Category: Linux

Microsoft Edit Open Source Text Editor

Microsoft’s new open source Edit application may remind you of the classic MS-DOS Editor

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

If you have used computers for a long time, you may remember MS-DOS and the tools that Microsoft shipped with it. Microsoft developed Edit, an open source command line text editor for Windows as an homage of sorts.

Interested users can download and install the latest version of Edit for Windows or build the app from scratch, if they prefer to do so. Microsoft plans to integrate the editor into insider builds of Windows first before making it available to all users as part of Windows 11. It is also available for Linux.

The big difference to the classic MS-DOS Editor is that Edit has a modern graphical user interface.

Microsoft describes Edit in the following way on GitHub:

This editor pays homage to the classic MS-DOS Editor, but with a modern interface and input controls similar to VS Code. The goal is to provide an accessible editor that even users largely unfamiliar with terminals can easily use.

Edit has a size of just 250 kilobytes and users may run the app without installation.

Here are key features that Microsoft highlights on this Dev blog:

  • Lightweight open source text editor.
  • Supports mouse and text user interface to select all menu options using keys.
  • Support for opening several files and switching between them using Ctrl-P.
  • Support for finding and replacing text. Use the keyboard shortcut CTRL-R for that, or select Edit > Replace.
  • Word wrap support.

Compared to established text editors, the functionality is not really special. Notepad++, for instance, supports additional features, such as syntax highlighting, which Edit does not.

Edit on the other hand does not appear to be an attempt by Microsoft to introduce competition to established third-party editors. Microsoft itself says that the main goal of Edit was to introduce a command line text editor for 64-bit versions of Windows, as these come without one (unlike 32-bit versions of Windows).

Closing Words

Edit looks like an interesting protect. It is open source, lightweight, and will one day be included in default Windows installations. That does not mean that you have to use it, but it is an option for users who like these types of editors.

Now You: what is your take on Edit? Will you give it a go? Let us know in the comments.

Curves Non-destructive filter being applied to a portrait of Sofiia being edited in GIMP. Photo by Sofia (CC by-sa 4.0 International)

Gimp 3.0 image editor is now available

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

When the Gimp development team started to work on Gimp 3.0 in 2020, it probably did not think that it would take five years to release the new version.

Gimp 3.0 is a major update that has been in the making for seven years, since the release of Gimp 2.10. The open source image editor is a popular alternative to commercial applications like Adobe Photoshop.

Highlights of the update are support for non-destructive effects, interface improvements, and the new GTK3 library, which improves scaling and tablet support. There is also an optional welcome dialog on start and improved color space management.

The release notes are available already, but download servers have not been updated yet. It may take a while before downloads become available officially.

Updated GTK3 user interface

The update to GTK3 brings several improvements along with it. Apart from better user interface scaling on high-resolution displays, it is also improving tablet input support.

Linux users may notice that GIMP 3.0 runs natively on Wayland now. An option to switch to X11 is still available, however.

Non-destructive layer effects

One of the big changes is support for non-destructive layer effects. Previously, adding a filter would have it merged automatically to the layer. This prevented you from making edits, as you had to use the undo function to do so.

Filters stay active in GIMP 3.0, which means that you can edit most filters without having to revert your work each time.

GIMP users who prefer the classic way can use the merge filters option when applying a filter to bring back the old functionality.

The team notes that the new filter effects can be saved “to XCF and reloaded for further editing” next to that.

Color space management

GIMP 3.0 offers extensive support for RGB color spaces beyond sRGB thanks to improved babl and GEGL libraries integrations.

The team notes:

For example, if you load an image with an AdobeRGB color profile, that information will be retained in all aspects of GIMP – allowing you to make whatever edits you need without losing color space information. This update also lays the groundwork for future CMYK and LAB image color modes.

Closing Words

GIMP 3.0 is a big update that improve things for users of the open source image editor in several meaningful ways. You can check out the full release notes, linked above, for additional release information.

Firefox downloads and installs faster on Linux thanks to a recent change

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Linux users who download Firefox from Mozilla to install the browser on their device will experience quicker downloads and installs going forward.

Mozilla explained on its Nightly website that it switched the packaging to .tar.xz from the previously used .tar.bz2 format.

The change has the following benefits:

  • The average file size of Firefox is 25 percent smaller.
  • The new format offers improved decompression speeds.
  • Improved compatibility.

A 25 percent reduction in file size reduces the time a download takes. Combined with faster decompression of the new format, it means that Linux users will be able to start using Firefox earlier than before.

