Ubuntu: How To Create an ISO Image from a CD or DVD?

1.   For Ubuntu users this small post gives u a single line command on how to create a ISO image from a physical CD/DVD.

2.    First step is to simply load the CD/DVD.

3.    Second step involves opening the terminal by pressing CTRL+ALT+T

4.    Check where is the CD/DVD mounted by typing "lsblk" without quotes as seen below in a sample shot.

 

5.    Type Execute the following command: cat /dev/sr0 > /home/endhiran/Desktop/kali.iso where /dev/sr0 is the device name for your drive.

                

The disc will begin to spin and the ISO image will start being constructed. Once it has completed, you have an ISO image of your CD. To verify that the image was properly created, mount the ISO file and check the contents.

CLOUDUSB : Another way to secure yourself....

1.     "Cloud" has been easily the most buzzy term in past few years for the computing industry. Case in point is the CloudUSB distribution, a project that promises to provide automatic backups and data along with privacy protection. The cloud name is catchy but the security is far less than promised....it is actually a USB-based Linux distribution based on Ubuntu 10.04 LTS(though old but works for general user..now I m on 14.04 LTS though). The idea is that you can carry your own Linux distribution with you for use anywhere, thus allowing anyone to use Linux on any computer and keep their data safe in the event the USB key is lost.

2.    CloudUSB uses the Dropbox service to synchronize data, so users who don't already have a Dropbox account will need to set up an account before being able to use the synchronization service. CloudUSB sets up a data and private-data folder for keeping sensitive files in. The setup.sh script that comes with the distribution uses encfs to set up an encrypted directory. It appears the script isn't properly encrypting the directory, though. When the system is rebooted, it does use encfs to mount the Dropbox/private-data directory as Desktop/.private-data. A step by step screen shot is shown below...i run this on a Virtual Box....and this can be downloaded at http://cloudusb.net/?DOWNLOAD

and there you are ready sett...go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SOLVED] : result code ns error failure virtualbox

1. If you ever get this message "result code ns error failure virtualbox" while you use virtual box...don't you worry...simple steps will resolve as follows:.

The screens you see are shown below first just to ensure that your and mine problem is same :

2.    So first thing is your remove Virtual box from the Ubuntu Software Centre or you can remove the same manually from terminally as root with the following commands :

sudo apt-get remove virtualbox-\*

sudo apt-get purge virtualbox-\*

init 6

sudo sh -c "echo 'deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian '$(lsb_release -cs)' contrib non-free' > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list" && wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add - && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.3 dkms

3.     These 4 commands from the terminal should get you through!!! all d best

[SOLVED] Unable to mount SAMSUNG_Android : Error initializing camera: -60 : Could not lock the device

1.   This is a common issue for Ubuntu users trying to transfer files from a Samsung or any Android Mobiles.You get the following screen as seen below :

2.   Two simple terminal commands should be able to solve this issue :

First : sudo add-apt-repository ppa:langdalepl/gvfs-mtp

Second : sudo apt-get update

3.  Running these you will get something like this ready to explore the folders :

UBUNTU 12.04 LTS beats Windows 7,MAC @ GCHQ Report

1.    Now this is some good news for all Ubuntu lovers.Ubuntu 12.04 LTS has topped a UK security agency’s security assessment of mobile and desktop operating systems.CESG (originally Communications-Electronics Security Group) is the group within GCHQ(an intelligence and security organization, working to keep Britain safe and secure in the challenging environment of IT communications).CESG conducted a series of tests in the last few months to review a set of 11 operating systems which currently run on various devices such as desktops, laptops, servers, mobile phones and tablets. The security assessment included the following categories:

    - VPN
    - Disk Encryption
    - Authentication
    - Secure Boot
    - Platform Integrity and Application Sandboxing
    - Application Whitelisting
    - Malicious Code Detection and Prevention
    - Security Policy Enforcement
    - External Interface Protection
    - Device Update Policy
    - Event Collection for Enterprise Analysis
    - Incident Response

2.   Ubuntu 12.04 LTS is the only operating system to fully pass 9 of the 12 listed security recommendations above.Ubuntu was marked down on VPN and encryption because its implementation/software has yet to be independently assessed by an approved CESG body.The VPN issue is likely to be addressed in the UBUNTU 14.04 LTS thats likely arrival date is somewhere in Apr 2014...ie in another about two months from now.

3.    The list of operating systems which were compared are mentioned below :

- Windows 7/8
- Android 4.2
- Samsung devices with Android 4.2
- Apple iOS6
- Apple OSX 10.8
- Blackberry 10.1(EMM Corporate)
- Blackberry 10.1(EMM Regulate)
- Google Chrome OS 26
- Windows 8 RT
- Windows Phone 8

4.  What Canonical has to say about this

“We are working hard to close the gap and make Ubuntu clearly stand out as the most trustworthy operating system for the future and we hope to make excellent progress before our next LTS release in April 2014, 14.04 LTS, which will be even better,” Darryl Weaver, Canonical Sales Engineer

5.  Few screen shots from web with this news :

6.   Source of news as above...thanks http://www.zdnet.com

Installing Dongle on Ubuntu : Mobile Internet@USB MODEM

1.   Writing after a long time... I post here few lines that I recently learnt on installing and accessing internet vide Dongle with SIM on Ubuntu LTS 12.04.So in my case I have a Micromax dongle with a mobile Sim.

