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monovergent

@ monovergent @lemmy.ml

Posts
44
Comments
527
Joined
2 yr. ago

  • My hard drive keeps clicking like files are being accessed but I'm not doing anything in that filesystem and the indicator light doesn't indicate any usage.

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  • If you have SMR drives, it is normal for them to rearrange their contents during periods of user inactivity. The way Shingled Magnetic Recording crams more bytes into the same platter necessitates its own kind of "defragmenting". Unless it's host-managed SMR, it's done by the drive's onboard controller, so the OS won't be aware.

  • Does it ever bother some of you that "I'm switching to Linux!" is just more of a way to appear rebellious than actually committing to the choice?

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  • No, the more the merrier, even if it's pure publicity.

  • How do you handle junk email?

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  • Primarily by having multiple email addresses and aliases.

    I realized that on many occasions, I'm giving out my email merely as part of signing up for an account or resetting my password. So I made accounts and aliases that I use when I don't forsee a service sending any messages of value after I sign up. I star the confirmation email for my records and ignore whatever junk mail comes my way, first-party or third-party.

    As for the main personal email I use to actually communicate with people, my provider's built-in spam filter has done a good enough job so far. If it misses anything, it usually follows a pattern (topic, domain, etc.) so I just make my own filter rule. In the off chance I do want messages in my main inbox from a service after I sign up, I do so with an alias. If that alias gets compromised, I just cut it off.

    Granted, I don't see much spam anyway since most of my email is work-related, my employer's IT department seems to do a good job of filtering out spam, and I'm strict about not using my work email outside of work.

  • I have two partitions, one for the OS, and one for storage. Can I expand the OS partition without losing data?

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  • Probably not without LVM or an external drive to restore from. Depending on which partition comes first, you'll either have to extend the OS partition "leftward" or lop off the front of the data partition, and there isn't a good way to do either nondestructively.

    If you have LVM set up, you could reduce the storage partition, make a partition in the new free space, and lump it into the volume group for the OS partition.

  • Privacy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Advice, myths, and reality regarding privacy when travelling to China?

  • how can i make use of the free space in a bootable usb drive?

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  • Sorry about that, you are right. The way I originally envisioned would have disrupted the partitioning of the original ISO. Tried it myself and ran into the same issue, then finally recalled how I actually did it. See my edited comment above. Unfortunately, changing out the ISO non-destructively might be harder than I originally thought.

  • iDescriptor Brings iPhone Management to Linux

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  • Looks amazing. I was just thinking about my friend who keeps Windows around for iTunes syncing yesterday, one more thing I can suggest to people moving to Linux.

  • Why use a terminal pdf viewer?

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  • The only time I find myself in line with CLI purists is when I need to SSH into a machine without X forwarding. Had no idea that there were terminal PDF viewers, but now I know if I ever need to consult a document remotely.

  • What are the best reasons people have given you for not wanting to try Linux?

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  • My friend

    • loves making and sharing home videos, but his entire workflow is tied to Windows Movie Maker
    • his wife insists on using an iPhone and is tech-illiterate, so depends on him having iTunes for syncing stuff
    • has bad memories of Linux from the 2000s and has grown comfortable with a copy of Windows that I've debloated

  • how can i make use of the free space in a bootable usb drive?

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  • If you don't want Ventoy:

    1. Wipe the USB: wipefs -a /dev/sdb
    2. Copy the ISO image to the USB: dd of=/dev/sdb if=/path/to/image/linux.ISO bs=1M status=progress
    3. Make the data partition in the free space: cfdisk /dev/sdb, don't remove the iso9660 signature, create partition in the free space, and Write.
    4. Format the partition with filesystem of your choice: mkfs, cryptsetup, etc.

    (everything as root, replace /dev/sdb with the location of your USB)

    As is, this only leaves exactly enough for the ISO you are currently working with, sealing the fate of the data partition if you need to swap out the ISO. I suspect there is a workaround in theory, but I haven't gotten around to that yet.

    Also see https://github.com/thias/glim, a GRUB-based alternative to Ventoy, albeit with less compatibility.

    Edit: this will not work with Windows ISOs and the data partition won't show up in certain versions of Windows, in case anyone is wondering

    Wipe the drive and partition it so the first partition is large enough for your ISO, then the second partition for your data spans the remaining space. I chose MBR over GPT so I could boot on both modern and legacy BIOS machines. Then dd your ISO to the first partition. Set the bootable flag on that partition if it isn't already. Format the second partition with whatever filesystem you'd like.

    My Clonezilla recovery drive is set up like this, but it's been a while so I might have forgotten something. Let me know if I did.

  • Solved: Switching from Windows, but slightly convoluted

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  • You've survived and perhaps thrived booting off the HDD for a while, so I would wipe the SSD and install Linux there if you intend to switch over at some point. That's what I did for my test bench, my last personal machine with Windows; Linux on an SSD and Windows on an old HDD, where the slow speeds don't really bother my infrequent use.