Linux users who want to give this a try can check out the change on the Firefox Nightly download page. The download of Firefox for Linux is offered as a .tar.xz package.

The change will roll out to Firefox Beta and Release channels in the coming weeks. Maintainers should take note of the new format and update scripts that they may be using to handle both package formats or start using .tar.xz exclusively.

Mozilla says that it made the decision to use .tar.xz instead of .zst on Linux because the selected format offers better compression. The format is in wide use as well and has no extra dependencies.

Users interested in the development can check out the main listing on Bugzilla.

What is your take on the change? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

VeraCrypt interface

VeraCrypt: first update of the year improves security and fixes bugs

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The developers of the open source encryption software VeraCrypt have released VeraCrypt 1.26.14 for all supported platforms. The new version adds a notification if volumes are affected by the XTS master key vulnerability.

The issue was fixed last year in VeraCrypt 1.26.7, but only for newly created volumes. While unlikely even then, the newly added notification ensures that users are informed if one of their encrypted volumes are still affected by the vulnerability.

Installation or upgrade

The new release installs over existing installations. This should not be problematic for most users. A system restore point is created by default during the installation. Note that a restart is required to complete the process. You cannot mount volumes until the final restart.

VeraCrypt 1.26.24 does not mount TrueCrypt volumes anymore. This was the case for last year’s release as well, but is still noteworthy.

If you still have an old TrueCrypt volume, e.g., on a removable drive you have not touched for years, you may want to use an earlier version of VeraCrypt to decrypt the encrypted volume before you encrypt it again using the software.

Note that you may download older VeraCrypt versions from the official project website. VeraCrypt 1.25.9 was the last to support TrueCrypt volumes.

An overview of the changes of VeraCrypt 1.26.14

The update is a bug fix release for the most part. It does come with updated translations and documentation as well as some compatibility improvements on non-Windows systems.

Here is a short list of the most important changes and fixes:

  • Windows: VeraCrypt Expander: Fix expansion of volumes on disks with a sector size different from 512.
  • Linux: Enhance ASLR security of generic installer binaries by adding linked flag for old GCC version.
  • macOS: Fix near zero width PIM input box and simplify wxTextValidator logic.
  • FreeBSD: Support automatic detection and mounting of ext2/3/4, exFAT, NTFS filesystems.

You can check out the full changelog here. As you can see, it is mostly maintenance related changes and a fix bug fixes.

Closing Words

Still, it is a good idea to upgrade to the new version because of these fixes and the notification if one of the volumes has a vulnerable XTS master key.

Now You: do you use encryption software? Maybe even VeraCrypt? Or do you swear on a different software? Feel free to leave a comment down below!

Office

LibreOffice 24.8: you can now block active content in documents

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

An update for the open source cross-platform office suite LibreOffice is now available. LibreOffice 24.8 is available for all supported systems.

The new version includes over a hundred improved or new features. Several are important from a security point of view.

The details:

  • An option to disable active content and OLE automation is now available.
  • Improved WebDAV/HTTP UCP authentication with Microsoft SharePoint.
  • Improved CMIS UCP authentication with Microsoft SharePoint.
  • Option to remove personal information on saving.
  • ODF Wholesome Encryption is now available. It improves tamper and brute-force resistance, offers improved performance, and improved hiding of metadata.

Several of these options are interesting from an end-users point of view. The ability to disable active content improves security, as it prevents attacks that exploit these options.

LibreOffice 24.8 new security settings

Here is how you enable it:

  1. Open Tools > Options > LibreOffice > Security > Security Options and Warnings > Options-button.
  2. Check “Disable active contents from OLE Objects, DDE and OLE Automation”.

Note: this may impact documents that rely on these technologies.

Here, you may also enable the removal of personal information on saving.

Check “remove personal information on saving” and then what you do not want included. This is supported at the time of writing:

  • Changes information.
  • Document user information.
  • Author name and date of notes.
  • Document version information.
  • Printer settings.

You can check out the full changelog on the official Document Foundation website.

The latest version is available for download already. You can download it from the official website or from within LibreOffice by selecting Help > Check for Updates.

Do you use LibreOffice or another Office program? What is your take on the new security features? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Zen Browser

Zen Browser: first look at new open source Firefox-based browser

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Recently, there has been a bit of a revival when it comes to forks of the Firefox browser. After Mullvad Browser, it is now Zen Browser that is trying to win the Internet by storm.

