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How to Update Debian 12 to Debian 13

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 17:41:54 +0200

Foreword
#

This guide is again very brief. The only important thing is that you create a backup of your installation before performing the upgrade. Debian is very robust, and I had no problems with 15 servers, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Updating
#

Before you can upgrade to Debian 13, the system must be up to date. Simply enter these commands:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt full-upgrade

The system should then be restarted.

sudo reboot

Upgrade to Debian 13
#

To update Debian, you must first tell Debian to use the new repositories. Debian 12 is called “Bookworm” and Debian 13 is called “Trixie.”

This setting must be adjusted in this file. To do this, simply copy the command into the terminal again.

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Here, you must rename everything related to “Bookworm” to „Trixie”. I am referring specifically to these three things:

Bookworm → Trixie

Bookworm updates → Trixie updates

Bookworm security → Trixie security

Once that is done, we need to enter three more commands into the terminal:

To update the repository.

sudo apt update

This prepares the system for the upgrade. Press “Q” when prompted:

sudo apt upgrade --without-new-pkgs

Now perform the full upgrade to Debian 13 with the following command:

sudo apt full-upgrade

This will install new packages, update existing ones, and remove outdated dependencies. Once the update is complete, restart the system with the following command:

sudo reboot

After restarting, run the following to check that the upgrade was performed correctly:

lsb_release -a

If you now see “Debian 13”, your system has been successfully updated.

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

Thank you for reading and for your time!

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How to Install Virtmanager in Arch Linux

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 14:59:15 +0200

Useful links
#

Arch Wiki entry: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Virt-manager

What is Virtmanager?
#

First of all: This will be a somewhat shorter guide, as it only covers the installation. You will need a few things for this. But now back to the question: What is Virtmanager? Virtmanager is a Type 2 hypervisor based on KVM. Technically, it could also be classified as a Type 1 hypervisor because it supports hardware passthrough. However, I went into more detail about this in the guide to virtualization and containerization.

https://xenoelectronics.com/posts/2025/virtualization-vs-containerization/

How do you install Virtmanager?
#

To install VirtManager, you need a few packages.

Let’s start with the packages.

Pacman packages
#

First, we should update, which can be done with this command.

sudo pacman -Syu

Then these packages must be installed:

sudo pacman -S virt-manager virt-viewer qemu-full vde2 ebtables dnsmasq bridge-utils libvirt openbsd-netcat ebtables iptables libguestfs

Start Libvirt
#

Libvirt must be running in order to enable virtualization. To do this, simply enter the following commands:

sudo systemctl start libvirtd.service

sudo systemctl enable libvirtd.service

sudo systemctl start libvirtd.socket

sudo systemctl enable libvirtd.socket

Now you can use VirtManager, but you can do even more, such as hardware passthrough with GPU or PCIe devices. However, there will be another guide for this, as it deserves its own entry.

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

Thank you for reading and for your time!

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Fedora KDE First Steps After Installation

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 17:58:34 +0200

Useful links
#

https://github.com/devangshekhawat/Fedora-42-Post-Install-Guide

First steps after the Fedora KDE installation
#

This guide takes you through the most important steps to equip your new Fedora KDE system with additional repositories, codecs and tools. Because after the installation some things are not installed or not activated, which can lead to problems.

Setting up RPM Fusion
#

RPM Fusion supplements the official Fedora repository with freely licensed and proprietary packages that you need for multimedia, gaming and special hardware.

Fedora follows a very radical open source approach and does not allow proprietary software by default. Exceptions are flatpaks, as these are isolated from the system.

I can understand that, but with things like Nvidia, Steam and drivers it can be really annoying. That’s why the RPM repository exists.

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

sudo dnf install https://mirrors.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-$(rpm -E %fedora).noarch.rpm

Install media codecs
#

These group installations provide support for common audio and video formats such as MP3, H.264 and HEVC.

As already mentioned, Fedora consistently uses open source. This includes codecs such as the Open H.264 codec from Cisco.

This also works well until you edit a video or audio file and the editor hangs and you cannot render to the formats.

The codecs that are installed with the bash command are simply missing.

sudo dnf group install multimedia

sudo dnf group install sound-and-video

Install Steam
#

In KDE Discover, you must activate the “Nonfree Steam” option under “Settings”. You can then install Steam with the command

sudo dnf install steam

Install NVIDIA
#

In this section, you install the proprietary NVIDIA drivers to achieve optimum graphics performance and compatibility.

Unlike AMD, the Nvidia driver is not embedded in the kernel. This means that it is installed and configured automatically.

This is the AMD Mesa driver, which is open source and works perfectly.

Nvidia is different, because the open source driver Nouvou is incredibly bad, so you need the proprietary driver.

1. check GPU model
#

Run this command to determine your exact NVIDIA model and make sure you are installing the correct driver:

lspci | grep -Ei 'VGA|3D'

2. update system
#

An up-to-date system ensures driver compatibility:

sudo dnf update --refresh

Then reboot so that all updates take effect:

reboot

3. check Secure Boot
#

Secure Boot can prevent the loading of unsigned modules. Check the status. If you do not want to sign the NVIDIA modules yourself, you can also deactivate Secure Boot in the BIOS/UEFI:

mokutil --sb-state

4. install dependencies
#

Kernel headers and build tools are required for the driver to be installed correctly:

sudo dnf install kernel-devel-matched kernel-headers

sudo dnf install gcc make dkms acpid libglvnd-glx libglvnd-opengl libglvnd-devel pkgconfig

5. install drivers
#

Install the akmod package for automatic module build and the CUDA variants for GPU computing:

sudo dnf install akmod-nvidia

sudo dnf install xorg-x11-drv-nvidia-cuda

After installation, wait at least 5 minutes before rebooting to allow the kernel module to finish building.

6. check installation
#

Verify that the NVIDIA module is loaded correctly:

modinfo -F version nvidia

7. reboot
#

A reboot loads the new driver into the kernel:

reboot

8. post-installation
#

Enable power management services to make suspend and resume stable:

sudo systemctl enable nvidia-suspend.service

sudo systemctl enable nvidia-hibernate.service

sudo systemctl enable nvidia-resume.service

Flathub instead of Fedora flatpak
#

Flathub offers up-to-date flatpaks directly from the developer, while the Fedora repo is sometimes outdated. Especially with applications like OBS there can be problems with the Fedora version, therefore Flathub should preferably be used and the Fedora flatpaks should be switched off.

flatpak remote-delete --force fedora

flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://dl.flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo

Replace browser
#

Replace Firefox with privacy-focused flatpaks like LibreWolf or Brave.

Firefox is not really secure out of the box and should be replaced by Brave or LibreWolf. You can also read about this in my browser guide.

https://xenoelectronics.com/posts/2025/the-best-starter-guide-for-browser-security/

sudo dnf remove firefox

flatpak install flathub io.gitlab.librewolf-community

flatpak install flathub com.brave.Browser

Practical Flatpak tools
#

I would like to introduce a few more Flatpak tools that I find very good for managing a Linux desktop. These are all graphical, so anyone can use them.

