Deploying a Self-Hosted Pastebin with PrivateBin

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Introduction

PrivateBin is a self-hosted, open-source pastebin that allows users to share text and code snippets securely. Unlike public pastebin services, PrivateBin encrypts data client-side, ensuring privacy. This guide will walk you through setting up PrivateBin on a Linux server.

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Step 1: Install Required Dependencies

1. Update your package list:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

2. Install Apache or Nginx and PHP:

sudo apt install -y apache2 php php-fpm php-xml php-json php-mbstring unzip

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Step 2: Download and Configure PrivateBin

1. Navigate to the web directory:

cd /var/www

2. Download the latest PrivateBin release:

sudo wget https://github.com/PrivateBin/PrivateBin/archive/refs/heads/master.zip

3. Extract the archive and rename the folder:

sudo unzip master.zip && mv PrivateBin-master privatebin

4. Set proper permissions:

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/privatebin

5. Configure PrivateBin settings:

sudo nano /var/www/privatebin/cfg/conf.php

Modify the settings as needed, then save and exit.

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Step 3: Set Up a Web Server

Using Apache

1. Create a new VirtualHost file:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/privatebin.conf

2. Add the following configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
	ServerName yourdomain.com
	DocumentRoot /var/www/privatebin

	<Directory /var/www/privatebin>
		AllowOverride All
		Require all granted
	</Directory>

	ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/privatebin_error.log
	CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/privatebin_access.log combined

Using Nginx

1. Create a new server block:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/privatebin

2. Add the following configuration:

server {
	listen 80;
	server_name yourdomain.com;
	root /var/www/privatebin;

	index index.php;

	location / {
		try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
	}

	location ~ \.php$ {
		include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
		fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php-fpm.sock;
		fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
		include fastcgi_params;
	}
}

3. Enable the site and restart Nginx:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/privatebin /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx

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Step 4: Secure PrivateBin with HTTPS

1. Install Certbot for Let’s Encrypt:

sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-apache

(for Apache)

sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-nginx

(for Nginx)

2. Obtain an SSL certificate:

sudo certbot --apache -d yourdomain.com

(for Apache)

sudo certbot --nginx -d yourdomain.com

(for Nginx)

3. Verify that HTTPS is working by visiting https://yourdomain.com.

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Conclusion

You have successfully set up a self-hosted PrivateBin instance. This allows you to share text securely while maintaining control over your data. Regularly update your server and PrivateBin installation to ensure security and stability.