The Firefox-based browser is available as an alpha at the time of writing. Despite that, it felt very stable during tests.

The details:

  • Zen Browser is available for Windows, Linux, and macOS.
  • The browser is open source.
  • You can download an installer or a portable version.

Since it is based on Firefox, it shares many of its features with Mozilla’s browser. This includes most of the interface and settings, as well as support for extensions. The interface looks modern and clean.

Here are core differences to Firefox:

  • Tabs are displayed on the sidebar and not horizontally.
  • Split view support to display multiple sites at once.
  • Improved profile management controls.
  • Tab Groups support (coming soon)
  • Telemetry disabled by default.

There may be more. Feel free to leave a comment down below if you spot any other.

Using Zen Browser

Firefox users will feel at home when they use the browser. They can import browsing data and install Firefox add-ons in Zen Browser.

Chrome users who think Firefox looks dated may give the browser a try as well, especially since Chrome is soon disabling old extensions like uBlock Origin.

A core difference is that tabs are displayed on the sidebar on the left. There does not seem to be an option to move tabs to the classic horizontal position. Maybe that is coming at a later point.

The settings include a compact mode, which auto-hides the sidebar and displays it on hover. You may furthermore hide the top title bar as well in that mode.

Another option available is to make the URL bar floating when selected. This moves it to the middle of the browser window automatically.

The New Tab page displays just a search option by default. You can add recent shortcuts and Internet shortcuts with a click on the customize button. There is also an option to enable three types of wallpapers: solid color, abstract, or photos.

A sync feature is also available, which requires creation of an account. Major browser features, such as password management, spell checking, translations (via Firefox Translations), or Developer Tools, are also supported.

Closing Words

Zen Browser is updated regularly right now, but it is still an alpha that is in development. Most users may want to wait for the first stable release to give this browser a try, if they are interested in it.

Another thing that may need improving is that the website reveals little about the team behind the browser. While that is not always a necessity, it would improve trust in the project if that would be made clearer.

All in all, a browser to put on the watchlist to check out again in the future.

Have you tried Zen Browser? What is your take on the browser? Would you use it? Feel free to leave a comment down below.

Thunderbird 128

Thunderbird 128 Email client is now available

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

The team behind the open source email client has released the long-awaited Thunderbird 128 to the public. The version is not yet available as an update, only as a direct download from the official website.

You can upgrade from current stable versions of Thunderbird to the new release, but need to run the installer to do that.

As far as system requirements are concerned, Thunderbird 128 won’t run anymore on pre-Windows 10 or macOS 10.15 devices. Users who use add-ons or customizations may run into issues, but this is the case for every new major release. It may be a good idea to wait a few release cycles as many of the issues may have been sorted out by then.

The official release notes are quite long, which is to be expected.

Thunderbird 128: a quick rundown

While there have been a good number of changes, Thunderbird 128 looks and behaves for the most part like Thunderbird 115. This is good for consistency.

There are differences though. UI density, for example, affects the multi-message view now as well. I prefer to use compact, as it shows more messages and information on the screen at the same time.

You can change density and other layout-related preferences by selecting View of the menu at the top.

On Windows, Thunderbird is now using the native notifications system. There is also support for operating system accent colors and custom account colors are now shown in the form field when composing a message.

If you want to display full names and email addresses of all recipients in a message list, you can do so now with the new preference mail.addressDisplayFormat. This needs to be set in the advanced configuration, which you may access via Tools > Settings > Config Editor.

The new version improves its OpenPGP implementation as well.

Closing Words

Thunderbird 128 looks like a polished version of Thunderbird 115. The big update does not interfere with the layout nearly as much as the last major update of the email client.

Many of the changes are cosmetic in nature, but these do not get in the way either. This may be different for users who use lots of add-ons or customization options, as extensions need to be updated to remain compatible with the new Thunderbird release.

Again, most users may want to wait a couple of months before they start considering upgrading to the new releases.

What about you? Do you use Thunderbird? What is your take on the new Thunderbird 128?

BleachBit Review: free up disk space by deleting temp files

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

BleachBit is a free program for Microsoft Windows and Linux devices that helps users delete temporary files to free up disk space. Often compared to CCleaner, BleachBit has not gone down the route of commercialization.

The program is free and does not contain locked tools that need to be unlocked with a purchase. Users on Windows may download and run a portable version, if they prefer that.

BleachBit serves several purposes: from freeing up disk space to removing traces of files for privacy.

This review looks at the features and functionality, but also how the software compares to CCleaner, which is still the most popular cleaner on Windows.

