03 - All About Ubuntu
This will work for almost any linux distro as well!

Tilix & Neofetch Branded Terminal Setup
Title: Tilix Terminal Setup with Branded Header (Ubuntu 22.04) Category: Linux Customization Date: June 4, 2025 

 

 Tilix Terminal Setup with Branded Header (Ubuntu 22.04) 

 If you're looking to upgrade from the default GNOME Terminal on Ubuntu, Tilix offers a tiled terminal experience with support for Nerd Fonts, transparency, and persistent sessions. This guide walks through installing Tilix and customizing your terminal with a branded system info header. 

 

 Step 1: Install Tilix 

 sudo apt update

sudo apt install tilix -y 

 

 Step 2: Make Tilix Your Default Terminal 

 Run the following: 

 sudo update-alternatives --config x-terminal-emulator 

 Use the arrow keys to select Tilix , then press Enter . 

 

 Step 3: Install Nerd Fonts (Optional) 

 To fully enjoy custom prompts or themes like Starship, you'll want a Nerd Font installed on your host machine: 

 

 

 Visit https://www.nerdfonts.com/font-downloads 

 

 

 Download FiraCode Nerd Font or Hack Nerd Font 

 

 

 Install it on your host OS 

 

 

 In Tilix: Preferences → Default Profile → Text → Enable Custom Font Select your installed Nerd Font 

 

 

 

 Step 4: Add a System Info Banner with Neofetch 

 Install Neofetch: 

 sudo apt install neofetch -y 

 Then edit your ~/.bashrc file: 

 nano ~/.bashrc 

 Add this line at the end: 

 neofetch 

 Save and apply: 

 source ~/.bashrc 

 You’ll now see a clean, branded system header every time you open your terminal! 

 

 🖼️ 

 

 

 Summary 

 

 

 Tilix offers a modern, split-pane terminal experience 

 

 

 Neofetch adds a professional system info banner 

 

 

 You can easily integrate with fonts, themes, and shell enhancements

🗂️ Log Management Reference
Category: All About Ubuntu Last Updated: May 14th, 2025 

 

 📌 Default Log File Locations 

 Most Linux systems (especially Debian/Ubuntu) store logs in these locations: 

 

 

 

 Path 

 Purpose 

 

 

 

 

 /var/log/ 

 Main system log directory 

 

 

 /var/log/syslog 

 General system messages 

 

 

 /var/log/auth.log 

 Authentication (sudo, SSH, etc.) 

 

 

 /var/log/kern.log 

 Kernel messages 

 

 

 /var/log/dmesg 

 Boot-time hardware logs 

 

 

 /var/log/ufw.log 

 UFW firewall logs 

 

 

 /var/log/fail2ban.log 

 Fail2Ban logs 

 

 

 /var/log/apache2/ 

 Apache logs 

 

 

 /var/log/mysql/ 

 MySQL logs 

 

 

 /var/log/journal/ 

 systemd journal logs (binary format) 

 

 

 

 

 💡 Best Practice: Custom scripts should log to /var/log/your-script-name.log for consistency and ease of monitoring. 

 

 

 🔎 How to Locate Log Files 

 

 1. Explore the /var/log directory 

 ls -lah /var/log

 

 

 2. Search for .log files 

 

 

 Search entire system: 

 

 

 sudo find / -type f -iname '*.log' 2>/dev/null

 

 

 

 Search recent .log files (modified in last day): 

 

 

 sudo find / -type f -iname '*.log' -mtime -1 2>/dev/null

 

 

 3. Use locate for fast results 

 sudo updatedb

locate '*.log'

 

 

 4. Search config files for log paths 

 grep -R --include='*.conf' -n '\.log' /etc

 

 

 5. Live view or tail logs 

 

 

 Tail latest lines: 

 

 

 tail -n 50 /var/log/syslog

 

 

 

 Live follow: 

 

 

 tail -f /var/log/fail2ban.log

 

 

 🔁 Log Rotation with logrotate 

 To prevent log files from growing indefinitely, configure rotation using files in: 

 /etc/logrotate.d/

 

 

 ✅ Example: Correct Logrotate Format 

 File: /etc/logrotate.d/fail2ban-ip-lookup 

 /var/log/fail2ban-ip-lookup.log {

 su root root

 daily

 rotate 7

 compress

 missingok

 notifempty

 create 644 root root

}

 

 

 

 su root root ensures correct user/group even when run via cron. 

