[GTALUG] Linux on Chromebook

[Sammy Lao]

Michael:

The big advantage with ChromeOS (and running Linux inside ChromeOS) is that you can use Android apps.

How come you are not using the Android version of Wireguard or OpenVPN?


> On Sep 15, 2022, at 00:58, Michael Galea via talk <talk at gtalug.org> wrote:
> 
> On 2022-09-01 21:00, Michael Galea via talk wrote:
>>> On 2022-08-26 18:40, Michael Galea via talk wrote:
>>> I am hoping to tap the wisdom of the list.  I'm going traveling and I
>>> don't want to lug around my 5.2 pound T420. Not on this trip.
>>> 
>>> If I buy a cheap refurb Chromebook from Best Buy or Canada Computers:
>>> - Will I have luck wiping ChromeOS and installing Debian? Can I still
>>> encrypt the disk?
>>> - If instead I just run Linux on Chromebook, can I run a wireguard VPN?
>>> - Can anyone recommend a minimum spec level for the machine?
>>> 
>> Thanks to Colin, Hugh and others for their advice.
>> I went with the Lenovo Ideapad 3 11", mainly because of the weight.
>> Setup was straightforward, and performance was surprisingly good.
>> I installed the latest Debian on it but found that ChromeOS would not use Debian's kernel.  This breaks wireguard VPN as debian builds a kernel module that matches the resident kernel.
>> There is a voodoo approach to flashing the chromebook with debian directly but this version is new enough to not be supported by the tool chains that are out there, and I am cowardly.
>> So for now I'll use Linux to ssh and mutt while away. In retrospect, I should have taken Colin's advice and blown away the Windows laptop with debian.
> 
> The final point I have arrived at with running Linux on Chromebook is:
> 1) I'm running Debian Bullseye in the Linux container on the chromebook.
> 2) I can ssh home through a hole in the firewall opened by knockd.
> 3) I can vnc home through a hole opened by knockd.
> 4) I can raise a VPN home using the StrongVPN wireguard android app.
> 5) I have ran gimp, calibre and thunderbird on chromebook from the Linux
> container.
> 
> Its #4 that is giving me pause. I have to have real trust in the StrongVPN app which I can't audit.  The company, which offers commercial access for their own VPN, seems to get rave reviews.  Does anyone on the list have any experience with strongVPN?
> 
> -- 
> Michael Galea
> 
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