacles that tested my problem-solving skills. However, being a solo developer doesn't mean success is impossible; instead, it has taught me to be more independent and resourceful when tackling complex problems. Each challenge has strengthened my ability to navigate the ups and downs of development, ultimately fostering a deeper sense of confidence in my skills and capabilities.

As I reflect on this journey, I want to encourage anyone considering embarking on a solo venture to embrace the challenge. While it can be daunting to go it alone, the rewards are immense. You have the power to bring your vision to life, learn invaluable skills, and discover your resilience in the face of obstacles. There’s so much you can achieve on your own, and the satisfaction of seeing your ideas materialise is truly unparalleled. Remember, every great project starts with a single step—take it, and you might surprise yourself with what you can accomplish.

Virtual Private Servers, What are they?

Maxi — Thu, 17 Mar 2022 06:39:58 +0000

MKComputing has just started offering Virtual Private Servers, but what are they? Well, the best way to explain it is a Operating System contained in a virtualised space. These isolated machines provides more security as your whole machine is isolated.

The question is, what’s the different between Shared Hosting and a VPS. Well, Shared Hosting only provides Static Website Hosting so you would only be able to upload .HTML or .PHP files but a VPS provides Root Level access to your Hosting, while letting you host Node Servers, Databases or just simply anything that runs on Linux can be hosted on your VPS.

OpenLiteSpeed VS Nginx honest comparison.

Maxi — Sun, 06 Mar 2022 21:46:04 +0000

There is a lot of debate within the community about these web servers, both containing there own benefits and downsides which I will cover here.

Features

Let’s explore the different features of the two web servers.

OpenLiteSpeed

Has a web GUI for configuration (all settings can be configured here)
Configurations made easy for non-technical users via there web GUI
Lower server costs due to minimal resource usage
Easy to configure security rules for anti-ddos and anti-bots protection.

Nginx

Faster performance when cache is disabled (There is no reason you would ever want to disable cache anyway)
Configuration using config files
Good enterprise services available and support

Looking at these features, overall OpenLiteSpeed wins for there wide base of features built in and the overall ease of use for non-technical users who are not experienced with the command line. But what about performance, let’s get some metrics.

Installs

OpenLiteSpeed

Installing OpenLiteSpeed is as easy as running this script:
bash <( curl -k https://raw.githubusercontent.com/litespeedtech/ols1clk/master/ols1clk.sh )

Nginx

Installing Nginx is as easy as running this script:
sudo apt install nginx

Performance

Nginx

OpenLiteSpeed

These results so show OpenLiteSpeed as the winner by a tiny amount, but when looking side by side they do perform pretty similar.

DDoS Protection

Both OpenLiteSpeed and Nginx have built in DDoS protection features:

Global ReCaptcha Support (Installed externally on Nginx but built in on OpenLiteSpeed)
Worker Settings for connections
Rate limit settings Both withstand pretty well against attacks (with cache enabled or not) but personally I would suggest setting up something like CloudFlare or some DDoS protection service for your site to take the load of your server.

Final verdict

The final verdict, this all comes down to personal preference some users will prefer the web GUI but others will prefer using the command line. They both have compelling features, great support and community forums. When choosing your first webserver, I would personally suggest using OpenLiteSpeed it’s very easy to install, easy to setup with great documentation and has most features built in to the dashboard.

Why Should You Use A VPN?

Maxi — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 12:11:38 +0000

A VPN is a Virtual Private Network, in many of my guides I will always recommend using a VPN Service for the ultimate online protection. But, what does it actually do? I’ve been asked this question many times so I’ll explain it here.

A VPN will essentially masks your IP Address and location when browsing the web. When you visit a website in the headers (this is like what it requests) it will send a host IP which will either be your Home IP if your on your Home Network or Mobile Sim IP Address. Every network has its own IP Address, it’s the internet’s way of sending and receiving packets. It’s like your Home Address, so people can send and receive parcels they need the Address. When your VPN is active all it does is instead of talking directly to your Router it will forward the request via one of there servers (usually this is there nearest one, you can in there app) and you will look like your sending that packet form there server, this will make your IP completely hidden. But beware, if you don’t choose a “safe” VPN Service they will be able to see any of your traffic these are the ones I recommend below:

VyperVPN - Paid
ProtonVPN - Paid, Free Plan Very Limited

There are many more out there just these 2 are great ones I recommend.. For anymore help you can contact me on my discord server!

Keeping Yourself Safe Online

Maxi — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 16:25:20 +0000

As the Internet evolves so does the threats and attackers that lie below it, did you know 60% of small company’s close within 6 months to cyberattacks?

Protecting Yourself On The Internet

The internet is probably the most important section in this post, many threats can lie on it. My first recommendation is using DuckDuckGo instead of Google, Google tracks nearly everything you do from your IP to everything your search for there “Personalised Ads” these are mostly intrusive. DuckDuckGo on the other hand doesn't collect any information not even your IP Address, they don’t use Personalised Ads so they are less intrusive on your Privacy.