BleachBit: the interface

BleachBit interface

BleachBit’s interface is streamlined. The app may take a moment to load. Once loaded, it displays supported cleaning locations in a sidebar on the left. This includes, usually, one or more web browsers, the operating system and some other apps.

A click on an entry expands the selection. You can select any category or entry to get a description; useful, in case you are unsure if you should delete found data.

Selecting an entire category may sometimes include sensitive or important information. When you select a browser, BleachBit informs you that passwords may also be removed. The option to ignore certain data types is provided.

One useful feature of BleachBit is its preview option. Select preview to check the selected locations for temporary files without running any cleanup operations. BleachBit returns the number of files and the disk space that it will free when you run it for real.

All files are listed by the app, which can be intimidating at first. A click on clean deletes the selected files and frees up the disk space.

BleachBit features

BleachBit Review: preferences

BleachBit’s main focus is web browsers, the operating system, and several core apps, e.g., Windows Defender or Explorer on Windows.

Before you run the program, you may want to open the Settings with a click on the BleachBit icon and the selection of preferences. There, you find several interesting options:

  • Enable overwriting file contents to prevent recovery.
  • Disable confirmations before deleting.
  • Disable Dark Mode.
  • Download and use community cleaners using winapp2.ini. Note that you need to restart the application to include the extra cleaners.
  • Add custom cleanup files or folders.
  • Whitelist files or folders to avoid deletions.

It is highly recommended to enable the winapp2.ini option, as it extends BleachBit significantly.

A click on the BleachBit icon displays additional options. These include options to delete files or folders permanently, wipe free disk space, and to display system information.

Comparison to CCleaner

BleachBit lacks many of the extra tools that Avast added to CCleaner. While some users may miss those options, others may like the program’s focus on cleaning. With winapp2.ini loaded, BleachBit does not have to hide behind CCleaner when it comes to the cleaning part.

Free users especially may like the approach, as they won’t run into “please upgrade to use this tool” messages when they use the application.

To sum it up, if you are just interested in the cleaning bits, then you may prefer BleachBit because of its lack of fluff.

Closing Words

BleachBit is a useful tool to delete temporary files on supported operating systems. Its effectiveness increases with the addition of additional cleaners, but it does get more complex at the same time.

Still, if you want to delete temp files quickly, BleachBit is an excellent option for that job.

Now You: do you use a cleaner?

RSS Guard: open source RSS Reader review

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

RSS Guard is may RSS reader of choice. I have used quite a few RSS readers in the past decades: from Google Reader and FeedDemon to QuiteRSS, to name just a few major ones.

I like QuiteRSS, but development has more or less ceased. RSS Guard is an open source RSS reader that comes with an impressive list of features and options. The program does have a few quirks, but it is probably only a matter of time before these are sorted out by the developer.

You may download RSS Guard from the project’s GitHub repository. It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux devices.

Initial Setup

RSS Guard

You can import a list of RSS feeds into RSS Guard. It is a straightforward process. The program separates Accounts from Feeds.

  • Accounts — RSS feeds are supported as well as other types, including Feedly, Nextcloud News or Tiny Tiny RSS.
  • Feeds — individual RSS feeds, can also be podcasts and any other type of service that uses RSS / RDF / ATOM / JSON.

To get started, it is necessary to create an Account first. Select RSS when prompted. From there, you may add RSS feeds manually or by importing them.

RSS Guard supports multiple accounts, which you may utilize to separate feeds from one another.

The application displays feeds sorted by accounts and folders in a sidebar on the left side. You can drag & drop feeds around, and create folders to separate content. Apart from

Each feed is listed with its name and the number of unread items. A click on a feed or folder displays all feeds on the right side.

The feeds listing displays article titles, read status, author, date of publication and other information. Right-click on a column to get the list of supported data columns. Note that it depends on the feed if these are supported.

Settings

Select Tools > Settings to open the preference You find quite a few options of interest there. Here is a short selection of settings that I find useful:

  • User Interface — switch between dark and light mode, different icon themes and styles.
  • Notifications — enable or disable them, or modify their location and style.
  • Keyboard Shortcuts — check all existing shortcuts and add new mappings, e.g. for adding new feeds or categories.
  • Feeds & Articles — set feed fetching and automatic feed checking intervals, modify the appearance of the feed and articles list.

Other options include changing the size of fonts or configuring external web browsers for opening content.

