Gregg's Nearly Interminable Adventures in Linux Land

[eschwartz]

Well, the difference is that here there is a theoretical benefit. Secure Boot does have what to recommend itself, for all that certain parties have made it difficult to use to its full purpose.

[Dngrsone]

Originally Posted by arjaybe

Oh, I get it. Like juggling, only with chainsaws to make it interesting.-)

... or angry, wet cats.

[twowheels]

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

So, twowheels, where do I find that secure erase option? These are like 12 year old Dells I need to wipe the drives. Maybe I'd just be better off removing the drives and smashing them with a hammer? The green part of me would like to preserve the computer for whoever might want it but they are 12 years old.

It's sometimes a drive specific thing. There's a standard command, but some drives don't implement it. If they're 12 years old, then they're probably not quite as sophisticated and a standard erase tool should be more than enough.

Try one of these:
http://www.dban.org/
http://www.killdisk.com/

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by twowheels

It's sometimes a drive specific thing. There's a standard command, but some drives don't implement it. If they're 12 years old, then they're probably not quite as sophisticated and a standard erase tool should be more than enough.

Try one of these:
http://www.dban.org/
http://www.killdisk.com/

Thanks twowheels. They look great. Two questions: are these similar to Bleachbit? The other question was DBAN said this:

DBAN is also a commonly used solution to remove viruses and spyware from Microsoft Windows installations.

Would that be like if I had an old Windows computer that I wanted to intsall Linux on I would use the DBAN on the Windows installation first?

[twowheels]

If you're installing Linux on the old computer with Windows (for yourself to use) there's no reason to wipe the drive... just let the Linux installer use the entire drive, which effectively erases everything (but not securely). Some old left-over Windows virus cannot cross-contaminate your Linux box, it's just not how things work.

(this is ignoring the almost purely academic possibility of cross-platform viruses stored somewhere like the drive firmware/usb device firmware, but no wiping or virus scanning would find such a thing at this time anyhow, and they're more theory than actual fact -- except for reports that the NSA has such a thing)

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by twowheels

If you're installing Linux on the old computer with Windows (for yourself to use) there's no reason to wipe the drive... just let the Linux installer use the entire drive, which effectively erases everything (but not securely). Some old left-over Windows virus cannot cross-contaminate your Linux box, it's just not how things work.

(this is ignoring the almost purely academic possibility of cross-platform viruses stored somewhere like the drive firmware/usb device firmware, but no wiping or virus scanning would find such a thing at this time anyhow, and they're more theory than actual fact -- except for reports that the NSA has such a thing)

Thanks twowheels. You know, I've got five old Dells (I'm going to keep one as a backup) and I'm going to put a Linux OS on each. (I'm taking them to a "Green Day" recycling thing and that way if someone wants to use them they can.) I was going to do the erase/wipe thing, even started it but it took so long, and putting the Linux on there will be decent security (don't you think?) in terms of wiping out what I have (which is not that important). I actually started to erase stuff on one of the computers and it would have taken FOREVER to do the whole computer and I wouldn't have been able to find all the files anyway (on the Windows computers).

[twowheels]

Most likely whoever finds them won't have the technical knowhow to do anything with the drives. Given that the filesystem's indices are gone it would be a difficult job to piece much back together. I really doubt that anything is at risk. If you're at all worried, either do this:

cat /dev/zero > file.txt
...wait for it to fill up the entire drive's empty space...
rm file.txt

Or...

install and run this:

http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/...erofree.8.html


Both basically overwrite the free space...

I personally think both are overkill if whatever you had on the drive wasn't all that important and you've already installed Linux over the Windows partition.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by twowheels

Most likely whoever finds them won't have the technical knowhow to do anything with the drives. Given that the filesystem's indices are gone it would be a difficult job to piece much back together. I really doubt that anything is at risk. If you're at all worried, either do this:

cat /dev/zero > file.txt
...wait for it to fill up the entire drive's empty space...
rm file.txt

Or...

install and run this:

http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/...erofree.8.html


Both basically overwrite the free space...

I personally think both are overkill if whatever you had on the drive wasn't all that important and you've already installed Linux over the Windows partition.

Thanks twowheels.

[Gregg Bell]

Okay. If I have my files in Copy and Dropbox folders that are synced and Copy.com's and Dropbox's clouds are trashed or whatever, I still have the Copy and Dropbox files that are on my computer, right?

[eschwartz]

If the files got deleted, you have 30 days to undelete them on the website.