 

 

 daily rotates logs each day. 

 

 

 rotate 7 keeps 7 old copies. 

 

 

 compress gzips old logs. 

 

 

 notifempty skips rotation if the file is empty. 

 

 

 create 644 root root sets the new log file’s permissions and ownership. 

 

 

 

 🧪 Test & Force Rotation 

 

 

 Dry run of logrotate: 

 

 

 sudo logrotate -d /etc/logrotate.conf

 

 

 

 Force rotate a specific config: 

 

 

 sudo logrotate -f /etc/logrotate.d/fail2ban-ip-lookup

 

 

 🧼 Clear Log File Without Deleting 

 Preserve file permissions: 

 sudo truncate -s 0 /var/log/your-log-file.log

 

 

 📬 Optional: Email Alerts on Log Events 

 Example for alerting on high abuse score: 

 grep "Abuse Score: 100" /var/log/fail2ban-ip-lookup.log | mail -s "🔥 High Abuse Score Alert" you@example.com

Fail2Ban Reference & Useful Commands
Category: All About Ubuntu Last Updated: May 11, 2025 Applies To: Ubuntu Server 22.04+ 

 Fail2Ban Jail Configuration 

 Fail2Ban jails control how long an IP remains banned after matching filters. To increase ban duration (e.g., to 48 hours): 

 Configuration File 

 sudo nano /etc/fail2ban/jail.local 

 Example Jail Settings for SSH and UFW Block: 

 [sshd]

enabled = true

port = ssh

logpath = %(sshd_log)s

bantime = 172800

findtime = 600

maxretry = 3

[ufw-block]

enabled = true

filter = ufw-block

logpath = /var/log/ufw.log

bantime = 172800

findtime = 600

maxretry = 3

 

 ✅ bantime is in seconds → 172800 equals 48 hours ✅ findtime is the window (in seconds) to detect repeated offenses ✅ maxretry is the number of failed attempts before banning 

 After changes: 

 sudo systemctl restart fail2ban 

 Useful Commands 

 

 

 

 Task 

 Command 

 

 

 

 

 Check fail2ban service status 

 sudo systemctl status fail2ban 

 

 

 Start fail2ban 

 sudo systemctl start fail2ban 

 

 

 Restart fail2ban 

 sudo systemctl restart fail2ban 

 

 

 View all jail statuses 

 sudo fail2ban-client status 

 

 

 View a specific jail (e.g., sshd) 

 sudo fail2ban-client status sshd 

 

 

 See currently banned IPs in a jail 

 sudo fail2ban-client get sshd banned 

 

 

 Unban an IP from a jail 

 sudo fail2ban-client set sshd unbanip <IP> 

 

 

 Get ignore list for a jail 

 sudo fail2ban-client get sshd ignoreip 

 

 

 Manually test a filter (dry run) 

 fail2ban-regex /var/log/auth.log /etc/fail2ban/filter.d/sshd.conf 

 

 

 

 Filter & Jail File Paths 

 

 

 

 File Purpose 

 Path 

 

 

 

 

 Jail configuration 

 /etc/fail2ban/jail.local 

 

 

 Custom filters 

 /etc/fail2ban/filter.d/ 

 

 

 Fail2Ban main log 

 /var/log/fail2ban.log 

 

 

 UFW log (for ufw-block) 

 /var/log/ufw.log 

 

 

 

 Dynamically Updating ignoreip in Fail2Ban with DDNS 

 To prevent your own dynamic IP from being blocked by Fail2Ban (especially on services like sshd or custom UFW blocks), you can automate the injection of a DDNS-resolved IP into the ignoreip configuration. 

 Script Overview 

 Location: /usr/local/bin/update-fail2ban-ignoreip.sh 

 Purpose: Resolves a DDNS hostname to an IPv4 address and updates the ignoreip line in /etc/fail2ban/jail.local . This helps Fail2Ban ignore your dynamic IP address automatically. 

 Key Script Breakdown 

 #!/bin/bash

DDNS_HOST="your-ddns.example.com"

RESOLVED_IP=$(dig +short "$DDNS_HOST" | grep -Eo '([0-9]{1,3}\.){3}[0-9]{1,3}' | head -n 1) 

 

 

 Resolves your DDNS hostname to a valid IPv4 address. 

