[Discuss] Ubuntu, 2009 Mac Mini, iPad
I have replaced a struggling OS X on my 2009 Mac Mini with Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit, and the performance has improved 100 per cent. I also have an (older) iPad, which charged perfectly under OS X, but no longer under Ubuntu. Research revealed a possible need to increase the amperage Ubuntu puts out through its USB ports. So, I found several web pages on Linux/Ubuntu tools, including a compilable tool called ipad-charge. I tried this, including its most recent rules set, but still get the error it cannot find any attached devices. Then it hit me - I am running Ubuntu not on an average machine, but an Apple device. This made me wonder if there is even more circus performing I need to do to make Ubuntu + Mac Mini happy with my iPad to charge it. Thanks for insights/help. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Cisco conference phones?
If an office is running the Cisco Config Pro software and uses all Cisco phones, and has a CP-8831 conference phone, but needs more than two wireless Mics (this phone apparently only supports two wireless mics), what are the options? At least four wireless mics would be great. Thanks. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] adb devices and Macbook Air/Pro old and new
Here is the latest - I tried to plug in a USB 2.0 hub between the newer Macbook Air and the charging cart - still adb devices displayed only eight tablets. adb version revealed 1.0.29, so I downloaded the newest, 1.0.32, and there was no change. I saw one post where someone plugged in a tablet into their problem laptop and it installed the older driver, so I plugged a tablet directly into my Mac and tried again. Same result. Details from About This Mac - Built-in USB - AppleUSBXHCI About the cart: USB2.0 Hub Product ID: 0x0608 Vendor ID: 0x05e3 (Genesys Logic, Inc) Version: 32.98 Hub: Product ID: 0x2513 Vendor ID: 0x0424 (SMSC) Version: b.b3 We have six trays, each of which old eight tablets. Any other insights/ideas welcome. Thanks. Scott On Sat, Mar 7, 2015 at 6:36 PM, Richard Pieri richard.pi...@gmail.com wrote: On 3/7/2015 6:17 PM, Scott Ehrlich wrote: Is it an issue with adb or with the USB chips used in older vs newer Mac laptops? My first guess is USB 3.0. There are many, many reports of problems with Android devices with USB 2.x on board and USB 3.0 root hubs regardless of the host OS. Switching to a USB 2.x port typically resolves these problems. -- Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] adb devices and Macbook Air/Pro old and new
Getting some older Macs is workable. If I [also] went with option 2, does anyone have recommended devices? We do have some Mac-based software that will look for a USB port, so if a USB to Thunderbolt adapter/converter/fob exists, there would need to be software to intercept USB calls and direct it to the Thunderbolt port, thus the software and the cart think they are talking to the USB port, when, in fact, the Thunderbolt port is being used. Thanks. Scott On Mon, Mar 9, 2015 at 1:42 PM, Richard Pieri richard.pi...@gmail.com wrote: On 3/9/2015 12:12 PM, Bill Ricker wrote: So Scott needs either to * downgrade the Mac to the older, USB2 chipped model that worked before * get a USB2 hub that can connect to the newer mac by FireWire or other non-USB connecttion, if such exists and is supported by drivers? Yup. -- Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Color Laser question
Looking for a quality color laser printer to print card stock, envelopes, index cards, etc, for high-volume use, but something that can fit on a desk and Mac compatible. I have done a lot of web searching, but mostly much older posts or people recommending b/w printers, or ink jet. Must be color laser. What do people recommend? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Color Laser question
Nix the high volume then. Thanks. On Wed, Mar 4, 2015 at 3:25 PM, Dan Ritter d...@randomstring.org wrote: On Wed, Mar 04, 2015 at 03:18:54PM -0500, Scott Ehrlich wrote: Looking for a quality color laser printer to print card stock, envelopes, index cards, etc, for high-volume use, but something that can fit on a desk and Mac compatible. I have done a lot of web searching, but mostly much older posts or people recommending b/w printers, or ink jet. Must be color laser. What do people recommend? What do you consider high-volume? Because I don't think high-volume is compatible with fits on a desk. -dsr- ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Color Laser question
No plans for hot car commutes:-) Lots of envelopes, stationary, index-card type (sizes might vary), heavier stock (of index card-type) printing often. So variable size envelopes and paper, and variable thicknesses. Color printing a must, but mostly plan on b/w. HP printers mostly now in-house but looking for reliability with consistent printing, fast-enough output, and next to no jaming or stuck envelopes, card stock, etc. Looking for a new printer with Ethernet capability - wifi not needed. Need to buy asap. Thanks. Scott On Wednesday, March 4, 2015, Jack Coats j...@coats.org wrote: If you plan on transporting documents in a hot car for several hours in the summer (I did in Austin TX), the wax CAN melt and stick pages together. Otherwise the Xerox Phaser is a great printer. On Wed, Mar 4, 2015 at 2:37 PM, Dan Ritter d...@randomstring.org javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','d...@randomstring.org'); wrote: On Wed, Mar 04, 2015 at 03:32:04PM -0500, John Abreau wrote: The Xerox Phaser fits comfortably on a desk. And provides very good output, provided you never, ever tip it. Works well with Macs and Linux. -dsr- ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','Discuss@blu.org'); http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss -- ... Jack Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart... Colossians 3:23 Anyone who has never made a mistake, has never tried anything new. - Albert Einstein You don't manage people; you manage things. You lead people. - Admiral Grace Hopper, USN Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. - Ben Franklin ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Color Laser question
Recommended models please :-) On Wed, Mar 4, 2015 at 6:57 PM, Dan Ritter d...@randomstring.org wrote: On Wed, Mar 04, 2015 at 04:49:33PM -0500, Scott Ehrlich wrote: No plans for hot car commutes:-) Lots of envelopes, stationary, index-card type (sizes might vary), heavier stock (of index card-type) printing often. So variable size envelopes and paper, and variable thicknesses. Color printing a must, but mostly plan on b/w. HP printers mostly now in-house but looking for reliability with consistent printing, fast-enough output, and next to no jaming or stuck envelopes, card stock, etc. Looking for a new printer with Ethernet capability - wifi not needed. Oh. Do yourself a favor: two printers. A Phaser for color. A Brother or HP for mono. Otherwise you pay through the nose for every black and white document. -dsr- ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Insync vs Google Drive client
I am getting annoyed with Google's Drive client for our Mac and Windows 8 users. GD does not always start, sometimes does not let you know when you are NOT logged in, and does not always sync files and does NOT tell you when there are any of these problems. What are thoughts and insights to its competitor, insync (www.insynchq.com)? Dropbox is not an option at this time - we are staying with google drive. We are just looking for a more reliable client to give our users so when they place stuff in their google drive folder on their local system, we need not worry they they are not logged in or files are not getting synced to GD's web cloud. And, other than Insync, what other competitors/options exist for Mac/Win users to sync data to gd on the web without needing the gd client? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Change Management / Server Room auditor/logger recommendations?
I am looking for recommendations for a free, easy-to-use [web-based] tool that will permit people who log into it the ability to enter the details of the machine or network switch touched and what was done. Once entered, the entry cannot be changed, but notes can be added. In-house coding skills are very limited for this request. Maybe bugzilla could be an option? I've build and used it before... Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] New to VMWare DataStores
I just had a chance to get more involved with the hardware - it turns out we actually have a preconfigured RAID 6 setup with each drive showing 2 TB available. I am going to break the RAID and see capacity we can recover. Glad it is not in production, yet :-) On Wed, Jan 14, 2015 at 2:25 PM, Edward Ned Harvey (blu) b...@nedharvey.com wrote: From: Scott Ehrlich [mailto:sc...@ehrlichtronics.com] The server does have a PERC, but it does not acknowledge any disks, indicating the four disks are truly independent. Having the latest ESXi version, what is the next step to having the system actually see each 4 TB drive at or near the raw capacity (i.e. 3.6 TB)? You don't want non-redundant storage, do you? A single disk goes bad, your whole system goes down and the only way you'll get it back up again is to remove the faulted disk to allow the other systems to come up... Is that really what you want? ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] New to VMWare DataStores
I am new to VMWare Datastores. Previous positions have already had a vCenter system built and enterprise-storage ready. We just installed a new Dell R520 PowerEdge server with 4 x 4 TB SAS drives, vCenter 5.5.0 preinstalled, and a 2 TB boot disk. Do we need to create a PERC RAID set with the 4 TB disks for vCenter to see that volume as a Datastore? I've been googling to see what is fundamentally needed for disks to be visible in vCenter for a Datastore to be created. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] New to VMWare DataStores
A server reboot and a closer look via vCenter client shows the machine shipped with 5.5 U2. It also does show what appears to be our four x 4 TB drives - they do show in the machine's BIOS. But, under vCenter client, when seeing the available disks to use, it lists the 4 x 4 TB disks at 1.8 TB each. Again, they are NOT in a RAID, but individual SAS, and directly attached. There is another storage device with ESXi on it. The server does have a PERC, but it does not acknowledge any disks, indicating the four disks are truly independent. Having the latest ESXi version, what is the next step to having the system actually see each 4 TB drive at or near the raw capacity (i.e. 3.6 TB)? This page - https://communities.vmware.com/thread/467221 - has been very helpful. Thanks. Scott On Wed, Jan 14, 2015 at 11:30 AM, Edward Ned Harvey (blu) b...@nedharvey.com wrote: From: Discuss [mailto:discuss-bounces+blu=nedharvey@blu.org] On Behalf Of Scott Ehrlich I am new to VMWare Datastores. Previous positions have already had a vCenter system built and enterprise-storage ready. We just installed a new Dell R520 PowerEdge server with 4 x 4 TB SAS drives, vCenter 5.5.0 preinstalled, and a 2 TB boot disk. Do we need to create a PERC RAID set with the 4 TB disks for vCenter to see that volume as a Datastore? I've been googling to see what is fundamentally needed for disks to be visible in vCenter for a Datastore to be created. Oh dear. You're not going to like this answer. First of all, if you're installing on a Dell, you should ensure you've checked Dell's site to see if you need the Dell customized installation image. Go to http://support.dell.com Enter your service tag Go to Drivers Downloads For OS, select VMWare ESXi 5.1 (or whatever is latest) If you see Enterprise Solutions with ESXi Recovery Image under it, you need to use that custom ISO. Otherwise, go to vmware.com and download the standard VMWare ESXi ISO Before you begin, you probably want to configure your PERC as one big raid set. Vmware doesn't have support for storage changes, soft raid, changes to hard raid, snapshots, or backups. It can handle raw disks, iscsi, nfs, and not much else. It also doesn't support backups unless you pay for some thing (not sure what, and not sure how much.) With a Dell server specifically, you can contact Dell about how to install OMSA, which will give you an interface you can use to control your PERC configuration without needing to reboot the system, but the extent of usefulness will be limited to basically replacing failed disks without the need for rebooting. Just make sure you don't upgrade vmware after you've installed OMSA (or else you have to reinstall OMSA). By far, far, far, the best thing to do is to run vmware on a system that is either diskless or has a minimal amount of disk that you don't care about, just for vmware. My preference is to let the vmware be diskless, and let the storage system handle all the storage, including the vmware boot disk. (Generally speaking, it's easy to boot from iscsi nowadays, so there's no need to muck around with pxe or anything annoying.) Let the guest machine storage reside on something like a ZFS or other storage device that's meant to handle storage well, including snapshots backups. Solves *all* the problems. Using simple dumb 10G ether works well and inexpensively as long as you get sufficient performance out of it (it performs equivalently to approx 6 or 9 disks). Anything higher performance will need infiniband, fiber channel, or similar. By far, my favorite setup is a ZFS server for storage, and a diskless ESX server to do work. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Dell Openmanage vs Supermicro IPMI?
