sudo su -
mkdir .acme.sh
cd .acme.sh
curl https://get.acme.sh | sh -s email=your_email_address

Get Dynu DNS api

Export environment variables

export Dynu_ClientId="Client ID"
export Dynu_Secret="Secret"

~/.acme.sh/account.conf

Create alias

Add below line to the end of your `~/.bashrc` file

alias acme.sh=~/.acme.sh/acme.sh
source ~/.bashrc

Generating certificate

acme.sh --issue --dns dns_dynu -d domain.com -d www.domain.com

Install the certificates

acme.sh --install-cert -d domain.com -d www.domain.com --key-file /etc/letsencrypt/live/domain.com/privkey.pem --fullchain-file /etc/letsencrypt/live/domain.com/fullchain.pem --reloadcmd "service apache2 force-reload"

Validation

• Restart apache

sudo service apache2 restart

• Open a browser, check the SSL certificate is updated

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/overleaf/toolkit.git
cd toolkit
bin/init

Change listening IP and port

sudo vim config/overleaf.rc

• change YourPORTChoice in OVERLEAF_PORT=YourPORTChoice
• change  OVERLEAF_LISTEN_IPto 0.0.0.0

Build docker images for ARM

This is the key part. One needs to build the arm version of the docker images using the command below.

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/overleaf/overleaf.git
cd overleaf/server-ce

make ARCH=arm build-base
make ARCH=arm build-community

Change image names

The image needs to be renamed, correponding to the version mentioned in the version file below.

docker image tag sharelatex/sharelatex:main sharelatex/sharelatex: x.x.x

Note:
- x.x.x comes from ~/toolkit/config/version

Start service

bin/up -d

Verify the service is accessible

• Access the below link in your browser:

YourServerIP:YourPORTChoice

Creating a new user

bin/docker-compose exec sharelatex /bin/bash -ce "cd /overleaf/services/web && node modules/server-ce-scripts/scripts/add-user --email=your_email_address"

In case the SSD  planned to move the installation to already has data which should be kept, the following steps can be followed.

Create partitions for RPi on the SSD

All the following partition operations can be done inGParted.

First, two partitions corresponding to the micro SD card need to be created on the SSD: bootfs and rootfs. If necessary the existing partition on the SSD should be resized on the left side to allow for the new partitions. The size of these two partitions should be the same as those on the micro SD card.

Clone micro SD partitions into the two partitions on SSD

The following commands can be used to clone the partitions:

sudo dd bs=512M  if=/dev/your_microSD_boot_partition of=/dev/your_ssd_boot_partition
sudo dd bs=512M  if=/dev/your_microSD_root_partition of=/dev/your_ssd_root_partition

The cloned partitions should be checked in GParted to check no errors are given.

UUID settings

Partition UUIDs  need to be adjusted to point to these on the SSD. This includes two parts: /cmdline.txt in bootfs

and /etc/fstab in rootfs. They can be changed by mounting partitions on another Linux machine.

How to check partition PARTUUID and UUID

The PARTUUID and UUID of a partition can be checked by the blow command:

sudo blkid /dev/partition_to_check

cmdline.txt in bootfs partition

Change xxxxxxxx below to the PARTUUID of rootfs partition on the SSD.

root=PARTUUID=xxxxxxxx

/etc/fstab in rootfs partition

Change yyyyyyyy below to the UUID of bootfs partition on the SSD.

Change zzzzzzzz below to the UUID of rootfs partition on the SSD.

proc            /proc           proc    defaults          0       0
UUID=yyyyyyyy /boot/firmware  vfat    defaults          0       2
UUID=zzzzzzzz /               ext4    defaults,noatime  0       1

Now, plug your SSD to the Raspberry Pi without your micro SD card plugged. Start the RPi and enjoy!

Prerequisites

• You have a jailbroken Kindle. If not, you can refer to this post.
• Both KUAL and MRPI are installed. If not, refer to this post.

