Linux box setup

Hello me!

Are you setting up a new Linux box? Then follow my setup instructions below.

Note: Never store sensitive data like credentials, etc. in this project!

Create bootable USB drive

Download a Linux ISO image (e.g. EndeavourOS) and burn it to a USB drive:

ls -l /dev/disk/by-id | grep usb
sudo dd if=endeavouros.iso of=/dev/XdA bs=1M oflag=sync status=progress

Install Linux

Boot from the USB drive and follow the installation steps.

First steps after a fresh Linux installation

1. Perform a full system upgrade (via yay).
2. Reboot.
3. Log in to your Bitwarden vault via browser using email address, password, and your 2FA device (i.e. via the Bitwarden Authenticator app on your mobile phone).
   • There is a password hint.
   • In the event that you can no longer use your normal two-step login provider (e.g. because you have lost your mobile device), your recovery code allows you to access your Bitwarden account. You can find your Bitwarden two-step login recovery code in your secret location.
   • If you ever need to restore your Bitwarden vault, import the backed-up encrypted JSON export from your Google Drive's Backups folder. The password is your Bitwarden password.
4. Restore backup (see resp. section below).
5. Run the ~/mydata/projects/private/shell-tools/setup_linux_box/setup_linux_box.sh shell script.
6. Continue with further setups and settings (see resp. section below).

Backup / Restore

Restore backup

Follow the instructions at https://github.com/tztz/backup.

Note: You can download the needed .backup.env file from your Google Drive's __INSTALL__ folder. If you wish you can also download the backup_restore.sh file from there but it's recommended to use the version from the GitHub repository.

Create backup

After restoring the backup (see previous section) and running setup_linux_box.sh new backups can be created by executing backup_create.sh (it's in the PATH).

Setup apps, more settings/configurations

Bitwarden browser plugin

• log in
• set vault timeout to 15 minutes
• enable "Unlock with PIN" (PIN is stored in Bitwarden)
• enable "clear clipboard after 1 minute"

vscode

• log in to sync settings

IntelliJ IDEA Ultimate

• log in to JetBrains account
• activate license

VPN

The VPN configs are created during setup. Only add your credentials afterwards via the resp. settings UI.

Disable system bell

Go to Settings -> Accessibility -> System Bell and disable the checkbox

Mailing with GnuPG encryption

Qvest Digital / tarent

Thunderbird

• see https://confluence.qvest-digital.com/display/HELP/Hilfe%3A+Thunderbird
• import private key (e.g. ~/.gnupg/my_privkey.asc) in Thunderbird