Newbie questions on Linux Mint

[Mauvve Knight]

Hi to all,

Recently I've installed Linux Mint 22.3 onto my Apple MB Air 2012 and it's running well. Linux Mint is pretty new for me and I have got some questions who are easy for you but hard for me:

1. How can I encrypt my account? During install I have answered I'd like to encrypt hard drive but does this encrypt my account, too?
2. I know I can work with work spaces. I don't know how to get this working and where I can alter the settings of my touchpad to switch between work spaces.
3. Hoe can I setup Timeshift on what occasions or times it makes a snapshot?

Thnx in advance!

 

[Condobloke]

G'day Mauvve Knight, Welcome to Linux.org

1. if you clicked to encrypt the drive that will encrypt everything on that drive. I am not sure if that answers your question....I have never used encryption and likely never will. Linux's security is such that I find it unnecessary.
Others will chime in who do use encryption and quite likely answer this with more confidence than myself

2. work spaces?.... I cannot help at all. I use two monitors and have all the space I need. Again, others will have more info for you.

3. Timeshift. Now that is something I can talk about. I will chat about it first and then give a quich run through how to set it up.
Firstly, save its snapshots to an external drive. Why, because snapshots can absorb a lot of space, and because if your internal drive dies, the snapshots would die with it.
Timeshift is better defined by the number of snapshots it takes , be they at Boot,Hourly, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.
The size of the drive holding them can often dictate how many are kept...also the practical approach of how many do you actually need.
be aware....timeshift backs up SYSTEM SETTINGS only...it wont backup pics of the kids and the dog and all the music from the last 20 years etc etc....system files only. (I have found it to be an absolute lifesaver in the 10+ years I have been running mint.....it protects, ME from me !
If I have screwed up the OS, then its Timeshift to the rescue. I am a tinkerer...i try things out....go forth where others fear to tread (and then some)....when it saves your hide the first time, you will thank which ever deity comes to mind first.
It has saved you from a reinstall. depending on how much you have put into configuring browers and etc etc...it may have saved you hours.
(A quick note: I use Rescuezilla to save everything. It takes an image of everything on the drive. I take one at the start of each month. (Crazy name, brilliant app....free)

I have zero idea what will be on your pc. That will set the scene for how many snapshots and when they are taken.

Timeshift does not retake information that has already been take/snapshotted)....it is extremely clever.

How to set it up:
Grab an external drive. Open Timeshift, (click on menu...type in Timeshift....click on it) ...click on Settings....rsync is the snapshot type....Set the Location for your snapshots to be that external drive. Schedule:..keep at least 2 daily and 1 weekly.??...your call here. Timeshift will delete snapshots as necessary to maintain those numbers.

Users:If you dont tick/mark any of the little circles you get basic.....Tick/mark Include Only hidden Files OR the end one...Include all Files gives you your home folder etc etc
Filters: Place three ticks vertically under the + sign
(ticking Include all files and the three vertcal ticks in filters enlarges the snahots and takes up the most room....but....it covers every system file in the OS.

Be aware, Timeshift ONLY restores system files....not pics or music etc etc....STRICTLY system files...no games etc

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To give you a rough idea, my Timeshift folder on the external drive holds approx 60GB ....that represents 1 weekly, 1 Daily, and 1 Boot (I may increase that to 2 daily) ...with all files included and three vertical ticks. My250GB SSD is 13% full.
.

If you have just done something a bit crazy/wrong etc etc....a simple restore (highlight the snapshot with a single click) then click on restore....dont alter any of the settings as it works....they are more than likely going to be correct) ....back to before the mishap occurred will take care of it. If/when you get to do a complete annihilation of the system files....where the pc refuses to boot or similar...that is when you will thank everything around you that you kept the snapshots on an External drive. The usb stick you installed from (keep it safe) insert it...boot to it....open timeshift on the 'live/test version it comes to first...open Timeshift....highlight a snapshot....click Restore....and sit back and watch the magic happen. (enter a huge sigh of relief.

One other thing.....there is a space beside the snapshots..... double click there and add a note to remind you of something or other. if you do that, the number of snapshots will increase by 1. So, any snapshot with a comment will never be erased by another snapshot.

I could prattle on about Timeshift all night, but I do have to sleep

You will now have heaps of questions. Fire away, they are more than welcome.

 

[Condobloke]

Size of an external...mine is 2TB...room for miles of music ++, data(important) tv shows, movies, backups of zim desktop(nopte taking) backups of bitwarden(password manager) desktop arrangements and apps used (crucial if/when a full install has to happen) profiles used on my browser (waterfox) anything and everything to make life easier, Pics///gb upon gb of them. Occasionally, I will make a rescuezilla backup of my 2TB drive to a 4TB drive. (that is my security system)
I dont save anything to my main drive ....just the OS and a few bits and pieces spread across my two monitors

 

[Brickwizard]

I echo what @Condobloke has said above, I have a USB external SSD for my important files folders and pictures + music
I use r-sync and back up daily on my desktop [the one that gets most use] and weekly and the laptop I keep the original [tagged o] from when i installed the distribution] and the last 3 snapshots tagged [D for daily and W for weekly]

 

[KGIII]

have answered I'd like to encrypt hard drive but does this encrypt my account, too?

Yes. When you log into your account, that is decrytping the data behind the scenes.

Encryption is a double-edged sword. It's mostly useful if there's a risk of you losing control of the storage device. If your encrypted disk is physically lost, and you use a sufficiently complex password that has remained private, then it means the data on your drive is almost certainly secure.

At the same time, if something goes wrong (like forgetting your password), you've lost that data. Just like the bad guys can't recover it, you can't recover it. So, it's important to never forget your credentials. That's kind of the whole point of encryption. It means that the data can't be accessed without knowing the credentials.

These risks should be known before deciding to use encryption.

Also, this is only valid if the person wanting your data is reasonably polite about it. A corrupt regime, a gang of thugs, or somebody desperate to get access to your data is just going to beat you with a rubber hose until you give them the password.

 

[Mauvve Knight]

@Condobloke: Your explanation about encryption makes a lot clear to me, thanks a lot!. On MacOS I made msyself a habit to encrypt my files on my personal map. Happy to keep this habit on Linux!

Then, Timeshift: good explanation, a lot to read but I already was aware it backups system files only. For my personal files I already back them up on external sources. But I already have experienced what happens if you did not use Timeshift and you have tampered your Linux installation and setup... Now, I've setup Timeshift to make periodically backups.

Than, workspaces... In MacOS I have used the same principal in order to create separate workflows, for instance I run mail in a workspace, LibreOffice in another workspace and Safari in workspace 3. This way I have a workaround for my problem of keeping focus without be overload with multiple inputs.

I have Googled how to work with workplaces in Linux Mint and I am happy with what I found. I turned it on and I can easily switch using hotkeys. For me a good to go.

I'd like to thank everybody for your answers!!!