We are looking at a more expensive quote for a Dell PowerEdge Server with the option of OpenManage software, and a quote at half the cost for a non OEM system from a VAR using a SuperMicro board and off-the-shelf parts. In addition to wanting a server with a lot of storage, we also want to remotely monitor the system's components, leading to OpenManage or a more generic IPMI option. I've had mostly exclusive experience with Dell OpenManage on Dell systems. What are your experiences with OM vs IPMI? Is it purely name and cost (Dell vs off-the-shelf), or is there more that I should know or be aware of? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Manual or third-party ESX(i) backup?
From a fundamental viewpoint, what is the difference between manually copying VMs from the server to the backup system and using a commercial product, being SRM or third-party? What might we be missing manual vs third-party (or SRM) product? I am not looking at/for assumptions of how the computing environment is set up - simply what do we: - vital elements gained from an add-on product - vital element we might lose from manual preservation If we manually preserved, and lost the VM or the server, and rebuilt with original media, could we simply copy the manually preserved copies back over and be operational again, or are the add-on options the only way to make this happen? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Revisiting VMWare ESX backup options
We have some new Dell rack servers running new installs of ESX 5.5 U1, and looking to buy a redundant server to use as a backup for the primary. The budget is healthy enough for appropriate hardware and storage (likely a duplicate of the primary). The primary is very appropriate for its tasks. So backup plan will be two parts: 1) Back up primary to in-house backup server (to be purchased) in another room 2) Find a recommended off-site location to back up to remotely - cloud, storage at Rackspace, or something 1 and 2 will augment each other. I have read about VMWare's SRM product, and read reviews of Veeam, Zerto, and PHD products. Reviews of SRM appeared to indicate it is limited in capability. Reviews of Veeam appeared to indicate it is a capable product, but their cost model was exponentially higher over time than the product is worth? Reviews of Zerto appear favorable and PHD seemed new on the block but still got good reviews. What are your thoughts on product(s) to use for primary to backup and for options for off-site - cloud vs storage facility that gives us space on a system? Staying within the US for the remote backup is favorable, but all options are welcome. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Cell phones and towers
I have been tasked with finding a way to get strong cell service to a residential/business address in Massachusetts whose closest tower is about 2 miles away, and whose visitors, residents, and employees have different carriers. I have researched some range extenders, such as Wilson products. We aim for a low-profile solution - no towers, but we can attach what is needed to the inside and/or outside of the building (large two-story house plus basement). The address has multiple rooms on each floor, and is an older building (early 1900s maybe)? If we believe antennasearch.com, the closest registered tower is about 2 miles away and happens to be Verizon. What are the best options for bring multiple carrier signals to the address? I looked for an email address for ATT Wireless, for example, but could not find one - just an option to call customer service. I have a strong feeling that initial call would go over the person's head, that an email would eventually be delivered to the correct party. For those who have had to explore bring multiple carriers to a soho of sorts, in Massachusetts, whom have you gone through?What were the rates for the consultant/professional? What were the end results for signal quality of the handset users? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Thunderbolt extension cable for TBD?
I know this is really an Apple question, but the 27 inch Thunderbolt display has a very short, built-in thunderbolt cable. I have five of these displays and want to connect the all to a Mac Pro. The limiting factor is the limited cable length is prohibiting me from placing the Mac and the monitors where I need them. I looked for thunderbolt extension cables and they just do not exist. I looked for thunderbolt hubs (like a USB hub) to possibly buy more thunderbolt cables and use the hub as a signal repeater, but no hubs exist. I did find some thunderbolt to mini displayport adapters, but it seems Apple has a limit on the number of simultaneous mini Displayport connections it will allow monitors to be powered by? We need all five monitors to be active simultaneously. The only next best option I can think of is to return the Apple displays and replace them, possibly, with something like the Dell U2713H or U2713HM.We need the IPS, resolution, and a thin bezel. Insights welcome. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Wire tester (like a tone tester)
Not quite Linux, but still admin/network-related - I have a tone-test set to validate where a port is on a patch panel from the office/wall port the transmitter is in. Now, if any of the wiring between the wall and the patch panel is a problem, is there similar testing gear to check on the wiring itself (i.e Cat 6, PoE, etc) to help validate no kinks or broken wires? I know there are plenty of cable testers to plug each end of a patch cable into the tester and it checks the wiring that way, but if you have a wiring closet a good distance from the port, I'd think you'd need a transmitter and a receiver pair to help with the wiring piece. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] vsphere 5.5 replication and hot failover
How well does the new vsphere 5.5 U1 w/replication work in an environment with two servers, which are hot failovers to each other? We want to ensure data integrity through the replication process and know, in theory, a hot spare should be identical to the master, but it never is. Should both primary servers fail, we want to ensure the integrity of the replicated backup, when restored, works flawlessly when placed into production. There is always a chance or scenario one server is patched and the other server is pending the same patch level, leaving a difference in configuration, for example. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] VSphere 5.5.0 U1 and backups
What backup method do people use for VSphere 5.5.0 U1 for preserving VMs over the network? Configuration is currently about 7 TB of RAID space with a redundant hot spare. Goal is to preserve VMs to a remote location (backup system not directly attached), thus the need for a network-based solution. 5.5.0 U1 is also new, so what backup products have been brought up to standards with it? Intent is for a full backup then increments. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Fwd: malware in bios?
An interesting story from ISN Digest, Vol 6, Issue 1 - http://lists.infosecnews.org/mailman/listinfo/isn_lists.infosecnews.org http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/10/meet-badbios-the-mysterious-mac-and-pc-malware-that-jumps-airgaps/ Thoughts and insights welcome. I am not the author. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] [OT] FIOS wifi extender/repeater?
Hello to all: I am looking to extend the wifi signal from my N-capable Actiontec/FIOS router to other floors/areas of the home. No outside antennas. I've read about some devices that are AC-based that must be on the same electrical circuit from source location (FIOS router) to destination (place to extend signal). Insights of these? What device(s) do people recommend, AC/circuit-based or otherwise? No desire to run a lengthy Ethernet cable or power cord from the router to the destination. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Limiting amount of memory
Dell documentation, for example, has been known to say some of its PC's hardware will eat a certain amount of RAM that you will never have access to for user space. You may want to review the docs of your system to see if it has a similar claim (m/b, video card, etc). Scott On Fri, Sep 13, 2013 at 12:12 PM, Tim Callaghan tmcallag...@gmail.comwrote: Ugh, this is frustrating. I asked for 8192M (8G), but ended up with 5.79G. *I booted using this section from /etc/grub.conf:* title CentOS (2.6.18-348.3.1.el5) 8G root (hd0,0) kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5 ro root=LABEL=/ mem=8192M initrd /boot/initrd-2.6.18-348.3.1.el5.img *and here is what I get from cat /proc/meminfo* [root@lex6 ~]# cat /proc/meminfo MemTotal: 6077760 kB MemFree: 5799244 kB Buffers: 16500 kB Cached: 137380 kB SwapCached: 0 kB Active: 67080 kB Inactive: 135288 kB HighTotal: 0 kB HighFree:0 kB LowTotal: 6077760 kB LowFree: 5799244 kB SwapTotal:20482864 kB SwapFree: 20482864 kB Dirty: 188 kB Writeback: 0 kB AnonPages: 48384 kB Mapped: 10660 kB Slab:31712 kB PageTables: 3232 kB NFS_Unstable:0 kB Bounce: 0 kB CommitLimit: 23521744 kB Committed_AS: 110236 kB VmallocTotal: 34359738367 kB VmallocUsed:273564 kB VmallocChunk: 34359462699 kB HugePages_Total: 0 HugePages_Free: 0 HugePages_Rsvd: 0 Hugepagesize: 2048 kB On Fri, Sep 13, 2013 at 9:59 AM, Richard Pieri richard.pi...@gmail.com wrote: Bill Bogstad wrote: On my system, they both provide identical info (If you look at the right field): Mine usually do but I recall seeing some exceptions. free does some interesting rounding if you use the -g or -m switches. -- Rich P. __**_ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/**listinfo/discuss http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Start ups?
