How To Remotely Decrypt LUKS Encypted Partition Over SSH
Some Linux distributions allow you to install all of your partitions, save the boot partition, onto encrypted partitions. Doing this can be a big increase to the security of your data, should your computer be stolen, but can be an inconvenience when installed on a server that has no input devices connected. Fortunately, initramfs, the same program allowing you to boot an encrypted root partition in the first place, can also be configure to allow ssh connections. All of the following must be done as root. Static IP Begin by setting a static IP address for the initramfs image. Installing...
Set a Static IP in Initramfs
Initramfs (wikipedia) is a temporary filesystem that can boot a Linux system. Using initramfs allows you to use complex file partition schemes for your root directory, such as storing your root on a raid array, or on an encrypted partition. Because it is designed to do such complex tasks, it allows for a number of utilities to be installed, including a basic shell (Busybox), and an ssh server (dropbox). In some cases, this may mean that you need to be able to set a static IP address for initramfs; for instance this would allow you to remotely decrypt an encrypted...
Privacy on Android: Installing and Configuring APG
This post is the first in the series on use OpenPG to sign and/or encrypt emails on Android. In this post, the OpenPGP key manager for Android, APG, is installed and configured. To follow all of the steps in this guide, you need to have a public and private OpenPGP key. Now updated to include screenshots of the installation. Installation Install APG on your phone. It should be available through the Android market, if not you can get the apk from Google Code Transferring Your Keyfiles First you need to copy the keyfiles onto your phone. On Linux, you should...
Rooting my Phone
As the time left on the warranty on my phone dwindled, I decided it was finally time to void it and root my phone. This experience was best described as an ordeal, taking me a few hours, and requiring the installation of the Android SDK on my computer (as well as Java) in order to finally root it. Obviously, there was no one-click solution for the My-Touch Slide. However, once I had finally rooted it, and subsequently flashed it to Cyanogenmod 7, I found it to be a significant improvement over the orginial firmware on the phone. More on rooting...
Creating and Deploying a SSH Key
A SSH Key allows you to log into a remote server without ever having to enter the password for you user on that server. In some situations, you can use this to increase security, by configuring the remote host to only allow SSH to be used when the client has a key. It can also be useful when the remote host does not have a password, such as when using Dropbear on initramfs. Or, if you need to be able to set up a cron job that can log onto a remote host, you could setup a passwordless key (although...