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@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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