Tag: encryption

Sample Linux password files and how they work.

The /etc/passwd file contains each user, one on each line. And the user ID number, then the home directory and the shell used by that user. /etc/passwd1 2 3 4 5 sifiso:x:554:554::/home/commitec/mail/commitec.co.za/sifiso:/bin/bash info:x:554:554::/home/commitec/mail/commitec.co.za/info:/bin/bash sales:x:554:554::/home/commitec/mail/commitec.co.za/sales:/bin/bash admin:x:554:554::/home/commitec/mail/commitec.co.za/admin:/home/commitec siphiwos:x:1794:1790::/home/commitec/mail/commitec.co.za/siphiwos:/home/commitecsifiso:x:554:554::/home/commitec/mail/commitec.co.za/sifiso:/bin/bash info:x:554:554::/home/commitec/mail/commitec.co.za/info:/bin/bash sales:x:554:554::/home/commitec/mail/commitec.co.za/sales:/bin/bash admin:x:554:554::/home/commitec/mail/commitec.co.za/admin:/home/commitec siphiwos:x:1794:1790::/home/commitec/mail/commitec.co.za/siphiwos:/home/commitec Then the /etc/shadow file contains the username again, then the…

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Politicians still talking about banning encryption on the Internet.

Politicians are still talking about banning encryption on the Internet, this will allow them to monitor all communications that would otherwise be unreadable due to the encryption used, whether SSL or GPG encryption, but SSL is necessary for securing banking sites, validating a website so that the user knows that…

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Encryption under threat after latest Paris terror attacks.

The latest Paris terrorist attacks are the impetus for more discussion about encryption. It is claimed that the terrorists used services such as TOR or a VPN to hide their traffic on the Internet when discussing their plans before the attacks. This will of course lead to more plans to…

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How to encrypt a file with gpg on Linux and then decrypt it later.

The gpg utility for Linux is used to create public and private key pairs to encrypt files for secure transmission over the Internet. To initialize this utility; run this command. homer@deusexmachina ~ $ gpg –gen-key gpg (GnuPG) 1.4.14; Copyright (C) 2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc. This is free software: you…

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Some useful Linux tips for users that want the most out of the command-line. How to work with zipfiles.

How to unzip files into a specific directory on your system. Just type the unzip command like this: unzip [zipfile.zip] -d [directoryname] homer@deep-thought ~/Downloads $ unzip gzdoom-bin-1-8-02.zip -d myfolder/ Archive: gzdoom-bin-1-8-02.zip inflating: myfolder/fmodex.dll inflating: myfolder/gzdoom.exe inflating: myfolder/brightmaps.pk3 inflating: myfolder/gzdoom.pk3 inflating: myfolder/lights.pk3 inflating: myfolder/licenses.ziphomer@deep-thought ~/Downloads $ unzip gzdoom-bin-1-8-02.zip -d myfolder/ Archive:…

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Ubuntu Security tips. Very useful webpage.

There is a very useful posting here: http://rationallyparanoid.com/articles/ubuntu-10-lts-security.html That gives many useful tips on how to secure your Ubuntu distribution during installation and how to properly configure it afterwards. There are tips on setting the title-bar buttons back to the right of the window and how to properly re-enable the…

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