Category: IT @ Home

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Blog IT @ Home

Update smart

Keep your software updated is may one of the most effective ways to keep your system safer. Besides the new features, software developers provide they also close security holes which make your system vulnerable as the longer they are known. Bellow some important facts for this topic.

Auto Updater, not always reliable

Some of you may come into the situation that their software is outdated although the Auto Update was activated. This can happen due to various reasons: Pop up you ignored, you didn’t use the software for a while, etc.

To double-check from time to time if my system is up to date I ran the RuckZuck tool which was programmed by an ex-coworker of mine. It is a quick and easy way to see if updates are available and install them. Also, you have the option to silent install new software without downloading it first. https://ruckzuck.tools/

If you start using it often learn here how to get rid of the shortcuts with Powershell.

Test the update if necessary

If you experienced troubles with updates in the past: files not compatible anymore, missing features, interfaces between system don’t work anymore, etc. This is what you can learn from professional IT:

  • Create a test plan and define what you have to check after the update (open files, access systems,…)
  • Use a Test environment
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Blog IT @ Home IT Knowledge Software Packaging

Find your IP address

Here some code snippets to find your IP address

IP v4 address in command line or batch files

ipconfig | find "IPv4" | find /i /v "Suffix"

If you prefer it in a batch script for users

@echo off
 echo\
 ipconfig | find "IPv4" | find /i /v "Suffix"
 echo Press any key to close this window.
 pause > nul

Powershell

Get-NetIPAddress -AddressFamily IPv4 -InterfaceAlias "Wi-Fi","Ethernet 2"

Unix

hostname -I
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Blog IT @ Home Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi Overview

Get started

In case you just started with Raspberry Pis, read the articles below first. Please note that I usually use Raspberry Pi 4 for my projects.

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Blog IT @ Home Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi RDP-connection

The first step after setting up the Raspberry Pi 4 is to enable RDP connections as it makes life a lot easier working from your desktop as directly on the Raspi.

  1. Go to Preferences > Add/Remove Software

2. Search for xrdp and install the RDP Server and install both packages

Ready to connect

The last step before you switch to your desktop is to note the IP address of your pi. There are two ways to do that

The easy one, keep your pointer on the network symbol in the top right corner until you can see the gray box with the connection details

Alternatively, you can run the command

ifconfig

Switch to your desktop

In Windows search for rdp and start the remote desktop connection.

2. Enter the IP Address

3. Insert your pi login information

Port Forwarding

For people who want to connect to their Raspberry Pi from another network, there is the option of port forwarding. This is a setting that you have to do on your router at home and enables you to connect from anywhere via RDP. Follow the link below to see the instructions but please be aware that opening a port creates a new vulnerability for your network. As you forward the requests sent to a specific port of your router to your raspberry pi, it won’t be as protected anymore. In some cases, it may be smarter to use another tool or stick to the local network.

How to Access the Raspberry Pi Desktop with a Remote Desktop Connection

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Blog IT @ Home

Easy Screen Capturing

I assume many of you use a professional tool for screen capturing at work and although I have to admit they are very helpful I don’t want to spend 30 USD or more for such a tool. Luckily Windows 10 has some onboard tools and with a little setting, you may get all you need for at home.

  1. Search in Windows 10 for Print Screen and choose the option bellow

2. Turn on the Print Screen shortcut

Here we go

By activating this feature your Print Screen key will launch the Screen Snipping Tool of Win10.

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IT @ Home Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi Basic Commands

Bellow some Basic Raspberry Pi Terminal Commands snippets.

In program for Unix-like computer operating systems sudo stands for Super User Do. Depending on the situation you may need it (due to laziness I just use it all the time).

Update your Raspberry Pi

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

If you want automatic updates and upgrades.

sudo apt-get install unattended-upgrades
sudo dpkg-reconfigure -plow unattended-upgrades

If you want to know more go here https://www.elektronik-kompendium.de/sites/raspberry-pi/2002101.htm

Install / Uninstall an App

# Install an app
sudo apt install [package name]
sudo apt install hostapd

# Remove the package from use
sudo apt-get remove [package name]

# To completely remove the package from the system.
sudo apt-get purge [package name]

# To clean up the local repository
sudo apt-get clean [package name]

Modify Files as Admin

Nano is an easy to use command line text editor. It is especially helpful if you do adjustments in config files which you only can change as superuser.

sudo nano /etc/dhcpcd.conf

IP Configuration

ifconfig

If you need the IP only

hostname -I

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Blog IT @ Home Raspberry Pi

NOOBS for Raspberry Pi

When setting up a new Raspberry Pi, you need to install an operating system. As I do that very rarely I personally stick to NOOBS (New Out Of Box Software) at the beginning as it is an easy operating system install manager for the Raspberry Pi.

Download NOOBS

SD cards with NOOBS preinstalled are available in many online shops and are sometimes well pized. If you are not lucky enough to find a good prize or you have an old SD card you don’t need (min 16 GB) follow the steps bellow.

  1. Using a computer with an SD card reader, visit the Downloads page of raspberrypi.org

2. Click on NOOBS

3. Then select Offline and network install and Download it as a ZIP

Copy NOOBS to the SD Card

  1. It is best to format your SD card before copying the NOOBS files onto it. (Right-click on the SD drive, then Format…)

2. Once your SD card has been formatted, extract the files from the zip you downloaded to your SD card (defaults, os, etc.). The necessary files will then be transferred to your SD card and will look like bellow.

4. When the extraction has finished, safely remove the SD card and insert it into your Raspberry Pi.

First boot

1.Plugin your keyboard, mouse, and monitor cables first.

2. Then plug the USB power cable into your Raspberry Pi. This will trigger the boot process.

3. During the boot, a window will appear with a list of different operating systems that you can install.

4. Please choose your language and your keyboard layout. I use CH as I have a Swiss QERTZ keyboard.

5. Choose Raspbian by making a tick next to the box Raspbian

6. Click on Install and confirm that all existing data on the drive will be overwritten.

7. Raspbian will then run through its installation process.

8. When the installation process has completed, a welcome window will pop up and guides you through the settings e.g. time zone, password, wifi settings, etc. and ends with an optional update.

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Blog IT Sec Other IT Stuff

EMail safety check

Are my account data safe?

The most people don’t worry about IT Security. They hear in the news about stolen account data but assume this will never affect them.

I was young and stupid

During Christmas 20… whatever I got a free license for a security suite. Everything was great. The German developer had a good reputation and the download and everything was safe. One year later I got an email that my account data probably got stolen. Whaaaat? Yes the IT Sec. developer got hacked. I never expected that and yep I used the same password for my email account as for the registration of the security suite. I blindly trusted them and thought there is no point to create a new password in my password safe. After my email address was used for spam, luckily the email provider blocked it, I finally got a safe password for the account and… deleted the account.

Again?

Almost 12 years after this incident, a classmate told me about the homepage https://haveibeenpwned.com/ to do a security check of my email address(es). I checked them and… damn. Luckily this time I was prepared and nothing happen, but it is still kind of annoying that somebody could steal my registration data.

What saved my ass the last time?

This is just a short list of things I did and I do now:

  • Use a different password for every page and registration
  • Enable 2-factor authentication
  • Check the internet for breaches
  • Use temporary email addresses if possible https://10minutemail.com/10MinuteMail
  • Use several email accounts and have one you can delete
  • Use fake data e.g. fake name, address,…
  • Check the url and addresses of the emails you reply to
  • Be suspicious, don’t blindly trust

You really have to be aware that the internet isn’t a save place. Protect yourself and always be prepared for the worst case.