38.095238095238095% of me is a huge nerd! How about you?
- 30-39%:
- Embrace the nerdness. Don't bother making excuses for why you were watching the sci-fi channel anymore, it's too late for that.
2004-04-15
Huh, thought I'd do better...
2004-04-08
A Babe in Tuxland
Joe Barr on Slashdot writes:
"This is the kind of story that WagEd and MS would love to see in one of their astroturf campaigns. But this story is real grassroots, with a real Sysadmin writing it and a real granddaughter as the babe using Linux. A sweet tale, with tips on Linux for kids."
There is a great post in the discussion following:
My daughter is almost 3 and has been using her own KDE session on my Debian box for the past few months. I set up a username for her, so that I could log her in and know that she couldn't mess up anything I cared about.
We were gobsmacked when we realised that she had figured out how to type her username and password, though. She was *so* pleased with herself when she got that sussed out.
On her desktop, she has Mozilla Firefox set to go to BBC CBeebies [bbc.co.uk] - appropriate content for pre-school and you can't 'escape' the site, since all links are internal. She also enjoys using TuxPaint to draw pictures for us.
I'm hoping she's going to do a spot of Toddler Linux Advocacy at the local playgroups soon ...
Really excellent article, they use SUSE 9.0 (haven't really tried that yet) and KDE (my fav). I may be rethinking the OS I'm putting on the girls' computers... I was (regretfully) going to put Win98 up so they can play the games they have... But with the free stuff that comes with Linux (Maybe Fedora? Or try a better one like Debian...) perhaps I should rethink this plan...
Linux in Canada
Flxstr on Slashdot writes:
"Lots of Linux articles in Canada's national newspaper today, starting with Calgary switching from SUN Unix to Red Hat Linux. Another article discusses whether Linux will become a target for viruses as its popularity grows. This article mentions how Linux costs less, so more firms are becoming interested. Finally, an article discusses how pushes by major vendors such as IBM, HP, and others is speeding acceptance of Linux over other alternatives. Altogether, some good articles for any CIO's desk."
2004-04-01
Google unveils Gmail
Looks like Google is really trying to push the envelope by offering 1 GB free storage for e-mail users via a service called Gmail, still in the testing phase, so that users never need to change their e-mail address. In addition, they want to offer their searching capabilities so that users can search through their entire set of e-mail.
According to their web site, Gmail currently supports the following browsers:
- Microsoft IE 5.5 and newer (Windows)
- Netscape 7.1 and newer (Windows, Macintosh, Linux)
- Mozilla 1.4 and newer (Windows, Macintosh, Linux)
- Mozilla Firefox 0.8 and newer (Windows, Macintosh, Linux)
Regardless of the browser used, you must have JavaScript and cookies enabled.
This story has been covered just about all over the place, but here are links to relevant details on Ars Technica and Slashdot. More forthcoming info available on Google's own Gmail site.
Looks like I'll be moving off of Netscape mail...
2004-03-23
Microsoft Readies Security Update CDs
Microsoft is offering an update CD for Windows 98, 98Se, Me, 2000, and XP with all the security updates through October 2003. It's ideal to CYA if you ever have to reinstall Windows or format your drive (not that Windows would EVER require such drastic mesures to continue running properly...); it can also make for a great gift for someone you know who wouldn't order one on his own.
The CD-ROM is meant especially for Windows users with slow, dial-up Internet connections that can make downloading updates a nightmare. However, because the disc offers updates only through October 15, 2003, Microsoft still recommends users go to the Windows Update Web site to get the latest updates.
Windows users can request the Windows Security Update CD from Microsoft's Web site for free (CD and shipping).
2004-03-16
Which Linux Distro and Where to Get Them
From Linux.com:
Lately we've received many questions from users wanting to know which distribution they should choose and how to go about obtaining them. Today we've addressed this by pointing to a topic from the forums that should help you get a head start on what's what and where to get it. Read on for more information.
ESSENTIAL LINUX SKILLS By Jay Beale
Article from Security Wire Perspectives, Vol. 6, No. 19, March 8, 2004.
The increased reliability and potentially better security of Linux is tempting more than a few frustrated Windows shops to consider jumping ship to the popular open-source OS.
You'll need competent Linux admins and managers to deploy and maintain secure systems. This is critical, since the security of any system is directly proportional to the abilities and experience of the people operating them.
While there are a number of things you'll want your Linux admins to know, they should have the following security-specific skills.
--OS Hardening. This involves reconfiguring core settings, deactivating unneeded programs and tuning the remaining services for better security. In Linux implementations, this also can involve configuring the embedded system-level firewall. These steps will mitigate most known vulnerabilities and neutralize most attacks -- up to 97% in some lab tests.
