How to use deja-dup for data backups on Linux

Deja-dup is a Gnome application. It can be used for data backups of the computer to a USB drive, another hard disk, folder or even to the cloud. Data backups are encrypted using the Gnu Privacy Guard (GPG) shared key as they are done. The first backup takes time, depending on the data to be … Continue reading How to use deja-dup for data backups on Linux →

Tools to determine privacy safeguards for web sites and apps – Exodus, Blacklight and Chef Koch Blog

Whilst privacy is the buzz word today, the tug of war between how much is revealed and taken versus how much is protected and safeguarded continues unabated. Towards that end, some privacy tools do enable the decision as an individual on what can be the consequences of using certain applications and web sites. Exodus - … Continue reading Tools to determine privacy safeguards for web sites and apps – Exodus, Blacklight and Chef Koch Blog →

How to fix error the following packages have been held back in Linux Mint or Ubuntu Linux

When updating packages in Linux Mint 21 or Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, at times, a message appears, as shown below, that states the following packages have been held back.$ sudo apt-get dist-upgrade <enter> Reading package lists… DoneBuilding dependency tree… DoneReading state information… DoneCalculating upgrade… DoneThe following packages have been kept back:cryptsetup cryptsetup-bin cryptsetup-initramfs libcryptsetup120 upgraded, 0 … Continue reading How to fix error the following packages have been held back in Linux Mint or Ubuntu Linux →

How to mount another hard disk for sharing with other users in Linux

Sometimes, a drive needs to be shared by more than that primary user logged in on a Linux computer. This is to facilitate sharing of files and folders by other users on that computer. To enable all authorized users to work with files and folders on the shared drive, read on. Any commands need to … Continue reading How to mount another hard disk for sharing with other users in Linux →

How to create and use LUKS encrypted partition in Linux

It is easy to create a LUKS container and a partition within it, using the GUI on Linux. The application that enables this easily is the gnome-disk-utility. However, if you want to use the command line to set up a LUKS encrypted device, read on. Exercise appropriate caution before doing any of the below with … Continue reading How to create and use LUKS encrypted partition in Linux →

How to check MD5 hash in Windows

To check the MD5 hash of a file in Windows, open a terminal window and enter the following command: C:\>certutil -hashfile <file> MD5 <enter> where, <file> is the file whose hash you want to compute.

How to securely wipe a hard drive or USB drive in Linux using dd or scrub

Normally we'd use dd to clean wipe a hard drive as follows after opening a terminal window for a hard disk or USB drive accessible as /dev/sdb :$ sudo dd if=/dev/urandom of=/dev/sdb status=progress <enter> Another command to do a secure wipe of /dev/sdb is scrub that can be used as follows:$ sudo scrub -p dod … Continue reading How to securely wipe a hard drive or USB drive in Linux using dd or scrub →

Exodus Permissions and Trackers Report for Android Applications

If you need to find out the permissions and trackers that are required or in use by an Android application, visit, https://reports.exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/. Here, you can enter the application URL of any application from any app store and can see the results of the permissions the applications require and the trackers they use. As an example, … Continue reading Exodus Permissions and Trackers Report for Android Applications →

Email: [Firebase] Client access to your Cloud Firestore database expiring in X day(s)

The easiest way to overcome this expiry is to change the date in the rules after logging into the account:match /{document=**} {// from previous date 2020, 11, 11 to new date 2021, 12, 11allow read, write: if request.time < timestamp.date(2021, 12, 11);} However, do note that it is important to drop access using this method … Continue reading Email: [Firebase] Client access to your Cloud Firestore database expiring in X day(s) →

How to install Signal on the Linux Mint 20.1 or Ubuntu

After the WhatsApp privacy changes, many folks have installed the Signal app on their Android devices. Signal also has a desktop client, where Signal can be installed and used on a computer. To install the Linux version, open a terminal window and enter the following commands: Set up the repository$ wget -O- https://updates.signal.org/desktop/apt/keys.asc | sudo … Continue reading How to install Signal on the Linux Mint 20.1 or Ubuntu →