 

 

 JAIL_FILE="/etc/fail2ban/jail.local" 

 

 

 Points to the jail config you want to modify. 

 

 

 sed -i -E "s|^(ignoreip\s*=).*|\1 127.0.0.1/8 ::1 $RESOLVED_IP fe80::/10|" "$JAIL_FILE" 

 

 

 Uses sed to replace the entire ignoreip line with: 

 

 

 localhost + loopback ( 127.0.0.1/8 ::1 ) 

 

 

 your resolved DDNS IP 

 

 

 and optional link-local IPv6 scope ( fe80::/10 ) 

 

 

 

 

 systemctl restart fail2ban 

 

 

 Restarts Fail2Ban so the updated IP takes effect immediately. 

 

 

 Example Output 

 Resolved IP: <your ip>

ignoreip updated in jail.local

Fail2Ban restarted successfully 

 Cron Job (Optional) 

 To schedule it daily or multiple times a day, add to root ’s crontab: 

 */15 * * * * /usr/local/bin/update-fail2ban-ignoreip.sh >> /var/log/update-fail2ban-ignoreip.log 2>&1 

 Notes 

 

 

 Use ignoreip to exempt safe IPs (including local/DDNS). 

 

 

 Consider rotating logs weekly to avoid bloated logs. 

 

 

 Fail2Ban can be extended to cover other services (Apache, Postfix, etc.).

UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) – Useful Commands Cheat Sheet
UFW is a simple command-line tool to manage firewall rules in Ubuntu and Debian-based distributions. It's ideal for quickly managing iptables without having to deal with the complexity of low-level configuration. 

 🔧 Basic Commands 

 

 

 Check UFW status: 

 sudo ufw status 

 

 

 Enable UFW: 

 sudo ufw enable 

 

 

 Disable UFW: 

 sudo ufw disable 

 

 

 Reload UFW rules (after edits): 

 sudo ufw reload 

 

 

 ✅ Allow Traffic 

 

 

 Allow a port (e.g., HTTP): 

 sudo ufw allow 80 

 

 

 Allow a port with protocol: 

 sudo ufw allow 443/tcp 

 

 

 Allow a service (defined in /etc/services ): 

 sudo ufw allow 'OpenSSH' 

 

 

 Allow from a specific IP: 

 sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.100 

 

 

 Allow from IP to specific port: 

 sudo ufw allow from 192.168.1.100 to any port 22 

 

 

 ❌ Deny Traffic 

 

 

 Deny a port: 

 sudo ufw deny 23 

 

 

 Deny a specific IP: 

 sudo ufw deny from 203.0.113.10 

 

 

 🔍 Advanced 

 

 

 Delete a rule (by matching the exact allow/deny rule): 

 sudo ufw delete allow 80 

 

 

 Reset UFW (removes all rules): 

 sudo ufw reset 

 

 

 Enable logging: 

 sudo ufw logging on 

 

 

 Disable logging: 

 sudo ufw logging off 

 

 

 Check UFW version (indirectly via package): 

 ufw --version

Resolving Hostnames To IP Addresses Ubuntu
To change how the address https://docs.natenetworks.com/books/project-notes/page/command-guide-to-backing-up-bookstack is resolved locally and use a hostname instead of an IP address, you can edit the hosts file on your local machine. This allows you to map the IP address to a more friendly hostname, which you can then use in your browser or any application that accesses this URL. Here’s how to do it for various operating systems: 

 For Linux and macOS 

 

 

 

 

 

 Open a Terminal . 

 

 

 Edit the /etc/hosts file . You’ll need superuser permissions to edit it. You can use any text editor; here, nano is used as an example: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 sudo nano /etc/hosts

 

 

 

 

 Add an entry for the IP address and the desired hostname at the end of the file. For example, if you want to use mybookstack.local as the hostname, add: 

 

 lua 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 192.168 .1 .236 mybookstack. local 

 

 

 Ensure there's a space or a tab between the IP address and the hostname. 

 

 

 Save and close the file. In nano , you can do this by pressing Ctrl + O , Enter to save, and Ctrl + X to exit. 

 

 

 Now, you should be able to access https://docs.natenetworks.com/books/project-notes/page/command-guide-to-backing-up-bookstack using http://mybookstack.local/books/project-notes/page/command-guide-to-backing-up-bookstack . 