What is a good [web] resource for learning about Boston-area startups and possible positions they may have? I've used Boston Business Journal's web page and its Mass High Tech link, but there must be a more expansive resource. I also actively use indeed.com and simplyhired.com, but they simply cull from other sources. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Why are all my hard drives slow on Ubuntu? (new computer)
What does free reveal for available RAM? Scott On Fri, Aug 30, 2013 at 8:53 AM, Daniel Barrett dbarr...@blazemonger.comwrote: On August 30, 2013, Edward Ned Harvey (blu) wrote: You have 32G of ram on a 32bit OS [...] you'll be limited to 4G of ram. I'm running the PAE version of the kernel which supports larger amounts of RAM. Has worked fine on my other computers. -- Dan Barrett dbarr...@blazemonger.com ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Why are all my hard drives slow on Ubuntu? (new computer)
Is there a reason you are sticking with Ubuntu?Would other distros, such as CentOS, Debian, or another be an option? Just curious. Scott On Fri, Aug 30, 2013 at 12:08 PM, Daniel Barrett dbarr...@blazemonger.comwrote: On August 30, 2013, Kent Borg wrote: All the kernel folks fortunate enough to have 32GB are going to be running the 64-bit kernel they worked so hard on. Aren't they?? Thanks for the feedback. I'll give 64-bit a try tonight. Last time I researched 32-vs-64-bit, there were still critical incompatibilities (like lack of Flash and some 32-bit compatibility libraries), but it looks like these issues are now cleared up: http://www.howtogeek.com/165144/htg-explains-should-you-use-the-32-bit-or-64-bit-edition-of-ubuntu-linux/ -- Dan Barrett dbarr...@blazemonger.com ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Why are all my hard drives slow on Ubuntu? (new computer)
Would be curious if the boot lines are the same, or what difference(s) might exist between 32 and 64 bit versions to make the 64-bit work. Same kernel version, too? Scott On Fri, Aug 30, 2013 at 5:27 PM, Daniel Barrett dbarr...@blazemonger.comwrote: SOLVED! Switching to a 64-bit kernel did the trick. I booted on the Ubuntu 13.04 64-bit live CD, and disk operations are speedy. Thank you to everybody who helped out with suggestions and the occasional snarky comment about 32-bit PAE! :-) -- Dan Barrett dbarr...@blazemonger.com ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Why are all my hard drives slow on Ubuntu? (new computer)
How about the ata5 and ata6 links at just 1.5 Gbps? What drives are you seeing the slowest performance on? A dmesg might reflect which ata drives. May be the speed factor from that link. If you are dealing with sata, can you test one of the slow drives from whatever SATA port it is connect to (say the RAID card) and instead connect it to a non RAID motherboard port, or vice-versa? Also, what firmware/BIOS level is the motherboard at and the RAID card? What do the vendor notes say about known issues with the version(s) you have to what newer versions might be available, and, if you can update the firmware versions, what is involved? Scott On Wed, Aug 28, 2013 at 9:07 PM, Matthew Gillen m...@mattgillen.net wrote: On 8/28/2013 8:02 PM, Daniel Barrett wrote: On August 28, 2013, Gregory Boyce wrote: Anything interesting in dmesg related to the drive or the controller? Hmm, I don't really know what to look for, so I put the whole thing here (for Ubuntu 12.04 LTS): http://www.blazemonger.com/dmesg.txt The lines I was looking for were these: [0.882760] LSI 3ware SAS/SATA-RAID Controller device driver for Linux v3.26.02.000. [0.883566] ahci :00:1f.2: version 3.0 [0.883643] ahci :00:1f.2: irq 80 for MSI/MSI-X [0.889807] e1000e: Intel(R) PRO/1000 Network Driver - 2.0.0-k [0.889809] e1000e: Copyright(c) 1999 - 2012 Intel Corporation. [0.891377] xor: automatically using best checksumming function: [0.899068] ahci :00:1f.2: AHCI 0001.0300 32 slots 6 ports 6 Gbps 0x31 impl SATA mode [0.899071] ahci :00:1f.2: flags: 64bit ncq sntf pm led clo pio slum part ems apst [0.899074] ahci :00:1f.2: setting latency timer to 64 ... [1.234773] ata1: SATA link up 6.0 Gbps (SStatus 133 SControl 300) [1.234785] ata7: SATA link down (SStatus 0 SControl 300) [1.234802] ata6: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300) [1.234820] ata5: SATA link up 1.5 Gbps (SStatus 113 SControl 300) which say that your SATA controller seems to be negotiating with the drives just fine. Check ubuntu's bug reports for issues with that particular RAID controller's driver. HTH, Matt ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Out if work
I just learned my contract was not being renewed and shown the door. My resume (not yet updated tp reflect this but will be this weekend) is on linked-in and a decent (but to be updated) resume is also on my domain - http://ehrlichtronics.com/resume Please note there is -no- leading www in the domain name. All leads are welcome. Sorry if this is not the best place for this type of message. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Want web site with feedback option?
I'd like a recommendation for a web site that permits me, for starters, to ask a question, and allows people to respond. As the q/a grows (the topics will be closely connected), it would be great to have additional support to sort and/or search to help narrow what a visitor is looking for. There should also be a star or numerical rating system as part of the answers for each question (similar to many popular seller pages, such as amazon), and permit sorting by that, too. I'd presume a popular, trusted site that exists with these capabilities that doesn't require someone to log in to access anything. Thanks in advance. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Migrating m...@gmail.com to m...@mydomain.com?
I have my gmail account - srehrl...@gmail.com. I have also migrated a domain to google apps, such that m...@mydomain.com is now managed by google. I'd like to integrate my srehrl...@gmail.com to my now-google-managed domain name. I have reviewed the google control panel and haven't found an option where google can or will easily swallow and/or integrate my gmail.com account into my domain account. I know I could use an imap client, but that, I believe, would still require me to inform users of my new account. I want it to be completely transparent, if google makes that possible. Email to srehrl...@gmail.com would simply end up in m...@mydomain.com. Mail sent, replied from m...@mydomain.com would come from m...@mydomain.com. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Password-protected PDF file?
How safe is a password-protected PDF file sent via email? I've never run a sniffer to see what could be learned from doing this. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] [OT] Migrating domain to Google?
I am looking at migrating my domain name and my two email boxes from another provider to google. For those who have done it, how difficult was it to have Google import your old mail from: 1: A non google address? 2; A user@gmail.com address? Keeping people/dates intact of emails and mailbox subfolders on the google domain side? Anything to be careful of? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Migrating domain to Google?
On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 8:19 AM, Jack Coats j...@coats.org wrote: My coats.org domain is mainly at Google. Our main use is email and I only use 2 or 3 of the 10 userIDs available on the free 'small company' plan. I think the 'free service' is not an option anymore, but still having a reliable always on email server is nice. Set up the admin information when saying I was going to migrate my domain, they gave me a test-coats-org.google.com or something like that to use till I had the DNS changed on coats.org to re-point to google servers. They provide free tools, but I just logged in, set up pop from my old email provider and sucked my own stuff over on the couple of IDs. It was pretty easy. Since it was only 2, my wife and me, it was pretty easy. You can have the test...google.com disabled if you want. Yes, I miss-stepped a couple of times, but it worked pretty well. I got into this because a friend is the admin at a small college in Nashville TN watkins.edu and they migrated from Exchange to Google not long before the flood a few years ago that wiped out their campus electronic infrastructure. (Their building is in the flood plane for the Cumberland River, and the college is in a re-cycled 1 story tall mall with no basement. And the water got up near the roof line so all electronics were toast. Migrating to google a few months before for many base functions saved their bacon. Good backups for 'secure on-site' servers was crucial for them too. At least they could still do email and docs without interruption throughout the emergency from home or elsewhere.) I presume the Google Mail App for iDevices works for domains transferred to google, too? ... Jack Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart... Colossians 3:23 If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the precipitate - Henry J. Tillman Anyone who has never made a mistake, has never tried anything new. - Albert Einstein You don't manage people; you manage things. You lead people. - Admiral Grace Hopper, USN Life is complex: it has a real part and an imaginary part. - Martin Terma On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 4:35 AM, Scott Ehrlich srehrl...@gmail.com wrote: I am looking at migrating my domain name and my two email boxes from another provider to google. For those who have done it, how difficult was it to have Google import your old mail from: 1: A non google address? 2; A user@gmail.com address? Keeping people/dates intact of emails and mailbox subfolders on the google domain side? Anything to be careful of? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] Migrating domain to Google?
