Tag Archives: Ubuntu

How to launch Pogoplug online services (as local disk) on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

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I confess that  I use Pogoplug as cloud server for my external hard disks because it is really simple to configure and  trustful.  Unfortunately the Linux version of the Pogoplug management software  is not so simple to configure and  has fewer features than the Windows and MAC versions.

Running Ubuntu 12.04 LTS I can manually mount the drives I connected to my Pogoplug device, following the path Network –> Windows –> etc.., but sometimes this way is not so fast and moreover I cannot access to Pogoplug Cloud.

Waiting for an updated software from the producer I decided to use the current version to automatize  the process and mount the drives connected to the Pogoplug and its cloud as if they were physically attached to my Ubuntu 12.04 LTS.

After a “classic” Google search on this topics I found different suggestions. Unfortunately I also had more than few problems to configure the software provided by Pogoplug because some tips were not so clear or easy as I desired.

By my experience, the fastest and reliable way to configure Pogoplug drives on Ubuntu 12.04 is the following:

– open Terminal and type sudo apt-get install fuse-utils

– open Synaptic Package Manager and be double sure you have yet installed these packages: fusesmb, fusedav, fuseext2, fusefat

– download the Linux software provided into the Downloads section of Plogoplug website, unzip it and save the file in your Home folder

– open Terminal and type: sudo usermod -a -G fuse $(id -u -n)

– log out and then log in again on your Ubuntu account to be sure that Fuse is correctly running

– open Terminal again and create a directory (in Media) to be used as mount point: sudo mkdir /media/pogoplug

– then type: sudo chown root:fuse /media/pogoplug

– and: sudo chmod 0775 /media/pogoplug

– in Terminal launch this command:

/home/yourusernameonubuntu/pogoplugfs --password yourpassword 
--mountpoint /media/pogoplug --user yourusername

where:

1. yourusernameonubuntu means you have to insert the name of User profile you use when you log in Ubuntu on your computer

2. yourusername and yourpassword are the username and password you use on the Plogoplug Website

Now, after some seconds an many automatic text lines, an icon named Pogoplug will appear on your desktop and you will be able to manage the online Pogoplug features as a local disk.

Don’t forget that you have to use keys -control+c-  in Terminal if you want to disconnect from  Pogoplug.

At this point the work is done but you might create a launcher icon in your (e.g.) Applications menu  following this instructions:

–  go to: System Tools –> Preferences –> Main Menu  and click on the group (menu) where you want to create your new launcher (in my case simply was  Applications)

New Item –> Create Launcher

Then fill the required fields with:

Type = Application in Terminal

Name = Pogoplug

Command =

/home/yourusernameonubuntu/pogoplugfs --password yourpassword 
--mountpoint /media/pogoplug --user yourusername

(as for the example above)

If you want to personalize the button you can also choose your favorite icon clicking on the picture on the left high corner.

On my side I also preferred to automatize the launch of Pogoplug command at each boot up in this way:

– go to: System Tools –> Preferences –> Startup Applications
– click on Add

– fill the fields:

Name = Pogoplug

Command = Same command line you used to start Pogoplug drive:

/home/yourusernameonubuntu/pogoplugfs --password yourpassword 
--mountpoint /media/pogoplug --user yourusername

(as for the example above)

So, starting now, you will have your Pogoplug drive connected each time you boot Ubuntu. You will not have any annoying Terminal lines.

Security  Warnings: don’t forget that the data you move to and back Pogoplug, are directed  through the web. This means that they could potentially be  intercepted (and read) by third parties but it’s also necessary to  specify that, if you configure it on the website Settings area,   Pogoplug uses SSL (HTTPS)  to encrypt the connection with its servers.

