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  • How to Use Yubikey on Linux

    How to Use Yubikey on Linux

    Initial Setup:

    1. Download the YubiKey Manager. This will allow you to modify specific properties of your key, and turn certain features on or off.
    2. Once you’ve installed the manager, you’ll need to make sure that you have U2F mode enabled on your key.
    3. Next, download or create a copy of a special rules file provided by Yubico. It can be found on their Github repository: https://github.com/Yubico/libu2f-host/blob/master/70-u2f.rules. Once you have the file, copy it to /etc/udev/rules.d/. If you already have a file in that directory named 70-u2f.rules, make sure that the content looks like the file from the Github repo.
    4. NOTE: If your version of UDEV is lower than 188, you’ll need the old rules file instead. If you’re unsure of your UDEV version, simply run sudo udevadm --version in a terminal.
    5. Save your file, then reboot your system.
    6. Make sure you’re running Google Chrome version 38 or later. You can use your YubiKey in U2F+HID mode starting in Google Chrome version 39.

    Additional Tools:

    Yubico provides a proprietary 2FA authentication tool that enables use of the key with services such as Protonmail. It can be downloaded from their site.

    Another tip:

    If you’re having trouble getting your YubiKey to show up on Linux (I’m running Manjaro), you’ll want to make sure you’re running a service called pcscd. To run it, just open a terminal and run sudo systemctl start pcscd. Keep in mind, that will only start the daemon running. If you reboot your computer and stick your YubiKey in later, it won’t be recognized unless you start the pcscd daemon on boot. You can do this by running sudo systemctl enable pcscd. This will create a symlink to the pcscd.socket file, and it should start the daemon on boot. Once you’ve done that, you’re good to go!

    June 2023 update:

    Running a fresh install of Xubuntu on an Acer Chromebook, I was able to use Yubikey at Google sign-in on Firefox with zero Yubikey-specific package installs, no drivers, and largely out-of-the box. It would seem that none of the work described above is required anymore

    matt

    March 31, 2020
    General Computing, Lifestyle, Linux
    2FA, cybersecurity, lifestyle, linux, security, yubico, yubikey

  • Is It Okay To Blog About Different Topics?

    For the last several years, I’ve had lots of ideas for various blog posts and videos, but there’s been a lot of stuff stopping me from ever making that video or writing that blog post. Early in my career as a video professional, I was blessed with the opportunity to work with several wealthy entrepreneurs who seemed to know a lot on the topic of branding. They pretty much instilled in me that it’s not okay to post about different topics.

    Of course, this is a giant ocean of a topic with numerous books, articles, and videos about making a brand for yourself. Lots of people said you needed to have a blog, you needed to have a YouTube channel, you needed to have this, you needed to have that… The biggest theme I saw across all of them is they all had a pretty solid focus on everything they ever posted. It was always about entrepreneurship, business, getting more clients, and making more money.

    That’s all great, and probably a good idea for running a business. But I always struggled with “my brand”. I felt like it was this made up version of myself that I didn’t even know. And the biggest rule this person had to follow was “consistency”. Always post about the same stuff on a regular basis. This ground my entire creative process to a screeching halt.

    Don’t let a ‘brand’ stop you from doing what you want

    I’m not a single-minded person. I have tons of different interests, likes and dislikes. I want to share a lot of it. In January, I’m into motorcycles. Suppose in April, I’m into airplanes. In August, I’m into kitesurfing. In November, I’m into computers. There are, however, a small group of interests that hold my attention for long periods of time. But I could never focus on one topic forever and post about that one thing on a regular basis. That’s way too robotic for me.

    So all this makes me take a step back. Why am I doing this blog? Why am I making this video? Do I have an audience? Do I even want an audience? Should I do this to make money? Is there any money in it? Is this worth pursuing? I have no idea how to answer pretty much all of these questions. But after trying to figure out the answers for over 3 years, I realized I wasn’t actually creating anything.

    I never made videos, I never wrote posts because 98% of the time, they didn’t fit into one particular category of content. Sometimes I wanted to share tutorials. Other times, I wanted to make a comedy skit. Other times I just wanted to share my experiences. But because all those things were never “focused,” I could never figure out how to include them in a social media feed or post them on my website or upload them to my YouTube channel.

    SEO is great, but don’t let it restrict you

    I am focused. Just not on the same content, all day, every day. I don’t know how to fit that into a plan or a channel. Should I always “give the people what they want”? I don’t really have a niche. I don’t really have a focus. But I am sick of feeling restricted by having to follow the mountains of rules that ensure great SEO and conversion, and profit, and whatever.

    If you’re like me and you feel constricted by the idea of sticking to a specific topic for your vlog/blog channel/feed, do yourself a favor and experience the freedom to post about different topics. Don’t let some made up guidelines for ‘success’ define whether or not you should do something that you want to do. I would just suggest posting content because you love it and are genuinely interested in it. Don’t post because you think you might make a fortune off a viral video. It could happen, but it’s like trying to hit the lottery.