On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 11:25 AM, John Abreau abre...@gmail.com wrote: I use it on my iPad for both gmail.com and gapps.blu.org mailboxes. Gapps.blu.org is our Google Apps domain. My intent is to transfer, at least, the mail responsibility of, my personal domain to Google and let Google's spam filtering do better than what I've got now, and utilize the gmail app on both my wife's and my iphones for our respective accounts. Thanks. Scott On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 8:41 AM, Scott Ehrlich srehrl...@gmail.com wrote: On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 8:19 AM, Jack Coats j...@coats.org wrote: My coats.org domain is mainly at Google. Our main use is email and I only use 2 or 3 of the 10 userIDs available on the free 'small company' plan. I think the 'free service' is not an option anymore, but still having a reliable always on email server is nice. Set up the admin information when saying I was going to migrate my domain, they gave me a test-coats-org.google.com or something like that to use till I had the DNS changed on coats.org to re-point to google servers. They provide free tools, but I just logged in, set up pop from my old email provider and sucked my own stuff over on the couple of IDs. It was pretty easy. Since it was only 2, my wife and me, it was pretty easy. You can have the test...google.com disabled if you want. Yes, I miss-stepped a couple of times, but it worked pretty well. I got into this because a friend is the admin at a small college in Nashville TN watkins.edu and they migrated from Exchange to Google not long before the flood a few years ago that wiped out their campus electronic infrastructure. (Their building is in the flood plane for the Cumberland River, and the college is in a re-cycled 1 story tall mall with no basement. And the water got up near the roof line so all electronics were toast. Migrating to google a few months before for many base functions saved their bacon. Good backups for 'secure on-site' servers was crucial for them too. At least they could still do email and docs without interruption throughout the emergency from home or elsewhere.) I presume the Google Mail App for iDevices works for domains transferred to google, too? ... Jack Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart... Colossians 3:23 If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the precipitate - Henry J. Tillman Anyone who has never made a mistake, has never tried anything new. - Albert Einstein You don't manage people; you manage things. You lead people. - Admiral Grace Hopper, USN Life is complex: it has a real part and an imaginary part. - Martin Terma On Thu, Feb 7, 2013 at 4:35 AM, Scott Ehrlich srehrl...@gmail.com wrote: I am looking at migrating my domain name and my two email boxes from another provider to google. For those who have done it, how difficult was it to have Google import your old mail from: 1: A non google address? 2; A user@gmail.com address? Keeping people/dates intact of emails and mailbox subfolders on the google domain side? Anything to be careful of? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss -- John Abreau / Executive Director, Boston Linux Unix PGP KeyID: 32A492D8 / Email: abre...@gmail.com PGP FP: 7834 AEC2 EFA3 565C A4B6 9BA4 0ACB AD85 32A4 92D8 ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Disk recovery utilities - dealing with deleted files
Try FTK Imager Lite. Also look into TSK (The Sleuth Kit) / Autopsy (web frontend for TSK). Was this a RAID or a single disk? Scott On Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 11:33 AM, Rich Braun ri...@pioneer.ci.net wrote: I think we've all done this at some point: an rsync --delete or the equivalent, from an empty directory to a target directory that had stuff we didn't want to lose. In my case I have cron job that mirrors two systems. While swapping data around yesterday, I forgot about this cron job and rsync merrily deleted a couple hundred .mpg files (I have the filenames in a log, to which my cron job deposits the verbose stdout, so I know exactly what happened and when). Lesson learned: obviously, I'm going to change that cron job to some sort of sequestration method: move the files someplace before this rsync, don't ever delete them until I manually confirm. (Anyone else have a script for that? It'll be a bit hairy to write from scratch...) Now I'm hunting for a recovery tool that can scavenge these files from the (partly) emptied-out ext4 filesystem image. Both 'extundelete' and 'debugfs' find nothing; they apparently look at a journal that's apparently empty, and I don't know how to use them well enough to force them to look more deeply. I know the content is there, though, because (a) there were no operations done on this filesystem after the deletion, and (b) a scan by another tool 'foremost' finds 142 of the missing files (its default configuration can pattern-match .png files but not my .mpg files). Have you ever been able to get an undelete tool to work? If not, have you ever switched to a different filesystem so as to get better access to accidentally-deleted data? Some of the old filesystems (mostly from DEC) were much better at sequestering data so it stays around until new files require use of the space. Meanwhile, the script-writing and script-improving *never ends*... -rich P.S. This is all I got out of undelete: # extundelete /dev/data01/volmytharch1 --restore-all WARNING: Extended attributes are not restored. Loading filesystem metadata ... 8200 groups loaded. Loading journal descriptors ... 31971 descriptors loaded. Writing output to directory RECOVERED_FILES/ Searching for recoverable inodes in directory / ... 0 recoverable inodes found. Looking through the directory structure for deleted files ... 0 recoverable inodes still lost. No files were undeleted. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Disk recovery utilities - dealing with deleted files
On Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 1:00 PM, Rich Braun ri...@pioneer.ci.net wrote: Scott Ehrlich srehrl...@gmail.com suggested: Try FTK Imager Lite. Also look into TSK (The Sleuth Kit) / Autopsy (web frontend for TSK). Thanks! I'll try those; the former seems to be a Windows-based tool but the TSK looks like it might work. One issue that I'm running into is that virtually none of the obvious tools have been updated to handle ext4. Just now I found a research paper that concisely gives enough detailed info to /write/ a recovery tool (but doesn't talk about /existing/ tools): http://www.dfrws.org/2012/proceedings/DFRWS2012-13.pdf What I think is happening with extundelete is that it's making assumptions about the journal which might have been valid for ext3, but which are totally incorrect for the ext4 journal. Was this a RAID or a single disk? It's a 1TB logical volume on a 4TB lvm2 volume group on top of RAID. So I am able to sequester it and perform forensics on the unmounted volume. I discovered my mistake after coming home from a Super Bowl party so I know that the only thing which happened to it before I took it offline was my rsync cron job. -rich ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss Also check out http://www.forensicswiki.org/wiki/Linux Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Disk recovery utilities - dealing with deleted files
On Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 1:00 PM, Rich Braun ri...@pioneer.ci.net wrote: Scott Ehrlich srehrl...@gmail.com suggested: Try FTK Imager Lite. Also look into TSK (The Sleuth Kit) / Autopsy (web frontend for TSK). Thanks! I'll try those; the former seems to be a Windows-based tool but the TSK looks like it might work. One issue that I'm running into is that virtually none of the obvious tools have been updated to handle ext4. Just now I found a research paper that concisely gives enough detailed info to /write/ a recovery tool (but doesn't talk about /existing/ tools): http://www.dfrws.org/2012/proceedings/DFRWS2012-13.pdf What I think is happening with extundelete is that it's making assumptions about the journal which might have been valid for ext3, but which are totally incorrect for the ext4 journal. Was this a RAID or a single disk? It's a 1TB logical volume on a 4TB lvm2 volume group on top of RAID. So I am able to sequester it and perform forensics on the unmounted volume. I discovered my mistake after coming home from a Super Bowl party so I know that the only thing which happened to it before I took it offline was my rsync cron job. -rich ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss Some other leads: http://www.forensicfocus.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=2803/ http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/linux_forensics/message/3648 (note, for bulk extractor, the year is obviously wrong). As an aside, Linux_Forensics is an excellent list, minus the mess-ups yahoo has done to their list server. Also, Simson Garfinkel and Brian Carrier are two of the most foremost experts on digital forensics you'll find anywhere. Scott Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Encouraging Children to Explore Open Source
On Sun, Feb 3, 2013 at 7:50 PM, Chris O'Connell omegah...@gmail.com wrote: Hey All, My friend's 9 year old nephew has an inquisitive mind. He takes electronics apart, figures out how they work and reassembles them, sometimes adding other components like LEDs or battery packs. I have a couple of the Genesi smart boxes hanging around and thought that giving him one may be a good introduction to the world of Open Source. I'm afraid he may be overwhelmed however. I have trouble thinking that a 9 year old will be able to find a creative use for Linux, as the OS is pretty complicated and requires a lot of knowledge. Further, why would someone so young like to play with a somewhat primitive Gnome interface when they have an Android Tablet and a Windows laptop at their disposal? Can anyone recommend any ways/programs/resources to encourage interest in Open Source to a kid of this age? -- Chris O'Connell http://outlookoutbox.blogspot.com ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss How about the incorporation of ham radio and linux?There are many areas to explore, some of which might include: - Logging programs ** Establish a centralized database on the Internet which the logging program can interface with verify/check if another party has also entered the contact made, helping to validate the entry - Rig control to computer - License exam q/a testers to prepare a user for a an exam (at least for the US) - Multi-use program to tackle ham radio's digital modes and maybe establish a new digital mode? - Many others I cannot think of right now I understand 9 years old, but ham radio is a wonderfully interactive hobby that a youngster with ambition, and time, can really get creative with. Scott, WY1Z ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] data caps
On Tue, Jan 22, 2013 at 10:46 AM, Edward Ned Harvey (blu) b...@nedharvey.com wrote: From: discuss-bounces+blu=nedharvey@blu.org [mailto:discuss- bounces+blu=nedharvey@blu.org] On Behalf Of Tom Metro How is Verizon any better than the cable company? Essentially the same model. If you happen to live somewhere with a good provider, this should be the best option from a technical standpoint. Calling Fios an alternative to cable is merely a technicality, which has no resulting performance or characteristic difference. I was psyched at first to get Fios (like 6 yrs ago). I can say now, it is indistinguishable from cable. It's no faster, no more reliable... which is to say cable and fios are both very fast and very reliable... Except when it's not. But most of all, if you don't want to be a piece of meat, fios has no advantage over cable. I was 1 yr into the middle of a 2yr contract, and they suddenly did a channel reallignment which means they shut off all the channels I cared about. I had to call them up, argue for hours, and *still* pay an increased rate just to get my service back. And they tried to stick me with a $375 early termination fee on top of it. As far as I'm concerned, if they're not going to honor any 2yr contract, from now on, I'll always just subscribe for the contract, and when I want to move or cancel service, I'll just cancel the credit card and let them figure it out. Every 5th time I turn on the DVR, I have to sit through some pop-up ad. Whatever they felt like delivering. If your objection to cable is the business/marketing model, Fios is no better. They *are* the cable company. Just like comcast, rcn, etc. Which we used before fios. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss I got rather annoyed with Comcast when they were threatening me, about 3 years ago, to cancel my cable modem service because I only had a DOCSIS 2 modem, and they were forcing customers to DOCSIS 3. I had no desire to rent a modem, and I wasn't going to buy one because I wasn't sure how long I was going to be with them. FIOS finally came around and I cancelled with comcast. I think I get faster speed for the money - I'd normally have subscribed to Comcast's value plan for Internet, as I don't need the speed. I also need not pay for my own cable modem nor rent one. Verizon requires theirs, and I'm perfectly happy with it. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] ftdi chipset and linux
I recently purchased a new Yaesu ham radio with a CAT interface (computer control). The radio itself is about the size of a portable gps unit. There are apparently [at least] two USB CAT cables available - of which one uses the ftdi chipset, which, reportedly, is the best/only one that works with the radio. So, once received from amazon, I'm going to test various Mac, Windows, and Linux-based applications to work with the radio. From a chipset compatibility standpoint, what do people know about ftdi and linux? I know I could always visit the ftdi page, but anyone with practical knowledge here would be great. Also, I'd be looking into a cheap netbook (probably from amazon), something small and simple, to use with the radio. Insights here welcome, too. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Linux bootable tool to clean Windows NTFS infections?
What Linux bootable tool do people recommend to help clean a [Vista] NTFS bootable system? I'm aiming for an offline solution - antivirus and antispyware. Something whose definition files for antivirus and antispyware are also kept current. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] [Slightly OT] Streaming video services?