Anyway, don’t forget that  the data you store into Pogoplug are not encrypted. If you want to join a  better level of security you can encrypt previously your data or  your disks using different softwares as TrueCrypt or the command  dm-crypt (for more details on this topic also visit http://archlinuxarm.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1761&p=9723).  AddThis

How to install and manage Screenlets on Ubuntu

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Screenlets are small applications to represent things such as sticky notes, clocks, calendars around on your Ubuntu desktop. You can launch a pre-installed screenlet from Screenlet Manager, or install a new one into the Manager for launching it. Here are the steps for installing and launching a screenlet, for example, WaterMark System Information.
– Install Screenlets Manager if it has not been added.
– Go to Applications (or Main Menu) > Ubuntu Software Center.
– Enter screenlets in the Search Box.
– Select Screenlets, click the “Install” button.
– Download the screenlet e.g. “WaterMark System Information” to a folder.
– Go to Applications (or Main Menu) > Accessories > Screenlets.
– Click Install, select Install Screenlet and click OK.
– Browse to the folder, select the file downloaded and click “Open” to install the screenlet into the Screenlets Manager.
– Select the screenlet “WaterMark” and click “Launch/Add”. (Tips: you can add more than one WaterMark screenlet and set it to display other system information.)
More screenlets are available for installation from screenlets.org. AddThis

Video – Linux Wifi Mac address spoofing by peruzfinest08

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How to permanently remove files in Ubuntu/linux and make them unrecoverable by NickMcDTV

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How to shred (permanently delete) files from your Hard Disks on Ubuntu Linux

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In our last post we examined the possibility to recover deleted data from USB keys and disks. Today we want to focus your attention on the proper way to destroy sensitive data from your disks.

On Ubuntu you have the possibility to move any file to the Trash but, as we demonstrate in our last post, anyone has the possibility to recover them using a simple, basic GUI, program called PhotoRec.

If you want to be reasonably sure that none will be able to recover a file you decided to permanently delete you have to use the Shred command. Shred is native in Ubuntu Kernel and literally delete your files overwriting them repeatedly with arbitrary data. After you delete a file with Shred you can be sufficiently sure that recovering procedures will not succeed.

As usual we must warn you that technology is rapidly evolving and what could be considered sure today, tomorrow will be out of date! So, if you think you need to preserve your privacy in the best way, don’t forget to change the hard disks regularly and mechanically destroy your old ones. Sincerely we hope our readers haven’t this kind of need.

To start using Shred on Ubuntu you have to open a Terminal and type:

sudo shred –help

In this way you will visualize the grammar and all the possible options offered by this program.

The correct grammar to use Shred is:

shred [OPTIONS] FILE

or, if you want to shred a entire partition:

shred [OPTIONS] /dev/[HDA9]

The possible options are:

  -f, –force    change permissions to allow writing if necessary
-n, –iterations=N  overwrite N times instead of the default (3)
–random-source=FILE  get random bytes from FILE
-s, –size=N   shred this many bytes (suffixes like K, M, G accepted)
-u, –remove   truncate and remove file after overwriting
-v, –verbose  show progress
-x, –exact    do not round file sizes up to the next full block;
this is the default for non-regular files
-z, –zero     add a final overwrite with zeros to hide shredding
–help     display this help and exit
–version  output version information and exit

In our experience, to operate in the fastest way, we decided to add Shred on the Nautilus Menu and have the command ready with a simple right click on the mouse.

For this reason you have to open a Terminal and type:

sudo apt-get install nautilus-actions

Then you launch the program following this path: System->Preference->Nautilus Actions Configuration.

Last, you have to configure Shred filling e.g. the following parameters:

Label: Shred
Tooltip: Shred utility to securely erase files
Icon: gtk-dialog-warning
Path: shred
Parameters: -f -u -v -z %M
Filenames: *
Mimetypes: */*
Appears if selection contains: Both
Be sure to check the box “Appears if selection has multiple files or folders“

To finish your configuration, do not forget to open again a Terminal and type:

nautilus -q

nautilus

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Recovering deleted files from USB disks on Ubuntu

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Everyday we use USB keys to transfer data without transmitting them through the t. The USB keys and portable disks are small, light and their data capacity allow us to move in privacy huge files. This idyll sometimes is broken by a fatal mistake: we unintentionally delete an important file. Normally, if we are smart we recover the erased file in the Trash but in other situations when we realize the mistake we had made is too late.

