How to Install DumpHD (HD-DVD/Blu-ray Decryptor) in Ubuntu?

Although as far as I know, HD-DVD format is no longer supported... nor any new movies are released using that technology and slowly the rival of HD-DVD, known as Blu-Ray, has replaced the market and is adopted as the new "standard".

But the point is, starting with DVD (which was introduced when I was really young :P) which is followed by HD-DVD and Blu-ray, the content of these disks come encrypted by default using a proprietary system called "AACS" in hope of a "digital rights management", they say.. 

The manufactures has their reasons, saying that the purpose is to reduce abuse of "digital thieves and their activities", but as with MS Windows Vista where a certain encryption algorithm was pre-installed by default (which was more worse than with HD-DVD/Blu-ray) but few days after their initial release, hackers found a way to decrypt the content nonetheless :).

As everyone knows, if you just copy and paste an encrypted Blu-ray (or any other data) other than it consuming GigaBytes of your HDD space, you won't be able to do anything with it whatsoever, because it's encrypted. But interestingly, almost all of these encryptions seems to be a bit weaker than what our computers are capable of and as a result as said before, most of these "encryptions mechanisms" are decrypted as soon as they're released!. 

Anyhow, let me come back to the topic. If you're searching for a HD-DVD/Blu-ray data decryptor for Ubuntu or GNU/Linux in general, then DumpHD is one of the best out there without a doubt. It's written using Java thus as long as you have installed the Java virtual machine (not just in GNU/Linux but it any OS!) in your operating system, DumpHD will run on top of it. Thus it's a cross-platform utility.

Main features...

*. Supports Dual-Core decryption over EVO and m2ts container formats.

*. Decrypts ever ARF protections.

*. Support for every pack type of an EVO (including in-place decryption of ADV_PCKs - slightly incomplete, excluding Sequence Key Sections).

*. Also supports the "old" HD-DVD apart from the obvious contender Blu-Ray.

*. Decrypt the whole disk or file by file (single files).

*. Console out-put.

*. Change out-put directory.

*. 4 Themes (who cares!).

*. A nice, simple GUI.

You can easily install the DumpHD decryptor in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 (might also work in 10.04 or older versions as well) by simply issuing the below command.

sudo apt-get install dumphd

Once installed, simply press "Alt" + "F2" keys and enter the below command to launch it.

dumphd

For the playback, you can use any command media player such as Mplayer, Xine or VLC, etc.

So, decrypting DVD/HD-DVD or Blu-Ray content is illegal, right?

To be honest I don't have a single answer for that. But I think if you really own the media/disk (if you purchased it for yourself) and the reason for the decryption is for back-up the data (in case something happens to the disk, etc) then I think it's pretty much legal, only as long as you don't "share it" with others!.

But that could also change according to the laws of your country. So I personally hold no responsibility over what you do with this app and let me just copy->paste the usual legal notice here :).

Legal Notice: Patent and copyright laws operate differently depending on which country you are in. Please obtain legal advice if you are unsure whether a particular patent or restriction applies to a media format you wish to use in your country.

That's it. (seriously!, don't break any laws :D). Oh btw, if you want additional information, Ubuntu has an excellent help page which explains almost everything. Enjoy.

Install Truecrypt in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal

When properly used, Truecrypt in Ubuntu can be a very powerful tool for protecting your data. Although encryption in general has few of its disadvantageous. For instance, depending on the algorithm and the method (whether it's software based or hardware based, etc)... the more powerful it is the more CPU or PC resources it'll consume.

And if you forgot the master password for accessing the encrypted volume ... then most of the time it can be almost impossible to access that data as well.

But again, depending on your need and the sensitivity of your data, encryption is pretty darn important nonetheless. In that sense, if you want an easy to use, one of the best data encrypting utilities available for your Ubuntu PC/Laptop... then the open source Truecrypt is one of the best!.

From installing in GNU/Linux to using its features... Truecrypt is truly :P an exceptional utility.

Main features...

*. Encrypt partitions (including USB devices, etc).

*. Create encrypted volumes (portable).

*. Create "hidden" volumes within the encrypted volume/partition.

*. Supports few of one of the most powerful algorithms.

*. Encrypts and decrypts your data on-the-fly (oh yeah, it's fast!).

*. Add passwords to your volumes.

*. Dismount all volumes when logging out. 

Truecrypt is a cross-platform app that can be run on MS Windows, GNU/Linux and Mac OSX... and you can easily create a portable version as well (more below)

1. You can install Truecrypt (7.0a version - which is the latest at this moment) in Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal, 10.10 or 10.04 by simply downloading the package from here first. And when downloading, make sure to choose "standard - 32 bit" or the "standard - 64 bit", not the "console only" package.

2. Then extract the content into your "Home" folder.

3. Open your Terminal and enter the below command (the name of the file will differer according to your version and 32/64 bit )

./truecrypt-7.0a-setup-x86

or you can double click on the "truecrypt-7.0a-setup-x86" file (the file name, again will differ according to your version) and once asked choose "run in Terminal".

4. Then you should be prompted with a GUI wizard which is pretty easy to understand and simply follow your instructions on screen (as shown below screenshots).

Step -1: Click on "Install TrueCrypt" ..., if you want make it portable, then choose the other option - "Extract .tar Package file".

Step 2: Click on "I accept and agree..." button.

Step 3: Click on the "OK" button.

Step 3: Now press the "Enter" key on your Keyboard to exit the wizard.

Once installed you can access it via: "Accessories" -> "Truecrypt"

or just press "Alt" + "F2" and enter "truecrypt".

That's it!. Oh btw, you should be able to install Truecrypt in Fedora Core 15 or other versions (including most other GNU/Linux distributions) by using the same method. Good luck.