We don't subscribe to any premium channels, but we have seen The Newsroom (HBO) and Homeland (Showtime) and we like those shows. There are various shows and movies that no station I have in FIOS carry. I have a Mac at home, and we have other i-Devices. No interest in dumping FIOS, and we plan to keep the existing FIOS DVR service. We have discovered, through various FIOS promotions, that the premium services, such as HBO, Showtime, etc, simply don't offer us enough to actually subscribe to them. So, we have streaming services - Amazon, Hulu, Blockbuster, Netflix, Redbox is evolving, among others. Their average price is $8/month, which is fine with us. I have been reading various reviews, and, obviously, nobody is perfect. Many reviews report that although Netflix has lost a great subscriber base, they still have an incredibly large library. Hulu might be a major partnership today, but they apparently have a limited selection, and they have ads (ads are no big deal, just mentioning it). No plans to buy movies/shows, just have expanded flexibility to watch more things, when we want. Who likes which service, and why? Which company should I run away from, and why? Several reviews are approaching a year old, so present-day insights are most welcome. I have a Linux laptop I might very well press into service, if the subscription service we go with supports it. If they don't, I have no problems requesting support for Linux. Thanks for any/all insights. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] How smart is SMART?
On Sat, Nov 24, 2012 at 10:05 PM, Doug sweet...@alum.mit.edu wrote: Just lost a 500 GB 2.5 inch SATA drive made in Thailand from my Mac Mini server. A half hour to boot was the signal. While I could have set up RAID, all the data I care about is in a Dropbox folder, and I have Time Machine to get at any apps. My data is on three computers I control, the drop box server, and Time Machine. I spent $260 for a $100 hard drive because I used Computer Loft to deal with my fear of mac hardware (so many wires in such a small place). The main costs were time and money to reset the box. I have been able to update some things, so the machine is a little more streamlined now. Thinking about the future, does anyone regularly monitor their hard disk SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) information? I found a $40 utility that would do this work for me, including running both short and long tests. If it is wise, I might do this once a month. http://www.volitans-software.com/smart_utility.php The long tests can last 3 hours. One thing I noticed was the replacement for the dead disk is running about 14 degrees F warmer than the other disk (right now 48C versus 41C. What temp is BAD? Does anyone continuously check on that?). That may be a lead reason for it dying first. The replacement might die before the cool one. Now that the test is done, the hot disk is down to 38C. Are there scripts anyone uses that go through the same data and/or run the short and long tests? ...and a few moments of googling to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_S.M.A.R.T._tools says... GSmartControl smartmontool Now my more targeted question: does any use these two programs and would like to share their opinions? Just trying to be a sometime responsible home system admin, Doug ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss FWIW, I've watched youtube videos of Scott Moulton (youtube name of SuperFlyFlippingA) who is an expert in hard drive technology. Long story short, smart is simply not reliable. If you watch his videos (presented at computer conferences), you'll also learn more about hard drive (SSD and mechanical) technology than you ever realized. There are some cases where it has helped me, though. I guess, as the expression goes, ymmv. Hope that helps. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Getting OS/HW details?
If I wanted to write a script to obtain distro flavor (Ubuntu, CentOS, RH, Mint, BSD, Solaris, etc), major/minor version (5.3, 10.6, etc), hardware brand/make/model, at least for starters, what would be the best way to attack it? This script may or may not assume being run as root. Environment is completely heterogeneous, so while I may be using an OEM system, my officemate might be using a white box system. I think the only assurance might be it be run as /bin/sh so we don't have to worry about shells. We cannot assume /etc/motd, /etc/issue, or anything else exists in its out-of-box state (they could have been replaced with other text). I thought about uname -a, but it does not indicate OS distro nor version. Arch can only assist with 32/64 bit. Thanks for leads and ideas. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Fwd: [linux_forensics] Did you see this ? - Linux Foundation Announces Secure Boot Solution ....
-- Forwarded message -- From: Scott Ehrlich srehrl...@gmail.com Date: Thu, Nov 1, 2012 at 3:04 PM Subject: Fwd: [linux_forensics] Did you see this ? - Linux Foundation Announces Secure Boot Solution To: li...@yahoogroups.com -- Forwarded message -- From: Harvey Rothenberg forensic2...@yahoo.com Date: Thu, Nov 1, 2012 at 3:00 PM Subject: [linux_forensics] Did you see this ? - Linux Foundation Announces Secure Boot Solution To: linux_forens...@yahoogroups.com ** To All, Here is the latest information regarding Linux and UEFI, as of October 18th. =-=-=-=-= Linux Foundation announces that Linux will continue to operate under Secure Boot-enabled systems. As reported previously all Windows 8 systems will ship with Secure Boot enabled. To recap, this UEFI specification associates the firmware with a signing key that prohibits users from installing a new operating system. The majority of Linux desktop systems are installed over an OEM version of Windows, so the potential for problems is significant. This week, however, the Linux Foundation and its Technical Advisory Board announced their plan to enable Linux (and other open source distributions) to continue operating under Secure Boot enabled systems. In the announcement, James Bottomley wrote, “In a nutshell, the Linux Foundation will obtain a Microsoft Key and sign a small pre-bootloader which will, in turn, chain load (without any form of signature check) a predesignated boot loader which will, in turn, boot Linux (or any other operating system).” According to the announcement, the pre-bootloader will employ a “present user” test to ensure that it cannot be used as a vector for any type of UEFI malware to target secure systems. “The pre-bootloader can be used either to boot a CD/DVD installer or LiveCD distribution or even boot an installed operating system in secure mode for any distribution that chooses to use it. The process of obtaining a Microsoft signature will take a while, but once it is complete, the pre-bootloader will be placed on the Linux Foundation website for anyone to download and make use of,” Bottomley said. Bottomley noted that this pre-bootloader “provides no security enhancements over booting linux with UEFI secure boot turned off,” and the Linux Foundation welcomes efforts by various distros to tackle the problem and improve platform security. Thus, the pre-bootloader can be seen as a stop-gap measure giving distributions time to come up with plans that take advantage of UEFI secure boot. Right now, EFI firmware is compatible with Windows supporting the GUID Partition Table (GPT), OS X/Intel, and Linux 2.6 and beyond machines. EFI is seen as a superior hardware/software interface to BIOS because it is platform-agnostic and runs in 32- or 64-bit mode and because GPT machines can handle boot partitions of up to 9.4 zettabytes (9.4x1021). However, the benefits of EFI, and the later UEFI specification, are not particularly impressive to Linus Torvalds. As far back as 2006, Torvalds stated that many of the the EFI features were simply duplicating what BIOS had already done. Torvalds wrote at the time. “… the problem with EFI is that it actually superficially looks much better than the BIOS, but in practice it ends up being one of those things where it has few real advantages, and often just a lot of extra complexity because of the ‘new and improved’ interfaces that were largely defined by a committee.” Despite this disgruntlement, EFI and UEFI are supported by any kernel past 2.6, so implementing Linux on such devices is not a problem. The Linux Foundation is committed to giving users freedom of choice on their platforms. Conforming to this stance, we have already published a variety of tools to permit users to take control of their secure boot platforms by replacing the Platform Key and managing (or replacing) the installed Key Exchange Keys, here is a link to a Blog post about this : http://blog.hansenpartnership.com/easier-way-to-take-control-of-uefi-secure-boot-platform/ The Foundation recognizes that not everyone is willing (or able) to do this so it was also necessary to find a solution that would enable people to continue to try out Linux and other Open Source Operating Systems in spite of the barriers UEFI Secure boot would place in their way and without requiring that they understand how to take control of their platforms. Therefore, we also formulated a technical plan, which is implemented in this pre-bootloader, to allow distributions to continue functioning in a secure boot environment. The Linux Foundation welcomes efforts by some of the major distributions (e.g. Fedora, SUSE and Ubuntu) to tackle the problem of taking full advantage of UEFI secure boot to enhance platform security and sees the pre-bootloader it is releasing as a stop-gap measure that will give all distributions time to come up with plans that take advantage of UEFI secure boot. Here are links
Re: [Discuss] free up space on a RedHat RHEL 5 system
On Tue, Oct 23, 2012 at 2:18 PM, Dan Ritter d...@randomstring.org wrote: On Tue, Oct 23, 2012 at 02:12:03PM -0400, John Malloy wrote: Does anyone have suggestions on how to free up space on a RedHat RHEL 5 system? It is an ext3 file system It's root partition is totally (100%) full /var is on a separate partition. I cannot seem to locate any unnecessary file to delete. Do you have free space on another disk? Can you add one, temporarily, via USB or otherwise? -dsr- ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss A review of ls -la / shows nothing special? Is /home also part of /? If so, might there be unwanted files in someone's directory? What about system permissions?Might one or more files have been written to places they should not have? What does a du -h / show? How about df -h? Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] tcsh, AD, and RHEL 5.6
I have a RHEL 5.6 workstation configured with samba3x to authenticate to a Windows 2008 AD environment (net ads join) so the workstation appears as a Windows box that has joined the domain. Now, any user can ssh into it with their AD credentials, and /etc/passwd has no knowledge of their existence. The problem, I have found, is that if a user wants to change their shell from the default of BASH, there is NO place I can find to make that happen. I have NO control over the domain controller. % chsh says it can't do anything and defers to ypchsh, but this is NOT a yp configuration. The shell the user is interested happens to be /bin/tcsh, and it is on the system. The only accounts in /etc/passwd are the default system ones and a local account I created when RHEL was initially getting installed. Please educate me as to how the user can change their shell from the default of BASH. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Off topic - EAL/CC Projector?
This is a bit off topic, but does anyone know of a computer projector (multiple video/VGA inputs) that are Common Criteria/EAL approved, specifically for proper signal isolation among the video inputs? Thanks in advance. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] [OT] VZ Wireless carrier alternatives
I would say yes - I recently registered two Palm Treo phones with them - and I only have about $8 remaining on my balance. Some phones still try to reach out (BREW, etc), so if you can disable the phone-on capability, and just have the device in wifi mode, the PagePlus balance should NOT decrease. Many people have complained about this on various boards. I turned off the phone capability of the Treo, and the balance no longer was debited unless I overtly told the phone to use the cell network. Scott On Wed, Aug 22, 2012 at 11:37 AM, Rich Pieri richard.pi...@gmail.com wrote: Does Page Plus permit registering a smart phone (ie, my HTC Incredible) without a data plan? Because at $80/year it beats out T-Mobile 2 Go's best rate. -- Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] samba3x on Fedora 13?