 

 

 For Windows 

 

 

 Open Notepad as Administrator . You can do this by searching for Notepad in the Start menu, right-clicking on it, and selecting “Run as administrator”. 

 

 

 Open the hosts file located at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts . 

 

 

 Add an entry for the IP address and the desired hostname. For example: 

 

 lua 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 192.168 .1 .236 mybookstack. local 

 

 

 Make sure there’s a space or a tab between the IP address and the hostname. 

 

 

 Save and close the file. 

 

 

 After you update the hosts file, you might need to flush your DNS cache for the changes to take effect immediately. Here's how you can do it: 

 

 

 On Linux , open a terminal and run: 

 

 bash 

 

 

 

 

 sudo systemctl restart nscd

 

 

 This command restarts the Name Service Cache Daemon, but note that not all distributions run nscd by default. 

 

 

 On macOS , open a terminal and run: 

 

 bash 

 

 

 

 

 sudo killall -HUP mDNSResponder

 

 

 This command resets the DNS cache. 

 

 

 On Windows , open Command Prompt as Administrator and run: 

 

 cmd 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 ipconfig /flushdns

 

 

 

 

 Now, when you use http://mybookstack.local/books/project-notes/page/command-guide-to-backing-up-bookstack in your browser, it should resolve to https://docs.natenetworks.com/books/project-notes/page/command-guide-to-backing-up-bookstack via the local hostname you set. 

 Using the Computer's Hostname 

 If you prefer to use the computer's hostname (assuming the computer hosting the BookStack instance has a name like bookstack-server ), you can simply map the hostname to the IP address in the same way. However, if you want the hostname to be recognized by other devices in your network without editing each device's hosts file, you'd typically need to configure this on your DNS server or router, which might support local DNS configurations. This process varies significantly depending on the router or DNS server software, so you'll need to refer to the specific instructions for your device or software.

Creating an IP Lookup with one line
Make a file called public-ip.sh 

 sudo nano public-ip.sh 

 Copy this: 

 #!/bin/bash

# dig command to lookup what the public ip address is

dig +short myip.opendns.com @resolver1.opendns.com 

 Make it executable: 

 sudo chmod +x public-ip.sh 

 Run the file and it will output your current public IP: 

 ./public-ip.sh

Map Network Drive in Ubuntu
Guide to mounting a network drive on Ubuntu From Windows Server: 

 Install CIFS: 

 sudo apt update

sudo apt install cifs-utils 

 sudo mkdir /mnt/localcloud 

 sudo nano /etc/smbcredentials 

 Put this in the file you create 

 username=windows_username

password=windows_password 

 Secure the Permissions 

 sudo chmod 600 /etc/smbcredentials 

 Change the /etc/fstab file and add the network location to the bottom of it: 

 sudo nano /etc/fstab 

 Add the following line to the file: 

 //192.168.1.121/localcloud /mnt/localcloud cifs credentials=/etc/smbcredentials,uid=1000,gid=1000,vers=3.0 0 0 

 Make the Directory: 

 sudo mkdir /mnt/localcloud 

 Mount the drive: 

 sudo mount -a 

  Your uid=1000 and gid=1000 with the user ID and group ID of the user you want to own the # files after mounting (use id -u zippyb to find your UID, and id -g zippyb to find #your GID. 

 sudo id -u zippyb

sudo id -g zippyb 

 check to see if the network drive is mounted: 

 ls -la /mnt/localcloud 

 Output: 

 

 Optional: 

 Manually Mount the Drive: 

 sudo mount -t cifs -o credentials=/etc/smbcredentials,uid=1000,gid=1000,vers=3.0 //192.168.1.121/localcloud /mnt/localcloud

Enabling SSH in Ubuntu
# Update Packages 

 sudo apt update -y 

 # Install Open SSH Server 

 sudo apt install openssh-server 

 # Make sure it says active (running) in green 

 sudo systemctl status ssh 

 # Enable SSH to start automatically on boot 

 sudo systemctl enable ssh 

 # Reboot the computer and see if SSH runs on reboot: 

 sudo systemctl status ssh

Reinstalling Ubuntu WSL on Windows from PowerShell
This is when you want to throw your build out the window and start fresh: 

 wsl --unregister Ubuntu 

 wsl --install -d Ubuntu 

 Now you can start with a fresh install of Ubuntu in Windows Subsystem for Linux. 

