Category Archives: Encryption

Secure authentication and how it changed over time

For decades, users have authenticated on systems with usernames and passwords. This method of authentication has not changed since the beginning of the Internet. As the Internet became a more hostile place and threats emerged, password rules were introduced. Those … Continue reading

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Setup WireGuard VPN on CentOS

WireGuard provides a modern VPN and is advertised as being much easier to install and configure than many other VPN services. Most of this simpler setup procedure comes from the fact that the cryptographic methods used are not as highly … Continue reading

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Reverse proxy with exception for Let’s Encrypt

With many services running in their own container or with their own daemon, the use of reverse proxies is getting more common, and at the same time, the use of SSL/TLS has become a standard. Let’s Encrypt is a provider … Continue reading

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Check Certificate Chain of webserver

Changing the certificate of a webserver sometimes means also changing the intermediate certificate(s). After reloading the webserver, checking that the certificates are ok is important. Checking the webserver’s own certificate is not a problem, but checking the intermediate chain is … Continue reading

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Create GnuPG key with sub-keys to sign, encrypt, authenticate

In order to use a GnuPG key on a smartcard or Yubikey, a GnuPG key needs to be created. This post will show you how to create a GnuPG key with sub-keys for signing, encryption and authentication. The authentication key can … Continue reading

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Increase the size of a LUKS encrypted partition

Even encrypted discs or partitions sometimes need to have their size increased. A LUKS encrypted volume consists of different layers which all need to be resized. To resize an encrypted volume, multiple steps have to be performed to use the additional … Continue reading

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Automount a luks encrypted volume on system start

Linux supports encrypted volumes with luks. When a luks encrypted volume is set up during installation to be booted from, the volume is already configured and set up. When an encrypted volume is set up afterwards, the volume remains locked until … Continue reading

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Create a luks encrypted partition on Linux Mint

Encryption is not only for someone who has something to hide. There are simple concerns like a lost or stolen laptop that justify a full disk encryption. There are only a few steps necessary to create a encrypted partition. In … Continue reading

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