Is it possible to install samb3x on Fedora 13 with minimal effort? It appears to be readily available for RHEL/SL/CentOS, but not Fedora. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] iPhone vs. Android - the backup problem
On Wed, Jul 18, 2012 at 9:45 PM, Richard Pieri richard.pi...@gmail.com wrote: On 7/18/2012 6:41 PM, Rich Braun wrote: The iTunes backup model provides only for whole-volume snapshots; you don't get to restore things piece-meal. And it includes sys-config items that go way beyond your personal data, in such a way that there is no assurance that a snapshot can be restored. The iTunes backup model is nearly identical to the Palm Desktop model: everything exists in iTunes. An iPhone is a portable cache of what's in the parent iTunes. Android is little different: it's a portable cache of what's in the Google cloud. Their backup mechanisms are nearly identical: modified user data is copied to the parent at sync time. Their restore mechanisms are nearly identical: wipe the device, restore the base configuration (iTunes for iOS, adding a Google account on Android), then let the sync tool copy everything from the master. The practical difference is that iOS requires iTunes and a USB cord while Android will chew up your air time. If you really want confidence then you don't want a smart phone. You want a Day Planner and a couple of pencils. Day Planners aren't bricked on a whim. As for recovering your data, if you didn't jailbreak the iPhone then do a factory reset on it in iTunes. This should install a clean, stock OS firmware. You may need to put it in DFU mode before connecting the USB cord to do the restore. You should then be able to restore your data in iTunes. If you did jailbreak (I suspect you did because I've seen the same kind of boot loops on my iPod Touch after faulty jailbreak installs) then you'll need to get the latest version of redsn0w and a copy of the correct firmware file for your device. You'll also need to recover your SHSH blobs. redsn0w should be able to do it with DFU mode. Use that plus the firmware file to build a signed firmware file for your device. Put the iPhone into Pwned DFU mode (redsn0w will tell you how) and use redsn0w to install the custom firmware. If all goes well then you should be able to restore your data in iTunes. How about http://www.mediafour.com/products/readyaimdrop/ for a backup/recovery option? I have no direct experience with this product nor do I have any involvement with the company or product other than having simply seen it on their web page (and learning about MacDrive from a youtube video about data forensics/recovery). Scott -- Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Verizon wireless mandatory dataplan
On Sun, Jul 8, 2012 at 11:20 AM, Jerry Natowitz j.natow...@rcn.com wrote: We are currently one of the few families who have Verizon wireless service without a smart phone, or a data plan. My daughter wants a new phone, but the only phones that she will consider are smart phones, which require a data plan, usually $30/month or more. She doesn't want the smart phone features, she wants the higher quality keyboard. She did some research and found that the data plan requirement only applies to phones purchased from Verizon or an associated dealership. She found a place selling the Palm Pre, which it claims can be used on Verizon without a data plan. I did my research and found people claiming that if you buy your own iPhone (but nothing about the Palm) and use it on Verizon, you will automatically be charged $30 a month for data. Also, my daughter currently texts, sends and receives photos, and some emails all within her unlimited texting allowance. Some people say that smart phones will use the network stack rather than MMS service for emails and photo/sound/video. So my questions are: 1) Does Verizon automatically upgrade you to a data plan if you register a Palm Pre on its network? 2) Will the Palm Pre use the network stack rather than MMS, causing us to pay for network usage even if we don't use the web browser, or an email client? -- Take a look at Page Plus Cellular (pagepluscelluar.com)- a prepaid service which includes data, has excellent rates, and is a Verizon MVNO. I was with them before, and for the lack of minutes I use, and planning to return to them in a couple of months. Pretty much Verizon's coverage without Verizon's contracts or prices. Scott Jerry Natowitz ===j.natowitz (at) gmail.com ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Opera vs Chrome for safety/security
Both Opera and Chrome are fast browsers, and each claims is own security record for web browsing. What are people's experiences and insights with how well each browser actually does in real-world tests? Noscript doesn't exist for Opera or Chrome, but at least Chrome reportedly has good-enough technology to counter it. Web Of Trust exists for both. Thanks for any insights. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Disk/Tape Eraser
On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 6:19 AM, Chris O'Connell omegah...@gmail.com wrote: Hi All, Can anyone recommend a piece of hardware used to erase hard disks/tapes/floppies? I've done some googling, looked on Amazon and NewEgg, but can't seem to find anything that fits the bill. Thanks, Erase or destroy?You could simply destroy it by unscrewing it and manually rotating the platters out of sync.It would be near impossible to reallign the heads again. bcwipe can help, or even a simple ATA secure erase, possible via bcwipe or the free hdderase. Scott -- Chris O'Connell http://outlookoutbox.blogspot.com ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Disk/Tape Eraser
On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 7:07 AM, scottmarydavid...@gmail.com scottmarydavid...@gmail.com wrote: I've got one of the Radio Shack bulk erasers that Shirley mentioned. The problem is that unless you reconnect the disk to verify that it's wiped, you never really know. Last batch, I just took a hammer to them. Never say never, but it'll be pretty hard for someone to read a disk with a 1/2 in. deflection in it. Call me the paranoid and cynical one, Scott After watching some Scott Moulton videos on youtube, you will learn the inner-workings of hard drives (SSD and mechanical). Those videos, along with some knowledge of digital forensics can help verify the disk is wiped. Scott On Tue, Jun 12, 2012 at 6:34 AM, Shirley Márquez Dúlcey m...@buttery.orgwrote: On 6/12/2012 6:19 AM, Chris O'Connell wrote: Hi All, Can anyone recommend a piece of hardware used to erase hard disks/tapes/floppies? I've done some googling, looked on Amazon and NewEgg, but can't seem to find anything that fits the bill. Radio Shack used to sell bulk tape erasers. They're no longer available from their web site; no telling whether stores might still have some old stray stock. The most recent version was stock number 44-233A; there were also earlier versions. The main addition to the latest version seems to be automatic thermal cutoff. These things get quite hot; they're basically big AC-powered electromagnets. A web search found recommendations for two other models: the Geneva PF-215 (handheld) and the Geneva PF-250 (tabletop). The latter is quite expensive unless you find an eBay deal. __**_ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/**listinfo/discusshttp://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Ubuntu on my old laptop :-((
On Tue, Jun 5, 2012 at 2:32 PM, Jerry Feldman g...@blu.org wrote: At the installfest, I decided to upgrade my Hp/Compag 64-bit nx6125 laptop with Ubuntu 12.04. However, when I boot from either USB media or CD media (32-bit or 64-bit) all I get it the Ubuntu logo. The cycling dots all stop. The laptop currently runs Kubuntu 11.04 (or 11.10). After failing Ubuntu on several tries with media that I built and with official Ubuntu media. Just to see if the if the laptop could run a recent kernel, I booted Fedora 17 Live USB successfully, so it looks like there is an issue with Ubuntu 12.04. The laptop is about 7 years old with an AMD 64-bit CPU. I've got plenty of memory on the laptop. Most of the time, for an initial install, I'll go with 10.04 LTS. That has yet to fail on me. Afterwards, I might upgrade and see what breaks where. In the worst case, 10.04 (.04) is in-hand, and I can always re-install, and it works. Scott -- Jerry Feldman g...@blu.org Boston Linux and Unix PGP key id:3BC1EB90 PGP Key fingerprint: 49E2 C52A FC5A A31F 8D66 C0AF 7CEA 30FC 3BC1 EB90 ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] SSD: enterprise vs. consumer Flash
On Sun, Jun 3, 2012 at 10:55 PM, Tom Metro tmetro+...@gmail.com wrote: Richard Pieri wrote: There ain't no such thing as high end flash chips in the way that you're thinking. High end in the NAND flash arena is a matter of sustained write performance. That's it. Not quality. Not reliability. Speed. Hmmm...that's *exactly* the way that I was thinking. Earlier in this thread I wrote, ...it seems likely that the mid-range SSDs are going to be using higher density chips, with faster write speeds, both of which will lead to lower production yields and thus higher prices. The thing is, flash read and write speeds have a technical plateau so you won't see much difference in the raw performance of different manufacturers' chips of a given generation. I'll buy that, but I'm still skeptical that a $20 USB drive has the same chips in it as a $200 SSD, let alone a $1000 SSD. The difference is how different vendors optimize their controllers. Makes sense. So how do the likes of EMC and Violin go so much faster for so much longer (5-10 years vs. 6-24 months for commodity SSD)? Several things. They use battery-backed DRAM cache on their controllers. So more silicon... The typical consumer-grade SSD has a single big flash chip in it. An enterprise class SSD has banks of chips arranged in something similar to a RAID 0 configuration to reap the benefits of more spindles. So more chips... Enterprise-class SSDs can have 100-200% over-provisioning or more. So more silicon... All of this comes at a premium. Yes, these are all plausible reasons for why an enterprise SSD costs more than a consumer SSD. But the situation you described is a far cry from the scenario Ed suggested where the exact same type and quantity of Flash chips simply have a different controller chip added and it doubles or triples the price. That was the bit I was skeptical of. Thanks for the additional detail. -Tom When you have a chance, if you haven't seen it already, check out the videos on youtube by Scott Moulton, aka SuperFlyflippingA. He is a Digital Forensics and hard drive expert, and his videos will provide great details on the inner-workings of both mechanical and SSD drives, along with how chip selection is managed by the vendors. Scott -- Tom Metro Venture Logic, Newton, MA, USA Enterprise solutions through open source. Professional Profile: http://tmetro.venturelogic.com/ ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Carrier Ethernet
On Sun, May 6, 2012 at 5:10 PM, Jack Coats j...@coats.org wrote: Back when I worked for a bank, the good folks at SWIFT (yes, the Belgum based, world wide financial transfer system) sell 'secure IP' connections. They charge High $$ and it is for 'private connections'. But those interested in 'secure connections at any price', it is something to look into. All the passwords, secure keyfobs/swipe cards', drove me crazy, but it worked, and the connections were secure. We also had 'Fedwire' connections with the Federal Reserve and the SWIFT connections were in the same realm of 'secure'. Plus SWIFT was 7x24, and Fedwire was only on 'bank business days' and was down for 12 hours per day. Just another datapoint for those who care. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss I'd be curious what SWIFTS definition of Secure IP really is. What exactly do they do that deems it secure? Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] camera files
On Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 5:19 PM, Derek Martin inva...@pizzashack.org wrote: On Wed, Apr 18, 2012 at 10:54:51AM -0400, dan moylan wrote: in yesteryear, when i plugged a camera into my computer, the camera files would show up under /mnt, then later under /media, then under ~/.gvfs. now, however, they show up in one of those drag and drop windows (whatever they're called), but where are they? i see NIKON... at the top of the window and a directory DCIM in the window. find / -name DCIM produces nothing. These days, many cameras and other types of USB storage devices can operate in several USB modes, which unfortunately (I've found) can be called different things on different devices and/or operating systems. Some of these work like USB-attached disks, whereas others do not. You may need to check the mode your device is configured to connect with, and possibly choose another mode. There's usually some option in the settings that controls this. Not all devices support all of the possible modes, so if your device is new, it's possible it doesn't support that mode. Also, as many devices store images on removable media (SD cards, for example), it might be an option to remove the memory card and plug it into a machine's internal (or external, via USB cable) media reader. The respective slot you plug into for the type of media should, then, mount as a device. Scott -- Derek D. Martin http://www.pizzashack.org/ GPG Key ID: 0xDFBEAD02 -=-=-=-=- This message is posted from an invalid address. Replying to it will result in undeliverable mail due to spam prevention. Sorry for the inconvenience. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Solaris 8, 10, etc ISOs?