 To list all registered WSL distributions on your PC, run this command: 

 wsl --list --verbose 

 Or the shorthand: 

 wsl -l -v 

 This will show output like: 

 NAME STATE VERSION

* Ubuntu-22.04 Running 2

 Debian Stopped 2 

 

 

 The * indicates the default distribution. 

 

 

 You can then unregister any of them using: 

 

 

 wsl --unregister <DistributionName> 

 For example: 

 wsl --unregister Ubuntu-22.04 

 Make a backup of anything you need before removing it. 

 

  

Updating the System Time in Raspian / Ubuntu
To check and update the system time via SSH on your Raspberry Pi (or any other Linux-based system), you can use the following steps: 

 1. Connect to your Raspberry Pi via SSH.     Open a terminal on your computer and type:    

 ssh [your_username]@[your_raspberry_pi_ip_address] 

 Replace `[your_username]` with your actual username on the Raspberry Pi, and `[your_raspberry_pi_ip_address]` with the device's IP address. 

 2. Check the current system time.     Once you're connected, you can check the current system date and time by typing:

 

 sudo date 

 3. Update the system time.        If the system time is incorrect, you can set it manually using the `date` command followed by a string representing the new date and time. For example:    

 sudo date MMDDhhmmCCYY.ss 

    This is the format:    - `MM` is the two-digit month.    - `DD` is the two-digit day.    - `hh` is two digits of hour (00 through 23).    - `mm` is two digits of minute (00 through 59).    - `CC` is the first two digits of the year (the century).    - `YY` is the last two digits of the year.    - `.ss` is two digits of seconds. 

 Here is an example command that would set the date to April 12, 2024, at 9:18 AM:    

 sudo date 041209182024.00 

 4. Set the timezone (if necessary). 

  If you also need to set the correct timezone, you can use the `timedatectl` command:    

 sudo timedatectl set-timezone [Your_Timezone] 

 Replace `[Your_Timezone]` with your actual timezone. You can list all available timezones with: 

 sudo timedatectl set-timezone America/Chicago 

 sudo timedatectl list-timezones 

 5. Synchronize time with an NTP server. 

 If you want to ensure the system maintains accurate time, you might want to install and enable `NTP` (Network Time Protocol). You can install `ntp` with: 

 sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install ntp 

  Once installed, it should start automatically and synchronize the time. You can check its status with: 

 sudo systemctl status ntp 

 By following these steps, you should be able to check and update your system time via SSH. If the Raspberry Pi is connected to the internet, it is recommended to use NTP to keep the system time accurate automatically.

Installing a private self hosted AI
Network-Chuck-Private-AI-project 

 This is for WSL on Windows or Linux or MacOS. See HERE for guide to fresh install Ubuntu on Windows. 

 Guide to creating your own private AI. Download Ollama (ONLY USE IF LINUX COMMAND DOESN'T WORK BELOW) https://ollama.com/download 

 Linux Command to install it instead of the website. curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh 

 

 Go to the website: huggingface.co 

 It is a community dedicated to providing and sharing AI Models. Search for Llama-2-7b (This is the latest version on 3/14/24) Link https://huggingface.co/meta-llama/Llama-2-7b 

 Here is an uncensored version of llama2 https://huggingface.co/georgesung/llama2_7b_chat_uncensored 

 FULL OUTPUT TO JUST GET IT UP AND RUNNING 

 Windows PowerShell Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. 

 Install the latest PowerShell for new features and improvements! https://aka.ms/PSWindows 

 PS C:\Users\aonat> wsl --install Installing: Ubuntu Ubuntu has been installed. Launching Ubuntu... Installing, this may take a few minutes... Please create a default UNIX user account. The username does not need to match your Windows username. For more information visit: https://aka.ms/wslusers Enter new UNIX username: zippyb New password: Retype new password: passwd: password updated successfully The operation completed successfully. Installation successful! To run a command as administrator (user "root"), use "sudo <command>". See "man sudo_root" for details. 