The second thing I would recommend is a VPN which stands for Virtual Private Network, this service will be Paid but can be as low as £5 a month I personally recommend VyperVPN the one I personally use, VyperVPN will connect you to the nearest server so you would look as if your at there Server, this service completely hides your IP online. I choose VyperVPN as they provide Zero Logging Servers and even offer there own Zero Logging DNS Servers.

The third thing I would recommend is using a third-party DNS Provider, your DNS (Domain Name Server) will map a domain to an IP Address, say for example I looked up (blah.com) my DNS Server will say okay (blah.com) goes to (192.168.1.1), your DNS Server will most likely be your ISP’s DNS which most likely track the sites you visit. If you are on windows visit this guild and change the DNS Primary to 1.1.1.1 and Secondary to 1.0.0.1 these DNS Servers are CloudFlares which provide the fastest servers and also provide great Privacy.

The forth thing is always use a Password Manager, do you ever find yourself using the same password over and over again on each site? If a hacker got that password they would have access to all your accounts. I would suggest using a Password Manager like 1Password, Dashlane or Lastpass. I personally use 1Password due to the extra security features but it is Paid and Dashlane and Lastpass are good Free Options.

The last thing is to use a AntiVirus, this isn’t directly linked to online but this will prevent you from downloading anything malicious onto your computer. I would recommend looking at Bitdefender they offer a Free Plan and a great Paid Plan, this is the one I personally use and never had an issue with it…

Even after using all these it won’t make it impossible to download anything malicious or to get any information exposed or collected. Always use the Internet with caution, it can bring some wonders but also some great dangers..

Bitdefender: My Honest Review

Maxi — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 20:30:02 +0000

Bitdefender is a exceptional AntiVirus for Windows, it starts around $29.99 (This is the on sale price) and the Total Security Home Plan starts at $44.99 on sale. In this review I will be testing using the Total Security Home Plan.

Features

Bitdefender offers some great Protection Features for securing your devices, all plans include there Real Time Protection, Network Threats Prevention, Threat Defender, Multi-Layer Ransomware Protection and there VPN (200MB Of Daily Traffic). The Total Security Plan I’m using has a few each features such as the AntiSpam and the Anti-Theft.

Free Plan

You can download there Free Plan from https://www.bitdefender.com/toolbox/ it includes all the features above expect the Network Protection, Ransomewere Protection, Rescue Environment, AutoPoilt (Auto Recommendations) and VPN all the details can be found here: https://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/free.html

Detection Tests

When testing out Bitdefender on my Windows 10 Virtual Machine with 10GB RAM, 4 Virtual Cores and VMWare Workstaion Pro. I got a 10 Websites which had malware on, 9 out of the 10 websites were detcted and blocked. When downloading a coulple Malware Samples i got the same results as expetected it blocked all samples i tested on the machine which were live. For anybody looking for a reasonably priced windows AntiVirus i would suggest getting it while on sale.

Bitdefender VPN

The Bitdefender VPN is a good addon for the Bitdefender Package, it offers the use off over 48 Locations, i used the United Kingdom servers and had great preformane but the speeds were affected a bit. Still not a massive issue but does knock a couple of MBPS of your Internet..

Bitdefender Web Security

There Web Security Module intergrate nicely where the rest of the Bitdefender Products, it will warn you off of unwanted / malicious sites and provide a Tick next to Safe Website when using Google as your search engine (I use DuckDuckGo for privacy reasons, another blog about this soon).

Windows 11 My Thoughts and Feelings :thinking:

Maxi — Sun, 01 Aug 2021 09:28:28 +0000

Yesterday the 31th of July, the new Windows 11 Beta update came available to my Personal Laptop. It took around an hour to download and my first thoughts were a totally redesigned experience even down to the Updater, instead of the dated update design before we have this simple looking black screen with the update percent on it.

The Windows Login page has also been updated, we now see a sleek clean shaded black box and more clear text. This is honestly my favourite Windows by far!

The new settings page is a great addition to the OS, it brings another level of simplicity! We now have all the menu shortcuts on the Left Sidebar and the new windows update system is truly a nice experience when using..

Now for the Bugs...

Yes, you've guessed it. With any new Windows OS there will be your share of the great Microsoft bugs. The ones I've stumbled across so far is the Install Bug.
When you try to install app.exe for example, instead of saying Yes or No to allow admin permissions it will show Remember Me and C, it seems that the Remember Me button means Yes and C means No as when ive tried both the options they have that result.

Should you download it?

Yes, its still a great update. But before you download note you may have to work out a couple of bugs but most features ive tried work fine and the Laptop has some great performance boosts since the update. The only issue Microsoft need to fix it the Install Admin Menu / Admin Allow Menu but im sure that will get fixed soon... You will first need to switch to the Beta Channel for Windows 11 to be available to you..

What is SEO? Why does it matter?

