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1 • Live distributions (by Bobbie Sellers on 2023-08-21 04:14:23 GMT from United States)
Well MiniOS might be nice but if you are going to need such a portable OS you have
two other prominent ones, EasyOS and Knoppix. Both have a lot of tools. Knoppix
will still boot on 32-bit systems and I chose Knoppix 9.1 to test the capabilities of
two other computer. I bought a Dell Precision 7730 17.3-in Laptop with a 6 core i7
refurbished to like new condition and I reduced the Windows 10 on it as much as
possible then created partitions, UEFI/GDP, and installed my favorite Linux distro
but it failed to boot. Last night I updated that on one of the machine a E7450 which I
had messed up and did very little work on it this morning to create some needed
bookmarks. Then I plugged it into the 7730 and verified that my bookmarks worked
and that the camera was functional. I hope I do not have to use the Knoppix for
this for long but I have a LUG meeting on jit.se coming up so I needed to be sure
that I had a working machine. This one look great right now but it suffers from
shaky video and I have not been able to get the Audio working in some time.
That is why I bought a used Refurbished device though a major online retail
shop.
But such distributions as Knoppix and EasyOS can be extremely useful when
problems arise. I don't know about MiniOS but if it can be configured with
persistent memory on the Flash Drive it can join the ranks. Knoppix
is also based on Debian by the way and EasyOS has containers.
bliss - Dell E6540- PCLinux 2023.07- Linux 6.4.11- KDE/Plasma 5.27.7
2 • logins (by logmeout on 2023-08-21 04:30:04 GMT from Singapore)
logins and passwords are the oldest method of security on a computer. As such they have been thoroughly worked-over by hackers for decades. To the point where it seems trivial for some hackers to obtain login credentials. So 2factor authentication was required to improve security. But now that's not considered secure enough anymore, and we need an expensive security key with either 2fa or multifactor authentication.
Isn't it time that the login-password system was completely redesigned? What about an option to have a "nologin" set for remote sign-ins, while keeping local sign-ins functional? Or what about a mini-login-VM, that's isolated from the rest of the system and network?
3 • logins @2 (by BlsckCode on 2023-08-21 04:45:48 GMT from Italy)
Check allowedisers for ssh...
4 • logins (by BlackCodec on 2023-08-21 04:47:10 GMT from Italy)
Sorry @2 I have some problema with keyboard, check AllowedUsers in sshd_config
5 • How many user accounts ? (by eb on 2023-08-21 07:41:29 GMT from France)
Only 2 physical users on my Slackware (without desktop),
but when I run 'wc -l /etc/passwd' the result is 40 !
I answered 2 to the poll : was I right ?
6 • @2 passwords (by Jeffrey on 2023-08-21 09:29:44 GMT from Czechia)
@2 Nothing in general is trivial about obtaining passwords, unless they are easy to guess and/or they are handled carelessly -- which is *not* the password's fault. (And by the way, "criminal" ain't spelled "hacker". Get your nomenclature straight.) Long, random, unique passwords stored in an offline, encrypted password manager are safe for most uses. (Master passwords/passphrases can be stored "in your head" or on password cards.) Please don't spread misinformation.
7 • User accounts (by James on 2023-08-21 09:49:53 GMT from United States)
I am the only one that uses my laptop, but always have 2 user accounts, both with sudo privileges. I almost never use the second account unless I have problems with the first account I that I need the second account to fix the first account. That has rarely happened to me, but has been a life saver a couple of times early in my Linux life when I was more prone to stupid mistakes.
8 • Knoppix? (by e bye on 2023-08-21 10:36:10 GMT from Italy)
@1 I'd like to know Knoppix is an option, I've used that as a live distro lots and lots of times... Until it was alive and fresh. If DW states that as Dormant, there's very good reason for that.
P.S.: I presently use Debian Live, it's nice, but it would be nicer if only I could get a weekly release just as for testing.
9 • puzzle me this; who is 'nobody?' (by tom joad on 2023-08-21 14:22:32 GMT from Austria)
I am using Mint. I ran Jesse's command which gave me a result of 50!!!! Only three are mine. Whiskey-Tango-Foxtrot!?!?!?!? One is 'nobody.'
Who is 'nobody?"
I have long known 'nobody' is there...WHY??????
Tell me who is 'nobody' and what does *he* or *she* do on my laptop that is important?
And don't tell me Linux has its 'own' pronouns!!!!!!!! Also, don't tell me 'nobody' is on First Base!!!!!