 Welcome to Ubuntu 22.04.3 LTS (GNU/Linux 5.15.146.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2 x86_64) 

  * Documentation:  https://help.ubuntu.com  * Management:     https://landscape.canonical.com  * Support:        https://ubuntu.com/advantage 

 This message is shown once a day. To disable it please create the /home/zippyb/.hushlogin file. zippyb@Nates-Big-Rig:~$ curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh >>> Downloading ollama... ######################################################################## 100.0%#=#=# ######################################################################## 100.0% >>> Installing ollama to /usr/local/bin... [sudo] password for zippyb: >>> Creating ollama user... >>> Adding ollama user to render group... >>> Adding ollama user to video group... >>> Adding current user to ollama group... >>> Creating ollama systemd service... >>> Enabling and starting ollama service... Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/default.target.wants/ollama.service → /etc/systemd/system/ollama.service. >>> NVIDIA GPU installed. zippyb@Nates-Big-Rig:~$ ollama run llama2 pulling manifest pulling 8934d96d3f08... 100% ▕████████████████████████████████████████████████████████▏ 3.8 GB pulling 8c17c2ebb0ea... 100% ▕████████████████████████████████████████████████████████▏ 7.0 KB pulling 7c23fb36d801... 100% ▕████████████████████████████████████████████████████████▏ 4.8 KB pulling 2e0493f67d0c... 100% ▕████████████████████████████████████████████████████████▏   59 B pulling fa304d675061... 100% ▕████████████████████████████████████████████████████████▏   91 B pulling 42ba7f8a01dd... 100% ▕████████████████████████████████████████████████████████▏  557 B verifying sha256 digest writing manifest removing any unused layers success >>> Tell me about yourself? 

 I'm just an AI, I don't have personal experiences or emotions like humans do. However, I'm here to help answer any questions you may have, provide information on a wide range of topics, and assist with tasks such as language translation, text summarization, and more! Is there something specific you would like to know or discuss? 

 >>> Can you code? 

 I'm just an AI, I don't have the ability to write or execute code in the classical sense. However, I can process and generate text based on patterns and algorithms programmed into me. My training data includes a wide range of texts and languages, which I can use to generate responses to questions or prompts. Is there something specific you would like me to help with? 

 >>> If I tell you things, can you take them into memory in this convo? 

 Yes, I can certainly keep track of the information you provide during our conversation! I'm designed to process and retain large amounts of text-based data, so feel free to share anything you'd like to discuss or ask about. Is there something specific you'd like to talk about or ask? 

 >>> Send a message (/? for help)

Getting your System Name and Information in Ubuntu
To check the version of Ubuntu you are running from the command line, you can use one of the following commands: 

 1. lsb_release -a : This command provides detailed information about the Ubuntu version. 

 lsb_release -a 

 2. cat /etc/os-release : This command displays the content of the `os-release` file, which contains information about the operating system. 

 cat /etc/os-release 

 3. cat /etc/lsb-release : This command shows information specific to the Linux Standard Base (LSB) of the operating system. 

 cat /etc/lsb-release 

 4. cat /etc/issue : This command shows the Ubuntu version information. 

 cat /etc/issue 

 5. hostnamectl : This command provides information about the system, including the Ubuntu version. 

    hostnamectl 

 You can use any of these commands to find out which version of Ubuntu you are running.

Installing Signal on Ubuntu
1. Install the official public software signing key: 

 wget -O- https://updates.signal.org/desktop/apt/keys.asc | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/signal-desktop-keyring.gpg > /dev/null 

 2. Add the Signal repository to your list of repositories: 

 echo 'deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/signal-desktop-keyring.gpg] https://updates.signal.org/desktop/apt xenial main' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/signal-xenial.list 

 3. Update your package database and install Signal: 

 sudo apt update && sudo apt install signal-desktop 

 You can now find Signal in your applications. 

  

Installing Syncthing as a service in Ubuntu
Installing Syncthing and then adding it as a service in Ubuntu: 

 1. Add the Syncthing APT repository key: 

 curl -s https://syncthing.net/release-key.txt | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/syncthing.gpg > /dev/null 

 2. Add the Syncthing APT repository: 

 echo "deb https://apt.syncthing.net/ syncthing stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/syncthing.list 

 3. Update your package database: 

 sudo apt update 

 4. Install Syncthing: 

 sudo apt install syncthing 

 5. Start Syncthing: 

 syncthing 

 Alternatively, you can set up Syncthing to run as a service: 

 sudo systemctl enable syncthing@$USER.service 

 sudo systemctl start syncthing@$USER.service 

 These steps should help you install and start Syncthing on your Ubuntu system.