Maxi — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 22:35:55 +0000

In this day and age online marketing is becoming the future of advertising, every time you search for a website your query will be sent though to your Search Engine which will use Website Meta Tags and Other Factors to create a response of sites which your Search Engine has found using your Search Query. This is called SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) which can lead to your site ranking higher in relevant searches.

Let’s say Mary owned a Fish and Chips shop, her website only had a <title> and <meta name="description" tag, and she was getting 100 visitors a day. She added this to her site Header

<meta name="keyword" 
content="fishandchips, fish, chips">

and suddenly she saw an massive increase in traffic, this is because the visitors Search Engine will now see theses Keywords Mary added and use them to filter the site as a fish and chip shop.

What most people don’t know is that SEO isn’t just adding Meta Tags, it includes load times, DNS timings, SSL, Domain Age and Google RankBrain, and they are only just some of the factors that we listed. So let’s get into some ways which you can improve your SEO ranking on your website!

1. Use Keywords

To improve your sites SEO ranking you need to add keyword to your site, as you expected keywords acts to link a certain keyword to the site. If you own a hosting site a keyword could be hosting, you can add it into the header like this:

<meta name="keyword" 
content="Hosting, webdev, vps">

2. Domain Registration

If you register your domain one year this could flag your domain as a throwaway / illegitimate compared to using a domain registered for 7 years.

3. Use a CDN

To improve SEO rankings on your site make sure to serve content using a global CDN instead of using your own server. This can speed up loading times for your site and boost your ranking.

4. Using SSL

Using SSL on your website can improve your search ranking as it marks your site as secure, without it all data between the client and server is unencrypted which is deemed unsafe. On top of affecting SEO, having no SSL can also scare of users as most browsers will show a warning before entering the site.

5. Broken Links

Having broken links on your website can lead to a lower page ranking as Google can class your site as abandoned / unmaintained. This is a must is any site!

6. WhoIs Data

Having Private WhoIs data could suggest your website is untrustworthy, if the owner doesn’t provide any information about them or the business it may make it look like they don’t want people to know who it is. Even if you have nothink to hide make sure to fill in the data so it’s there!

7. Mobile Compatibility

Having a mobile ready site is great for both Rankings and also making the best possible experience for your visitor. You could think about maybe using Bootstrap to enable a more responsive mobile experience and use device screen settings.

For more support on this topic visit our site at https://mkcomputing.uk and use our Support Widget or email us at support@mkcomputing.uk

Top 6 Ethical Hacking Tools

Maxi — Sun, 04 Jul 2021 12:45:26 +0000

1. Kali Linux

Kali Linux is the most used Ethical Hacking distro available, it is provided with hundreds of pentesting tools for use straight out the box. You can download Kali Linux on bare metal, cloud services and ISO all from there site, they also have a great community forums for getting support!

2. NMAP

NMAP is a Command Line Tool for auditing networks, you can use an IP Address, Website or URL and scan for Open Ports, and use a variety or modules to audit sites and launch sophisticated attacks on certain devices. It’s the first step for any Pentester.

Download NMAP On Ubuntu

apt install nmap

3. Metasploit

The Metasploit Project is a computer security project that provides information about security vulnerabilities and aids in penetration testing and IDS signature development. Many Pentester will use this after they have used NMAP, from NMAP you can then search for vulnerabilities in a certain service or device. You can download it from here.

4. Wireshark<\h1>

Wireshark is a network traffic analytics tool, it can be used to analyse the traffic and data packets from your current network. Wireshark lets the user put network interface controllers into promiscuous mode (if supported by the network interface controller), so they can see all the traffic visible on that interface including unicast traffic not sent to that network interface controller's MAC address. You can download it here.

5. Lynis

Lynis is a different kind of tool, I added it as it can provide advance vulnerability information about the host machine but you would have to install on the machine itself. Lynis will help you resolve any vulnerability’s on your device with ease and also provides a link online which has advance troubleshooting. You can download Lynis from there repository’s from there website :: https://cisofy.com/lynis/

6. VyperVPN

VyperVPN is one of the fastest and most secure Windows & Linux VPN’s I’ve used, it uses WireGuard for state of the art encryption of your traffic and also has its own Zero Logging DNS servers with the ability to change them in settings. They guarantee Zero Logging on all there servers and have been audited you can find the report here, they have apps for windows, IPhone, Android and Provide OpenVPN Details for Linux. The Auto Connect On Boot feature for Windows will auto connect to the nearest server when you boot into windows so your IP is never exposed. You can download it here.

All these (expect for VyperVPN & Lynis) is preinstalled on Kali Linux which we talk about at the top, If your just looking to get into Ethical Hacking and have a play around with all theses tools I would recommend downloading it on a Virtual Machine, if your on windows you could download VMWare Workstation Player here and then download the Kali Linux ISO and get started from there.
Anything that happens on there wouldn’t affect your main machine as everything is isolated. So have fun and happy ethical hacking!

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