Mission Center
#

The dashboard provides system diagnostics on CPU and RAM usage and more. It’s like the task manager in Windows.

flatpak install flathub io.missioncenter.MissionCenter

BleachBit
#

Cleans cache and temporary files. A kind of CCleaner.

flatpak install flathub xfceorg.bleachbit

BoxBuddy
#

GUI for Distrobox containers. This is handy if you need several distros at the same time. Sometimes there are programs that are only available for Debian or Arch, for example.

flatpak install flathub com.github.donadigo.boxbuddy

Flatseal
#

Manage flatpak permissions via the graphical user interface. Flatpaks can be limited like on iOS, Android and macOS. Management is easier with the GUI.

flatpak install flathub com.github.tchx84.Flatseal

Warehouse
#

A simple file manager for flatpak runtimes. Flatpaks can be annoying if you want to edit or delete them. With Warehouse this is easy.

flatpak install flathub io.github.johnfactotum.Warehouse

Gear Lever
#

Gear Lever is used to manage AppImages. Since AppImages cannot update themselves, Gear Lever comes into play.

flatpak install flathub org.gnome.GearLever

KeePassXC
#

Local password manager. More about this in the password manager guide:

https://xenoelectronics.com/posts/2025/password-managers-which-should-be-used/

flatpak install flathub org.keepassxc.KeePassXC

Haruna
#

Lightweight video player with Qt interface and hardware acceleration.

flatpak install flathub org.kde.haruna

Enable LVFS updates
#

Normally DNF updates the firmware of the hardware automatically, but after the installation it is not wrong to force this update once.

sudo fwupdmgr refresh

sudo fwupdmgr get-updates

Install VA-API
#

Hardware acceleration for video decoding.

sudo dnf install ffmpeg-libs

sudo dnf install libva libva-utils

Set hostname
#

For some reason, Fedora does not ask you for the name of your device during installation. You can set it yourself.

hostnamectl set-hostname YOUR_HOSTNAME

Create update file
#

I recommend creating a bash file that automatically performs all updates on the system.

The file should then be stored in the “/usr/bin” directory. However, it must first be marked as executable with chmod +x.

This should be the content of the file:

#!/bin/bash
sudo dnf upgrade -y
flatpak update -y
distrobox-upgrade --all

Make the update file executable:

(Here the name of the file is update)

sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/update

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

Thank you for reading and for your time!

https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-a-virtual-machine

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Virtualization vs Containerization

Sat, 01 Mar 2025 21:47:14 +0100

Useful links
#

Container Engins

Docker: https://www.docker.com/get-started/

Kubernetes: https://kubernetes.io/

Podman: https://podman.io/

Container GUI Tools

Rancher: https://www.rancher.com/

Longhorn: https://longhorn.io/

Portainer: https://www.portainer.io/

Hypervisor

What is KVM: https://www.redhat.com/en/topics/virtualization/what-is-KVM

Virtmanager: https://virt-manager.org/

Qemu: https://www.qemu.org/

XEN: https://xenproject.org/

Proxmox: https://www.proxmox.com/en/products/proxmox-virtual-environment/overview

What is virtualization?
#

Before we start talking about the differences and when to use what, we first need to clarify what a VM is.

The TLDR version, otherwise it’s too long, is that virtual machines are operating systems that run on other operating systems.

You can read more here

Why do we virtualize?
#

The sense for this was not really there in the past because all the servers back then utilized all the hardware and therefore hardware only ever did one thing.

Nowadays, however, hardware has become incredibly powerful and therefore some services only use a fraction of the hardware and it would therefore be a total waste not to run several servers on one.

What is the difference between VMs and containers?
#

At first here is a graphic that shows how VMs and containers roughly look like.

The difference is small but there are definitely some. Here is a table that briefly summarizes the most importent ones:

Topic	Hypervisor	Container
Kernel	Has its own kernel	Shares the kernel with the host
Start speed	Slow because the VM has to start its kernel and more OS components have to be loaded because it is a full OS	Fast as the kernel is already started by the host and far fewer OS components need to be loaded as it has just enough to run one service
Resource utilization	High because it has to load a full OS	Little as it only performs one service
Scalability	It is less flexible because changes must be stored in the VM disk. Therefore, centralized storage is difficult to implement.	Very good as all data is available in the container for the service. Changes are stored in volumes and can be centralized so that all containers use the same data.

Container
#

Advantages and disadvantages of containers
#

Some things have already been addressed in the table, but not everything.

Containers have the great advantage that they require extremely few resources and run the same on all servers. The phrase “But it runs on my device” is therefore solved with containers.

One disadvantage however, is the kernel. Because if you use a cluster and want to migrate a container from one server to another, this is not seamless. Because it first has to be shut down and only then can it be migrated. This actually makes sence because it uses the kernel of the host and then has to use the kernel of the new host. A VM does not have this problem as it has its own kernel.

Where do you use containers
#

Containers have a specific purpose, namely microservices. So they have one service and nothing more.

For example, a container can be a database and nothing more, another container can be a chat application and then communicate with the database container to store the data.

This sounds unnecessary at first, but the advantage is that if the database server is busy, the same container can be started on another server in seconds so that the load is shared.

Container Engins
#

There are not so many container engines that are popular but here are 3 Recommendations.

Docker
#

Docker is the standard in the industry. However, I recommend using Portainer because it is easier to manage the containers that way

Docker: https://www.docker.com/get-started/

Portainer: https://www.portainer.io/

Podman
#

Podman is a container engine developed by Redhat. The difference to docker is that it is agentless.

Docker uses a Systemd service which is the Docker Deamon to manage the containers. This runs with the root user. Which can lead to security problems if this service is hacked.

Podman containers are instead managed with shell commands without root.

Podman: https://podman.io/

Kubernetes
#

Kubernetes needs its own guide as it is incredibly complex. But in short, it is an orchestrator for the mass management of containers across servers. So it makes sense if you have services that require high availability.

A very good graphical manager for Kubernetes is Rancher in combination with Longhorn

Kubernetes: https://kubernetes.io/

Rancher: https://www.rancher.com/

Longhorn: https://longhorn.io/

Virtual Machines
#

Advantages and disadvantages of vms
#

Virtual machines have the advantage that they can do everything a normal PC or server can do. They are therefore very flexible in what they can do.

Unlike containers, they can also use hardware to extend their functions.

The disadvantage is the high load on the host as a complete OS must always be running, even for small services. Updating can therefore also be annoying as a complete update of the OS has to be made and not just a new container image that has to be pulled.

Where do you use vms
#

They always make sense if you cannot implement the service in a container, be it as a desktop or a machine that has to perform many services simultaneously or if you need to use hardware in a VM.

It also makes sense to use a VM for old operating systems.

Types of hypervisors
#

There are several types of hypervisors, as always I will only refer to the open source versions so that you can use them yourself.

You could go into more detail here about Hypervisor Type 1 and Hypervisor Type 2, but nowadays the difference is almost non-existent. Hypervisor type 1 had the advantage of being able to pass hardware from the host to the VM. Hypervisor type 2 can now also do this and therefore, in my opinion, there is no longer really a difference.

All the hypervisors I list here only run on Linux. Windows also has one, but it is not open source and the Linux ones are the best hypervisors on the market.

Virtmanager
#

Virtmanager is the best choice in my opinion if you want to do a lot with a VM on an Desktop. It is a type 2 but can still pass hardware to the VM and a lot more.

Virtmanager: https://virt-manager.org/

Qemu
#

Qemu is practical if you want to start a VM quickly and test something. Qemu has many templates which can be used to start VMs in seconds.

Qemu: https://www.qemu.org/

XEN
#

XEN is an old hypervisor but the most secure one on the market. Qubes OS and TrueNAS use it, as do some car manufacturers in their cars.

However, it is slower than modern hypervisors. But if security is your first priority you should use it.

XEN: https://xenproject.org/

Proxmox
#

I have written about Proxmox before, it is the best hypervisor if you need a cluster server.

