Re: [PLUG] Configuring Ubuntu Desktop for public users?
Free Geek uses various temp users internally for their workstations. It has been a while since I worked there, but they also had an OEM user, which is temporary for use when building the computers. I'm pretty sure that MDM, the display manager in Mint has a Guest mode, you may want to look into turning that on, since it allows for temporary users. This will result in any data getting saved by the user to be automatically wiped when they log off. Users in general also cannot write to directories outside /home/$USER, so you don't have to worry about things like /var filling up. I would implement a guest user through the display manager. Usually this just means activating it in the config file. You can then have password protected Admin users that have sudo access. Avoid using Firefox alone to set this, since there are a million ways to bypass the browser, giving the user access to the rest of the filesystem. There are a bunch of Linux kiosk projects, like the LinuxK-12 project that Rich mentioned, but if you want to keep the OS installed by Free Geek, there are a few configuration options that you can toggle for smaller setups. If the organization is only planning 2 public stations, then a diskless solution will be time consuming and expensive. Keep in mind that any diskless thin client solutions will require a server to host the OS. On Mon, Jun 11, 2018 at 9:19 AM, Carl Karsten wrote: > I looked into this for my local library, about 7 years ago. > > I would start with Rich's suggestion because > a) he is much more current than me > b) he is likely to be of help when you need it > > That said, there are lots of projects that do this kind of thing. I > am sure there was one that was meant for libraries. > > One thing I was always concerned with was how well the system would > last over weeks or months of lack of attention.Like, does it need > a sys admin around to apply security updates, or un brick a machine > because /var filled up, etc. > > If you expect to maintain the boxes, great, this isn't an issue. If > you are going to leave them in the hands of someone that can turn it > off and on again... then the requirements are different. > > > > > > > > > > > > On Mon, Jun 11, 2018 at 11:00 AM, Rich Shepard > wrote: > > On Mon, 11 Jun 2018, Mike C. wrote: > > > >> Does anyone have any experience with configuring Ubuntu desktop for a > >> school, library or non-profit for many public users? > > > > > > Mike, > > > > If the linuxK-12 project is still alive it would be a good resource for > > you. At the Riverdale HS the network used diskless workstation clients > and a > > central server. How that was configured could be a guide for you. > > > > Regards, > > > > Rich > > > > ___ > > PLUG mailing list > > PLUG@pdxlinux.org > > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug > > > > -- > Carl K > ___ > PLUG mailing list > PLUG@pdxlinux.org > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug > ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
[PLUG] : Re: Configuring Ubuntu Desktop for public users?
"If the linuxK-12 project is still alive it would be a good resource for you. At the Riverdale HS the network used diskless workstation clients and a central server. How that was configured could be a guide for you." I'm familiar with Linux Terminal Server Project. About 10 years ago I setup a computer lab for small technical college in Santa Clara with DebianEdu / LTSP. After I set it up, I turned it over to someone who was able to administer it. There's no one currently here to administer such a configuration and there's only 2 desktops that will mostly be used for email and some web browsing. Fairly light usage as most people have smart phones and just use that with the wireless network. ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] : Re: Configuring Ubuntu Desktop for public users?
On Mon, 11 Jun 2018, Mike C. wrote: After I set it up, I turned it over to someone who was able to administer it. There's no one currently here to administer such a configuration and there's only 2 desktops that will mostly be used for email and some web browsing. Fairly light usage as most people have smart phones and just use that with the wireless network. Mike, If the two hosts are ligtly used, can you set yourself us a user and use ssh to remotely log in for administrivia purposes? Rich ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Configuring Ubuntu Desktop for public users?