Doing a Distrubution Upgrade to the latest in Ubuntu
To perform a distribution upgrade on your Ubuntu system, follow these steps: 

 1. Update Existing Packages First, make sure all the existing packages are up to date. 

 sudo apt update 

 sudo apt upgrade -y 

 sudo apt dist-upgrade -y 

 2. Clean Up Unnecessary Packages Remove any unnecessary packages to free up space and avoid potential conflicts. 

 sudo apt autoremove -y 

 sudo apt clean 

 3. Start the Upgrade Process Use the `do-release-upgrade` command to start the distribution upgrade process. This will upgrade your system to the latest available Ubuntu version. 

 sudo do-release-upgrade 

 4. Follow the On-Screen Instructions The `do-release-upgrade` command will guide you through the upgrade process. Follow the on-screen instructions, and answer any prompts as needed. Typically, you'll need to: 

 - Confirm the upgrade. - Decide how to handle configuration file changes (you can usually accept the default options). 

 5. Reboot the System After the upgrade process completes, reboot your system to apply the changes. 

 sudo reboot 

 Additional Tips - Backup Your Data: Before starting the upgrade process, it's a good idea to back up your important data. - Check for PPA Compatibility: If you use any third-party PPAs (Personal Package Archives), ensure they are compatible with the new Ubuntu version or disable them before the upgrade. - Network Connection: Make sure you have a stable network connection, as the upgrade process will download a significant amount of data. 

 6. Install Gnome Tweaks 

 sudo apt install gnome-tweaks 

 🚀🚀

Installing PiVPN with WireGuard on Ubuntu Server
This guide provides step-by-step instructions to install PiVPN using the WireGuard protocol on an Ubuntu Server system. PiVPN simplifies the process of setting up a secure and private VPN server. 

 

 System Requirements 

 

 

 Ubuntu Server 20.04 or later 

 

 

 Static IP address 

 

 

 Root or sudo privileges 

 

 

 Port forwarding access on your router 

 

 

 

 1. Update the System 

 sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y 

 

 2. Set a Static IP Address (if not already set) 

 Edit your netplan configuration file: 

 sudo nano /etc/netplan/00-installer-config.yaml 

 Example configuration: 

 network:

 version: 2

 ethernets:

 eth0:

 dhcp4: no

 addresses:

 - 192.168.1.100/24

 gateway4: 192.168.1.1

 nameservers:

 addresses: [1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8] 

 Apply the changes: 

 sudo netplan apply 

 

 3. Install PiVPN 

 Run the automated installation script: 

 curl -L https://install.pivpn.io | bash 

 During installation: 

 

 

 Select the user for managing VPN (typically your primary user) 

 

 

 Choose WireGuard as the VPN protocol 

 

 

 Allow PiVPN to manage firewall rules 

 

 

 Choose a port (default is 51820/UDP) 

 

 

 Select a DNS provider (Cloudflare, Google, or your own Pi-hole if available) 

 

 

 

 4. Configure WireGuard Profiles 

 To add a new VPN client: 

 pivpn add 

 Enter a name when prompted. This creates a .conf file stored in: 

 /home/<user>/configs/ 

 To display a QR code for mobile devices: 

 pivpn -qr 

 

 5. Configure Router Port Forwarding 

 Log in to your router and forward the selected WireGuard port (e.g., 51820/UDP) to your Ubuntu Server's static IP address. 

 

 6. Connect Client Devices 

 

 

 Mobile: Install the WireGuard app and scan the QR code 

 

 

 Desktop: Import the .conf file into the WireGuard app 

 

 

 

 7. Common PiVPN Commands 

 

 

 Show connected clients: 

 

 

 pivpn -c 

 

 

 List all profiles: 

 

 

 pivpn -l 

 

 

 Revoke a client profile: 

 

 

 pivpn revoke 

 

 

 Update PiVPN: 

 

 

 pivpn update 

 

 Conclusion 

 You now have a secure WireGuard VPN running on Ubuntu Server using PiVPN. Connect remotely, enhance privacy, and safely route your traffic through your home network. Regularly check for updates to keep your VPN secure and performant.