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The Ubuntu community has contributed 22700 ideas, 138270 comments, 2629576 votes
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Popular ideas Here are random ideas about Ubuntu.

Streamline boot-up process when using full-disk encryption  
Written by mrtorrent the 27 Jul 11 at 08:40. Global category: Usability. New
Using full-disk encryption adds another authentication step to the boot process, by default a passphrase. For most home users, this is probably an unnecessary complication and obstacle to the good security practice of encrypting their data. In addition, this doesn't fit well with a multi-user environment, as by default everyone has to share the encryption password. Full-disk encryption would be much more usable if the boot-up process was streamlined.
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Solution #1: Log in before boot
Written by mrtorrent the 27 Jul 11 at 08:40.
Require a user to login (e.g. by entering their username and password, plugging in a key device, etc.) at the beginning of the boot process and use these credentials to both decrypt the disk and log the user in, thereby cutting down authentication to a single step and allowing the boot process to complete without further user intervention. This would also eliminate the need for disseminating a shared secret (the encryption key) and open up the possibility of managing which users have permission to decrypt the disk.

I believe the rough technical implementation would be to store the encryption key for the disk on the boot partition, itself encrypted by each user's login credentials.

There of course should be options to use the old method of entering a passphrase, or a security device, or some combination of methods.

This is all inspired by the release of Apple's most recent OS version, Lion, which handles full-disk encryption in roughly this way, and is therefore a lot more usable.
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Solution #2: Preboot account-Login with auto-login option when using FDE-authentication
Written by ester4 the 31 Aug 11 at 10:18.
For those users on multi-user machines, the account login could serve as the decryption key and account login.

But for single-user machines with a really long decryption key password (like 50 digits), then the account-login could be told to auto-login. This auto-login would functionally behave exactly like if the user had typed in the account-login.
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Solution #3: #1 with TokenTube
Written by cfwk the 28 Sep 11 at 23:40.
Use TokenTube: http://sourceforge.net/projects/tokentube/
This solution already suppports PreBootAuthentification and an unlimited number of users for LUKS/dm-crypt encryption.

See the 2 comments or propose a solution >>

Mark original installation  
Written by millybreak the 15 Sep 08 at 10:48. Related project: Synaptic package manager. New
Supported applications/packages are indicated by an Ubuntu-icon, to make it easier to find "safe" installations. There is, however, nothing to indicate what belongs to the original installation.
Marking such items with, f.i, an asterix, will provide an easy way for less experienced users to avoid uninstallation of packages that belong to the original Ubuntu installation, thus keeping their system safe and stable.

This idea came up after reading Pjotrs' "Do this first" tips, where it is suggested to NOT remove originally installed pacakages, and then finding out there's no way to see which those are.
http://forum.ubuntu-nl.org/topic/31765
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Solution #1: Auto-generated solution of idea #13242
Written by millybreak the 15 Sep 08 at 10:48.
Ubuntu Brainstorm was updated in January 2009. Since the idea #13242 was submitted before this update, its rationale and solution are not separated. Please vote accordingly, and if you have the necessary rights, please separate the rationale from the solution. Thanks!

See the 4 comments or propose a solution >>

Allow user to Authenticate when an operation fails because of permissions  
Written by braaivleis the 22 Nov 08 at 21:32. Related project: Nautilus. New
If the user performs an operation and it fails because of a lack of permissions, the error dialog should not only inform the user of this but also allow the user to Authenticate himself and retry the operation.

"Pre" authentication is already in use in ubuntu in the form of the "Unlock" button in admin dialogs.

Allowing the user to retry with more permissions will make life easier.

A scenario of how this could be used:
A user tries to delete a file(s) created by root (using nautilus), the user is then told that the operation failed on a particular file because of a lack of permissions.

The error dialog will then present the options to either "skip", "skip all", "cancel", "Authenticate" and "Authenticate All". When the authenticate options are selected, the operation could be retried with the user rights entered (can even reuse the Authenticate dialog).