Proxmox: https://www.proxmox.com/en/products/proxmox-virtual-environment/overview

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

Thank you for reading and for your time!

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=The+UK+wants+a+backdoor+to+apples+I+Cloud&t=ffab&ia=web

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How and why you should Host Your Own Cloud

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 12:23:36 +0100

What is a Cloud?
#

Before we can create our own cloud, we first need to know what a cloud actually is.

It has nothing to do with the clouds in the sky, but the cloud in the IT sense are servers that provide services on the Internet that would otherwise run locally in companies or at home.

These can be, for example, office programs, video editing software, gaming PCs, AD or LDAP servers, e-mails, etc.

In short, it is simply someone else’s PC that provides you with services. For example, if a friend of yours offers you to store data on his server via the Internet, then this is Technically speaking already a cloud. Even if it is only a 50$ PC.

What is the cloud for?
#

Now that we know what exactly a cloud is and also that it is not a special thing. What is the point of a cloud? If you know what you’re doing, impressively little.

Large companies advertise their cloud solutions a lot and like to present it as the solution to all problems and that it is so much cheaper. Of course, this is marketing talk and has little to do with reality. Companies wouldn’t invent something where they make less money, that’s the goal of every company. If you are told that you can save so much money if you put your entire infrastructure that belongs to you in a cloud where you rent it forever and never own it. Then there is clearly something wrong, it can be cheaper in the beginning until enough companies are vendorlocked and the costs continue to rise and rise. Don’t forget Microsoft, Amazon and co are stock companies the line has to keep going up and up and up.

Nevertheless, there are certain cases where a cloud from large companies actually makes sense.

Examples include:

Offsite hard storage for the 3 2 1 rule which Microsoft and Amazon offer as an example.

A CDN to make the website quickly available to the whole world like Netlify offers for example.

Another CDN to make downloads and servers available to the whole world like Steam does.

For international companies that need extreme flexibility in their server capacity, a cloud also makes sense because of its elasticity

In fact, e-mail hosting can also make sense as it has become very difficult to configure e-mails so that they are not declared as spam

These are brief examples, but the tldr version is. If it’s completely unrealistic to host it locally, such as hosting YouTube as a whole in your own company, then you should use a cloud. If it is super easy to host it yourself like an DHCP Server then you should do that.

The risks with the cloud
#

Monopoly
#

I already mentioned halfway that the cloud can have a monopoly problem if too many companies and people rent everything in these few companies. Then Price will at some point go up Forever. Because from that point on, what do you want to do about it, if there are no more local devices that can do the same? You can already see that nowadays, try to get by completely without Microsoft, Google, Amazon and co. That’s very difficult and if everything is in the cloud that would only make it worse.

Data Protection and Espionage
#

Data protection is an issue because just because the company claims that the data is not being stolen does not mean that they are not doing it secretly. In a closed network where all software is proprietary, there is no way to tell that data is not stolen or that this could not change in the future. The UK is a good example right now with Apple. The UK is currently trying to get a backdoor to read all the data of UK users in the ICloud. This can also affect other countries if they share data with UK citizens.

Another example is Microsoft, which in the past denied the cooperation with the NSA. Eternalblue was a malware that exploited this backdoor to spread malware all over the world. Why shouldn’t this espionage still be going on?

The Backdoor: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Mircosofts+NSA+Backdoor&t=ffab&ia=web

The Malware: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Eternalblue+uses+NSA+backdoor&t=ffab&ia=web

Limited customizability
#

Another problem is customizability, if a cloud does not support a function it simply does not work. Whereas locally you can customize everything as you need it.

How do I host a cloud myself?
#

Forewords
#

Self-hosting can be very complicated depending on the size and for many a thing that is completely impossible if they don’t want to invest time. So think carefully about whether it’s worth your time or not.

What should I host?
#

Now that we know what the point of a cloud is and what the Risks are, we need to know what we want to host ourself.

In the end you have to know it yourself and I have a few sources where you can find inspiration.

Containers: https://hub.docker.com/

Nextcloud it dose a loot: https://nextcloud.com/

Youtube search for what other people are hosting at home to see if it is interesting for you.

What hardware do you need?
#

You might think that you need an extremely expensive server that costs around 20000$ to even think about self-hosting, but that is completely wrong.

I myself have an 8 year old gaming PC for my home lab. It cost me 1800€ at the time and can host up to 30 servers without any problems and can play in my gaming VM at the same time. But there’s even more to it these days as you can get more performance for less money. So you can do something similar nowadays even with a 1000$ PC or if you want to host very little even with one for 50$ be it with a Raspberry PI. But you can also buy old servers or PCs second-hand and use them.

You have to look at what exactly you want to do and plan accordingly.

My best recommendation for a server that runs with Linux without problems and has a lot of power without you wanting to play games on it is this one:

https://www.tuxedocomputers.com/en/TUXEDO-Nano-Pro-Gen13-AMD.tuxedo#specs

You can get it for about 1000€ and it will easily serve you for the next 5-10 years. Depending on the load and what it should do of course.

Which software should you use?
#

For this I have my Linux Distro Guide where some good server OSs are presented. But my recommendation would be Proxmox.

Distro Guide: https://xenoelectronics.com/posts/2025/which-linux-distro-should-you-use/

Proxmox: https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads/proxmox-virtual-environment/iso

Proxmox covers a lot of things that you can use for self-hosting. Because you can create a VM for all purposes to do the job.

You need containers? Make a VM with Alpine and host Portainer on it. You need a database server? Make a Debian VM and host Postgres on it and so on.

Other OSs would make it harder as they are less flexible or purpose built. With TrueNAS for example you have an excellent OS for storage and can also create VMs but it is less easy than with Proxmox and you can also host TrueNAS in a VM with Proxmox if you need it.

You can also create clusters with Proxmox if you have more than one server.

Summary
#

You now have an idea of what the cloud is and have an idea of how and what you can host yourself and what risks the cloud can pose. I can only recommend you to deal more with the topic of self-hosting because otherwise this article will take several hours and if it is too much work for you, I hope that you have at least learned something new.

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

Thank you for reading and for your time!

https://youtu.be/e6o2afben0s

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The Best Starter Guide for Browser Security

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 13:46:08 +0100

Useful Links
#

Virus Scanner

https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload

How Secure are all the Browsers

https://privacytests.org/

Browser Sandbox

Online: https://www.browserling.com/

Selfhostet: https://www.kasmweb.com/browser-isolation

Scam Site Scanner

https://www.scamvoid.net/

Browser Fingerprinting

Browser Fingerprinting Resistence test: https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/

What Websites Know about you: https://www.deviceinfo.me/

Is your Browser Unique: https://amiunique.org/

Is your Account Login Information Puplic

https://haveibeenpwned.com/

Browser Recomendations

Tor: https://www.torproject.org/download/

Librewolf: https://librewolf.net/

Brave: https://brave.com/download/

The most secure OS for browsers ever

Whonix: https://www.whonix.org/

What is a Browser
#

Let’s start simple. What is a browser anyway? In short, it is an application that allows you to display web pages from the Internet. Nowadays, however, it is much more than that. We can save our passwords like with a password manager, we can open PDF documents in them, build applications on them etc.

In addition, we do almost everything in our browsers these days, think about how often you open your browser to do something, be it email, watch YouTube, social media, search for things, manage servers, listen to music, buy something online, etc.

It is therefore incredibly important that we protect our browsers or at least know what to protect and how secure browsers are.