Starting the Dropbox/Copy.com client will make the deletions get synced, so the local copies would be removed as well. But only once you sync.

[Gregg Bell]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

If the files got deleted, you have 30 days to undelete them on the website.

Starting the Dropbox/Copy.com client will make the deletions get synced, so the local copies would be removed as well. But only once you sync.

Holy crap! (Thanks eschwartz) That makes syncing dangerous as hell then. Right? I have almost all of the files of my two computers synced to my Copy folder. It's been convenient as can be, but I figured no matter what happened in the cloud, the files would always be on my computers in the Copy folder.

So what's my real element of risk here? (You said if the files are deleted I have 30 days to undelete them. Do you happen to know if that's for Copy's free version?) So if it is the case that for the free version I have 30 days to undelete them, am I safe? (Obviously I'll be using my computer more regularly than every 30 days.) (And another question comes to mind: how high is the risk of my Copy folder being deleted?) Because I got Copy for the added security it seemed to present. I didn't realize (besides the notion of getting files confused) there was the possibility of such a huge risk as deletion.

I know the Internet itself is often a convenience vs risk tradeoff, but this risk seems pretty huge.

Yes, I have a lot of the stuff in my Copy folder backed up on flash drives but the idea of that stuff not being on my computer is creepy!

What's a reasonable take on this?

Thanks!

[eschwartz]

It will only be deleted if you delete it yourself from the web interface, or from a computer that is synced.

Copy.com/Dropbox are syncing products, not backup products. If you delete something, they will delete the synced copy.


Dropbox offers a 30-day history of all your files, which can be used to restore deleted files (as well as to revert to an older version of a file). If you pay for extra storage they will keep an unlimited history.
You can view those files via their website. Also, there are scripts which access the Dropbox API to do fancier things like restore your whole Dropbox to a specific date (my fork with a shared API key).

Copy.com only allows you to restore deleted files from the desktop client, and I don't know how long you have or what the deal is.


Bottom line, though -- I wouldn't worry about it happening. As far as I am concerned, it will only happen if I am the one doing the deletion, by accident of course.
It isn't their job to protect me from every form of stupidity I can bring upon myself.
They will protect me if my computer is blown up. They will save me when I lose my computer, or can't access it RIGHT NOW. They will even protect me from my own stupidity if I ask them within 30 days. Good enough for me.


I assume if a file got deleted from your computer, and that change was synced to Copy.com/Dropbox... then the file *should* be in your Trash. All in all, what you are doing is making sure that whatever *might* happen to your files, chances are they will be preserved in at least one place.

I doubt you will be in the position, for example, where you deleted the files from your computer, AND you synced to Dropbox, AND you didn't notice for 30 days, AND you lost that computer or cleared the Trash (never do this unless you are sure) AND you lost your flash drive backups.

[badgoodDeb]

FWIW: I treat Dropbox as a snapshot *copy* place. I never put my only copy of a thing into the Dropbox folder. I always copy it into the dropbox folder. I know that the Dropbox folder is a folder on my own computer (which is then copied up into the cloud somewhere). This means I have two copies of the thing on my own computer, plus the Dropbox version can be accessed (by me) from somewhere else (like my phone). That's handy. But I don't put my main version of a file there. I put a *snapshot* in there.

That's just how I'm comfortable using it.

(To jump into your discussion here.)
Deb

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Gregg Bell

Holy crap! (Thanks eschwartz) That makes syncing dangerous as hell then. Right? I have almost all of the files of my two computers synced to my Copy folder. It's been convenient as can be, but I figured no matter what happened in the cloud, the files would always be on my computers in the Copy folder.

Consider what "Sync" means. It means that you want the same contents in the folders being synced. This means that if you add stuff locally, it gets added to the online folders when you Sync, but if you delete stuff locally, it gets deleted in the online folders when you Sync, too.

It seems like what you want in the online folders is essentially a backup of what you have locally. If you have an "Oops!" moment and delete something you shouldn't have, or make a change to a local copy you decide you need to revert and can only do that by going back to an earlier version, you have an earlier version available.

If having a backup you can restore from is a goal, Sync is arguably not the way you do it.

Computers don't yet have a "Do what I mean" function. They do what you say, and it's on you to make sure what you say is what you mean.
______
Dennis

[eschwartz]

On the other hand, wherever you Sync to will often have their own Trash bin, which is sometimes longer-lived than your own.

Granted, it is better to not have to depend on it.