How GitHub Advanced Security for Azure DevOps Saves the Day (and Your Reputation)

Let's face it, developers: we've all accidentally committed a secret (or two) to our code repository at some point. Maybe it was an API key, a database password, or that super-secret encryption key you swore you'd never forget. ‍♂️

The problem?  Those exposed secrets can be a hacker's dream come true. A leaked secret can bring your entire application crashing down, wreaking havoc on your data and reputation. Shuddersville.  Many good developers do not pay attention to this critical aspect while working on the code, behaviour which most of the time becomes very costly and painful.

That's where GitHub Advanced Security for Azure DevOps swoops in like a superhero with a cape (well, maybe more like a shield, but you get the idea). This powerful integration brings the muscle of GitHub's security features into your Azure DevOps workflow, so you can identify and squash those secret leaks before they become a disaster.

Here's how GitHub Advanced Security for Azure DevOps saves your bacon:

• Secret Scanning: It acts like a super-sleuth, scouring your code for any exposed secrets like passwords, tokens, and keys. No more accidental oopsies making it past your commit.
• Dependency Scanning: Those third-party libraries you love? They can have hidden vulnerabilities. Advanced Security scans your dependencies to expose any weak spots so you can patch them up before they get exploited.
• CodeQL Code Scanning: This built-in code analysis tool is like a security X-ray for your codebase. It hunts for potential vulnerabilities and coding errors, so you can fix them before they become a problem.

The best part? This security suite integrates seamlessly into your Azure DevOps workflow. No need to jump through hoops or learn a whole new platform. You can find, fix, and prevent security issues all within your familiar Azure DevOps environment. Win-win!

So, ditch the stress of exposed secrets and vulnerable code. Embrace the power of GitHub Advanced Security for Azure DevOps. Your future self (and your security team) will thank you for it.

P.S. Looking for more info? Check out the official documentation to see how to get started with GitHub Advanced Security for Azure DevOps and start building more secure software today!

Reset Your Forgotten Ubuntu Password in 2 Minutes or Less

If you’ve ever forgotten your password, you aren’t alone… it’s probably one of the most common tech support problems I’ve encountered over the years. Luckily if you are using Ubuntu they made it incredibly easy to reset your password.

All it takes is adjusting the boot parameters slightly and typing a command or two, but we’ll walk you through it.

Reset Your Ubuntu Password

Reboot your computer, and then as soon as you see the GRUB Loading screen, make sure to hit the ESC key so that you can get to the menu.

Root Shell – Easy Method

If you have the option, you can choose the “recovery mode” item on the menu, usually found right below your default kernel option.

Then choose “Drop to root shell prompt” from this menu.

This should give you a root shell prompt.

Alternate Root Shell Method

If you don’t have the recovery mode option, this is the alternate way to manually edit the grub options to allow for a root shell.

First you’ll want to make sure to choose the regular boot kernel that you use (typically just the default one), and then use the “e” key to choose to edit that boot option.

Now just hit the down arrow key over to the “kernel” option, and then use the “e” key to switch to edit mode for the kernel option.

You’ll first be presented with a screen that looks very similar to this one:

You’ll want to remove the “ro quiet splash” part with the backspace key, and then add this onto the end:

rw init=/bin/bash

Once you hit enter after adjusting the kernel line, you’ll need to use the B key to choose to boot with that option.

At this point the system should boot up very quickly to a command prompt.

Changing the Actual Password

You can use the following command to reset your password:

passwd <username>

For example my username being geek I used this command:

passwd geek

After changing your password, use the following commands to reboot your system. (The sync command makes sure to write out data to the disk before rebooting)

sync
reboot –f

I found that the –f parameter was necessary to get the reboot command to work for some reason. You could always hardware reset instead, but make sure to use the sync command first.

And now you should be able to login without any issues.

Manually uninstalling VMware Workstation from Linux hosts

Manually uninstalling VMware Workstation from Linux

VMWare Workstation doesn't ship in a deb, so it isn't registered in dpkg (which is why you can't find it in the software center). It does have an install and uninstall utility though.

To uninstall VMWare Workstation, you will need to run

#vmware-installer --uninstall-product vmware-workstation

Details

This article provides steps for manually removing VMware Workstation when the uninstaller script or RPM package fails to remove the product automatically.

Solution

Note: Log into the host using the root account to execute the terminal commands in this article. If running Ubuntu, the root account is not available by default. Prepend all commands with sudo,or switch to root using this command:

sudo su -

Warning: This command provides unrestricted access to the operating system. It is possible to cause damage to the system when using this access level.

1. Open a command prompt. For more information, see Opening a command or shell prompt (1003892). Type the commands as indicated in the steps of this procedure.
   
2. Shut down all VMware applications and services.
   
   /etc/init.d/vmware stop
   
   
3. Verify that all processes have stopped:
   
   lsmod | grep vm
   
   Note: A zero must be listed beside VMware related modules to indicate that they are no longer running.
   
   
4. Move the VMware libraries to the /tmp directory:
   
   cd /lib/modules/kernel_version/misc
mv vm* /tmp
   
   Note: If the kernel has ever been updated, you must check and move the files from multiple paths. Substitute the kernel version where indicated above.
   
   
5. Unload the kernel modules:
   
   rmmod vmnet.o
rmmod vmmon.o
rmmod vmci.o
rmmod vmblock.o
rmmod vmppuser.o
   
   
6. Remove the VMware startup scripts:
   
   RedHat and Most Distributions:
   rm /etc/rc.d/init.d/rc2.d/*vmware*
rm /etc/rc.d/init.d/rc3.d/*vmware*
rm /etc/rc.d/init.d/rc5.d/*vmware*
rm /etc/rc.d/init.d/rc6.d/*vmware*
   
   Ubuntu:
   
   rm /etc/rc2.d/*vmware*
rm /etc/rc3.d/*vmware*
rm /etc/rc5.d/*vmware*
rm /etc/rc6.d/*vmware*
   
   Note: If you are using a different Linux distribution, substitute the correct path in the commands.
   
   
7. Remove the remaining VMware files and directories:
   
   rm -rf /etc/vmware*
rm /usr/bin/vmware-usbarbitrator
rm /usr/bin/vmnet*
rm -r /usr/lib/vmware*
rm -r /usr/share/doc/vmware*
   
   
8. If an RPM package was used to install the VMware product, complete these steps to delete the RPM database entry:
   
   rpm -qa | grep VMware
   
   A list of VMware packages is presented. Copy the exact package name for the next step and paste it into the command where indicated.
   
   
9. Remove the VMware packages:
   
   rpm --erase --nodeps VMware_Package_Name

About TrueCrypt

I've made up an experimental video showing how to install trueCrypt on uBuntu 13 .. Please check it out..

How to Code in Python 3 metaprogramming!

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