10 • Number of users (by Denis on 2023-08-21 18:45:53 GMT from Canada)
You should count your users with something like this.
I see no reason to count "system" users...
sudo cat /etc/shadow | grep -v "[!\*]" | wc -l
This should only count users that can login.
My 2 cents...
11 • Nobody's somebody with no body (by Friar Tux on 2023-08-21 19:31:07 GMT from Canada)
@9 (Tom) I think it's a case of, "Who's using that account?" "Nobody." I haven't checked my Mint/Cinnamon, because, well, I really don't care, though I think "Kicking-out-unwelcome-guests" in Q+A has a legitimate question if he has a lot of folks with accounts on the machine. I think the absolute simplest way would be the list on the log in screen when you first log on, or the Account Details screen in Settings. (At least in Mint/Cinnamon.)
Re: minios... I think it would be interesting if it used, instead of XFCE, the desktop app called Eagle Mode. This lets you zoom into the file you want. It took me about a day to get used to but it's quite a bit of fun. There's this little "universe" and you simply zoom into what ever you want. If it could be turned into a WM it could really reduce the OS size. (I'm guessing here.)
12 • logins (by logmeout on 2023-08-22 07:23:27 GMT from Singapore)
@6 " Nothing in general is trivial about obtaining passwords."
Some countries in WWII thought their encrypted messages were foolproof, but early computers were able to break them.
Early Wireless developers thought that WEP password encryption was satisfactory, but now it's considered easily cracked. That was replaced with WPA - but now that's considered too week. The latest iteration is WPA2 - but how long will that last?
And quantum computers are expected to be able to break today's encryption methods - rendering them useless. How useful will the login-password system be then?
@6 "(And by the way, "criminal" ain't spelled "hacker". Get your nomenclature straight.)...Please don't spread misinformation. "
Please don't be sanctimonious, even the media uses the term "hacker" for ppl who break into computer systems.
There are many tricks to breaking into systems: keyloggers, screengrabbers, CCTV hacks to overlook workstations, hacks via smartphones, etc. Today, there's even an ex-convicted hacker-cracker who demonstrates that he can hack into any wireless system using a (readily available) hacking device and an antenna.
Computer security is a moving target, and it needs to improve with the times. And the login-password system could do with some clever reworking. One can't remain an old-school hacker die-hard forever.
13 • Mini OS checksum?? (by Gary on 2023-08-22 13:40:47 GMT from Canada)
re: MiniOS
I was looking for checksums to verify against their .iso to download. I found none!
I looked here: https://minios.dev/en/#downloads
I looked here: https://github.com/minios-linux/minios-live/releases/tag/v3.2
I shrug and back away!!
14 • Making changes to minios.conf in MiniOS Linux when running from ISO (by crims0n on 2023-08-22 08:39:28 GMT from Russia)
In MiniOS it is possible to change the contents of the ISO with the minios-geniso command. It is necessary to make changes in /etc/minios/minios.conf and then run the command without parameters, it will create ISO with changed data.
15 • @12 - hackers (by Andy Prough on 2023-08-22 20:23:58 GMT from United States)
>"Please don't be sanctimonious, even the media uses the term "hacker" for ppl who break into computer systems."
The media is very very wrong to do that, we should not be the ones who are forwarding their terrible lies which have resulted in disasters like the vilification and untimely death of Aaron Swartz. Every time we try out a new config option or write a small bash script we are hacking. GNU/Linux usage is all about hacking, and we should be holding it up as something for young people to aspire to.
16 • Off Topic: Grub's os-prober disabled since 2021 in Ubuntu? (by Ennio on 2023-08-23 06:32:16 GMT from Netherlands)
Reading Bodhi's release notes it seems that, following Ubuntu security settings, Grub no longer offers a multiboot menu out of security concerns. Julian Andres Klode at Canonical talks about this in "os-prober is disabled in grub 2.06 and where to go from here". I didn't know - and would not have imagined - because my limited hopping here and there didn't touch Ubuntu-derived distros. But, darn!, how could I miss such a news?
Did anybody stumble on that already?
PS Also Debian [unstable] did the trick???? It seems so... Need to start hopping more!
17 • @16 (by Cheker on 2023-08-23 10:45:02 GMT from Portugal)
Yes, several distros switched the prober off by default, you can just turn it on again though.
