any any deny — field notes for security engineers.
Independent troubleshooting guides, free browser-based tools, and plain-language write-ups. SSE platforms, network security, firewalls — from production experience, not marketing decks.
| # | src | dst | service | action | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vendor-docs | your-problem | https | ALLOW | stops one step too early |
| 2 | forum-thread | your-problem | https | ALLOW | last reply 2019, "nvm fixed it" |
| 3 | this-site | your-problem | any | ALLOW | symptom → cause → fix |
| 9999 | * | * | * | DENY | everything else |
what's here
PAC File Tester
Paste a PAC file, get a rule-by-rule trace of exactly what matches and why, plus a linter for the classic footguns. Runs entirely in your browser — your PAC file never leaves your machine.
Field Notes
Troubleshooting write-ups across SSE, networking, and firewalls — the problems with plenty of search results and no actual answers.
The Field Guide
A deep troubleshooting guide for SSE platforms, starting with Zscaler's stack: symptom → cause → fix, in the order you'd actually check things at 2 a.m.
why this site exists
If you run security infrastructure, you already know the problem: the official docs tell you how things should work, the community threads trail off years ago, and the only person who knows why authentication breaks for exactly one executive is whoever debugged it last and didn't write it down.
This site is that write-up. Independent, specific, and free of anything that reads like it was approved by a marketing department.
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