How to set up a Home Network

Questions
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Hello all! :smiley: I have a question about something that I could search the internet for, and actually I have, but I want to know how to do this from a safety/security/freedom angle, which means y’all are the best bet. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Basically, I want to know how to set up a home network between two Linux (Mint, Cinnamon) laptops the right way. I found this super short, seemingly easy video: Create a home network for file sharing in Linux Mint - YouTube and I started the process just to see what was involved, but when I was in the Folder Sharing options Mint says: “Samba needs to be installed, appropriate firewall rules need to be added and your user account needs to join the ‘sambashare’ group.” That youtube video never mentions Samba, but someone in the comments said that you only need it for sharing between Linux and Windows, which I don’t need or want to do. But Mint says that, so Samba must be needed. Hmm.

After using both Windows and MacOS for decades I’ve gotten kinda suspicious of everything, haha! So, here’s my question(s): Is Samba safe to install? Is it smart to even have a home network at all? Should I just use a flash drive to transfer stuff from one computer to another instead?

Thank you so much!! :sweat_smile: :raised_hands: :grin:

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Hi @hannahgirl

Yes, it would be simpler to just use a USB to transfer files. You could also use a cloud service like ecloud or NextCloud to transfer items over the internet.

As to the Samba question: Samba is FOSS, so there should not be any issues with using it.

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Hello again, @hannahgirl!
Samba is the general file-sharing service for Linux, regardless of what other operating systems need. It will allow the file sharing between Linux systems as well as it will allow access for both Windows and Mac devices. It’s a protocol of communication and this always remains the same.

However, Samba has its tricky requirements. First, you will need to make your username as member of the - in this case - Samba Group.

Open up a terminal and type in (in every Linux Mint):

sudo useradd -G sambagroup username

Replace username with your actual username. You will see the username when you open up your file manager and navigate to your /home folder. The name of the directory you see there is the username.

Also, your Samba password is different from your account password, so this is important to remember. Once you add your username to the sambagroup, perform the following terminal command:

smbpasswd -a username

Again, replace username with your actual username.

Of course all of this will be valid once you install samba:

sudo apt install samba

From there on, it should be pretty straightforward. Remember to add all the usernames (if you have more uses) to the Samba Group I mentioned above, including the passwords. :slight_smile:

From there on, you can essentially right click on the folder you want from your file manager and select to share it.

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@vasileios thank you so much for replying!! I was looking into NextCloud, but I’d rather do what you’ve so awesomely typed up there. I read through your post three times to really familiarize myself with it and then I started the process, but I got hung up this sentence: “your Samba password is different from your account password”.

How do I get a Samba password? I tried searching the internet, and I found the site (https://www.samba.org/), but there’s nothing there about setting up an account… Hmm. Oh, how new I am to all things FOSS! :joy::grimacing:

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The SAMBA password would be set by you when you install it.
Here is a good video for you:

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You’re welcome @hannahgirl!
Once you execute the above command I posted, it will ask you to set a password of your liking!
Also, what @Will sent is a beautiful guide!

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@Will Thank you for replying! I really, really love step by step videos, haha. I’m going to set aside part of an afternoon soon to watch it, thank you so much :relaxed:

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Hey @hannahgirl.
I just finished setting up an Ubuntu-based Raspberry Pi 4 as a home SAMBA file server and it works like a charm. That little thing holds now 31TB of storage with 3 devices, one of which is a RAID-1 (mirror drives).

Basically, the process is simple:

Install Samba to your desired server. Then make sure you create the Samba user (or just assign yourself a Samba password). For example, I have a “Vasileios” user.

Then, you can go to your terminal and type in:

cd /etc/samba/
sudo nano smb.conf

Then head to the bottom of the file and add in your shares. I will give you a simple example:

[Share 1]
path = /path_to_your_shared_folder
valid users = username1, username2
read only = no
writable = yes

If for example your folder is called Share on your desktop, then the above path should look like:
path = /home/username/Desktop/Share
Remember to replace the username with your actual username. :slight_smile:
Also, the name in the brackets indicates the name this share will be visible on the network as.