Which browser should you use?
#

I know that there are several browsers and Chrome is still very popular. Nevertheless, you should know one thing, there are technically hardly any browsers. What do I mean by that? Chrome is based on a browser called Chromium, the same goes for Brave, Edge, Opera etc.

The only other unique browser is Firefox and Tor, Librewolf, MulvadBrowser, for example, are based on it.

So in the end you choose a version of Chromium or Firefox.

Of course, these browsers are customized and have features that other browsers don’t have. Brave is a good example, as it has many features for Web3, cryptocurrencies, its own Brave AI, etc.

But which browser should you use? In itself, it doesn’t really matter, but I still have a few recommendations if security and a certain degree of anonymity are important to you.

Browser Recommendations
#

The recommendations I have are all mostly Firefox based except Brave. Why is that?

The answer is simple, Chrome’s Manifest 3, which no longer allows adblockers to be used. It’s not that I hate ads but it’s still a security problem, often ad banners lead to malware sites, for a while Google had their ad links in there search engine showing malware as the first link instead of the real site.

Here is a good video of what I am talking about:

It is therefore important to be able to use an adblocker and all browsers that I recommend can use them and have strong security on top of that without having to adjust much.

The adblocker that I recommend and many of these browsers have installed by default is Ublock Origin:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/ublock-origin/

Please use it you will have a hard time downloading malware by mistake.

Librewolf Browser
#

Librewolf is a fork of Firefox. It uses Ublock by default to block ads and malware but not only that. It has incredibly good fingerprinting protection and is very lightweight. So it needs very few resources.

You can read all about it here:

https://librewolf.net/docs/features/

Download: https://librewolf.net/installation/

Tor Browser
#

Tor browser is also a fork of Firefox, but has been adapted for the Tor Protocol. There are so many articles and videos about the darknet that are absolut garbage, but that’s not the topic today.

Tor is my recommendation if you use it in combination with Whonix, Tor alone does not make you anonymous, especially if you use it on Windows or Mac. It only helps you to use the darknet or hidenservices.

So the question is what you need it for. Nevertheless, it is a fantastic browser if you want at least hide your IP.

Download Tor: https://www.torproject.org/download/

Download Whonix: https://www.whonix.org/

Brave Browser
#

Brave is special, it is Chromium based but leans heavily against Google. They even sued google once:

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=Brave+sues+google&ia=web

It still supports Manifest 2 and can therefore still use adblockers, and it is one of the only browsers I know that supports Web3 natively. It also has some features that may be of interest to people.

It’s not a bad browser all round, I personally just find it has too many features that I don’t need. But still it gets a full recommendation from me.

Download: https://brave.com/download/

General setting recommendations
#

There are a few things that I recommend that you should set so that you have a little more security.

Disable automatic downloading
#

When you download something, it often downloads it automatically to the Downloads folder. This is a nice thing but also bad, because websites can also start downloads without you having pressed anything.

To prevent this, you can set your browser’s download settings so that the browser always asks where to save the file.

The advantage is clear: malware can no longer simply download itself over your Browser.

Set permisions to Blockt.
#

In browsers, you can set what the browser is allowed to access. This can be the GPS position, the microphone, the camera, etc.

These should be set to Blocked. The reason is clear: if a website tries to use your microphone without permission, it will not be able to access it.

You can also add exceptions, which you can do for websites that you allow access to your Microphone etc.

Recommendations for browser analysis and security
#

We are now finished with the browsers themselves. But I still have a few recommendations for websites that you can use.

How Secure is a Browser?
#

If you ever wondered what exactly a browser protects you from, Prvacytest is a good site. It tests a number of things and lists how the browsers perform in terms of security and Anonymity.

https://privacytests.org/

Virus scanner
#

Virustotal is an online virus scanner. Of course you should not upload any sensitive data here, but if you download an exe, for example, and want to be sure that it is not malware. It is not a bad choice because it uses about 60 virus scanners so you can be sure that it recognizes the malware.

CAUTION, however, it does not always recognize everything, especially if it is new malware. So please always think about what you are downloading and doing. Virus scanners are not a thing that protects you from everything, most of the time they only protect you from things that you would avoid with common sense anyway, but more on that an other time.

https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload

Browser Sandbox
#

A browser sandbox is an isolated environment from which software cannot escape. It is perfect for testing whether a site has malware or not as you can test as you like without fear of infecting your PC.

I have two recommendations here. One is online and the other one is Selfhosted.

Online: https://www.browserling.com/

Selfhostet: https://www.kasmweb.com/browser-isolation

Scam Site Database
#

Have you ever wondered if a site is just scam? On Scamvoid you can enter a URL and see if it is known for scam. This way you can quickly avoid some problems.

https://www.scamvoid.net/

Browser Fingerprinting
#

Browser fingerprinting is a complicated subject. In short, it is the ability to recognize you based on your hardware and software. It would be too much to explain here how to protect yourself, but I have a few pages where you can check your resistance and what information you give to a website and how unique your browser is.

Browser Fingerprinting Resistence test: https://coveryourtracks.eff.org/

What Websites Know about you: https://www.deviceinfo.me/

Is your Browser Unique: https://amiunique.org/

I will write an article sometime when I have time but if you are interested in the topic I recommend you to read the Whonix documentation in general, there you will learn a lot about security and how to stay Anonymous.

https://www.whonix.org/wiki/Documentation

Is your Account Login Information Puplic
#

Have you ever asked yourself. Has my account possibly been hacked? It’s good that you’re asking yourself this question, because on Have i been pwned you can quickly find out whether your account is part of a database leaked on the darknet or not. By the way, if you have been hacked, please follow this guide: https://youtu.be/HUR4QOHEurY

The most secure OS for browsers ever
#

And last but not least, the best and really one of the best operating systems if you need security.

I can hardly describe how much this OS does please read it yourself.

https://www.whonix.org/

Whonix is built specifically for Tor and is used in a VM. For all beginners I recommend to use Whonix with Virtualbox.

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

If you want to learn how to use Whonix I recommend this Youtube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr1qpz8oNiY

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

Thank you for reading and for your time!

https://cyberpanel.net/blog/6-types-of-shells-in-linux

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You Should Learn How to use the Terminal in Linux

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 13:10:31 +0100

Useful Links
#

Learning Bash

Learning Bash: https://linuxhandbook.com/bash/

What dose this bash Code: https://explainshell.com/

Basics about Terminals: https://linuxcommand.org/lc3_learning_the_shell.php

Bash Youtube Series for Beginers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXohpTNNP8A&list=PL3cu45aM3C2A-hhXVkOSXxKku1IgPdL6L

Terminal Emulator examples

https://konsole.kde.org/

https://gnome-terminator.org/

https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/

https://gnunn1.github.io/tilix-web/

https://www.waveterm.dev/

Terminal Shells

https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/

https://fishshell.com/

https://linux.die.net/man/1/dash

https://www.zsh.org/

Forewords
#

This will be less of a guide and more of a collection of tips where you can learn how to use a Terminal. Bash or programming itself is not something that you simply explain, you only learn it if you actually work with it. So I can explain as much as I want, if you don’t use it you will never learn it.

Nevertheless, I will roughly explain the basics of what a CLI is, what a shell is and also what a terminal emulator is.

The three questions I want to explain
#

What is an Terminal Emulator?
#

Let’s start with what we see directly when we talk about a terminal. This black window with text inside is the so-called terminal interface, it is also called a terminal emulator because it is a program that behaves like a terminal but is a GUI. I will explain what a GUI is when I get to the CLI question.

