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Running programmes in ubuntu 8.1

I am just a beginner so please bear with me. I am keen on privacy and successfully installed secure-delete but I can find no way to run it. In the pdf "debian commands" it shows you how to do everything except how to run a programme that has no shortcut. Please help.

Usually programs are installed in the /usr/bin (generally for programs that can be run as any user) or /usr/sbin (generally only can be run as the root superuser). A good what to find where a program has been installed is to open a command line and type

Code:

which programname

In your case, you'll replace programname with srm. Then you can create a shortcut to the file and put it in your menu.

What linux distribution are you running?

Edit: sorry, you're asking for Ubuntu 8.10, I see that now...

According to this link, you can only run secure delete programs from the command line. So you really can't create a shortcut.

Run programmes in ubuntu 8.1

I told you anyone replying to me would be scratching their heads. I did what you said but got the message "E: Invalid operation which". The link you kindly provided was about "shred". The secure-delete programme is for deleting free space. Does that make a difference?

What command did you issue exactly? From looking at the Ubuntu package for secure-delete, the programs are /usr/bin/sfill, /usr/bin/smem, /usr/bin/srm, and /usr/bin/sswap.

Read further down the link and it talks about secure-delete.

Maybe it would be better if you told us what you are trying to accomplish.

Edit: what PDF file are you talking about above? Do you have a link?

Quote:

Originally Posted by vespasian023 (Post 3532331)

[I did what you said but got the message "E: Invalid operation which".

The error "E: Invalid operation" comes out from a badly formed apt-get command. If you tell us the exact command you used (not only the error message) we can guide you in the right direction.

Anyway, if you installed secure-delete from the ubuntu package-manager (synaptic or apt-get or "Add/Remove Software") you should have it installed in the standard place. This mean that the executables are located in a directory known by the shell, because it is listed in the PATH environment variable (you can find information about environment variables in any linux tutorial).

If you want to list the executables provided by the package, you can use the command

Code:

dpkg -L secure-delete | grep bin

the output of this command is

Code:

/usr/bin

/usr/bin/srm

/usr/bin/sfill

/usr/bin/sswap

/usr/bin/smem

this tells you that the secure-delete package provides 4 executables: srm, sfill, sswap, smem (as pljvaldez already pointed out). At this point you can start by reading the manual page of these programs to see what they exactly do, then you can run them by simply typing their name in the command line, for example:

Code:

srm --help

where --help is an option common to almost all linux commands, which causes the program to display a short help and exit. Here is a brief tutorial on how to use secure-delete.

Thank you all for trying to help. I have tried all the things suggested, but no go. I will start from the beginning if you don't mind.
I like my privacy, online or not, and after years putting up with microsoft, crashes, browser hyjackers et al, I finally snapped when, after downloading Windows defender a pop-up landed on my desktop telling me that my version of windows was not activated and that I had 30 days to do so. I entered the required information and nothing happened. i rang the frrephone number and gave them the code again. Nothing happened and I then decided to get rid rid of the arragent swines. I had to nuke my hard drive and install Debian/ubuntu 8.1.04. I have managed so far, but I don't really understand the use of the terminal.

I have everything I want except the ability to delete free disk space. I can permanently delete files using File Shredder Pro. I downloaded Eraser using "wine" and it seems to work, but it does list a lot of things that it is unable to delete, so I am not confident that my free space is wiped. I then downloaded secure-delete using the package installer and it is installed, but I don't know how to run it.

The only use of the terminal I know is using sudo. I type the following and this is all I know about it.
sudo dpkg --configure -a
type in password
sudo apt-get install ........

Quote:

Originally Posted by vespasian023 (Post 3535669)

[B]Thank you all for trying to help. I have tried all the things suggested, but no go.

What have you tried exactly? Did you run one of the secure-delete commands? Any error message? Have you read the man pages?

Here is a brief howto I found googlin' around. Maybe it make things more clear.

PS - Please don't use bold characters: in a forum it means yelling! ;)

I hope that you are flexible enough to learn how to use a new tool. :) (My sister-in-law "knows" how to use her Windows XP laptop, but absolutely refuses to lean any of the easier ways -- e.g., cut and paste -- to accomplish some tasks. But she's 78 years old, and not much interested in learning newfangled ways to do what she can do the hard way.)

So, bite the bullet, open a terminal window, and type man sfill.

Basically, running a command for which there is no "menu" entry is as simple as that: Open a terminal window and type in the command name and any arguments it needs.

Entered what you said. It will not accept -I. Can someone please tell me what EXACTLY I need to enter in a new terminal screen.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vespasian023 (Post 3536105)

Entered what you said. It will not accept -I. Can someone please tell me what EXACTLY I need to enter in a new terminal screen.

Sorry but I do not understand what you're talking about: what is -I? What did you entered exactly? Have you looked at the web page I linked in my previous post? It contains some simple examples you can try on the command line.

And the most important thing: read the man pages! To do that open a terminal and run the following:

Code:

man srm

use the space-bar or the enter key to scroll down, press "q" to quit the manual.