Keep in mind that Samba shares files on a user basis. If you want to have multiple users, then you will need to change the file permissions. For example of the above Share folder, this would look like:

sudo chmod 777 -R /home/username/Desktop/Share

Again, you will need to replace the username with your actual username.

Once that is done, then I would recommend a nice little app that will immediately make your shares available on the network tab of other systems.

sudo apt install libnss-mdns

Once all the above are done, then you can restart Samba to put everything to work.

sudo systemctl restart smbd

Additionally, if you need a second share, all you have to do is go back to the smb.conf file and add another set of brackets (with the name of your share) and the additional 4 lines I have further up in bold letters.

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Thanks so much, @vasileios! What an awesome step-by-step. I’ve had to put “make a home network” farther down on my list so I can take time to de-google a Pixel phone that just came. But! I will do this home network someday and I’ll post about it so that anyone reading this thread will know how to be successful too. :relaxed:

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You are most welcome, @hannahgirl!
Once you get your hands on it, everything becomes much easier. Don’t be afraid to experiment, as it’s the best way to learn and it stays with you!
So, if you need anything, please feel free to call out! :slight_smile:

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Hey Vasileios! On the topic of Home Networks, I was wondering if this is a good alternative to the other cloud services we all know and hope to avoid (haha): Ecloud - e Foundation - deGoogled unGoogled smartphone operating systems and online services - your data is your data. It’s probably not as secure as making one’s own network, but I really only want to be able to send/share a document or two with my family once in a while–nothing sensitive or highly personal.

Here’s what I read someone said that got me interested:
“Nextcloud is what eCloud uses. Nextcloud is the open source version of Google’s or Microsft’s 365 online ecosystems.
You can also get the same service through other Nextcloud based providers, or you can create your own Virtual Private Server and put your own version of Nextcloud on it, and completely control your data yourself.”

What are your thoughts about Ecloud? Any warnings or tips/advice? Thanks so much :relaxed:

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Hey @hannahgirl!
I haven’t personally used eCloud, but it does look quite enticing. However, it appears that you may need to set it up on an actual server you will need to manage (such as a VPS). That’s if they actually support a free version. Otherwise, if your budget can handle it, it can be a good solution - though it offers much more than you may actually need.

Another safe solution is also pcloud, which can be budget friendly and is quite secure and private:

You might want to look at Synology RAID systems (just the 2 drive ones), which create a cloud where you can create a variety of users and share files via the internet. And you will have that drive at home.

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This morning (July 12,'24) on JP’s technology chat, Mtn Mama asked:

“can MS steal my data just from being on the same wifi? I work from home, so wondering if my logging into my work computer allows MS to access my other data on the network?”

We all remember Snowden’s big reveal that Big Brother is watching us?

What data might other systems on our network be able to see?

Today our home network contains family member laptops, phones, watches, printers, game consoles TVs and even FRIDGES.

A family of 4 suggests a pretty big shared network. Each device sharing a common Internet connection using a myriad of protocols (Types of Internet Protocols - GeeksforGeeks) to chat with other local devices and the larger Internet cloud.

We know that Big Tech considers your data so important they go to incredible lengths to capture and sell it.

What information might a device on your home network see?

  • Does your TV know you have a printer?
  • Does the Smart Speaker know how many wifi spots are available?
  • Does Microsoft Windows know there is a game console and a LINUX machine on the network?
  • Does Redit know you are on a VPN?

I don’t know. Probably.

And the answer is probably worth knowing.

Consider that when you add a new device to the network the first activity is to get online. You will be asked to connect to your WIFI.

A big list!

Is the new device sharing all those hotspots with it’s vendor?

We know Google and Apple uses global wifi and bluetooth knowledge to “Find my device” and support Tiles.

Add BLUETOOTH headphones… Another long list of devices in your neighborhood also probably shared with vendors!

Adding devices to your network is risky business, yet we rarely consider what information we are giving away.