In this circumstances is very import to stop to use our USB key or portable disk till we are able to use a good software for data recovering. On Ubuntu you have a wise number of dedicated software that can do this job for you, the most powerful run on Terminal as testdisk, foremost, and scalpel but you can also use a “minimal GUI” software as PhotoRec.

PhotoRec is very intuitive to use and it is able to recover many data formats from jpeg to db. After you install it using Synaptic Package Manager or the Software Center you can launch it in Terminal with:

sudo photorec

Immediately a GUI Terminal interface appears and you have just to follow the instruct  ions you visualize on your monitor.

Using the arrows and the Enter keys you have to:

1 – Choose the USB device from where you want to recover the data

2 – Select the partition table (usually Intel)

3 – Specify the partition table

4 – Select the right filesystem where the data were stored

5 – Decide if you want to try the data recovering from all the free space

6 – select the directory where you want to store the recovered data. IMPORTANT: do not store the recovered data on the same USB key you are scanning for recovering

7 – Wait till PhotoRec finishes the recover operations.

PhotoRec is fast and, during our tests, we were able to recover almost the 100% of data. Not bad!!! AddThis

Video – [HowTo] Upgrade Firefox to the latest version on Ubuntu by bitspired.com

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How to update Firefox to the 9.01 version on Ubuntu

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If you use Ubuntu 10.04 or any other Linux distribution which doesn’t automatically upgrade your Firefox to the latest version you can force it.

First of all you have to launch Terminal and add the right PPA to the repository:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-security/ppa

Then you need to update and upgrade the OS using:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

If you are installing Firefox for the first time the right commands are:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntu-mozilla-security/ppa

sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get install firefox firefox-gnome-support
 firefox-locale-en

As usual on Linux, it is not necessary to reboot the computer and you can start immediately to use your updated Firefox. AddThis

How ro repair Ubuntu 10.04 LTS if the Update Manager and Synaptics don’t work

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After I installed some new software I wasn’t able to update Ubuntu 10.04 LTS. The Update Manager was not able to check for updates and when I tried to use the Synaptic Package Manager I hadn’t better results. A reboot was not the right solution and I tested different ways to solve my problem saving the Ubuntu installation in my computer.

Searching on internet I discovered that there are few possible solution to avoid this problem and, in case you have the same bug on your computer, I decided to sum-up the most powerful after I successfully tried them.

First of all you can try to force the update process through the Terminal typing:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

If this doesn’t work you will try with this next step:

sudo rm var/lib/dpkg/lock
sudo dpkg --configure -a

Then launch again the Update Manager to verify if you succeed and if nothing happened solve the matter typing:

sudo rm /var/lib/apt/lists/* -vf
sudo apt-get update

and try again to launch the Update Manager.

In my case this was enough to restore all the Update Manager features and solve the problem. If you have extra problems about this bug or if you want to suggest alternative solutions, please, don’t hesitate to comment this post. AddThis

Time to clean-up! Ubuntu – Linux suggestions.

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Christmas time is ending and today we really don’t know how many relatives used out computer for “just few minutes” or “to quickly (sic) check the emails”. In few words, our Linux PC could have been overstuffed with unwanted temporary files and we haven’t had time to update it. So, it’s time to clean-up!!

First of all I suggest to use BleachBit because, for my experience, it’s the most powerful software to clean temporary files, log files and unwanted traces on your computer. BleachBit is easy to use and, as we described in previous post, very effective.

Then we have to check if our system is really updated so we can use the usual ways as Synaptics Package Manager or quickly run a some simple commands through Terminal to update, upgrade and remove old packages or Kernel.

For this purpose I collected three simple commands and chained them in a single line:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade
&& sudo apt-get autoremove

In this way you will be sure that you can start again to work on your Ubuntu as before the Christmas time! AddThis