In theory it can be used to execute malware when it goes looking for other OS', but I think the odds of that happening compared to the multi-boot systems you're gonna temporarily break... the whole thing was a little silly in my opinion
18 • Hackers/Criminals (by Otis on 2023-08-23 18:17:02 GMT from United States)
@15 I see the "hackers" term, as used by news media, similar to when they say whatever tool may have been used to either break in to a target (building, car, etc) or to rescue someone from such a place. Hacking = Tool(s)
Criminally hacking is its own category, similar to criminal damage via hammer or crowbar to burgle a location, etc.
19 • @ 16 • Off Topic: Grub's os-prober disabled (by lincoln on 2023-08-23 19:36:19 GMT from Brazil)
Thank you very much, now I have a probable cause of why, in the update to Devuan5, the multiboot menu of grub only shows the Devuan option.
20 • 16 OT grub's os-prober (by jon on 2023-08-24 02:15:36 GMT from United States)
+1 Thank you Ennio.
https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-devel/2021-December/041771.html
21 • How many user accounts are on my desktop system? (by nicetoknow on 2023-08-24 20:16:11 GMT from Germany)
In total, 23 user accounts are on my distribution - Arch Linux, the arch way
22 • Counting user accounts (by pepa65 on 2023-08-25 00:35:34 GMT from Thailand)
People who answered 1-10 (63% as of now) obviously didn't understand the idea of the question and didn't follow the instructions to do `wc -l /etc/passwd`... Oh well.
Number of Comments: 22
Display mode: DWW Only • Comments Only • Both DWW and Comments
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| Archives |
| • Issue 1107 (2025-02-03): siduction 2024.1.0, timing tasks, Lomiri ported to postmarketOS, Alpine joins Open Collective, a new desktop for Linux called Orbitiny |
| • Issue 1106 (2025-01-27): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta 6, Pop!_OS 24.04 Alpha 5, detecting whether a process is inside a virtual machine, drawing graphics to NetBSD terminal, Nix ported to FreeBSD, GhostBSD hosting desktop conference |
| • Issue 1105 (2025-01-20): CentOS 10 Stream, old Flatpak bundles in software centres, Haiku ports Iceweasel, Oracle shows off debugging tools, rsync vulnerability patched |
| • Issue 1104 (2025-01-13): DAT Linux 2.0, Silly things to do with a minimal computer, Budgie prepares Wayland only releases, SteamOS coming to third-party devices, Murena upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1103 (2025-01-06): elementary OS 8.0, filtering ads with Pi-hole, Debian testing its installer, Pop!_OS faces delays, Ubuntu Studio upgrades not working, Absolute discontinued |
| • Issue 1102 (2024-12-23): Best distros of 2024, changing a process name, Fedora to expand Btrfs support and releases Asahi Remix 41, openSUSE patches out security sandbox and donations from Bottles while ending support for Leap 15.5 |
| • Issue 1101 (2024-12-16): GhostBSD 24.10.1, sending attachments from the command line, openSUSE shows off GPU assignment tool, UBports publishes security update, Murena launches its first tablet, Xfce 4.20 released |
| • Issue 1100 (2024-12-09): Oreon 9.3, differences in speed, IPFire's new appliance, Fedora Asahi Remix gets new video drivers, openSUSE Leap Micro updated, Redox OS running Redox OS |
| • Issue 1099 (2024-12-02): AnduinOS 1.0.1, measuring RAM usage, SUSE continues rebranding efforts, UBports prepares for next major version, Murena offering non-NFC phone |
| • Issue 1098 (2024-11-25): Linux Lite 7.2, backing up specific folders, Murena and Fairphone partner in fair trade deal, Arch installer gets new text interface, Ubuntu security tool patched |
| • Issue 1097 (2024-11-18): Chimera Linux vs Chimera OS, choosing between AlmaLinux and Debian, Fedora elevates KDE spin to an edition, Fedora previews new installer, KDE testing its own distro, Qubes-style isolation coming to FreeBSD |
| • Issue 1096 (2024-11-11): Bazzite 40, Playtron OS Alpha 1, Tucana Linux 3.1, detecting Screen sessions, Redox imports COSMIC software centre, FreeBSD booting on the PinePhone Pro, LXQt supports Wayland window managers |
| • Issue 1095 (2024-11-04): Fedora 41 Kinoite, transferring applications between computers, openSUSE Tumbleweed receives multiple upgrades, Ubuntu testing compiler optimizations, Mint partners with Framework |