  • Linux Hardening Guide / Linux is Insecure

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  • As someone who did use this guide as an exercise in making my setup as secure as it could be without changing distros or hampering productivity, a few words of advice:

    • Make a threat model for yourself before diving in and apply the mitigations judiciously. It's not exactly a checklist, just use something secureblue or Qubes if you are really paranoid about your computer.
    • The majority of the mitigations 'just work' and have no noticeable impact on performance, battery life, or compatibility.
    • If your CPU/Memory performance widget breaks, dial back on the ptrace options
    • If Flatpaks fail to launch, dial back on the namespace options
    • Check back every so often because some of the options end up having unwanted side-effects with updates. See the preamble in boot parameters, where a change in Linux made in 2021 (which finally made it into Debian Stable this year) made the slub_debug mitigation actually worsen security.

  • Gmail can read your emails and attachments to train its AI, unless you opt out

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  • Even if they did, your messages are going to be scanned via your recipients who use Gmail without opting out.

  • Which company has a better reputation Lenovo or ASUS?

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  • Interesting, had no idea until now that there's such a thing as first-party malware loaded with the BIOS. Admittedly I'm caught in an ivory tower with my Corebooted ThinkPad. Although I haven't purchased one yet, I'd say you made the right choice going with Framework.

  • Which company has a better reputation Lenovo or ASUS?

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  • Lenovo's ThinkPad line has a sterling reputation. Among the best in terms of quality, service, repairability, and Linux support.

    As for the largely consumer-grade options of ASUS and Lenovo's consumer-grade IdeaPads, they're rather similar in reputation and quality. Not exceptional, but they're both perfectly fine options as long as you avoid the budget laptop segment (plastic chassis, broken hinges, etc.)

    Any difference in privacy would come down to the pre-installed software, which is irrelevant if you plan on using Linux. If you will be using Windows, it's always better to install your own fresh copy to purge any potential spyware and bloatware installed by the manufacturer. The activation key for whichever edition of Windows it comes with is embedded in the BIOS, so it'll activate automatically after a fresh reinstall.

  • What is this way of thinking called? I see it a lot and sometimes it bothers me...

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  • reductio ad Hitlerum is analogous.

  • Windows 11 to add an AI agent that runs in background with access to personal folders, warns of security risk

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  • the only way i escaped this until now as being able to afford the hefty price tags on linux-only hardware with something like system76 and i can’t afford it anymore since i no longer earn a software engineer’s salary.

    Why not a second-hand ThinkPad/Latitude/ProBook? They're cheap and cheerful and well-supported by most distros.

  • Deleted

    I recently stopped degrading and am starting to think, is there any advice on how to avoid falling into degradation again?

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  • Age-old case of everyone else on the internet wanting you to be specific, but I'm open to the idea that you don't exactly know what it is either and just need a starting point. I don't know a thing about remedies for the psyche, but have you been taking good care of your bodily health?

    Get some good sleep every night. That doesn't mean the 05:00 grindset, but just something you can stick to every day, even if that's getting up 90 minutes before your job or obligation if that's what it takes to be consistent. Go outside for a stroll, however aimless, get your blood flowing and maybe bundle that with getting the mail or whatever. And perhaps eat well by cooking something you like, even something home-made that seems slightly indulgent won't be as bad as the processed junk out there. Just things that will be good for you and will help you feel in charge of yourself.

  • How do I roll a new windows 11 laptop back into 10?

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  • Rollback is only possible after an upgrade from 10 to 11 but before the Windows.old directory (a snapshot of system files and configurations immediately before the upgrade) is purged. After that, a fresh install is the only option. No tool can claim to reliably downgrade Windows since 10 would not know how to handle newly-introduced configurations and data from 11, especially in the registry.

  • What are your thoughts on sewer surveillance?

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  • the only viable alternative would be to build septic tank

    Me realizing I'm ahead of the game because I live in a home with a septic tank. But when you have to pump that tank every 5 years, if you can't do that yourself, it's going to be a lot less anonymous than a centralized sewer.

  • Linux @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Uses for a 2 GB internal USB flash module?

  • Privacy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Advice on deciding what goes on a personally-identifiable portfolio and what stays pseudonymous?

  • Linux @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Running a command only when resuming from the hibernation part of suspend-then-hibernate?

  • Asklemmy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Is there a "healthy" amount of dandruff?

  • Privacy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Look ma, no proprietary apps!

  • Linux @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Proper way to setup fstab and crypttab for encrypted /boot partition?

  • Asklemmy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Thoughts on becoming self-employed and making a living off my passions?

  • Asklemmy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Does anyone else randomly get a stale, rubbery smell on their hands?

  • Privacy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Compatibility of Volla Phone 22 and FuriLabs FLX1 with US carriers?

  • Asklemmy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    What do you think of imitation and lab-grown meats?

  • Asklemmy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Why exactly does AI-generated comic/cartoon/2D art look so off-putting?

  • Privacy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    If and how much longer until they take cash and browser-based banking from us?

  • Asklemmy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Has anyone's browser failed the Anubis challenge on some sites but not every site?

  • Asklemmy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Most people seem to assume fire alarms are false alarms. Is that how it's always worked? What can be done about it?

  • Linux @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Can I automatically "preload" light-locker (or any screen locker) upon suspend?

  • Privacy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    How to get started with anonymous cryptocurrency payments?

  • Asklemmy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Recommendations for a tablet PC on a budget?

  • Linux @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    Volume control not working on USB audio device

  • Asklemmy @lemmy.ml
    monovergent @lemmy.ml

    What could possibly make my left shoe develop leaks so often?