The purpose of a terminal is to provide a text-based interface that allows users to interact with their computer’s operating system by typing commands. These are used when an OS does not have a desktop but you still need to interact with the OS.

This is often the case with servers to save resources and allow them to be managed remotely without having to transfer a desktop over the Network. This is done via SSH. Which in turn saves bandwidth.

In linux, these terminals are often preferred to graphical programs if you need to make settings on the OS that go beyond graphical menus. Since these commands are identical for all Linux distros, it is also easier to write scripts or solve problems. This is why you often see solutions in forums that are solved with a terminal.

Windows and Mac OS also use terminals and they are often used when you need to make settings on the OS.

As you can see, the terminal is very powerful and should not be seen as an annoyance but as a powerful tool that can help you.

What is a CLI?
#

Now that we know what exactly a terminal is, let’s move on to the CLI, the command line interface. It can be partly derived from before but a CLI is pure text there are no graphics that visualize anything. That’s what a GUI is for, the graphical user interface. This displays everything with images, text etc. That would be e.g. browsers or games.

What is a Shell?
#

The shell has not been mentioned yet, except for Bash but not the fact that it is a shell, so what is a shell?

In Bash we enter commands, e.g. pwd to display the current directory we are in. Of course the command pwd itself tells a PC nothing because it thinks in machine language. In other words, the shell translates the command for the PC. That is not 100% accurate but is better to understand what a shell even is.

It is therefore like a programming language, which is why there are several shells, for example bash, dash, fish or zsh.

They all work very similarly but have different advantages and disadvantages. Which you can read about here.

However, I recommend using bash as it is the standard.

How do you learn bash and so on?
#

As mentioned at the beginning, just use it and read up on it if you get stuck.

Good commands to find out what a command does are:

tldr

man

for example:

man pwd

tldr pwd

These commands show you exactly what pwd does or how to use it. man is more detailed while tldr shows a short summary of commands that are useful.

Good learning materials are described above, so my tip is to install Linux in a virtual machine, be it with Virtual Box, and simply test out the terminal.

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

Thank you for reading and for your time!

https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

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How to Install Navidrome?

Thu, 13 Feb 2025 12:10:13 +0100

Useful links
#

Official Guide: https://www.navidrome.org/docs/installation/docker/

Subsonic player recommendations: https://www.navidrome.org/docs/overview/#apps

Tag editor: https://kid3.kde.org/

To make Albums: https://picard.musicbrainz.org/

Android Subsonic Player: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.moire.ultrasonic

Desktop Subsonic Player: https://github.com/dweymouth/supersonic/releases

What is Navidrome?
#

Navidrome is a Subsonic based server music player. Which can be used via a browser web interface. It can also be used over the network by other Subsonic players running on your device. This is not irrelevant as Navidrome has limitations which I will cover to later.

How to install Navidrome?
#

The best way to install Navidrome is via Docker. I have a yaml file for this which you can use in Portainer.

services:
 navidrome:
 image: deluan/navidrome:latest
 container_name: Navidrome
 ports:
 - 21480:4533
 restart: always
 environment:
 ND_DEVACTIVITYPANEL: false
 ND_DEVFASTACCESSCOVERART: true
 volumes:
 - data:/data
 - music:/music

volumes:
 data:
 music:

How does Navidrome find and categorize music?
#

Like many programs, Navidrome finds and categorizes music based on its metadata. So it doesn’t matter what kind of folder you have where your albums, playlists or anything else is stored. Navidrome is only interested in the metadata of the files in the folder you want it to look in.

Unfortunately this means that for all songs you want to have in Navidrome you have to adjust the metadata so that Navidrome categorizes them correctly. The important metadata are:

Album:

Artist:

These must be identical so that Navidrome can categorize them into an album. For example, for music from a video game it must look like this:

Album: Super Mario 64

Artist: Super Mario 64

It doesn’t make sense that the artist is called like the album, but it makes it easier for Navidrome to put it in one album.

How do I edit the metadata?
#

A software I recommend to edit the metadata is kid3-qt.

https://kid3.kde.org/

It is a tag editor but that is correct. The tags in a music file are basically the metadata of the file.

How to make an album?
#

Unfortunately, editing the metadata is not enough. At least in my experience.

We still have to tell the files that they are an album, we can do this by using the software Musicbrainz Picard.

There we can insert the songs, where we have customized the metadata and combine them into an album

Problems that Navidrome has
#

In principle, we can now put the data in the music folder of Navidrome and it would also combine them into an album. That’s nice, but we still have two problems.

We need a Subsonic Player
#

The first is that we always need the browser to use Navidrome, which is annoying and I’m sure many people don’t want to do it that way. I have two recommendations for Subsonic players that run on all desktops and on Android.

Android Subsonic Player: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.moire.ultrasonic

Desktop Subsonic Player: https://github.com/dweymouth/supersonic/releases

On Apple IOS most of them cost or are proprietary so I don’t care. sorry apple users.

A small problem with large playlists
#

If you use a subsonic player as recommended above you will never notice this and you may not care but if you use Navidrome in your browser and have playlists of 100 songs or more, you will notice that Navidrome stops responding or takes hours to load a song.

This is currently a bug that they want to fix but have not yet managed to do so. With a Subsonic player this bug never occurs even with playlists that have 4000+ songs. I have such a playlist and it runs perfectly on the players I have recommended to you.

Why do you have a 4000+ song playlist you ask? Why not.

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

Thank you for reading and for your time!

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Which Linux Distro Should You Use

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 14:47:44 +0100

Recommended Distros
#

Desktop

Fedora: https://fedoraproject.org/workstation/download

Mint: https://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=319

Arch: https://archlinux.org/download/

Gamming Desktop

Nobara: https://nobaraproject.org/download-nobara/

Bazzite: https://bazzite.gg/

Server

Proxmox VE: https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads/proxmox-virtual-environment/iso

Debian: https://www.debian.org/

TrueNAS: https://www.truenas.com/download-truenas-scale/

Alpine: https://www.alpinelinux.org/downloads/

Ubuntu Server: https://ubuntu.com/download/server

Open Media Vault: https://www.openmediavault.org/download.html

What is a Linux Distro?
#

I don’t want to go into too much detail here, because it would only put off all new potential users.

As soon as you decide to use Linux, you will quickly realize that Linux does not have just one version, but far too many. A Version of Linux is what is called a Linux Distro.

But as I said, there are far too many. But should that interest you? No, because most distros are simply slightly modified versions of existing ones. It could be a different desktop, colors or something else.

What you should consider when deciding on a Distro?
#

I have already listed a few distros above, which I will discuss in a moment. Before that, I would like to clarify what you should generally pay attention to if you want to use a distro. Here are the most important points in my opinion

Is it popular?
#

This is more important than you think because when it’s popular it has a lot of development support and more documentation. There are also more people talking about their problems. This means that you will also find more solutions to your problems as many people report their problems and get them resolved.

Is it a difficult distro?
#

Difficult is of course always subjective, but there are still things that can clearly be interpreted as difficult.

Examples would be:

The installation should be graphical because not everyone can manage a terminal installation. Especially people who are not used to using a terminal.

If you have to install all kinds of things with a wiki because the distro doesn’t have everything important installed, it’s just too difficult for many people.

So take a close look at your distro choice to see if it is too difficult for you.

What is the distro intended for?
#

There are distros that are extremely specific. Be it for virtualization servers, storage servers etc.

You should therefore look at the purpose for which the distro was created.

