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6.1.4. Websites
In many cases, you can find websites that are used to distribute free software programs and to bring together the community of its developers and users. These sites are loaded with relevant information in various forms such as official documentation, frequently asked questions (FAQ), and mailing list archives. In most cases, the FAQ or mailing list archives address problems that you have encountered. As you search for information online, it is immensely valuable to master search syntax. One quick tip: try restricting a search to a specific domain, like the one dedicated to the program that is giving you trouble. If the search returns too many pages or if the results do not match what you seek, you can add the keyword kali or debian to limit results and target relevant information.
From the Error to a If the software returns a very specific error message, enter it into a search engine Solution (between double quotes, ”, in order to search for the complete phrase, rather than the individual keywords). In most cases, the first links returned will contain the answer
that you need.
In other cases, you will get very general errors, such as “Permission denied”. In this case, it is best to check the permissions of the elements involved (files, user ID, groups, etc.). In short, don’t get in the habit of always using a search engine to find a solution to your problem. You will find it is much too easy to forget to use common sense.
From the Error to a If the software returns a very specific error message, enter it into a search engine Solution (between double quotes, ”, in order to search for the complete phrase, rather than the individual keywords). In most cases, the first links returned will contain the answer
that you need.
In other cases, you will get very general errors, such as “Permission denied”. In this case, it is best to check the permissions of the elements involved (files, user ID, groups, etc.). In short, don’t get in the habit of always using a search engine to find a solution to your problem. You will find it is much too easy to forget to use common sense.
If you do not know the address of the software’s website, there are various means of locating it. First, look for a Homepage field in the package’s meta-information (apt show package). Al- ternatively, the package description may contain a link to the program’s official website. If no URL is indicated, the package maintainer may have included a URL in the /usr/share/ doc/package/copyright file. Finally, you may be able to use a search engine (such as Google, DuckDuckGo, Yahoo, etc.) to find the software’s website.