Freeware applications and tools like Bastille Linux, Titan and the Center for Internet Security's (CIS) Unix security scoring tool help audit the hardening work once it's done. CIS's Linux Benchmark and books like "Building Secure Servers with Linux" are practical, step-by-step guides for hardening Linux and Unix systems.
--System Assessment. Once an OS is hardened, a sysadmin must be able to determine if it has been attacked or compromised. System assessments start with creating a baseline of the normal system and then checking the system against the baseline on a regular basis. This assessment might begin with looking at what programs are running, what user context they're running under, what files they have open, and what their level of resource consumption is.
This process is both highly technical and somewhat intuitive, thus requiring experience and knowledge. A sysadmin must know what information is important and how to gather that information. Experience will tell a sysadmin when something is amiss. Technical skills come into play to discover if the problem is really an attacker or just a system failure, such a faulty hard drive or overloaded application.
--Intelligence Gathering. Next, your sysadmin must be able to gather and manage intelligence specific to your systems' security. A Linux admin needs to know what techniques are used by both attackers and defenders. He must be able to follow the trend data to keep up to date with current attacks. This helps an organization adapt its defensive posture to changing threat conditions.
Of course, security intelligence directly feeds into the first two skill sets. A good Linux or security admin will check sites such as SecurityFocus and Incidents at least once per day for alerts and advisories. Security newsletters published by supporting vendors and media outlets help admins keep up with threat trends.
Where will you get people with such skills? Believe it or not, a good place to start is with your Windows admins, many of whom are closet Linux geeks or have experience on Linux systems. They'll also have a firm understanding of hardening systems, since locking down Windows boxes before they go into production is nearly a necessity.
JAY BEALE is the lead developer of the Bastille Linux project.
Security Wire Perspectives is published by Information Security, the industry's leading magazine for security news and information, and SearchSecurity.com, the Web's best security-specific information resource for enterprise IT professionals.
The increased reliability and potentially better security of Linux is tempting more than a few frustrated Windows shops to consider jumping ship to the popular open-source OS.
You'll need competent Linux admins and managers to deploy and maintain secure systems. This is critical, since the security of any system is directly proportional to the abilities and experience of the people operating them.
While there are a number of things you'll want your Linux admins to know, they should have the following security-specific skills.
--OS Hardening. This involves reconfiguring core settings, deactivating unneeded programs and tuning the remaining services for better security. In Linux implementations, this also can involve configuring the embedded system-level firewall. These steps will mitigate most known vulnerabilities and neutralize most attacks -- up to 97% in some lab tests.
Freeware applications and tools like Bastille Linux, Titan and the Center for Internet Security's (CIS) Unix security scoring tool help audit the hardening work once it's done. CIS's Linux Benchmark and books like "Building Secure Servers with Linux" are practical, step-by-step guides for hardening Linux and Unix systems.
--System Assessment. Once an OS is hardened, a sysadmin must be able to determine if it has been attacked or compromised. System assessments start with creating a baseline of the normal system and then checking the system against the baseline on a regular basis. This assessment might begin with looking at what programs are running, what user context they're running under, what files they have open, and what their level of resource consumption is.
This process is both highly technical and somewhat intuitive, thus requiring experience and knowledge. A sysadmin must know what information is important and how to gather that information. Experience will tell a sysadmin when something is amiss. Technical skills come into play to discover if the problem is really an attacker or just a system failure, such a faulty hard drive or overloaded application.
--Intelligence Gathering. Next, your sysadmin must be able to gather and manage intelligence specific to your systems' security. A Linux admin needs to know what techniques are used by both attackers and defenders. He must be able to follow the trend data to keep up to date with current attacks. This helps an organization adapt its defensive posture to changing threat conditions.
Of course, security intelligence directly feeds into the first two skill sets. A good Linux or security admin will check sites such as SecurityFocus and Incidents at least once per day for alerts and advisories. Security newsletters published by supporting vendors and media outlets help admins keep up with threat trends.
Where will you get people with such skills? Believe it or not, a good place to start is with your Windows admins, many of whom are closet Linux geeks or have experience on Linux systems. They'll also have a firm understanding of hardening systems, since locking down Windows boxes before they go into production is nearly a necessity.
JAY BEALE is the lead developer of the Bastille Linux project.
Security Wire Perspectives is published by Information Security, the industry's leading magazine for security news and information, and SearchSecurity.com, the Web's best security-specific information resource for enterprise IT professionals.
Why Is My Speedy PC S-l-o-w-i-n-g D-o-w-n?
"All of a sudden my once-fast computer behaves as if a ton of molasses took over its innards. How can I get my speed back?"Good article here at PCWorld.com posted Wednesday, January 28, 2004 by Lincoln Spector. From the March 2004 issue of PC World magazine. Covers the leading performance-robbing suspects:
- Spyware
- Too many active apps
- New software on old hardware
- The Registry (Always the prime culprit in my experience)
"How Do I Restore My Windows Registry?"
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