Who I am#
My name is Alexander Sokolov, online I go by s0k0l. I’m a generalist IT specialist: user behavior emulation, data extraction and information security. I write scrapers and bots that get past anti-bot protection, build websites and network services, and secure infrastructure and development.
I prefer to work from a spec and take a project from idea to MVP or release. If there is no spec, I’ll write it myself: do the research, pick the technologies, estimate complexity and timelines. I work by my own Software Development Standards and always start with requirements and architecture, not with code.
My result is a solved problem. Source code is the proof that the solution works. If we agreed on something, I will do everything to keep my promise.
What I do#
I create software and hardware products for people and businesses that help them live better and work more comfortably.
Software: bots, services, automation#
I’m drawn to tasks around the web and Linux:
- website scraping and anti-bot bypass
- website bots and chatbots
- high-load systems built on queues and microservices
- websites, web applications and services
- accepting crypto payments directly, on-chain, with no intermediaries
- information security for servers and development
My detailed track record is in the CV.
Hardware: devices, electronics, prototypes#
I learned microcontroller programming because I dream of building robots. In the meantime I built a hardware password manager, ProtoKey. I plan to keep growing in this direction, I have plenty of ideas for useful devices.
Where to find me#
Everything alive is here now:
- Blog - articles on development, servers and automation
- git.sokolab.xyz - my code and examples
I used to be active on other platforms too. I barely visit them now, but I keep the links, they show where I started.
Stack Overflow (in Russian). For many years I answered questions there and asked colleagues myself. The site is almost empty now, AI answers these questions instead.
Medium. My first blog. I wrote about development there, but someone else’s platform got old fast, so now I write here.
GitHub. Code for the Medium articles and old projects. New code lives on my own git.
Mozilla Add-ons. When I was building data collection tools, I needed to adapt Firefox to my tasks. I wrote a couple of add-ons for that and published them in the public catalog. I made them for myself, but other people started using them, and they still leave comments.