| • Issue 1094 (2024-10-28): DebLight OS 1, backing up crontab, AlmaLinux introduces Litten branch, openSUSE unveils refreshed look, Ubuntu turns 20
| | • Issue 1093 (2024-10-21): Kubuntu 24.10, atomic vs immutable distributions, Debian upgrading Perl packages, UBports adding VoLTE support, Android to gain native GNU/Linux application support |
| • Issue 1092 (2024-10-14): FunOS 24.04.1, a home directory inside a file, work starts of openSUSE Leap 16.0, improvements in Haiku, KDE neon upgrades its base |
| • Issue 1091 (2024-10-07): Redox OS 0.9.0, Unified package management vs universal package formats, Redox begins RISC-V port, Mint polishes interface, Qubes certifies new laptop |
| • Issue 1090 (2024-09-30): Rhino Linux 2024.2, commercial distros with alternative desktops, Valve seeks to improve Wayland performance, HardenedBSD parterns with Protectli, Tails merges with Tor Project, Quantum Leap partners with the FreeBSD Foundation |
| • Issue 1089 (2024-09-23): Expirion 6.0, openKylin 2.0, managing configuration files, the future of Linux development, fixing bugs in Haiku, Slackware packages dracut |
| • Issue 1088 (2024-09-16): PorteuX 1.6, migrating from Windows 10 to which Linux distro, making NetBSD immutable, AlmaLinux offers hardware certification, Mint updates old APT tools |
| • Issue 1087 (2024-09-09): COSMIC desktop, running cron jobs at variable times, UBports highlights new apps, HardenedBSD offers work around for FreeBSD change, Debian considers how to cull old packages, systemd ported to musl |
| • Issue 1086 (2024-09-02): Vanilla OS 2, command line tips for simple tasks, FreeBSD receives investment from STF, openSUSE Tumbleweed update can break network connections, Debian refreshes media |
| • Issue 1085 (2024-08-26): Nobara 40, OpenMandriva 24.07 "ROME", distros which include source code, FreeBSD publishes quarterly report, Microsoft updates breaks Linux in dual-boot environments |
| • Issue 1084 (2024-08-19): Liya 2.0, dual boot with encryption, Haiku introduces performance improvements, Gentoo dropping IA-64, Redcore merges major upgrade |
| • Issue 1083 (2024-08-12): TrueNAS 24.04.2 "SCALE", Linux distros for smartphones, Redox OS introduces web server, PipeWire exposes battery drain on Linux, Canonical updates kernel version policy |
| • Issue 1082 (2024-08-05): Linux Mint 22, taking snapshots of UFS on FreeBSD, openSUSE updates Tumbleweed and Aeon, Debian creates Tiny QA Tasks, Manjaro testing immutable images |
| • Issue 1081 (2024-07-29): SysLinuxOS 12.4, OpenBSD gain hardware acceleration, Slackware changes kernel naming, Mint publishes upgrade instructions |
| • Issue 1080 (2024-07-22): Running GNU/Linux on Android with Andronix, protecting network services, Solus dropping AppArmor and Snap, openSUSE Aeon Desktop gaining full disk encryption, SUSE asks openSUSE to change its branding |
| • Issue 1079 (2024-07-15): Ubuntu Core 24, hiding files on Linux, Fedora dropping X11 packages on Workstation, Red Hat phasing out GRUB, new OpenSSH vulnerability, FreeBSD speeds up release cycle, UBports testing new first-run wizard |
| • Issue 1078 (2024-07-08): Changing init software, server machines running desktop environments, OpenSSH vulnerability patched, Peppermint launches new edition, HardenedBSD updates ports |
| • Issue 1077 (2024-07-01): The Unity and Lomiri interfaces, different distros for different tasks, Ubuntu plans to run Wayland on NVIDIA cards, openSUSE updates Leap Micro, Debian releases refreshed media, UBports gaining contact synchronisation, FreeDOS celebrates its 30th anniversary |
| • Issue 1076 (2024-06-24): openSUSE 15.6, what makes Linux unique, SUSE Liberty Linux to support CentOS Linux 7, SLE receives 19 years of support, openSUSE testing Leap Micro edition |
| • Issue 1075 (2024-06-17): Redox OS, X11 and Wayland on the BSDs, AlmaLinux releases Pi build, Canonical announces RISC-V laptop with Ubuntu, key changes in systemd |
| • Issue 1074 (2024-06-10): Endless OS 6.0.0, distros with init diversity, Mint to filter unverified Flatpaks, Debian adds systemd-boot options, Redox adopts COSMIC desktop, OpenSSH gains new security features |
| • Issue 1073 (2024-06-03): LXQt 2.0.0, an overview of Linux desktop environments, Canonical partners with Milk-V, openSUSE introduces new features in Aeon Desktop, Fedora mirrors see rise in traffic, Wayland adds OpenBSD support |