"Authenticate All" option will allow the user to make use of the permissions for the rest of the files.

This will save the user time because he no longer needs to go and change the permissions manually after it failed.
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Solution #1: Auto-generated solution of idea #15877
Written by braaivleis the 22 Nov 08 at 21:32.
Ubuntu Brainstorm was updated in January 2009. Since the idea #15877 was submitted before this update, its rationale and solution are not separated. Please vote accordingly, and if you have the necessary rights, please separate the rationale from the solution. Thanks!

See the 7 comments or propose a solution >>

Desktop notification managment  
Written by gavin.olukoju the 30 Mar 09 at 15:04. Related project: ubuntu.com. New
The new notification system is great, however there should be a central means of managing which applications can and cannot send desktop notifications as a pop up. This will provide a benefit on a particularly eventful machine in reducing messages that may prove distracting. In some work environments a user may not want elements of a private or sensitive conversation in pidgin / other messaging client displayed in a notification window, situations where this may occur are presentations, pair programming, open plan offices etc.
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Solution #1: Notification managment
Written by gavin.olukoju the 30 Mar 09 at 15:04.
An separate application that controls which programs that may use the desktop notification system to display messages. Possibly living in System > Preferences
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Solution #2: Silent mode
Written by grofaty the 31 Mar 09 at 18:41.
I suggest to make it possible to use some kind of silent mode for notifications. Notifications will still be send, but not displayed on monitor. When user wants to check if there are some useful notifications she can.

This would also be nice if someone leaves PC and go to lunch or coffee and comes back and there can be some kind of useful message to check in notification program/log.
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Solution #3: Integrate Silent Mode with Lock Screen
Written by jamesisin the 14 Apr 09 at 00:35.
Run with solution 2 and spawn that whenever you lock your screen (and perhaps when it goes idle).

See the 1 comments or propose a solution >>

Setting System Security Level During Installation  
Written by manas.shaikh the 12 Jan 09 at 22:47. Global category: Usability. New
I have a Ubuntu box which I use at home. It's dual boot for some stupid Windows programs that I need.

It becomes a painful affair when I have mounted a Windows partition/a CD/a Flash drive, and then logged out. Somebody else has logged in, and wants to use that drive. Ubuntu has locked that drive and the other user can't access it until I release that drive. (Funny thing is, by default they are in my group and can see my home folder!)

Such settings make sense if the computer is being used at, let's say an office. However, at home, it does not make a whole lot of sense.

On the other hand, at home, the inbound connections are relatively uncommon (unless one has multiple boxes at home), whereas at office, inbound connections are more common.

Then, non-admins can't mount Windows drive. Now all the other users at my home do not have enough expertise that they can safely handle a admin account. So every time they want to use a Windows drive, I have to step in and help them.

Why don't we then offer a security level during installation of Ubuntu?

Home
Office
Home/Office
Insecure Network

For a "Home" level security, every user can have read access to the drives that others mount. And both "admin" and "ordinary" users can mount/unmount drives.

With Home/Office as the default setting?

By the way, it needs to be mentioned that Ubuntu is by far the best distro I have seen.

[....]
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Solution #1: Auto-generated solution of idea #17236
Written by manas.shaikh the 12 Jan 09 at 22:47.
Ubuntu Brainstorm was updated in January 2009. Since the idea #17236 was submitted before this update, its rationale and solution are not separated. Please vote accordingly, and if you have the necessary rights, please separate the rationale from the solution. Thanks!

See the 2 comments or propose a solution >>

Software center asks for password too often  
Written by snostorm the 27 Oct 09 at 15:01. Related project: Ubuntu Software Center. New
If you go to install something via the software center, it installs it system-wide, which of course requires a password.

Now this is obviously annoying, but would also seem to also cause a security risk; if the user gets used to entering his password at any point, he may enter it when he has no idea why the dialog is there, allowing malware to get root access.