Using RSS Guard

Usage is very simple once you have set up everything. My instance checks for updates automatically when I start it. Unread articles are highlighted in the interface and it is easy enough to browse them to check what is new.

Articles that you select are marked read. You may use the integrated labels feature to mark certain articles.

Left-clicking on an item opens it in the internal viewer. You may switch to the external viewer by right-clicking on items and selecting the option. An option to always open hyperlinks in an external browser is available in the options. A double-click may, for example, launch the article in the default system browser automatically.

There is also a Newspaper View, which displays new articles chronologically.

RSS Guard quirks

While I like RSS Guard for the most part, it does have a few issues. You may notice, for instance, that you can’t manage RSS feeds when the program checks for updates.

A click on the stop button breaks the process, so that you may add, edit or remove feeds.

Another issue is that updating feeds may be slow. It depends largely on the processor. Either, updates blaze through in a matter of seconds, or, it seemingly takes minutes to check all feeds for updates.

Another option that is missing is the ability to save searches. A search, say for Windows 11 or Steam, would return all matching feed items.

Last but not least, syncing is not as straightforward as it could be. While select online services are supported, there is no direct option to sync feeds across devices.

Verdict

RSS Guard is a mighty open source RSS Reader. It is a useful tool to stay up to date almost effortlessly. It feels a bit clunky here and there, and it has some quirks.

Still, it is an excellent program that helps me stay up to date throughout the day without having to visit hundreds of sites manually to do so.

Now You: which RSS feed reader do you use?

How to bring order to Google Photos Takeout exports automatically

Posted on by Martin Brinkmann

Google Photos Takeout is a straightforward option to export all Google Photos to a local computer system. It is an excellent option to create a local backup of all photos uploaded to Google Photos or moving to a different provider.

A big problem with the takeout is that the photos are stored in multiple zip files, often hundreds of them. The number of folders depends largely on activity and time. Each zip file contains photos and a JSON file.

While it is possible to extract individual folders or all at once, doing so still leaves the photos in a disorganized state.

Google Photos Takeout Helper

Google Photos Takeout

The open source application comes to the rescue. All it takes is to point the app to a downloaded Google Photos takeout folder for it to do its magic. The application extracts all zip archives, sets timestamps correctly and will put all photos in a single folder or in monthly folders.

You need to download the photos from Google Takeout in the first step. This is done by visiting the Google Takeout site, signing-in, activating “deselect all” at the top to uncheck all export options, and checking the box next to Google Photos on the page.

Select “Next step” to continue and keep all other settings. Activate “create export” and wait for Google to inform you with an email that your download is ready.

A click on each of the download links opens the download page. You may need to authenticate yourself again before the download starts.

Extract all Zip archives. You may need to move them into a single root folder first, if there is more than one archive. The easiest way to do so is to copy all additional Google Photos folder into the first folder, so that all folders are under the same structure (Takeout\Google Photos).

Once all photos have been downloaded and all archives extracted, it is time to switch to Google Photos Takeout Helper.

Using the Helper app

Yearly folders for all photos exported from Google

First step is to download the application from the project’s GitHub repository. Visit it with a click on this link. The app is available for Windows, macOS and Linux. I downloaded the Windows version for this guide.

Run the downloaded file once it is on the local system. Note that you may get a “Windows protected your PC” prompt. This is thrown by SmartScreen, a security feature. The app is not dangerous, but SmartScreen does step in if an app is new or unrecognized by it.

Select “more info” and then “run anyway” to continue. A command prompt window opens with instructions. Press the Enter-key and use the folder browser that opens to pick the Takeout folder.

Once done, press Enter again to select the output folder. This is the folder that all sorted photos are put into.

All photos may be put into a single folder or sorted into year/month folders. Press 1 or 2 to make the selection.

Select what Google Photos Takeout Helper should do with albums in the final step:

  • 0 Shortcut — links album folders to original photos.
  • 1 Duplicate-Copy — puts photos into album folders as well.
  • 2 JSON – puts all photos into a single folder and creates a json file with album information.
  • 3 Nothing — ignore albums, which will ignore archive and trash photos altogether.

If the target folder is not empty, you need to select (1) to delete all files inside, (2) to place photos next to existing files or (3) exit the process.

The process may take a moment to complete. Press the Enter-key to finish the process and close the program window.

Once closed, open the target folder. You should see a folder structure based on your selections. Check the ALL_PHOTOS folder to access them all.

Closing Words

Google Photos Takeout Helper is a useful open source tool to quickly sort all exported photos. While not needed per-se, it may save users lots of time.