The distros I recommend
#

Finally we come to the recommendations. I have sorted it into three categories. Desktop, Gamming and Server.

Desktop
#

Desktop Linux refers to distros that include a desktop. You can also use these as a server, but most people use them as a desktop OS.

Fedora Linux
#

Fedora is my desktop of choice. It offers a lot of software as a lot is developed directly for it. You notice this especially when something is not in a package manager but you can download it as a .deb or .rpm package. That means you have to use apt or dnf as package manager in order to use these files. Fedora uses dnf and it is the best package manager in my opinion for the simple reason that it is incredibly good at finding dependencies.

Also Fedora has a lot of desktops and Fedora uses very new kernels and very recent software versions.

It also uses a graphical installer and should therefore be easy to install.

Download link: https://fedoraproject.org/workstation/download

Linux Mint
#

Linux mint is the best distro for new Linux users. I don’t think there’s any debate about that. It also installs all the drivers you need directly during the system installation. Be it media drivers or the drivers for Nvidia. It also has excellent support for Chinese or Japanese keyboards. Which is important for some people. Also for me.

In addition, you pretty much never need the terminal for Mint, which is very good for people who don’t want to have anything to do with it.

Download link: https://www.linuxmint.com/edition.php?id=319

Arch Linux
#

Arch Linux is special because it is user centralized. Which means that the user friendliness of the Distro is not important. Arch allows you to customize everything, from the desktop to all the programs and kernels that run on your desktop.

This is very good for people who like DIY desktops but absolutely not for anyone who just wants to use a desktop and enjoy their evening.

Arch has the best documentation in the Linux world. So if you want to build your own desktop be so free and install Arch you will love it.

Download link: https://archlinux.org/download/

Gamming
#

“Gamming distros” are actually not a thing that really exists. Because you can play on all desktop distros. However, there are distros that are special, two to be exact.

Nobara
#

Nobara is a fork of Fedora, it adds some patches that makes playing on Linux much easier. It also adds stuff for Davinci Resolve and OBS which makes streaming and Youtube video Production easier.

It is therefore a very good distro for streamers or youtubers. But also just people who want to play without having to fix Gamming specific problems all the time.

Download link: https://nobaraproject.org/download-nobara/

Bazzite
#

Bazzite is a fantastic distro for all these handheld consoles like the Steamdeck that are coming out.

It is very similar to Nobara with the difference that it is an Atomic Desktop. But I’ll explain the difference another time.

Download link: https://bazzite.gg/

Server
#

Server distros are distros that provide server services. Who would have thought.

Proxmox VE
#

Proxmox has a few things it can do, but I’m going to talk specifically about Proxmox VE. Proxmox is a hypervisor OS which is specifically made for virtualization. You can do very cool things with it. For example, I built a Cloud Gamming VM with it. I’ll explain how that works at some point.

Proxmox has many similar functions to VMware ESXI with the difference that it is open source and does not have prices that are so high that you can sell your organs if you want to use it.

You can even use it privately for free.

Download link: https://www.proxmox.com/en/downloads/proxmox-virtual-environment/iso

TrueNAS
#

TrueNAS is a storage OS that uses ZFS as a file system. ZFS is like Alien Technology it is ridiculous what this file system can do. So if you need an OS that is perfect for managing data, look no further.

I have also linked a video here if you want to learn what makes ZFS so special. Of course, I will also cover ZFS at some point.

What is ZFS: https://youtu.be/lsFDp-W1Ks0

Download link: https://www.truenas.com/download-truenas-scale/

Debian Linux
#

It may seem strange that I classify Debian as a server OS when you can also use it as a desktop. But I don’t advise anyone to use it as a desktop. Debian is very old when it comes to software and does not support new hardware for a very long time.

But it is also very robust and almost never crashes. Which makes it very good for servers. By the way, Proxmox and TrueNAS are Debian based for exactly this reason.

Download link: https://www.debian.org/

Alpine Linux
#

Alpine is special, it has hardly any packages, has virtually no desktop support, has no web UI or anything else. BUT it is only 240MB in size you read that right 240MB. Btw the VM version is only 60MB in size and that’s the special thing about Alpine. It is perfect for servers that should be as small as possible or as a base for Docker containers where Alpine is often used. It is also super Secure.

Download link: https://www.alpinelinux.org/downloads/

Ubuntu Server
#

I don’t like Ubuntu because of Canonical. Nevertheless, a lot of server based software is programmed for Ubuntu and Ubuntu Server is also very easy to use. It is the standard Linux server and is therefore a good choice for many people.

Download link: https://ubuntu.com/download/server

Open Media Vault
#

Open Media Vault is like TrueNAS only for small servers. Be it a Raspberry Pi or something else. It’s pretty good for people who want to build a NAS. Without having to buy one from Synology, for example.

Download link: https://www.openmediavault.org/download.html

Closing words
#

There is more you could recommend but I think the selection will satisfy most people. There will always be people who say that you should use this distro because. But that’s not my point, I just want to make the choice easier without scaring people away. The word Linux gatekeeper exists for a reason.

If you have questions you can also ask them directly in the forums. But most things you will learn by trying and reading.

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

Thank you for reading and for your time!

https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden

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Password Managers Which Should Be Used?

Sun, 09 Feb 2025 17:25:12 +0100

Useful links
#

How do Passwords work: https://www.kicksecure.com/wiki/Passwords

Local Password Manager: https://keepassxc.org

Self Hostet Password Manager: https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden

Online Hostet: https://bitwarden.com/

Passphrase generator: https://diceware.rempe.us/

What are Password Managers?
#

The question sounds stupid as the name more or less says it all, but what is a password manager?

A password manager is an application that stores passwords, user names and more and can generate passwords. It’s like an electronic notebook for all your login data.

How do they work?
#

Password managers work by creating a database where the information is stored. The database is then secured with a master password. This is required to decrypt the database.

The master password is the only thing you have to remember. This makes it easier to create different passwords for all possible accounts. This prevents you from using the same passwords over and over again.

Types of Password Managers
#

There are two types of password managers. Server based and local.

Server Solution
#

With the server-based solution, you have a central server where a user is created and all data is stored. This can be a local server or one from a provider.

The advantage is clear, because everything is stored on a server, you can access it from all end devices and changes are immediately available on all devices. The disadvantage is that it is a server and a server must be secure otherwise it could be hacked and all data can then be stolen.

Local Solution
#

The Locale solution is simply an application on your end device. It creates an encrypted file on your device where all data is stored.

The advantage may not be immediately clear. But the advantage is that the password manager is not server based. It does not communicate with the network and can therefore only be hacked if someone has direct access to the device, but this is much more difficult as many devices do not allow this as they do not provide anything for other devices. In addition, you can store such password managers in a VM that has no Internet connection and enter the data into the programs using clipboard sharing. Just like QubesOS does.

The disadvantage is of course that it only exists on one device and you have to copy the file to each device so that changes take effect on the other devices.

Which ones should you use?
#

This is a difficult question as there are countless and the best ones sometimes require technical knowledge but i recommend 3 all of them are Open-Source:

Local Password Manager: https://keepassxc.org

Self Hostet Password Manager: https://github.com/dani-garcia/vaultwarden

Online Hostet: https://bitwarden.com/

KeepassXC
#

KeepassXC is a local password manager that works on all desktop operating systems but unfortunately does not work on smartphones. It does not require any real knowledge of networks or anything else as it is simply a program on the PC.

