diff --git a/flake.lock b/flake.lock
index 3ede3fb..d5d35f1 100644
--- a/flake.lock
+++ b/flake.lock
@@ -7,11 +7,11 @@
         ]
       },
       "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1738667255,
-        "narHash": "sha256-sMMQb9NydZqQ/MvvtPp+Ny0W9P0Jk0moU7SrTBlO5Vo=",
+        "lastModified": 1740494361,
+        "narHash": "sha256-Dd/GhJ9qKmUwuhgt/PAROG8J6YdU2ZjtJI9SQX5sVQI=",
         "owner": "nix-community",
         "repo": "home-manager",
-        "rev": "7abcf59a365430b36f84eaa452a466b11e469e33",
+        "rev": "74f0a8546e3f2458c870cf90fc4b38ac1f498b17",
         "type": "github"
       },
       "original": {
@@ -22,11 +22,11 @@
     },
     "nixpkgs": {
       "locked": {
-        "lastModified": 1738546358,
-        "narHash": "sha256-nLivjIygCiqLp5QcL7l56Tca/elVqM9FG1hGd9ZSsrg=",
+        "lastModified": 1740367490,
+        "narHash": "sha256-WGaHVAjcrv+Cun7zPlI41SerRtfknGQap281+AakSAw=",
         "owner": "nixos",
         "repo": "nixpkgs",
-        "rev": "c6e957d81b96751a3d5967a0fd73694f303cc914",
+        "rev": "0196c0175e9191c474c26ab5548db27ef5d34b05",
         "type": "github"
       },
       "original": {
diff --git a/hosts/default/configuration.nix b/hosts/default/configuration.nix
index 65c202a..f05e8c3 100644
--- a/hosts/default/configuration.nix
+++ b/hosts/default/configuration.nix
@@ -238,8 +238,12 @@
     basalt-monado # tracking for VR
     opencomposite # compatibility layer for VR
     # why did these two disappear???
-    usbutils
-    pciutils
+    usbutils # provide lsusb, etc.
+    pciutils # provide lspci, etc.
+    rustdesk # the rustdesk remote desktop client
+    vorta # borg backup UI
+    ncdu # nncurses tool for examining disk usage
+    psmisc # process tools like killall
   ];
   programs.zsh.enable = true;
   programs.git = {
@@ -303,9 +307,13 @@
   services.openssh.enable = true;
   services.openssh.ports = [ 2112 ]; # must be a list...for some reason.
   services.openssh.settings.PasswordAuthentication = false;
+  services.openssh.settings.LogLevel = "VERBOSE"; # required for fail2ban to work properly
+  services.fail2ban.enable = true; # by default, the SSH jail enabled
   # Enable mobile shell (for roaming, intermittent connectivity, etc)
   programs.mosh.enable = true;
-
+  # Enable remote desktop access via rustdesk
+  #services.rustdesk-server.enable = false;
+  #services.rustdesk-server.openFirewall = false;
   # RX 6700 XT setup
   hardware.graphics.extraPackages = [
     pkgs.amdvlk
@@ -333,9 +341,9 @@
   services.ollama = {
     enable = true;
     acceleration = "rocm";
-    environmentVariables = {
-      HCC_AMDGPU_TARGET = "gfx1031"; # used to be necessary, but doesn't seem to anymore
-    };
+    #environmentVariables = {
+    #  HCC_AMDGPU_TARGET = "gfx1031"; # used to be necessary, but doesn't seem to anymore
+    #};
     rocmOverrideGfx = "10.3.0";
   };
   system.activationScripts = {
diff --git a/hosts/default/home.nix b/hosts/default/home.nix
index e4f5fcd..271a2a6 100644
--- a/hosts/default/home.nix
+++ b/hosts/default/home.nix
@@ -34,6 +34,8 @@
     # (pkgs.writeShellScriptBin "my-hello" ''
     #   echo "Hello, ${config.home.username}!"
     # '')
+    # Installed manually:
+    # abra - ~/.local/bin
   ];
 
   # Home Manager is pretty good at managing dotfiles. The primary way to manage