Installing

1. Go to the Snapshots page on MobileRead.
2. Under the right product category, find the USBNetwork Hack. Download the .tar.xz file.
3. Extract the downloaded file, select the correct Update_usbnet_*.bin file. There are multiple update files for different devices, so make sure you select the correct one!
4. Connect your Kindle to your computer via USB cable. Confirm it’s in USB Drive Mode.
5. Place the selected file in Step 3 in /mrpackage/ under your Kindle’s root folder.
6. Disconnect Kindle from the computer.
7. Go to KUAL--Helper--Install MR Packages, install the USBNetwork.

SSH via USB

After installing by default, this is the only possible way to connect. Depending on the OS, some of the following steps can differ:

1. Turn on the SSH server on the Kindle by typing ;un in the search bar then press Enter. This will start the server with its IP as 192.168.15.244 which expects a incoming connection from 192.168.15.201.
2. Configure the network on the client side:
   • macOS: System Settings--Network--RNDIS/Ethernet Gadget--Details--TCP/IP
     • Configure IPv4: Manually
     • IP Address: 192.168.15.201
     • Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
     • The red dot indicating the network should turn green
   • Linux: ifconfig usb0 192.168.15.201
   • Windows: Please check the Windows section of this post.
3. Connecting to server: ssh root@192.168.15.244. No password, so just press Enter.

SSH via WiFi

Now that you have the remote access to your Kindle, you can also turn on the SSH connection via WiFi. There are two reasons that you might want to do this:

1. The connecting is easier as you don’t have to do the plugging and unplugging.
2. It might be easier for the debugging as the Kindle being charged while connecting via USB might influence some system behaviors which make the debugging difficult.

This can be enabled by:

1. Change USE_WIFI option to TRUE for /mnt/us/usbnet/etc/config
2. Restart SSH server in KUAL

Then disconnecting the Kindle from the computer, the server can be accessed by ssh root@YourKindle'sIP (usually it’s 192.168.0|1.x).

Some tidying up

Some of the below are not closely related to SSH but they become a problem once SSH connection is possible.

Start SSH service on boot

1. SSH into Kindle
2. touch /mnt/us/usbnet/auto

Show logs while starting Kindle

1. SSH into Kindle
2. touch /mnt/us/usbnet/verbose

This will show some logs at the bottom of the screen while Kindle is starting.

Give Kindle a static IP

If you want to use SSH via WiFi consistently, it is recommended to use DHCP to give Kindle a static local IP. This can be achieved by a router.

Set a password for root user

This is a major security risk with incoming SSH connection. Essentially without password anyone within your LAN has the access to your Kindle.

1. SSH into Kindle
2. passwd, then enter your new password

Attention, next time when you want to Ssh into your Kindle, you should use the newly-set password.

Use pub key authentication

This is more convenient and securer than a password login. The steps are below:

1. Run ssh-keygen on your client machine. Enter the name you would like it to have. In the end it gives you a private key xxx and a public key xxx.pub.
2. Copy the xxx.pub to /mnt/us/usbnet/etc/ using scp, rename it to authorized_keys
3. Copy xxx to the .ssh folder on your client machine.

Now you should be able to connect your Kindle with pub key authentication.

Some more tweaks

Similar as the SSH service on another Linux machine, there exists a sshd config file in Kindle’s system (/mnt/us/usbnet/etc/sshd_config). There you can do things like turning off password login, restrict login IPs and adjusting port etc.

Closing remarks

Connecting to Kindle via SSH to be honest is not that straightforward comparing to other Linux machines. However, this is not all impossible by following the previously mentioned steps. This exposes the system files to us and make possible further tweaking of the system via scripting.

Why KUAL and MRPI?

Many extensions you can install after jailbreaking the Kindle depends on them, e.g., enabling SSH on the Kindle.

Prerequisites

You have a Kindle which is already jailbroken. If not, refer to this post.