So what do Mnt Mama and I do about her question?

How do we protect our network data?

I don’t know.

Jeff offers a “Remove My Data” course (i am not a subscriber but wholly support it) that helps you protect your personal data. But how do you protect the data that describes your personal hardware and how close it is to all your neighbors and more? If Microsoft knows you have a Linux machine, do they care?

I don’t know.

Maybe someone on this forum can help me and Mtn Mama understand.

I’m going to finally set up a personal firewall and will post all the info I can see while I discover what ports I need to protect and protocols I need to be aware of to protect my privacy and devices from malware.

“I’ll be back”

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very good questions … maybe this topic would make for a great "beginners class " lesson …
The best ways to set up and secure your connection to the internet … from modem, router, on to WiFi … and beyond … explained so a retired boomer could understand … I used to replace My net-gear wifi along with my banking laptop almost every tax season because I just didn’t trust them …kept getting the feeling that someone was looking over my shoulder all the time … haven’t had that feeling as bad since switching completely over to Linux …checks watch … almost four years ago now … good news was it gave me a lot of laptops to learn Linux on and after I set them up I’d give them to friend and family …

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I know that feeling!
Replacing networking gear bi-annually is probably a good idea (if we can afford it!). Alternatively we could take that time of year to audit our systems thoroughly.

Good habits to develop might include:

Change:

  • Primary router password
  • Wifi access point(s) password(s) (will affect all the IoT devices like TV, phones +++ so this will be a big boring project most will avoid but probably shouldn’t)
  • Logins! for Linux etc
  • eMail passwords
  • Password Manager

Backup:

  • Tidy up your Home directory
  • Check disk use with **df** to be sure none of your disks are getting over 80% full
  • Complete annual back-up snapshots of home directory and store copy in a safe location.

Review:

  • ALL online account (update list) logins (keep? delete data? update security!)
  • Check your emails accounts: https://haveibeenpwned.com/

…

Regarding Home Network Security

Most advice I’m seeing suggests that home users with a simple home network protected by an up-to-date main router DO NOT NEED a firewall. A properly configured router blocks all incoming traffic by default. (Gamers will need to protect ports and DMZ they open up etc).

If you use SSH or other remote services, you will want to understand the ports in use and review security.

What is starting to occur to me is that the biggest risk to your home network is those pesky email phish and web links you should know better than to click. And wow they are getting hard to detect so triple check the destination URL before clicking any links.

The thing that is now foremost on my PRIVACY RADAR is the outgoing requests and the network inquiry services that are embedded all over our systems.

Wifi and Bluetooth maintain and broadcast to their external partners (not ours) the network topology. (Tiles use this globally captured info to locate subscriber devices)

I use piHole to block ads and it shows a list of permitted and blocked DNS requests.

Aside from the ad severs like ads.google and doubleclick I notice a lot of “PINGS” and outbound requests I didn’t make.

My linux distro sends a request to the maintainer all day to help them count installed users and check for updates. I have been blocking many of these requests. Most of the time everything still works as I manually update my system weekly.

My desktop pings its maintainer as do many of my software packages. Ostensibly these are friendly but are they just noting a random user asked for a list of available updates or is there a log with my ip and other details?

I have not learned how to see what they are sending and what the various vendors might be logging.

“i’ll be back”

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Great advice … my “home Network” consists of which device I have on at any given time … and rarely connect two at the same time … I have separate devices for different needs … two different laptops duel booting gives me four separate … add that I also use Virtual Machines on the second laptop …the only other thing in the house that is connected is an old Roku stick that I bought around ten years ago … it’s so old that you have to plug it in to a wall plug for power … which I only plug in when needed … Have gone through life maintaining a “low profile” and too old to change … :sunglasses: I have to add that I have a friend that has his whole house connected … he can control lights, overhead fans, his security cameras … even his refrigerator is connected … I laugh at him … and he laughs at me gave me a tinfoil covered bowler hat one time … to honer him I wear it when I visit …

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