Vaultwarden
#

Vaultwarden is a password manager that you host yourself it is a fork of Bitwarden. This requires a lot of knowledge about networks if you want to use it everywhere in the World.

I recommend using Docker with Portainer, I even have an article about it. https://xenoelectronics.com/posts/2025/the-ultimate-portainer-starter-guide/

To use the password manager you have to install the Bitwarden app.

https://bitwarden.com/download/

This must be installed in the browser.

However, the connection must be secured with a reverse proxy with HTTPS. Otherwise Vaultwarden will refuse the connection. I recommend Nginx-Proxy-Manager.

https://nginxproxymanager.com/

If you want to use it outside your home, I recommend using Netbird or Wireguard.

https://netbird.io/

https://www.wireguard.com/

You can already tell it’s not easy. That’s why I only recommend Vaultwarden to people who know what they are doing.

We are also happy to help you install Vaultwarden.

Bitwarden
#

Bitwarden is the only password manager that is hosted online, I would always host everything myself if it is realistic. But not everyone can do that. Therefore Bitwarden is my only recommendation as it is open source and the price is ok.

Like Vaultwarden, you need the browser app.

https://bitwarden.com/download/

Since you have Bitwarden Online and they set everything up, you just have to connect the app to your account and that’s it.

But always keep in mind that you need great trust in the company. Even if you want to use a different password manager. My favorite example is Lastpass.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=lastpass+hacked+2024&t=ffab&ia=web

They were hacked in 2024 and lost millions of users’ data with their passwords. Just be smart about what you use before you create an account and entrust your data to them.

How to make good passwords?
#

Last but not least, I would like to explain how to create a good password. I have two pages here where you can read about it.

How do Passwords work: https://www.kicksecure.com/wiki/Passwords

Passphrase generator: https://diceware.rempe.us/

In short, you should have all passwords created with your password generator. The master password should be a passphrase, as people are not good at remembering passwords that have no logic. Passphrases are word chains where you can make up a sentence yourself to memorize it.

Examples:

Password: QGg5j3Ur9EdqXSn9Jbyd7SsV4KJOSxfEdhS9ImDcpyNgLsz2OX72Ki

Passphrase: reach stubble ladle amusement bottle squeegee pebbly

It is important that the passwords have a high entropy. This is a measured value for the password strength, but password managers usually write the entropy value.

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

Thank you for reading and for your time!

https://www.kicksecure.com/wiki/Passwords

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How to Secure Your Wordpress Website

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 10:10:36 +0100

What is Wordpress?
#

As always, I like to start with what the product is.

Wordpress is the most popular website builder on the market, easily half of all websites are made with Wordpress. It is comparable to Wix or Squarespace, which are also very popular but proprietary, Wordpress on the other hand is an open source solution.

This makes Wordpress very modular and therefore has many plugins to extend its functionality. So all in all not a bad product.

The only problem is that some people don’t know how to secure a website. Most set it up and forget absolutely basic security measures.

Security measures
#

Updates
#

This is really very basic but update your Wordpress instance and also your plugins. Updates are not always just changes to a program but also security patches. Especially these are important to fix vulnerabilities on the website.

However, you should create a backup before every update. It is always possible that there is a faulty update or that a plugin no longer works after an update.

Secure admin panel credentials
#

Name
#

When you create a Wordpress User. Please dont name your Admin user Admin, Administrator, root or something like that, it doesn’t matter how you call it. As long as it’s nothing obvious.

Hackers know that the default administrator is often called admin and then try to bruteforce it with bots. This way you can bypass bots but you are still not safe from targeted attacks.

My recommendation would be to make the administrator names cryptic. So don’t even use the names of the admins in the company as this can be found out via the website if you make the names and positions public.

After you have created your user. You should remove the default admin user from Wordpress.

Password
#

The password should be as secure as possible. However, this should not be evaluated by a human but by a computer.

Password security is measured in entropy. This should ideally be as high as possible.

If you want to learn something about passwords, here is an article from Kicksecure.

A secure password should have an entropy value of at least 250 bits to ensure that it has post-quantum resistance. For the creation of a password here is also an article from CISA.

https://www.cisa.gov/secure-our-world/use-strong-passwords

In short, your password should be as random as possible. This can be achieved with passwords or passphrases. Which are created via a password manager.

I recommend KeepassXC or Bitwarden. Bitwarden should be self-hosted for security reasons. Never use a Cloud based Password manager. Lastpass is the best Example why.

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=Lastpass+scandal&ia=web

Wordpress themes
#

It should be obvious but themes can contain malware. Since anyone can upload themes, take a close look at whether the uploader is reputable or not.

WAF (Web Application Firewall)
#

Use a WAF (Web Application Firewall) this ensures that the data traffic is checked and filtered from layer 1 to 7 and not just up to layer 3.

If you use a hosting provider such as Hostinger, it already has one installed. Alternatively, you can also use Cloudflare if you have the web server set up locally.

Or use ZenArmor in combination with OpenSence. If you prefer a local WAF. However, this will not protect you from DDOS attacks.

In the end you decide what you use.

Use an SSL or TLS certificate
#

HTTPS is not encrypted just like that. It requires an SSL or TLS certificate for the encryption to work. This can be issued with LetsEncrypt or purchased from your domain provider.

Further protective measures
#

We now have basic security but I still have tips so that a hacker has almost no chance of gaining access.

2FA MFA (Multi Factor Authentifikation)
#

Nowadays it is normal to use multifactor authentication. Even if many people still don’t use it.

The simplest form is the so-called TOTP (Time-based one-time password)

This is used by Mobile authenticator software. Popular solutions are Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator. I don’t think much of either of them because such software does nothing special. I recommend Aegis Authenticator as it is an open source solution and is not linked to an account.

https://getaegis.app/

An MFA plugin i recommend for Wordpress is Wordfence.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordfence-login-security/

Limit Login Attempts
#

You should set up that people are automatically banned after multiple authentication failures. A good plugin is this one.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/limit-login-attempts-reloaded/

Change the WordPress Login Page URL
#

The default login page for the admin panel is /wp-admin. This is known to hackers and bots automatically try to hack these pages. If this is changed, bots can no longer find it and bruteforce it. The login page can of course still be found by scanning for the admin page. But very few people do this and it keeps script kids away who don’t know how to do it.

This is a good plugin to quickly change the admin panel page.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/wps-hide-login/

Log Idle Users Out Automatically
#

Users who are inactive should be logged out automatically. They are currently not on the PC and therefore pose a security problem. Here is another plugin to manage this.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/inactive-logout/

Summary
#

I could go on like this forever. But these are the basic things I would do to protect my site. Security is not a product but an endless battle where you have to protect yourself from new things again and again.

So you have to keep learning how to protect your IT infrastructure.

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

Thank you for reading and for your time!

If you like to share this artikel click the icons below.

Console Emulation Starter Guide

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 16:46:20 +0100

What is Emulation?
#

Before I start talking about individual emulators, I’d like to explain what emulation actually is.

Emulation, in the context of console hardware, is the imitation of physical components using software. In simple terms: an emulator mimics the functions of a game console on another system – usually a PC.

Questions that many ask themselves
#

Is emulation legal?
#

Yes, emulation is legal. Despite what some believe, writing and distributing software that simulates hardware behavior is not against the law in most regions.

There have been court cases, especially around newer consoles, but even major companies have admitted that the concept of emulation itself is legal.

Is it legal to download the games?
#

No. Downloading games you don’t own is generally illegal, even if some people argue otherwise.