I'm wondering where I might be able to obtain ISO images (for Intel) of Solaris 8, 10, and/or Trusted?I'll check Oracle's site later tonight. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Solaris 8, 10, etc ISOs?
On Wed, Apr 11, 2012 at 3:20 PM, Scott Ehrlich srehrl...@gmail.com wrote: I'm wondering where I might be able to obtain ISO images (for Intel) of Solaris 8, 10, and/or Trusted? I'll check Oracle's site later tonight. Thanks. Scott I was able to download Solaris 10 x86 from Oracle's web site. Solaris 8 and Trusted, both for x86, are the current challenges. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Little Snitch,tcpblock, other Mac OS TCP/IP cops?
I was recently introduced to Little Snitch and tcpblock as firewalls for the Mac. At home, I downloaded and tested each, along with reviewing Mac's built-in firewall. So far, only Little Snitch prompts me for any incoming and outgoing traffic, and has a nice side option of resolving DNS IPs. The larger question is what other programs do people recommend for a network/firewall monitor for Mac OS? I have Snow Leopard. I'd rather go with free, but tcpblock, even with Growl installed, did nothing to prompt me for anything. They simply existed on the system, taking up resources. I ended up uninstalling them. I found http://mac.appstorm.net/reviews/utilities/little-snitch-vs-hands-off-which-monitoring-utility-is-better/ per a google search of little snitch reviews I'd like to learn what other people do and use on their Macs. I don't mind manual dns lookups, but it would be nice to learn what is out there, and, in particular, what people use. I have used noscript on firefox, but I actively use chrome now since Firefox has given me problems under MacOS. Thanks for your experiences and insights. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Splunk server, splunk universal forwarder, snare agent
I have 4 VMs on a system for testing - RHEL 5.6, Win 7 64-bit Enterprise, Win Server 2008 R2, and Win XP Pro 32-bit. I have configured Splunk server on the 2008 box. The major issue I am seeing is - With Snare Agent (free version is UDP, which I'm using for testing) - all clients send perfectly-formatted log data to the splunk server. Out of the box, everything just works perfectly. Testing Splunk Universal Forwarder as a client, on a different port, as tcp (out of the box), I'm getting fragmented lines in the splunk server - some entries are one line, others two. Absolutely no indication of which machine sent the details. For some reason, Splunk configures the Universal Forwarder to send cooked (formatted) tcp data to the server. Splunk server shows it as a what appears to be escape sequences. Configuring the outputs.conf file to set cooked data from true to false fixes that. But still, I cannot get the universal forwarder to send complete, usable data to any given entry to the splunk server. I tried to also translate the snare agent config file lines to the most equivalent from the outputs.conf docs file splunk offers on their web site, but that didn't seem to do much. What am I missing? I would really like to have a tcp connection from client to server, ideally encrypted, and splunk server is an excellent product from what I can see.I presume splunk universal forwarder can do the job I want, it is a just a matter of figuring out how. Snare Agent can do it perfectly, but we'd need to buy it for tcp capability. Any help on getting splunk to talk to splunk with full details of each log entry would be most appreciated. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Legit site to test for Mac flashback infection?
Is there any legit Apple or other site to test one's Mac for the possible infestation of Flashfake? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Laptop memory card needs a good home
On Sat, Apr 7, 2012 at 9:47 AM, Edward Ned Harvey b...@nedharvey.com wrote: From: discuss-bounces+blu=nedharvey@blu.org [mailto:discuss- bounces+blu=nedharvey@blu.org] On Behalf Of Nathan Meyers I have a laptop memory card that needs a new home. It's a PC2700 (CL2.5) 512MB DDR SO-DIMM, manufactured by TwinMOS. It worked when I took it out of my laptop awhile ago to upgrade - as far as I know is still functional. If someone is willing to come pick it up in Woburn, let me know and it's yours. Eek... I regularly throw 1G and 2G modules in the garbage, as people upgrade their laptops to 4G or 8G... Even the users don't want the 1G or 2G modules for home, because buying new ones is so cheap... ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss But I have found that _donating_ memory, say, to a school, can help. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Help with destination of syslog messages?
I have a test environment consisting of Win 2008 R2 Server and Windows XP w/SP3, both running the latest Snare Agent for Windows, along with RHEL 5.6 and RHEL 6.2 servers, all within a VM environment. I am testing Linux as a central logging option. Snare Agent (free version) uses UDP, so it is a natural option for standard syslog on Linux. I am tailing /var/log/messages and only see host-only traffic, but another terminal window running tcpdump (or tcpdump -X port 514) DOES show incoming traffic from the clients. My question is where the heck is that data going? There are NO error messages on whichever Linux box I designate as the server (if I were to switch between 5.6 and 6.2). Traffic is coming in, but I'd love to know where, if anywhere, it is being written. Or, is there another step I need to learn to capture the data to a file? An ls -ltr /var/log doesn't show anything helpful, either. Thanks for any insights. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Log management options?
On Sat, Mar 17, 2012 at 1:40 AM, Scott Ehrlich srehrl...@gmail.com wrote: I'm looking for log management options for a network of Windows and Linux hosts on an isolated network. I need tcp communication (vs udp) to ensure messages successfully get passed from client to log server. Encryption of the message, too, between client to server would be great. TCP alone would just provide plain-text. I've been in touch with Intersect Alliance, and they've been extremely helpful with a myriad of questions I've posed, but I just learned that their server product requires its own Linux OS, provided by them. A bit of a bummer. Solarwinds, owner of Kiwi, won't return my emails. Corner Bowl is Windows-centric. Envision is just way too expensive. What other products are out there? Thanks. Scott Someone asked me what my goal was - I want to have a central location (database/file on a server) where successful and failed login attempts, objects accessed, system events such as discs inserted and data copied, are stored, machine powered up/down, media added/removed (usb devices, etc) along with machine name/ip and user, and an easy way to sort by user, date, time, status (success/failure), etc, for a given period of time, that period defined by the auditor. All events in the central database should mirror the events stored on the respective local machine they are sent from - thus the log server would have just a copy of what the local machine has. The above should be for both Linux and Windows systems. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Log management options?
