Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2021 February 2

= February 2 =

Delete a file in Git and add another file with the same name
At work I am using Git for source control. I found that one file had become useless so I used  to delete it and   to confirm the changes. Now I have later found out that I will probably need to add a different file under the exact same name. Is it OK if I simply use  and   to add it, or will I somehow mess up the version history? J I P &#124; Talk 02:02, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * It should work just fine. WhoAteMyButter ( 📨 │ 📝 ) 05:01, 2 February 2021 (UTC)

Question about working from home
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been forced to work from home for almost a year. I quite like the situation because I can avoid spending time for the trips to get to the office and back. But there is a fundamental question here.

I have two separate computers. My personal computer, a HP Z420 workstation running Fedora 32 Linux, and my work computer, a Thinkpad laptop running Windows 10. Every single weekday I have to switch between the two, because I only have one monitor and one Internet connection. This has become a burden.

At my previous job I worked briefly from home, using my boss's computer in his office, connecting to it via TeamViewer, which runs both on Linux and on Windows. I'd like to take my work computer back to the office and connect to it via TeamViewer like I was doing in my previous job, but there's a problem. In my previous job, my boss initiated a TeamViewer session every day and invited me to join it. Now I would have to either travel to the office myself, which defeats the point of working from home, or ask someone at the office to initiate a TeamViewer session for me from my work computer.

Is there some way to have a TeamViewer session permanently open, or is there a different way to connect to a Windows 10 computer remotely from a Fedora 32 Linux computer? J I P &#124; Talk 02:11, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * It looks like it is possible if you enable Remote Desktop on your Windows system and use an RDP client on your Linux system. See .  It may depend on which version of Windows you are using.   RudolfRed (talk) 03:14, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * , while I have not used it personally, I have it on good authority that Synergy might be able to do what you want. Unless you are married to TeamViewer. Elizium23 (talk) 04:08, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Is https://www.teamviewer.com/en/info/unattended-remote-access/ any help? I have used Teamviewer without setting up a call on the remote machine - although it does need to be left on permanently.  Another option you might explore is a KVM switch and a router or Ethernet switch for your internet access.
 * Sorry, I can't help with your technical question, but could I ask what the burden is? I'm in broadly the same boat and saved myself some time by getting extra cables so that, for example, changing my monitor over doesn't require physical hot swapping, just switching of inputs via the settings buttons on the monitor. Time for work? Switch the input to HDMI. Time for fun? Switch to mDP. Maybe that's a simpler option? Matt Deres (talk) 19:53, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * How are you connecting to the Internet? If you have a broadband router, then they generally have several network sockets. Buy an extra cable and connect both machines to the router. If not, buy a simple router to act as a splitter. Or, can one of the machines use wi-fi? As Matt says, most reasonably modern screens will accept multiple inputs and allow you to switch between them. So, get a second video cable and all should be well. All the remote access stuff seems rather vulnerable to me — GhostInTheMachine talk to me 21:02, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Teamviewer allows you to set up a password for unattended access. This will work limited in the free version, but the commercial version does offer this. The alternative is mentioned above, Remote desktop access usually gives better performance but, for security reasons, should only be done from an internal network, so you should have a VPN connection to your work for this. This is not required for Teamviewer, where the only requirement is an internet connection. Rmvandijk (talk) 08:39, 3 February 2021 (UTC)

How would I use 4chan in China?
4chan is a popular imageboard website. The website is not blocked in China at the moment, but to submit a post, you need to complete the reCAPTCHA, which does not work in China. However, 4chan does not let you submit a post from a VPN. Is it possible to complete the CAPTCHA while connected to the VPN, disconnect the VPN, and quickly submit while the green check mark is displayed? Félix An (talk) 02:54, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * 4chan does have a "pass" system, (see here). It does cost money, but VPNs cost money regardless. WhoAteMyButter ( 📨 │ 📝 ) 02:57, 2 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I was trying to figure out a possible way to get it to work without paying extra. Oh well, if it I guess I might just not post there then while I'm off studying in China (lots of annoying stuff there anyways). I'm just figuring out how I would use many of my favourite websites while I am off to study in China for the next 4 years. Thanks! Félix An (talk) 03:03, 2 February 2021 (UTC)


 * I see two options, both of which require some technical know-how.
 * The first would be to somehow tell your browser to use the VPN connection for certain domains (for instance, the various Google domains used for reCAPTCHA) and the standard, un-tunnelled connection for others. This must be feasible, but whether it is easy is another question entirely. You might want to check your VPN client (maybe you can give a whitelist or blacklist that does exactly that).
 * The second, which I have personally used for a similar problem, rests on the assumption that you can SSH into a server at a non-China location. If you maintain your own SSH-reachable server, you probably would not be asking that question, so I assume you do not; however, if you have an account at your home university and the firewall is permissive enough, that would work. The idea would be to use that server as a VPN (4chan's VPN block is likely implemented by blocking IP pools of well-known VPN providers; by design, there is no "I am a VPN" property in connection requests). IMO this page in French is the best explanation of the process that you can find (but it's in French); in English, here are step-by-step instructions for Windows. Tigraan Click here to contact me 10:41, 5 February 2021 (UTC)
 * Bear in mind as with most attempts to bypass the GFW, I'm pretty sure trying to SSH can be blocked. You need a combination of knowing what you're doing (more than just the basics of SSH), luck and doing it at the right time (i.e. not at a time when blocking is high). See [//www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/cj1yvq/strange_behavior_when_trying_to_ssh_in_from_china/] or these old discussions [//news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10101653] [//www.reddit.com/r/China/comments/920te9/theyre_even_blocking_ssh_now/] [//greycoder.com/tips-and-rumors-about-avoiding-the-chinese-firewall-january-2019/] [//blog.zorinaq.com/my-experience-with-the-great-firewall-of-china/]. Assuming the IP you're trying to SSH to is a major universities range perhaps they're less likely to block it but I wouldn't count on it. As illustrated by some of the above answers, one intermediate option is to connect to a VPN and then SSH via the VPN. That way you have a hopefully cleanish IP to present to the world. Of course you still need to deal with the VPN blocking as I mentioned below, but at least there you hopefully have a number of options and also can get more feedback from other users if the problem is your side or blocking. (As mentioned in some of the comments above, I think one of the problems dealing with the GFW is that be difficult to know if the problems you're facing are just general issues from either your connection or the service you're trying to access, or blocking by the GFW.) Nil Einne (talk) 13:53, 8 February 2021 (UTC)
 * I hope you're aware that using a VPN in China can be difficult, and you probably need to subscribe to multiple ones in case one stops working in China [//www.travelchinacheaper.com/vpns-still-work-china]. Nil Einne (talk) 13:23, 8 February 2021 (UTC)