Forem: ShadowStrike

E-Waste Aware — Sanitise First, Then Recycle 🌏

ShadowStrike — Sat, 18 Apr 2026 05:19:33 +0000

This is a submission for Weekend Challenge: Earth Day Edition

What I Built

E-Waste Aware is a Flask web app that guides you through the responsible disposal of old tech — before it ends up in landfill leaching lead, mercury, and cadmium into the soil for decades.

The tool has two parts that work together. First, a device-specific data sanitisation checklist — because handing over a device that still has your accounts, passwords, and personal files on it is a security problem as much as an environmental one. Second, a curated guide to Australian recycling programs for that device type, with direct links to drop-off locations.

Six device types are covered: laptops, smartphones, hard drives and SSDs, tablets, printers, and monitors. Each has its own sanitisation steps and relevant programs like TechCollect, MobileMuster, and Cartridges 4 Planet Ark.

The checklist is interactive — tick off each step as you go, watch the progress bar fill, and get a confirmation banner when your device is ready for recycling. Clean, no account required, no data collected.

Demo

Code

ShadowStrike-CTF / ewaste-aware

A Flask web app for responsible e-waste disposal — sanitise your device first, then find the right Australian recycling program.

E-Waste Aware 🌏

A Flask web app that guides you through responsible disposal of old tech — sanitise first, then recycle.

Built for the DEV Community Weekend Challenge: Earth Day Edition 2026 by ShadowStrike (Strategos).

What This Does

Most e-waste guides jump straight to "here's where to drop it off." This tool does the step before that — because a device with your accounts still active, your files still intact, and your passwords still saved is not ready to hand to a stranger.

E-Waste Aware covers two things for each device type:

Sanitisation checklist — step-by-step data wiping instructions specific to your device, with an interactive tick-off and progress tracker
Australian recycling programs — curated drop-off options with direct links

Devices Covered

💻 Laptop
📱 Smartphone
💾 Hard Drive / SSD
📲 Tablet
🖨️ Printer
🖥️ Monitor / TV

Installation

pip install flask
python app.py

Then open http://127.0.0.1:5000 in your…

View on GitHub

How I Built It

The stack is deliberately minimal — this is a tool, not a framework showcase.

Python 3 + Flask for routing and template rendering
Jinja2 templates for the two-page flow (device selection → disposal guide)
Vanilla JavaScript for the interactive checklist state (no dependencies)
Google Fonts (Syne + DM Mono) for the UI typography
Single requirements.txt with one dependency: flask>=3.0.0

The device data lives in a Python dictionary in app.py — sanitisation steps, environmental impact stats, and recycling program details all keyed by device type. Keeping it in one place makes it easy to update as programs change or new devices are added.

The design leans into an earthy, organic aesthetic that feels appropriate for an Earth Day tool without being generic. Dark soil tones, forest green accents, and a noise texture overlay give it atmosphere without weighing down the load time.

The sanitisation-first angle was a deliberate decision. Most e-waste tools jump straight to "here's where to drop it off" — but a device with your Apple ID still active, your Google account still signed in, or your files still intact is not ready to hand to a stranger. The security layer is the differentiator here, and it's something every person who's worked in IT or digital forensics will immediately appreciate.

I Built a Security Tool That Does Absolutely Nothing (And It's Terrifyingly Realistic)

ShadowStrike — Sun, 12 Apr 2026 04:07:28 +0000

This is a submission for the DEV April Fools Challenge

What I Built:
I built the IT Security Theatre Simulator - a Python command-line tool that perfectly replicates enterprise security software by doing all the impressive-looking theatre with none of the actual security. It scans for "residual quantum entanglement in TCP packets," generates CRITICAL findings like "CEO's password is strong (this breaks our revenue model)," recommends you "implement zero-trust architecture for your office printer network," and produces final reports showing you prevented exactly zero threats while generating substantial vendor revenue.
If you have ever sat through a security vendor demo, you will recognise every single pattern in this tool. The unnecessarily long progress bars, the suspiciously precise statistics, the CRITICAL alerts about nothing, the useless recommendations - all of it is brutally accurate satire.

Demo:

Code:

ShadowStrike-CTF / security-theatre-simulator

IT Security Theatre Simulator - A devastating satire of enterprise security tools built for DEV April Fools Challenge 2026

IT Security Theatre Simulator 🎭

A devastating satire of enterprise security tools that generate impressive reports with zero actual value.

Built for the DEV Community April Fools Challenge 2026 by ShadowStrike (Strategos).

What This Does

This tool perfectly simulates enterprise security software by:

Taking way too long to do absolutely nothing
Displaying impressive progress bars that measure fictional work
Generating CRITICAL findings about non-existent threats
Providing completely useless recommendations
Creating reports with suspiciously precise but meaningless statistics
Looking professional enough that executives might actually buy it

Installation

Option 1: With pretty colours (recommended)

pip install colorama
python security_theatre.py

Option 2: Without colours (it still works, just less theatrical)

python security_theatre.py

Usage

python security_theatre.py

Then sit back and enjoy the show. Press ENTER when prompted to begin the security theatre performance.

Sample Output

CRITICAL: Detected 47 instances of employees understanding security policy
CRITICAL: Security team found implementing practical solutions
SEVERE: CEO's

…

View on GitHub

How I Built It:
The entire tool is about 350 lines of Python built in roughly 2 hours. The technical stack is deliberately simple because the whole point is that this does nothing complicated:

-Python 3 for the core logic
-colorama for terminal colours that make it look impressively official
-time.sleep() for dramatic pauses that simulate "work" being done
-random module to select different combinations of fake threats and scans each run

The architecture consists of collections of absurd security scans, CRITICAL threats, and useless recommendations that get randomly selected and displayed with realistic-looking progress bars and timing. Every element is designed to mirror real enterprise security tools - the slow scanning, the precise but meaningless statistics, the urgent language around non-existent problems.

The funniest part of building this was realising that the fake scans I wrote ("analysing deprecated legacy future-proofing configurations") sound exactly like real security tool marketing copy. The line between satire and reality is uncomfortably thin.

Prize Category:
Community Favourite - I am targeting this one because every single person who works in IT or cybersecurity will instantly recognise these patterns and laugh at how accurate the satire is. Security theatre is a universal experience in our industry, and this tool captures it perfectly.