    Anyway, that’s all I’ve got! Hope this helped you answer a few questions on posting about different topics or straying from a specific topic. Yeah, you may lose some followers, but just be you.

    matt

    February 5, 2019
    Blogging, Lifestyle, Vlogging
    blog, blogging, branding, lifestyle, personal brand, social media, vlog, vlogging

  • How to Clean Your Computer Without Compressed Air

    So, my computer is starting to show its age a little bit after being built a few years ago. Now it’s time to clean out all the dust bunnies. The only problem is… I don’t have a can of compressed air lying around. Who wants to make a trip to the store just for that? So what are my options? Luckily, there are a few.

    Let’s do this

    First, you’ll want to clean out your filters and fans. Fans typically get gross faster than anything else. Good news: they’re also the easiest to clean. This all depends on the make/model of your computer case and how it’s built, but most filters can be popped out or slid out for easy cleaning. I usually just run my filters through some water in the sink. I’ve done this for years and it’s never hurt anything. Just be sure that your air filters are completely dry before you stick them back into your computer case.

    Photo courtesy of Nick Ares on Flickr

    Now is when it starts getting tricky. If you don’t clean your fans and filters often, or at all… you may have dust that makes its way deep into your machine and starts to cover all your components. You know… the ones you can’t clean with water. There are a few approaches you can take.

    Method 1

    First, if you have some plastic drinking straws lying around, you can grab one of them and just blow through it to clean out the particularly dirty parts of your machine. This is a totally viable option, and can work, but it does take a considerable amount of time, and you have to be careful not to breathe in all the dust you stir up into the air.

    If you don’t have any straws at your disposal, you could do this just by blowing with your mouth. It’s not as effective as a straw, and you may find it difficult to reach tighter areas inside the case.

    Method 2

    Another method, arguably more effective than both the mouth and the straw methods, would be to use a bicycle tire pump, or a sports ball pump. Most of these pumps come with a general purpose plastic tip that can be used to blow concentrated streams of air into tight places. One, technical note, this does require exact positioning of your pump and your computer case. With one foot to keep the pump on the floor and one hand to push the plunger, that only leaves you one hand to direct the air stream.

    Photo courtesy of Your Best Digs on Flickr

    Once you blow out all your components, your machine should be running much cooler. That’s all the computer cleaning methods I have at the moment; if I missed anything, or if you found this post helpful, drop a comment below!

    matt

    November 1, 2018
    General Computing, Lifestyle
    cleaning, computing, lifestyle, maintainence

  • The Benefits of Lifelong Learning

    There are lots of you out there who are lifelong learners like myself, and you guys don\’t require any convincing because knowledge has always felt like the worthwhile reward for taking the time to learn something new. For those of us who frequently find that you don’t have the time to sit down and learn something new, let me take a few seconds to explain how taking the time to learn something new has ended up saving me a small fortune in parts and service.

    When I turned 21, my parents got me a brand new mid-2009 MacBook Pro. I absolutely loved that thing. Everything I use in my job today, I learned on that MacBook. I used it to learn video editing, motion graphics, photo editing, and even 3D. Eventually, I wanted to upgrade my specs (my biggest 3D render job took me nearly a week (168 hours) to complete!) so naturally, I went to the best tech support I had available to me to upgrade from a spinning drive to a SSD: Geek Squad. About 2 weeks and $180 later, I swore I would learn everything I could about computers to prevent myself from being taken.

    The learning begins.

    It begins

    In my line of work (video production and animation) I work a lot with computers. As can be expected, computers will eventually get old, have problems, slow down, and otherwise stop working. In today’s technology-driven world, with new computer models being release every few months, salespeople are always trained to push the “You should just get a new computer” approach. Great for their business; not great for my wallet. So instead of buying a brand new computer every 3-5 years, why not learn how to build my own computer? That way, when parts get old, everything starts running slow, I can just slowly upgrade it over the years instead of buying a brand new machine every few years. Sounds great, right?

    I’m not saying this plan was easy. It took me several months to research how to assemble a computer and several months to learn which parts did which job, and how they all work together. And once I knew all the parts required to build a computer, I now had way more decisions to make. Instead of “Which computer do I buy?” Now I was thinking, “Which motherboard should I buy? Is this motherboard compatible with my CPU choice?” A few more months of research later, eventually I had to make a choice. So I ordered my parts one by one.

    I love it when a plan comes together

    One by one they arrived, and I used several online guides to help me assemble my first computer. It ran Ubuntu Linux (I couldn’t afford a copy of Windows), and it was my first ever computer build. Overall, it took about a year to learn everything I could about each of the parts and save up enough money to buy all the parts.

    Today, that same computer has payed for itself over and over again because I took the time to learn about all of the components and I’ve used it to complete several video and animation jobs for clients. This is no “and he lived happily ever after” story, either. The custom build hasn’t been without its problems. However, learning the basics and even more valuable, learning how to learn, has helped me repair my computer, and keep it running smoothly for several years. Now when I encounter my next problem, I’ll never have to rely on a tech service ever again.

    matt

    October 7, 2018
    Lifestyle
    build, custom, DIY, education, goals, learning, lifestyle, new years, new years resolution, resolution

Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 1 Thess 5:21