I did some searching online, and you may run into issues with a Guest user on vanilla Mint. If MDM ( the display manager used in Mint), then you can easily replace it with LightDM. I know for a fact LightDM has a Guest feature and it works reasonably well. After that, all you need to do is disable the GRUB bootloader menu to avoid savvy users accessing recovery shells as root. Quick and dirty Kiosk Mode :-) On Mon, Jun 11, 2018 at 1:29 PM, Mike C. wrote: > "Free Geek uses various temp users internally for their workstations. It > has been a while since I worked there, but they also had an OEM user, which > is > temporary for use when building the computers. > > I'm pretty sure that MDM, the display manager in Mint has a Guest mode, you > may want to look into turning that on, since it allows for temporary users. > This will result in any data getting saved by the user to be automatically > wiped when they log off." > > This sounds the most like what I'm hoping to be able to set up. Easy, > quick, simple and low maintenance. I plan to leave them with a snapshot > backup on a usb key that they can use to restore the system quickly & > easily if it gets trashed. > > I'll try this and if it doesn't work well I try ChomiumOS. > ___ > PLUG mailing list > PLUG@pdxlinux.org > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug > ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
[PLUG] Simple & Inexpensive Proxy Server
> > Just using your current setup you can get some content filtering using DNS. Opendns provides a free service to do that. https://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/ I don't know if that will help with the piracy usage though. I forgot about OpenDNS until after I sent the email. I configured the modem to hand out the OpenDNS ip addrs via DHCP. I tested it. It with a few sites and it blocked those, but the real test will be when people start using it as one cannon imagine all the dark & creepy corners of the Internet that people like to explore. The biggest problem with freee OpenDNS is that when a web site is blocked throws up a generic Microsoft tech support page instead of something more useful like"access to this site has been blocked because the content violates our service usage policy." On Jun 9, 2018 10:05 AM, wrote: Send PLUG mailing list submissions to plug@pdxlinux.org To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to plug-requ...@pdxlinux.org You can reach the person managing the list at plug-ow...@pdxlinux.org When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of PLUG digest..." Today's Topics: 1. Re: Ubuntu MATE 16.04 Update Failure (Ben Koenig) 2. Re: Ubuntu MATE 16.04 Update Failure (Dick Steffens) 3. Re: Ubuntu MATE 16.04 Update Failure (John Jason Jordan) 4. Resolved: Ubuntu MATE 16.04 Update Failure (Dick Steffens) 5. Simple & inexpensive proxy server for community PCs? (Mike C.) 6. Re: Simple & inexpensive proxy server for community PCs? (Bill Barry) 7. Re: Simple & inexpensive proxy server for community PCs? (Bill Barry) -- Message: 1 Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2018 12:32:12 -0700 From: Ben Koenig To: "Portland Linux/Unix Group" Subject: Re: [PLUG] Ubuntu MATE 16.04 Update Failure Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" On Fri, Jun 8, 2018 at 9:04 AM, Dick Steffens wrote: > On 06/08/2018 08:13 AM, John Jason Jordan wrote: > >> sudo do-release-upgrade >> upgrades to 16.10 or 18.04 >> > > Do not attempt to perform a release upgrade while your repository is in a broken state. In fact, do not attempt to perform any sort of installation or upgrade until you resolve the error with Google Earth. You will break your system to the point where the only solution is to reinstall from scratch. I've seen this error countless times since 8.04. This error literally predates Mint and end users have a tendency to break their installs over some bad error reporting. Resolve the error for apt-get update before attempting any further steps. -- Message: 2 Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2018 12:40:35 -0700 From: Dick Steffens To: plug@pdxlinux.org Subject: Re: [PLUG] Ubuntu MATE 16.04 Update Failure Message-ID: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed On 06/08/2018 12:32 PM, Ben Koenig wrote: > On Fri, Jun 8, 2018 at 9:04 AM, Dick Steffens wrote: > >> On 06/08/2018 08:13 AM, John Jason Jordan wrote: >> >>> sudo do-release-upgrade >>> upgrades to 16.10 or 18.04 >>> >> > Do not attempt to perform a release upgrade while your repository is in a > broken state. > > In fact, do not attempt to perform any sort of installation or upgrade > until you resolve the error with Google Earth. You will break your system > to the point where the only solution is to reinstall from scratch. > > I've seen this error countless times since 8.04. This error literally > predates Mint and end users have a tendency to break their installs over > some bad error reporting. Resolve the error for apt-get update before > attempting any further steps. I've never done an upgrade, only updates. Most of the time, and all of the time in the past five or more years, I've always had another machine on which to try out the newer version. I'm in that state now with 18.04. I did an install of Ubuntu MATE 18.04 on my other desktop machine and ran into problems. Someone pointed out that waiting for 18.04.1 was safer, so I'm doing that. Meanwhile I still get notices to update 16.04. So I'll go through the other recommended steps after work this afternoon, and see how that goes. Thanks for the warning. -- Regards, Dick Steffens -- Message: 3 Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2018 13:13:45 -0700 From: John Jason Jordan To: plug@pdxlinux.org Subject: Re: [PLUG] Ubuntu MATE 16.04 Update Failure Message-ID: <20180608131345.07442861@Devil-Bonobo> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII On Fri, 8 Jun 2018 12:40:35 -0700 Dick Steffens dijo: >I've never done an upgrade, only updates. Most of the time, and all of >the time in the past five or more years, I've always had another >machine on which to try out the newer version. I'm in that state now >with 18.04.