Of course, the password dialogs are a necessary part of security. But everything in the default repositories is known to be safe, and a password is required to add non-standard repos.
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Solution #1: Have the software center install per-user by default
Written by snostorm the 27 Oct 09 at 15:01.
By having the software center install per-user by default, the password is no longer required, without compromising security. An option could be added to install for the full system, which would require a password.

Add a comment or propose a solution >>

easier to unlock screen  
Written by theQxQ the 26 Oct 12 at 17:04. Related project: Live CD. New
I find myself constintly locking the screen to do something as simple as getting a drink of water. yet when I come back a minuet later, I have to type in my huge password, meant to keep people from hacking in while it's shut down. I don't need that much securty while my computer is locked for just a couple minuets, just something small to keep someone from posting something unwanted want while I'm away.
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Solution #1: allow use of smaller password
Written by theQxQ the 26 Oct 12 at 17:04.
after the first few minuets of locking the screen, allow the use of a smaller password. the average person won't be able to figure out the smaller password in the first couple of minuets after the screen is locked. and to prevent the guess and check method, you will have to use the longer password if the smaller one is miss guessed the first few times.

of coarse something like this shouldn't be enable by default, and maybe shouldn't even be in the normal settings, but an advance settings page, or different settings program. it is confusing to have to remember two different passwords.
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Solution #2: facial reconization
Written by theQxQ the 26 Oct 12 at 17:07.
allow an option to do facial reconization. an becaue facial reconization can be unreliable, allow the option to only allow facial reconizaion untill a few minuets after locking the screen.
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Solution #3: use a "draw to unlock" password.
Written by theQxQ the 26 Oct 12 at 17:14.
allow the option to draw lines from one point to the next to unlock the screen. this can be very secure and much faster then normal passwords. this can also be very secure. if you specify that your mouse has to get to a certain point in a screen before, or after some point in time since you were at a previose point, your password could become very secure.
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Solution #4: use key-down and key-up events when typing a password.
Written by theQxQ the 26 Oct 12 at 17:21.
when you hold shift while pushing a letter, you get a capital letter, making your password a lot stronger. what if you could hold any key while making your password. it would be unbreakable. so a password would be something like this.
(p-down, a-down, p-up, s-down, s-up, s-down, s-up, a-up, w-down, o-down, r-down, d-down, r-up, d-up, o-up, w-up)
this would be just as quick as typin in your password, but thousand times more secure. so people can make a smaller password, with less worry about hacking. (this technocly makes a normal password stored twice as long, which make tons more possible password). it also makes it harder for someone looking over your sholder to figure out what you are typing in.
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Solution #5: #1 and add the relevant security warning
Written by Ssdg the 6 Nov 12 at 08:59.
Problem: I gave my sister my Android phone locked with a pattern, she looked at the screen and unlocked it with no hint from me. Why? because the pattern is often visible on the screen because of the trace your fingers leave.

As it is obviously a feature lots of people want, it seams important to tell them its protection is weak (at best)
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Solution #6: Add an "Alternative Login Options" configuation dialog.
Written by linuxlalala the 17 Nov 12 at 06:24.
Cannonical can add a dialog which lets users configure how they want to log in. An example mockup (license CC-BY-NC-SA) can be found at http://i.minus.com/iEalX8rXItStK.png .

See the 6 comments or propose a solution >>

allow to select security updates only in the update manager  
Written by _sebastian_ the 23 Mar 10 at 22:39. Related project: Update manager. New
currently when using the right click menu there are only two options:
- Uncheck all
- Check all

Sometimes there are quite a few updated and I would like to install only the updates from the security fixes repository.

see http://bayimg.com/AalibAaCH
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Solution #1: add the option to select only security fixes
Written by _sebastian_ the 23 Mar 10 at 22:39.
as the title suggests...

add the option "Check all/only security fixes" to the right click menu
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Solution #2: Add check boxes for different subheaders
Written by Otus the 26 Mar 10 at 13:15.
Depending on the source repository, the updates are under different headers, like "Proposed". Each of these should have a check box that applies to all the packages under it.

See the 1 comments or propose a solution >>