I'm looking for log management options for a network of Windows and Linux hosts on an isolated network. I need tcp communication (vs udp) to ensure messages successfully get passed from client to log server. Encryption of the message, too, between client to server would be great. TCP alone would just provide plain-text. I've been in touch with Intersect Alliance, and they've been extremely helpful with a myriad of questions I've posed, but I just learned that their server product requires its own Linux OS, provided by them. A bit of a bummer. Solarwinds, owner of Kiwi, won't return my emails. Corner Bowl is Windows-centric. Envision is just way too expensive. What other products are out there? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Help with samba3x and libwbclient.so.0
Revisiting a recent posting of mine - So I have an isolated network consisting of a Win 2008 R2 w/SP1 domain controller and an unpatched (i.e. out of box) 64-bit RHEL 5.7 workstation. The goal is to get the RHEL workstation to join the domain controller for authentication. I was recently reminded, when doing this before, that the stock samba on the RHEL box does not work, that, on my CentOS box, and other CentOS systems I've recently built, I've had to remove the native samba packages and replace them with samba3x. So two questions - 1) What exactly is samba3x - from where does it originate? No amount of googling reveals an answer, other than available patches. samba.org doesn't seem to say anything about it. 2) An attempted rpm install of the latest version of samba3x, obtained from the CentOS site (didn't have immediate access to the RHEL repo) , hit some snags: rpm -Uvh samba3x-package hit some unmet library dependencies. I resolve two of the three, but libwbclient.so.0 is refusing to be acknowledged. It lives in /usr/local/samba/... I've placed it in /lib64 and tried ldconfig and a reboot. It refuses to be picked up. What am I missing? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Help adding RHEL 5.x workstation to Win2008R2 DC
On Wed, Feb 1, 2012 at 11:28 AM, Richard Pieri richard.pi...@gmail.com wrote: Just so that I understand what you mean by conventional methods, did you set up LDAP and Kerberos using system-config-authentication? -- Rich P. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss Yes, and I believe the entries are accurate. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Help adding RHEL 5.x workstation to Win2008R2 DC
We have a Windows 2008 R2 w/Service Pack 1 domain controller and a RHEL 5.7 workstation. Part of the required security settings on the domain controller are: Network Access: Allow anonymous SID/Name translation: Disabled Network access: Do not allow anonymous enumeration of SAM accounts: Enabled Network Access: Do not allow anonymous enumeration of SAM accounts and shares: Enabled We would like to add the RHEL 5.7 workstation to the domain controller for user authentication, thus no local accounts in /etc/passwd. But, due to the security mentioned above, conventional methods of adding the RHEL 5.7 workstation to the domain controller result in failures - I've tried both net ads join and the newer Likewise client, both of which fail. Since the domain controller's settings cannot be changed, what options do I have on the RHEL 5.7 workstation side? Are there other products/methods, outside of net ads join and likewise, that might do the job? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] Verizon FIOS vs Comcast
My in-laws currently use Comcast for Internet and tv, Verizon for phone.They actually subscribe to the slowest speed of cable and just basic cable channels. When I had the same setup, my Comcast + Verizon bill was rather expensive.When I switched to FIOS for all three, my bill was cut in half. This was a year ago that I switched. My in-laws said they actually will not be saving any money - the cost will be the same. Have things changed that much? Did they miss a promotion? Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] email virus
On Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 9:12 AM, Matthew Gillen m...@mattgillen.net wrote: On 01/11/2012 08:31 AM, ma...@mohawksoft.com wrote: I won't post it, because I'm not sure who would be vulnerable, but I just received this great email virus. It basically uses google code javascript decryption to deploy the package sent as an encrypted text stream. Nice. How will the mail filters deal with this? Can they? The decrypt is written in javascript and comes from the google code url, so it is probably viewed by filters as safe. The text stream looks merely like random text with no obvious patterns also, your javascript stream gets blacklisted? Change the encrypt key, done. I make it a habit to turn off javascript in anything that doesn't need it (a list 'according to me'; pdf viewers, mail clients, etc). Javascript is a cesspool of vulnerabilities (nearly every adobe acrobat exploit over the last few years has been javascript related, most web-browser vulnerabilities are js related...). I even turn js off on my android web browser, but I periodically have to turn it back on (e.g., wikipedia's mobile version is great, except that it needs javascript to be useful). That said, signature based detection could still nail it, unless they encrypt it differently for each recipient (less likely in the general phishing case because the computational requirements are too high, but very likely in a spear-phishing attempt). I've seen a perhaps slightly different kind of spam where it's just a single link to google docs (presumably to a doc that has malicious javascript). That would be very hard for the email signature-based stuff to detect, because creating a bunch of unique urls puts load on google's infrastructure, not the spam-bot-net. Interesting aside: you know what they call spear-phishing for C-level executives? Whaling. (can't remember where I heard that from; apologies if it was from this list) I'm an active user of noscript for both chrome and firefox. Scott Matt ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] FIOS, HD, DVR, and Mac Mini
Hello to all: I'm closing in on one year of FIOS service which comes with a complimentary year of DVR service. Unless I can get Verizon to come up with another way to save the $12 or so a month on the DVR, or get them to give me another free year of DVR service, I'd like to learn what others have done to convert their machines (Mac Mini for me) into a DVR on FIOS. How controllable are the FIOS boxes? I know I could always get an old VCR, keep the FIOS channel where it is, and record to tape. But, that somewhat limits shows on a tape, and the need to baby sit the channels. I think homemade DVR with a computer is more flexible. I'm happy to hear what others have done. What apps are available for MacOS (Snow Leopard)? If another OS is preferred, which would work best for a PC [Mac]-based DVR setup? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
[Discuss] OS and application scanning options w/OCR?
I have a textbook I want to scan in OCR.All software I have thus far on the system is free - OpenOffice, LibreOffice, Acrobat Reader X, etc. This scanning project will likely be just one-time. What scanner do people recommend for textbook OCR?What supportive software? Will OpenOffice do the OCR job for me? I am thinking of going to newegg to buy a cheap scanner. Options for me are: Windows XP or Windows 7 Mac OS w/Snow Leopard Linux (any flavor) I want to spend as little money as possible doing this.The textbook is 500 pages, and I retyped most of the chapters from 1 - 10 (250 pages). If I can get OCR to do the rest between now and the first week of December, I'd be thrilled. Thanks for leads/hints/experiences/etc. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] OS and application scanning options w/OCR?
On Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 5:06 PM, Rajiv Aaron Manglani ra...@alum.mit.edu wrote: On Thu, 6 Oct 2011, Scott Ehrlich wrote: I have a textbook I want to scan in OCR. All software I have thus ... This scanning project will likely be just one-time. ... I want to spend as little money as possible doing this. The how about outsourcing it: http://www.blueleaf-book-scanning.com/ I didn't know they existed. Looks good - I'll absolutely keep them in mind. Thanks! Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] How do I determine what hard drive screws I need?
On Thu, Sep 29, 2011 at 10:26 AM, Derek Atkins warl...@mit.edu wrote: Mark Woodward ma...@mohawksoft.com writes: On 09/29/2011 02:34 AM, John Abreau wrote: I've got an HP ProLiant DL360 G5 server, which uses 2.5-inch SAS or SATA drives. The machine had no drives in it, so I ordered a couple of drives, along with some drive trays. Neither the hard drives nor the trays came with mounting screws. How do I figure out what size screws I need? The drives are Seagate Momentus 750gb 2.5-inch SATA drives. Chances are that they are one of two screw sizes. Take a look: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_case_screws Hard drives typcally use the same screws. If you've had computers through the years, you probably have a bunch of them. Worst case you could mail-order from someplace like http://laptopscrews.com/ which have pretty much any computer screw you could want. They are pretty standardized nowadays. -derek -- Derek Atkins, SB '93 MIT EE, SM '95 MIT Media Laboratory Member, MIT Student Information Processing Board (SIPB) URL: http://web.mit.edu/warlord/ PP-ASEL-IA N1NWH warl...@mit.edu PGP key available ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss I'd ask where you got the drives then contact where they came from and tell them you also need the screws - go back to the source first and have them try to fix the problem. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Firefox vs. Chrome
On Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 12:15 AM, Rich Braun ri...@pioneer.ci.net wrote: Not too long ago, I bought a Core i5 with 8GB of RAM, thinking that this amount of horsepower thrown at the Firefox problem would make it go away. Wrong, I was still seeing sluggish 2000ms+ response time to such simple things as pulling up a dropdown or even echoing characters in a form. The process kept bloating to 2.8GB of RAM and bogging down, even with the upgrade to version 5.0 (I use OpenSuSE for my desktop). Today I decided I had enough and switched to Chrome. One day into this exercise, it appears I'm not going back, probably ever. Chrome remains snappy, and although it spawns separate processes for each active tab, they all add up to about 240Mb of RAM: less than *one tenth* the amount of RAM gobbled by Firefox. Has anyone else gone through this switch? What steps could have been taken to troubleshoot Firefox to avoid having to make this switch? I basically disabled all plugins, flash, Java, everything--and it still took over my whole system. I'm saddened by the collapse of Firefox but maybe it's just me, doing something wrong. -rich It would be interesting to expand this to include Opera, and maybe even Konqueror . I find Opera amazingly fast, and often swap between Opera and Chrome on my Mac. FF, too, for those applications that require it. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: [Discuss] Small Form Factor PCs
On Sat, Jun 11, 2011 at 11:49 PM, Chris O'Connell omegah...@gmail.com wrote: I'm looking for a very small form factor computer to install some home automation software on. The software is not very resource intensive. Here are the key requirements for the system: 1. Must be able to power back up without human intervention if power to the unit is lost. 2. Should be small and less energy intensive than a regular PC. 3. I would like it to be less than $500. 4. Must be capable of running Windows (so either an AMD or INTEL cpu). Can anyone make any suggestions about what might work well for me? I was looking at the Dell Zino, but am unsure if a better option exists. I have a fit-pc2 (www.fit-pc2.com) which works very well. Maybe it will suite your needs? Scott Thanks, Chris O. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
ebooks and pdf?
There is a book I am interested in, and it is available in ebook format.I'm new to the ebook scene. What options are there to convert it to pdf if I want to view it on my linux laptop? I don't have any interest, at this time, of investing in an ebook reader (such as Kindle, etc). Thanks for any education the list can provide. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
A few linux auditing questions
I am running 64-bit Fedora 10 and 12 (and yes, I know they are both old versions, but I don't have the ability, at the moment, to upgrade them, so I need to work with what I have). These machines are part of a NIS network and do NOT have SELinux enabled. A few questions to help educate me: - If I run aureport -i -l -ts this-week -te this-week I sometimes get a resulting username of unknown. /var/yp is up-to-date and /etc/passwd shows no unusual entries for the NIS server nor any of the clients. What might cause the 'unknown' entries? - In /etc/pam.d/system-auth what is the function of shadow, I think on one of the password lines - If I type history in bash, I get a listing of commands entered, but no corresponding date/time stamps. I did recently learn about the history timestamp bash variable, but if I export it, it will show me the history commands with a date/time stamp of _now_ (when I exported it). Is there _any_ way to see when the command was entered, or is it a lost cause? - As a followup to history, if chkconfig _whaterver_ on/off was typed (say chkconfig auditd on or off) where is the best place to see _when_ it might have been entered? I looked in /var/log/messages but it was not readily apparent. Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: 30% Apple
On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 11:24 PM, Edward Ned Harvey b...@nedharvey.com wrote: Since I hear a number of people here using android on t-mobile or att, I'll just mention... I recently switched from t-mobile to metropcs, and I love it. Unlimited everything for $50/mo (including taxes and everything) and no contracts. Yes there is some junk preinstalled, but nothing I care to root my phone for... And I happily install all kinds of stuff from any source I can find... Yup, I love it, and I can't wait till my wife's contract on t-mobile expires so she can switch too. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss How would you compare price and coverage of MetroPCS to T-Mobile's prepaid $100 for 1000 minutes per year, whichever (minutes or money) is used first? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
aureport and scripting -ts and -te?
I want to automate auditing scripts using aureport and would like to have a cron job place the results of aureport incorporating -ts and -te into a text file. But how do I set up the dates (say each day or for a week) in cron to pass to -ts and -te? I might want aureport --summary -ts 02/11/2011 -te 02/18/2011 summary.txt Now, how to convert 02/11/2011 and 02/18/2011 to a variable format for daily or weekly or any other period of time for cron? Thanks. Scott ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
Re: x11 server for windows
Cygwin - http://www.cygwin.com It includes an X Server, On Sat, Feb 5, 2011 at 7:59 AM, Stephen Adler ad...@stephenadler.com wrote: Any recommendations for an X11 server for windows? I've used hummingbird in the past, but my guess is that there is probably something better by now Thanks. Steve. ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss ___ Discuss mailing list Discuss@blu.org http://lists.blu.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