Re: [PLUG] How do I talk to it
from a wine/dos prompt -> dir g:? On Sun, Jun 10, 2018 at 9:28 PM Chuck Hast wrote: > Yes that is what g: is aimed at. But for some reason the program does not > see > it. > > On Sun, Jun 10, 2018 at 11:20 PM, Larry Brigman > wrote: > > > More likely to sdb. > > > > On Sun, Jun 10, 2018 at 9:01 PM Chuck Hast wrote: > > > > > On closer inspection I see that both of these are removed when the > device > > > is > > > disconnected: > > > Jun 9 23:18:50 kp4djt-t420 kernel: [ 1136.185219] sd 9:0:0:0: Attached > > > scsi generic sg2 type 0 > > > Jun 9 23:18:50 kp4djt-t420 kernel: [ 1136.191102] sd 9:0:0:0: [sdb] > > > Attached SCSI removable disk > > > > > > So should my link be to /dev/sdb > > > or > > > /dev/sg2 > > > ?? > > > > > > > > > On Sun, Jun 10, 2018 at 10:56 PM, Chuck Hast wrote: > > > > > > > Chee, I missed that one... Well now to give it a try, but I am > getting > > > too > > > > sleepy, > > > > so better wait until tomorrow. > > > > > > > > On Sun, Jun 10, 2018 at 9:08 PM, Russell Senior < > > > russ...@personaltelco.net > > > > > wrote: > > > > > > > >> dmesg says /dev/sdb > > > >> > > > >> df or mount will only show it if it has been mounted. > > > >> > > > >> On Sun, Jun 10, 2018 at 6:20 PM, Chuck Hast > wrote: > > > >> > > > >> > That was the second option after looking in /dev. I figured it > would > > > >> show > > > >> > up in > > > >> > one of those places but no joy. > > > >> > Here is what I see from the df command > > > >> > > > > >> > Pre-USB connection: > > > >> > kp4djt@kp4djt-t420:/dev$ df > > > >> > Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on > > > >> > udev 3952548 0 3952548 0% /dev > > > >> > tmpfs 794616 9544785072 2% /run > > > >> > /dev/sda1 472559888 168056020 280476172 38% / > > > >> > tmpfs3973072 28056 3945016 1% /dev/shm > > > >> > tmpfs 5120 8 5112 1% /run/lock > > > >> > tmpfs3973072 0 3973072 0% /sys/fs/cgroup > > > >> > tmpfs 79461640794576 1% /run/user/1000 > > > >> > kp4djt@kp4djt-t420:/dev$ > > > >> > > > > >> > Post connection: > > > >> > > > > >> > kp4djt@kp4djt-t420:/dev$ df > > > >> > Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on > > > >> > udev 3952548 0 3952548 0% /dev > > > >> > tmpfs 794616 9556785060 2% /run > > > >> > /dev/sda1 472559888 168056024 280476168 38% / > > > >> > tmpfs3973072 28056 3945016 1% /dev/shm > > > >> > tmpfs 5120 8 5112 1% /run/lock > > > >> > tmpfs3973072 0 3973072 0% /sys/fs/cgroup > > > >> > tmpfs 79461640794576 1% /run/user/1000 > > > >> > kp4djt@kp4djt-t420:/dev$ > > > >> > > > > >> > As you can see there is no difference. > > > >> > > > > >> > > > > >> > > > > >> > On Sun, Jun 10, 2018 at 1:51 PM, Ken Stephens < > > > >> kennethgsteph...@gmail.com> > > > >> > wrote: > > > >> > > > > >> > > The it will be a drive letter in dosdevices. Do a df and see > > where > > > >> it is > > > >> > > mounted. In a Fedora Distribution, it should be mounted in > > > >> > > /run/media//. > > > >> > > Link that to a drive letter in dosdevices. > > > >> > > > > > >> > > Ken > > > >> > > > > > >> > > On Sun, Jun 10, 2018 at 11:18 AM Chuck Hast > > > wrote: > > > >> > > > > > >> > > > Ken, > > > >> > > > The first thing I did was look in /dev to see if it was there > > but > > > no > > > >> > > joy. I > > > >> > > > see the > > > >> > > > device appear on my desktop as a ST MicroSD Flash, but I > cannot > > > find > > > >> > > where > > > >> > > > to setup a link to the thing. > > > >> > > > > > > >> > > > On Sun, Jun 10, 2018 at 11:02 AM, Ken Stephens < > > > >> > > kennethgsteph...