What is allowed depends on the country you live in. In many cases, making a private backup of a game you own is legal. That applies to firmware and BIOS files too: dumping them from your own hardware is usually okay, downloading them is not.

Do all games work without problems?
#

Unfortunately, no. Especially on consoles like the Nintendo 64, some titles are known to have issues.

That’s partly due to hardware features like custom microcode, which makes emulation much more complex. Still, compatibility has improved a lot, and many emulators provide lists that show how well specific games run.

Which OS is the best for emulation?
#

In my experience, Linux is a great choice. Thanks to Flatpak and package managers, installing and updating emulators is much easier and more secure.

Flatpaks also isolate the emulator from your system, making things cleaner. Windows emulators work fine too, but you’ll often have to manage updates manually.

Emulator Recommendations
#

Here’s what I personally recommend based on what I’ve tested. Please note: You’ll have to search for the emulator names online, as I’ve removed direct links for compliance reasons.

Nintendo
#

Super Nintendo (SNES)
→ Snes9x – Supports netplay and is lightweight.

Nintendo 64 (N64)
→ Mupen64Plus or Simple64 – Good compatibility. Simple64 has netplay support. Mupen64 is also popular for ROM hack support.

Gamecube and Wii
→ Dolphin Emulator – Well-known, easy to set up, supports both consoles and has netplay.

Game Boy / Game Boy Advance
→ mGBA – Simple and very compatible. Runs great out of the box.

Nintendo DS
→ DeSmuME – One of the oldest and most stable DS emulators.

Nintendo 3DS
→ Lime3DS – A fork of the original Citra emulator.

Wii U
→ Cemu – Used to be Windows-only, now also available for Linux.

Nintendo Switch
→ Ryujinx (Community Fork) – Development is uncertain due to legal pressure. Requires decrypted keys and firmware from your own Switch.

Playstation
#

PS1
→ Duckstation – High compatibility, but needs a BIOS file from your original console.

PS2
→ PCSX2 – Great performance, but again: BIOS required.

PS3
→ RPCS3 – Excellent emulator, especially on modern CPUs. AVX512 support is a big plus for Performence.

Legal Notice
#

The information provided on this website is for educational and informational purposes only. XenoElectronics does not endorse or promote the unauthorized acquisition, distribution, or use of copyrighted content.

Emulation is legal in many countries — especially when it comes to the development and use of emulators. However, the use of firmware, BIOS files, or game ROMs may be subject to local copyright laws.

We strongly encourage you to use only content you own or have explicit permission to use.

We are not responsible for any legal consequences resulting from the misuse of the information provided.

If you are unsure, please seek legal advice or research the applicable laws in your country.

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

Thank you for reading and for your time!

If you like to share this artikel click the icons below.

The Ultimate Portainer Starter Guide

Sun, 26 Jan 2025 16:20:57 +0100

Useful links
#

Official Docs: https://docs.portainer.io/

Install Portainer: Comunity Edition: https://docs.portainer.io/start/install-ce/server/docker/linux

Updating Portainer: https://docs.portainer.io/start/upgrade

Add Docker Enviroment: https://docs.portainer.io/admin/environments/add/docker

What is Portainer
#

In this guide I explain how to install Portainer. But before that, what exactly is Portainer?

Portainer is a graphical web interface that you host on your computer of choice to manage Docker containers.

It allows you to easily manage multiple Docker Deamons across multiple computers. It also makes managing container instances much easier than using the CLI.

In this guide I will not discuss Docker but only Portainer itself. Docker will be explained in another guide.

Installation
#

Which distro
#

To install Portainer, we first need docker itself. But it is also important on which OS you want to install it.

In this guide I will limit myself to Linux because it was designed for it.

Linux has countless distros but I will use Debian for simplicity. Also, Debian is the base for almost all Linux servers because of its stability so it is perfect for Docker. But you can also use Ubuntu as long as it uses the APT package manager it should work.

Install Scripts
#

In this section I will discuss the installation itself. All you have to do is open a terminal and run these scripts.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade && sudo apt install docker docker-compose && sudo systemctl start docker && sudo systemctl enable docker

sudo docker volume create portainer_data

sudo docker run -d -p 8000:8000 -p 9443:9443 --name portainer --restart=always -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock -v portainer_data:/data portainer/portainer-ce:latest

Once everything has been completed, you can now access Portainer in your browser. You can do this with these links:

For access if it is installed on the computer from where you want to access it

localhost:9443

or with the IP address of the server where Portainer was installed

e.g. 192.168.1.89:9443

What do the scripts?
#

Here I would like to go into more detail about what the scripts actually do.

If you don’t care, you can skip this section and go to Setting up Portainer.

Script 1
#

The first script consists of the following parts:

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

sudo apt install docker docker-compose

sudo systemctl start docker && sudo systemctl enable docker

The first one updates the OS.

The second installs Docker and Docker-Compose with the apt package manager.

The third starts the Docker Deamon and adds it to the autostart.

Script 2
#

The second script has only one part.

sudo docker volume create portainer_data

This script gives the docker deamon the command to create a volume called portainer_data

The volume can be found under:

/var/lib/docker/volumes/

This is necessary so that Portainer does not lose its data after a restart. I will go into more detail in the Docker guide but the tldr version is that Docker containers cannot save their data. They are life images. Therefore it is necessary to tell Docker containers where they can store their data in order to not lose them.

Script 3
#

Script three consists of a few parts but in itself it is just a command with individual variables for the container

Here are the individual parts and what they actually do:

Here the Docker Deamon is told to start a deployment

sudo docker run -d

Ports for the container are defined here. The first before the : is the host port after the : is the container port.

Like this: Host –> 8000:8000 <–Container

The ports that are set are

8000 http

9443 https

-p 8000:8000 -p 9443:9443

The name of the container is defined here

–name portainer

Here you specify that the container should always restart. This means that when the computer restarts, the container also restarts

–restart=always

Here the container is told that it can access the docker.sock. The Docker socket manages all containers, without this access Portainer cannot manage or create containers.

-v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock

Here Portainer is told where to save its data. It is placed in the volume portainer_data which was created by Script 2.

-v portainer_data:/data

And finally here the container is told which image it should use for this container. In this case Portainer-CE.

portainer/portainer-ce:latest

Setting up Portainer
#

Creation of the admin user
#

Now that you have opened the Portainer web interface. You will be asked for the user name you want to use. It will first suggest the name:

admin

But I recommend using a name other than admin or root, as these are too easy to guess and hackers know that many people don’t change the default names.

The password should also be as strong as possible. It is best to use a password manager and have one generated. I recommend KeepassXC for this.

After you have created the user, you will be taken to the dashboard. Here you can now click on

get startet

to add the Docker socket in Portainer.

Recommendations for settings
#

From now on you can use Portainer. But I still have a few recommendations.

If you click on Home at the top left, you can see all the environments that are currently available in Portainer.

At the moment the Environment Local should be there. You can rename it by clicking on edit. This can be found on the right, the icon looks like a pencil.

Here you can now change the name but you should also enter a puplic IP. This should be the IP address of the computer where this Docker Environment is installed.

The advantage is that if you open a container with its port in the Portainer interface, it will automatically use this Puplic IP. So other computers in the same network can open containers via the Portainer interface without always having to enter the IP address.

Services from XenoElectronics
#

If you need help with your projects or with open source software. Take a look at our contact page and let us know what you need. We will help you to realize your projects.

https://xenoelectronics.com/contact/

Open source support & coffee fund
#

Thank you for reading and for your time!