2.  Simply said the steps are mentioned below :

- Insert the USB dongle in any of the USB drives on your PC/Laptop.

- Goto Terminal and login as Root

- At the terminal get the details of the usb detected interfaces by typing lsusb

- So in my case the dongle detected is shown at the end ie OMEGA TECHNOLOGY

- Now we need to run a terminal command to mount the device and get it running as shown in the screen shot below

sudo modprobe usbserial vendor=0x1c9e product=0x9605

- Once the command is executed at the terminal,wait for few minutes and you see the additional ENABLE MOBILE BROADBAND as seen in the screen shot below....

 

 

3.   and with this you should be on with the internet....

Kernel panic after Ubuntu 12.04 LTS update : SOLVED

1.   I recently had installed one new VM with Ubuntu LTS 12.04 last week.All was running fine and I ensured it had all the updates but after one last update I could no more boot into the desktop..instead I started getting stuck at the grub and then kind of the following messages :

Kernel panic - not syncing:Attempted to kill init

unable to read itable block

exitcode=0x00000100

2.  After many attempts I could not solve the issue but all went okay after the following were ensured and run...

Step one...start ur PC and choose the previous Linux version for boot.Once you get into the desktop...get to the sudo mode and run the following :

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

sudo apt-get dist-upgrade

3.  Should solve the panic...after a reboot.....

Ubuntu 12.10 @ SPYING

1.   What happens when someone you trust eyes closed,some you promote amongst ur friends is labeled a SPYWARE...or a Spying agent... that's what was felt by millions of UBUNTU followers and fans.I read about this two days back at ZDNET. The news doing the rounds goes like this :

Richard M. Stallman,creator of the Gnu General Public License (GPL) and the Free Software Foundation has announced that as far as he's concerned, Ubuntu contains spyware and that Linux supporters should shun Ubuntu for spying.

Specifically, Richard M. Stallman hates that Ubuntu 12.10 incorporated Amazon search into its default search function. So, if you searched for say "CISSP." you'd get results from both your PC and Amazon. When it was introduced, Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu, defended this change by saying Ubuntu wasn't going to incorporate ads into the operating system, which Microsoft has done with Windows 8, and that no personalized data would be sent to Amazon.

2.   You need to re-read this yellow highlighted text above to exactly understand what goes on behind the scenes when you actually search for some string in your PC operating on UBUNTU connected to Internet.After the millions of immediate disapproves by the user community,it was announced by UBUNTU that now on Users of the upcoming Ubuntu 12.10 will be able to turn off a controversial 'shopping lens' feature that displays Amazon-stocked products when the user performs a unified local and online search....so the spying becomes optional....:-)

3.   What can be the need of a responsible OS community like UBUNTU to get into all this....if its my view it is not intentional for the purpose of spying.....but it could have been designed in the name of giving the user better results and experience!!!!!Jono Bacon, Canonical's community manager flatly states, "This is FUD" ie "Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD)...now yess!!so it seems to be....

4.   All said and done..UBUNTU is doing a wonderful job and provisioning one of the best OS free editions for users like us who wish not to pay to WINDOWS and believe in FREE SOFTWAREs :-)

ESSPEE : eth0 issue in Installation

1.   First thing first ...what's ESSPEE.So friends who are aware of whats Backtrack R3....ESSPEE is a derivative of BackTrack 5, based on Ubuntu 12.04. Designed for users who wish to use only free software. It is packed with featured security tools with stable configurations....and now for those of you who wish to know the expanded form of ESSPEE ...its EXTREME SECURITY SCANNING PENETRATION TESTING & EXPLOITATION ENVIRONMENT.....:-)

2.   So after downloading this from  here...and after installing I came across a small issue of eth0 NIC not being detected unlike regularly where it gets detected automatically vide a DHCP config.So the answer is a small tweak that is required while selecting the Mac address of the eth0 as shown in the screen shot below :

(Click on the image to ENLARGE)

3.    That's it....and now ur internet will be on with network adapter configured to NAT....

Print to PDF in Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

1.     This is a simple single line of command that u write at the terminal to install a third party app that will install a pdf printer in ur Ubuntu System.

sudo apt-get install cups-pdf

2.     This will be generally handy when u need to print your documents that are ready to print but u don't have a printer installed....actually create a virtual PDF printer on your ubuntu PC that lets you convert all your documents/images/anything into PDFs that you can subsequently send to print as and when u have the facility to print.

3.    Thanks http://ubuntuportal.com