KUAL

It can be installed by following these steps:

1. Go to the Snapshots page on MobileRead, there under the KUAL & KUAL extensions section, you can download the file for the bullet KUAL.
2. Extract the downloaded .tar.xz file.
   • If your Kindle runs firmware 5.x, select file KUAL-KDK-2.0.azw2
   • If your Kindle runs an older firmware, select file KUAL-KDK-1.0.azw2
3. Connect your Kindle to your computer via USB cable. Confirm it’s in USB Drive Mode.
4. Copy the selected file into /documents of your Kindle drive.
5. Disconnect your Kindle and a new book should appear on your home screen.
6. Tap on the book, you enter KUAL, meaning it’s successfully installed.

MRPI

It stands for MobileRead Package Installer, which is an extension of KUAL. You can install many packages using MRPI and it makes your life easier according to MobileRead.

The steps to install are:

1. Go to the Snapshots page on MobileRead, there under the KUAL & KUAL extensions section, you can download the file for the bullet MR Package Installer.
2. Extract the downloaded .tar.xz file.
3. Connect your Kindle to your computer via USB cable. Confirm it’s in USB Drive Mode.
4. Copy all extracted files in Step 2 to the root folder of your Kindle.
5. After disconnecting your Kindle from the computer, you can confirm it’s successfully installed by going to KUAL, there a new helper menu should appear.

Concluding remarks

With these preparations done, many extensions can be installed, which will be shown in the next post.

Downgrading:

This is mainly based on this post on MobileRead.

The firmware on my KW1 is 5.6.6.1 which doesn’t seem to be jailbreaking ready according to MobileRead. Thus, it needs to be downgraded to a supported version of firmware (5.3.3 before applying jailbreaking. The steps are:

1. Download 5.3.3 firmware here
2. Disable your Kindle’s WiFi by turning on airplane mode
3. Connect your Kindle to your computer through USB cable, you should see a wallpaper displaying USB Drive Mode
4. Once connected, copy the download firmware (.bin) to the root of your connected Kindle
5. keep connected, wait for 2 minutes
6. Press and hold power button until Kindle is restarted, now it should be installing the firmware.
7. You can confirm the downgrading after the reboot by going to: Menu--Settings--Menu--device info

If you see 5.3.3 for the firmware, congrats! You have successfully downgraded the firmware on your Kindle Paperwhite 1.

Jailbreaking

This is mainly based on this post on MobileRead.

Now you are on 5.3.3, you can jailbreak your Kindle by following these steps:

1. Download K5 JailBreak (5.0.x - 5.4.4.2) file from Snapshots page on MobileRead.
2. Connect your Kindle to your computer by USB, make sure it’s in USB drive mode
3. Extract the content of the downloaded tar.xz file (not the folder JailBreak itself) to the root folder of your Kindle.
4. Update the Kindle system as you normally will by going to: Menu--Settings--Menu--Update your Kindle. The system will not reboot. Instead, after a few seconds the following text appear **** JAILBREAK ****. This will only appear once.
5. Restart your Kindle by: Menu--Settings--Menu--Restart.

Concluding remarks

Jailbreaking your Kindle opens many new ways for you to use your Kindle. But before going into, several preparations need to be done on the Kindle, which will be shown in another post.

1. On the GoDaddy settings page, go to the DNS management page
   1. Remove GoDaddy default name servers
   2. Add the following name servers from Dynu

      1. NS1.DYNU.COM
         NS2.DYNU.COM
         NS3.DYNU.COM
         NS4.DYNU.COM
         NS5.DYNU.COM
         NS6.DYNU.COM
         NS10.DYNU.COM
         NS11.DYNU.COM

      2. Here, NS10 and NS11 are from Europe. If not added the DNS propagation takes very long for myself to see the change. So just remember to add the NS from your region
   3. Other than this, nothing needs to be done (no c name no a record no site redirection)
2. On Dynu website:
   1. register your domain
   2. Follow this tutorial to enable the local service of Dynu on rpi4 (which I’m using to host this site)
      1. Use md5 of password for safety
      2. echo "password"| md5  is wrong, should be echo -n "password" | md5 which does not keep the trailing new line character
   3. Back to Dynu website, go to DDNS services:
      1. check your domain is there and the ip address was just updated
      2. this can also be done by checking the log file on the script folder on rpi4
      3. or you can directly enter the url in the script file in a browser and see if there’s any error

Now you are good to go! To me, using name servers from a DDNS provider seems to be faster than redirecting the whole site to a DDNS url (which points to my real public IP) on the GoDaddy website.

