Laugh all you like at idiot “Microsofty lusers” being globally tracked by the NSA because their GUID is hardcoded inside their TPM, but then you suddenly remember Linux also has /etc/machine-id.
And you can be sure Chrome is reading it and sending it to Google as harmless “user telemetry analytics” so you can be tracked.
Now I should just say at this point that not every Linux distro uses Machine-ID. And also this isn’t just a requirement to avoid tracking. If you wish to setup say a Linux virtual machine as a template (in order to use for automation, for say Kestra based workflows) then resetting the machine-id could be considered as “best practice.”
To generate a new machine ID, you can run the following commands: remove the existing machine ID files with:
rm -f /etc/machine-id /var/lib/dbus/machine-id and then use dbus-uuidgen --ensure=/etc/machine-id to create a new one
Steps to Generate a New Machine ID
To create a new machine ID on a Linux system, follow these steps:
1. Remove Existing Machine ID Files
First, you need to delete the current machine ID files. Open your terminal and run the following command:
2. Generate a New Machine ID
Next, generate a new machine ID using the dbus-uuidgen command:
3. Verify the New Machine ID
To confirm that the new machine ID has been created, you can check the contents of the /etc/machine-id file:
Important Notes
- Ensure that you have the necessary permissions to execute these commands, typically requiring root access.
- After generating a new machine ID, it is advisable to reboot the system to ensure all services recognize the new ID.
There are risks with changing your machine-id on Linux. Mostly software licence (if applicable). Which may require new licencing due to invalidation.
If you feel this is a risk then maybe a disposable Linux VM maybe a solution, preferably a distribution that is free of systemd slop. There are quite a few now (Alpine, Void-Linux, Chimera-Linux). There is also *BSD of course.