@gmail.com > > > >> > > > > > > > >> > > > wrote: > > > >> > > > > > > >> > > > > Chuck, > > > >> > > > > > > > >> > > > > You need to add a link to it in ~/.wine/dosdevices > > > >> > > > > > > > >> > > > > Ken > > > >> > > > > > > > >> > > > > On Sat, Jun 9, 2018 at 9:20 PM Chuck Hast > > > > >> wrote: > > > >> > > > > > > > >> > > > > > Folks, I have a radio that uses a USB link to an STMicro > > > >> device. It > > > >> > > > shows > > > >> > > > > > up on my laptop as an SDMicroSD Flash. I need a program > > that I > > > >> run > > > >> > in > > > >> > > > > > Wine to see it but cannot figure out how to make it > visible > > to > > > >> the > > > >> > > > > program. > > > >> > > > > > > > > >> > > > > > Here is the trace from a console capture: > > > >> > > > > > Jun 9 23:18:49 kp4djt-t420 kernel: [ 1135.086367] usb > > 1-1.1: > > > >> new > > > >> > > > > > full-speed USB device number 8 using ehci-pci > > > >> > > > > > Jun 9 23:18:49 kp4djt-t420 kernel: [ 1135.181567] usb > > 1-1.1: > > > >> New > > > >> > USB > > > >> > > > > > device found, idVendor=0483, idProduct=5720 > > > >> > > > > > Jun 9 23:18:49
[PLUG] Configuring Ubuntu Desktop for public users?
Does anyone have any experience with configuring Ubuntu desktop for a school, library or non-profit for many public users? I've very limited experience and knowledge with user administration. Ideally, I'd like to not have to create 100 individual accounts and I'd prefer to create 1 account that has the following parameters: 1. Cannot write to the local disk 2. Cannot read from usb stick 3. Can only write to a usb stick. I think I've Firefox configured to not save any history or data but I haven't tested it yet. I think there's extensions such as Ghosterly to reset/wipe Firefox upon close. The organization received a quote from Cybrarian, which is what the Multnomah County Library, for $8,000. I'm trying to configure 2 Ubuntu Free Geek boxes to work similarly for free. I'm less concerned about session timers and more about not leaving any residual user data behind after they logout. ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Configuring Ubuntu Desktop for public users?
On Mon, 11 Jun 2018, Mike C. wrote: Does anyone have any experience with configuring Ubuntu desktop for a school, library or non-profit for many public users? Mike, If the linuxK-12 project is still alive it would be a good resource for you. At the Riverdale HS the network used diskless workstation clients and a central server. How that was configured could be a guide for you. Regards, Rich ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
Re: [PLUG] Configuring Ubuntu Desktop for public users?
I looked into this for my local library, about 7 years ago. I would start with Rich's suggestion because a) he is much more current than me b) he is likely to be of help when you need it That said, there are lots of projects that do this kind of thing. I am sure there was one that was meant for libraries. One thing I was always concerned with was how well the system would last over weeks or months of lack of attention.Like, does it need a sys admin around to apply security updates, or un brick a machine because /var filled up, etc. If you expect to maintain the boxes, great, this isn't an issue. If you are going to leave them in the hands of someone that can turn it off and on again... then the requirements are different. On Mon, Jun 11, 2018 at 11:00 AM, Rich Shepard wrote: > On Mon, 11 Jun 2018, Mike C. wrote: > >> Does anyone have any experience with configuring Ubuntu desktop for a >> school, library or non-profit for many public users? > > > Mike, > > If the linuxK-12 project is still alive it would be a good resource for > you. At the Riverdale HS the network used diskless workstation clients and a > central server. How that was configured could be a guide for you. > > Regards, > > Rich > > ___ > PLUG mailing list > PLUG@pdxlinux.org > http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug -- Carl K ___ PLUG mailing list PLUG@pdxlinux.org http://lists.pdxlinux.org/mailman/listinfo/plug