Backup

Remote way

If you prefer to do it remotely via SSH, use this command:

ssh root@your_rpi_ip "dd if=/dev/your_rpi_sd_card bs=1m | gzip -1 -" | pv | dd of=rpi.gz

your_rpi_ip can be obtained by hostname -I . if is followed by the your sd card path when mounted on RPi, which can be obtained by lsblk -p (make sure the disk you believe to be the SD card matches the size of your SD card!). pv is used here so that the progress of dd can be constantly checked. If you don’t have it, install it using brew install pv if you have homebrew installed. 

Depending on the size of your SD card and your connection speed, it could take some time. So go and get a coffee!

Local way (RPi end)

Similarly, you should be able to dd locally on RPi then scp the image to your PC/Mac. As a result, the SSH part will be stripped away:

dd if=/dev/your_rpi_sd_card bs=1m | gzip -1 - | pv | dd of=rpi.gz

After it’s done, you can use scp to transfer the image file to your PC/Mac.

Local way (PC/Mac end)

This is recommended since it’s faster due to the fact that the SD card is physically connected to your PC/Mac.

1. Remove the SD card from your RPi and connect it to your computer.
2. Check the disk name on your Mac using: diskutil list. Similarly, double check the disk size so that you don’t make a mistake.
3. Same as the local way on RPi end: dd if=/dev/your_rpi_sd_card bs=1m | gzip -1 - | pv | dd of=rpi.gz.

Restoring

It’s also pretty straight-forward for the restoring. The steps are:

1. Connect the SD card to your computer.
2. Check the name of the disk using the method mentioned above
3. Unmount (not eject) the SD card by diskutil unmountDisk /dev/disk_nr
4. Burn the image file into your SD card using: gzip -dc yourRPiImage | pv | sudo dd of=/dev/disk_nr bs=1m

After another coffee, you can plug your SD card back into your RPi. Enjoy your back-to-life RPi.

P.S.

Instead of using pv, progress and watch can be used together to check the status. So run the above commands without pv, and open another terminal and run watch progress, you now even have a progress bar!

Precondition

• apache2 and php already installed and set up on your raspberry pi (raspbian)

 Download and run the automated install (Reference)

Run this command in the terminal:

curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash

1. Select interface: wlan0 (depending on your need, wlan0 is for wifi and eth0 is for the wired connection)
2. Select DNS provider: OpenDNS
3. IPv4&v6: both
4. Use static IP?: Yes
5. Web admin interface: yes
6. Install web server?: No
7. Log query: On
8. Privacy: full

After these steps, a message will appear in the terminal telling you the IP and the password of the admin page (something like http://192.168.x.xxx). Note this down as you will need it later.

Two warnings

The installation finished with two warnings:

1. xxx modules are missing for php
2. the web server user needs to be member of the “pihole” group for full functionality

The first can be solved using sudo apt install php-xxx to install these packages.

The second can be solved by sudo usermod -a -G pihole your_apache2_user.

Some setup on the admin page

On the left, go to group management -> Adlists to add custom list. Below are some that I use:

• Easy list
• Easy privacy
• Developer Dan’s ads&tracking list
• Neohosts basic
• Easylist China

After adding your lists, go to tools -> update gravity -> update.

Check it’s working

Go to a site that you are certain that is riddled with ads or a ab backer checker site (such as this one), and you show see that most of the ads are gone!

Now, enjoy a more pleasant online experience!