| • Issue 1072 (2024-05-27): Manjaro 24.0, comparing init software, OpenBSD ports Plasma 6, Arch community debates mirror requirements, ThinOS to upgrade its FreeBSD core |
| • Issue 1071 (2024-05-20): Archcraft 2024.04.06, common command line mistakes, ReactOS imports WINE improvements, Haiku makes adjusting themes easier, NetBSD takes a stand against code generated by chatbots |
| • Issue 1070 (2024-05-13): Damn Small Linux 2024, hiding kernel messages during boot, Red Hat offers AI edition, new web browser for UBports, Fedora Asahi Remix 40 released, Qubes extends support for version 4.1 |
| • Issue 1069 (2024-05-06): Ubuntu 24.04, installing packages in alternative locations, systemd creates sudo alternative, Mint encourages XApps collaboration, FreeBSD publishes quarterly update |
| • Issue 1068 (2024-04-29): Fedora 40, transforming one distro into another, Debian elects new Project Leader, Red Hat extends support cycle, Emmabuntus adds accessibility features, Canonical's new security features |
| • Issue 1067 (2024-04-22): LocalSend for transferring files, detecting supported CPU architecure levels, new visual design for APT, Fedora and openSUSE working on reproducible builds, LXQt released, AlmaLinux re-adds hardware support |
| • Issue 1066 (2024-04-15): Fun projects to do with the Raspberry Pi and PinePhone, installing new software on fixed-release distributions, improving GNOME Terminal performance, Mint testing new repository mirrors, Gentoo becomes a Software In the Public Interest project |
| • Issue 1065 (2024-04-08): Dr.Parted Live 24.03, answering questions about the xz exploit, Linux Mint to ship HWE kernel, AlmaLinux patches flaw ahead of upstream Red Hat, Calculate changes release model |
| • Issue 1064 (2024-04-01): NixOS 23.11, the status of Hurd, liblzma compromised upstream, FreeBSD Foundation focuses on improving wireless networking, Ubuntu Pro offers 12 years of support |
| • Issue 1063 (2024-03-25): Redcore Linux 2401, how slowly can a rolling release update, Debian starts new Project Leader election, Red Hat creating new NVIDIA driver, Snap store hit with more malware |
| • Issue 1062 (2024-03-18): KDE neon 20240304, changing file permissions, Canonical turns 20, Pop!_OS creates new software centre, openSUSE packages Plasma 6 |
| • Issue 1061 (2024-03-11): Using a PinePhone as a workstation, restarting background services on a schedule, NixBSD ports Nix to FreeBSD, Fedora packaging COSMIC, postmarketOS to adopt systemd, Linux Mint replacing HexChat |
| • Issue 1060 (2024-03-04): AV Linux MX-23.1, bootstrapping a network connection, key OpenBSD features, Qubes certifies new hardware, LXQt and Plasma migrate to Qt 6 |
| • Issue 1059 (2024-02-26): Warp Terminal, navigating manual pages, malware found in the Snap store, Red Hat considering CPU requirement update, UBports organizes ongoing work |
| • Issue 1058 (2024-02-19): Drauger OS 7.6, how much disk space to allocate, System76 prepares to launch COSMIC desktop, UBports changes its version scheme, TrueNAS to offer faster deduplication |
| • Issue 1057 (2024-02-12): Adelie Linux 1.0 Beta, rolling release vs fixed for a smoother experience, Debian working on 2038 bug, elementary OS to split applications from base system updates, Fedora announces Atomic Desktops |
| • Issue 1056 (2024-02-05): wattOS R13, the various write speeds of ISO writing tools, DSL returns, Mint faces Wayland challenges, HardenedBSD blocks foreign USB devices, Gentoo publishes new repository, Linux distros patch glibc flaw |
| • Issue 1055 (2024-01-29): CNIX OS 231204, distributions patching packages the most, Gentoo team presents ongoing work, UBports introduces connectivity and battery improvements, interview with Haiku developer |
| • Full list of all issues |
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Webconverger
Webconverger was a live, Debian-based web kiosk. It was designed for deployments in places like offices or Internet cafés where only web applications are used. Webconverger maintains a proprietary fault tolerant configuration service with email support to help deploy Webconverger en masse. The service was optional.
Status: Discontinued
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