March 2007 - KCLUG

Generic Remote Desktop Client
by Billy Crook 22 Mar '07

22 Mar '07

Throughout the course of a business day, I connect to any number of terminal servers, VNC servers, and citrix servers (citrix applications). I use krdc for the first two, and actually found a citrix client for linux for the last. I would like to use one application for all of these remote-graphical-desktop things though. I like krdc because it does RDP and VNC, and can scale the window and switch easily to view-only mode. AND, I want something that will accept username and password from a command line argument. Even better would be if it could auto-determine what kind of server its connecting to. If there were just three programs that could scale the window, accept username, password, and domain as arguments and indicate success or failure via return code, I'd write a bash script to do shit, and share it with you guys. I just don't know where to get the client software.

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RE: Giving Apache sudo access
by Kelsay, Brian - Kansas City, MO 21 Mar '07

21 Mar '07

Like all things Linux, there are at least three ways to do everything. >-----Original Message----- >From: Jared >Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 11:36 PM > >>>> Ouch! It requires recompiling Apache. >> >>> Are you sure it requires recompiling? On most distros it >should be a >>> default module. In Debian I found it precompiled at: >>> /usr/lib/apache2/modules/mod_suexec.so >> >> Apache's docs are distro-agnostic and harken back to the days when >> every howto told you how to patch and recompile the kernel. (Those >> things persisted long after the modular kernel made it unnecessary.) > >Aha! The plot thickens. Thank you, Jonathan. Indeed, I read >the Apache docs and bailed on the idea because they mentioned >recompiling. In fact, the module exists, at the same location >you described, on a Gentoo box. > >I think I can tinker with Kyle's proposal after all, as it >appears that mod_suexec is ubiquitous. > >Thank you, all who responded. I learned a lot, and now have >three valid solutions to the problem. > >-Jared

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RE: Giving Apache sudo access
by Jared 21 Mar '07

21 Mar '07

>> Does anyone have another idea for giving an apache module >> the ability to have root access to /dev/ttyS0, without >> compromising the box? > > Have you looked at apache suEXEC support? More info at: > > http://httpd.apache.org/docs/1.3/suexec.html > > Not sure if this is what you want, but using /etc/sudoers strikes > me as odd. :) Odd, yes, but it works. I was unaware of suEXEC. Ouch! It requires recompiling Apache. I should have clarified that I eventually want to market this application to people who are not able to recompile Apache. A little more research just revealed that the '*' flag at the end of the sudoers line will allow me to pass variables on the command line. Thus I do not need the /tmp file. This is the simplicity I'm looking for. Now it's down to two scripts and an entry in sudoers. Eliminating the /tmp file has eased my headache, although I still need to filter the variables coming in. Thanks, Kyle. suEXEC will be useful for a server with multiple users needing this capability, but that is a little ways down the line yet. -Jared

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Giving Apache sudo access
by Jared 20 Mar '07

20 Mar '07

I have a line in sudoers which gives Apache sudo access to run *a single script* in a specific location, outside the htdocs tree: apache ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: /usr/bin/php -f /path/sudo_app.php Thus the apache user can run this single command. Because I can't seem to pass command-line arguments ($argv) to this sudo_app, I write a tiny tmp file. In htdocs, I have a small php script: 'app.php': <?php file_put_contents('/tmp/vars.txt',"$_GET[a]\n$_GET[b]"); `sudo /usr/bin/php -f /path/sudo_app.php` ?> ($_GET[a] represents an argument passed through the URL like this: http://localhost/app.php?a=1&b=2) Inside sudo_app.php, I open /tmp/vars.txt, read the two variables, and pass them with full root access to the rest of the script, which accesses /dev/ttyS0. Then the script deletes the /tmp files. It works, but it seems more complicated than it should be, involving two scripts, a tmp file, and a line in /etc/sudoers, in order to run a single command. Does anyone have another idea for giving an apache module the ability to have root access to /dev/ttyS0, without compromising the box? -Jared

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Re: USB flash recovery tools?
by Jared 20 Mar '07

20 Mar '07

> I reject SI byte units *because* they are SI/metric, not just because I'm used > to the original units. Count me in the minority among geeks, but I do also. The British system is superior to the French "innovation" which is based on an inaccurate estimate of the distance from the equator to the north pole through Paris. The British system is far more intricate and interesting, both in its history and its accuracy. The meter was *originally* inaccurate, and remains so, although the appearance of accuracy has lately been improved by formulas involving the speed of light. But I'm not fooled, not being a "dumb American" on the subject: Rather, an informed one who has no interest in blindly following SI/metric because I know the 200-year-old political agenda behind it, which I still have no interest in supporting, for the same reason that Brits and Americans rightly rejected it in the first place. Most people who advocate metric have no idea of its origins, and think they are irrelevant. So be it. People who prefer to study the origins of things quickly reject the metric system. > Decimal is annoying. If we're going to fix units, they should be based off > binary or hexadecimal. At least here in the US we have binary measurements > for liquids (1 peck = 2 gallons = 4 pottles = 8 quarts = 16 pints = 32 cups = > 64 gills) I wouldn't call it annoying -- it is designed to be simpleminded -- but it *is* arbitrary. The French did not develop metric because of its superiority, but they have convinced a lot of people of this fact, even though their equally innovative calendar of the same era long ago failed. The foot is not arbitrary, nor is it "the length of some king's foot." It is part of an accurate measuring system based on the extremely stable distance from the core of the earth to the north pole, which I'm delighted to use at any opportunity. But people have a hard time believing that the ancient Egyptian culture knew more about the dimensions of the earth than the fact that it was flat, and so this subject is controversial, and drifting off-topic, and thus suffice it to say that Luke's desire for accuracy is in line with his appreciation of the imperial measuring system, and I agree with him on both counts. -Jared

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JOBOP: Network Security Administrator - Kansas City Area
by Russ Starr 19 Mar '07

19 Mar '07

I am passing along this position which needs to be filled quickly. Please send resumes and direct any questions to HumanResources(a)cmcmortgage.com. Thanks, -Russ ------------------------PASTE------------------------ Job Title: Network Security Administrator Description: Seeking a responsible individual in the Kansas City area that is looking for a position supporting users on computer and network related issues. The individual must be able to work with minimal supervision have a mature attitude. Additionally, the following skills are required: - Maintain a Cisco Router based Wide Area Network including configuration of routers, security and maintenance. - Maintain Firewalls (appliance based) including rules, VPN connections and maintenance. - Administer and maintain Multi-factor Authentication System for remote users - Manage Site-to-Site VPN connections as necessary - Maintain Web Filter system - Maintain Network/System monitoring system. - Work with other members of IT team for ensuring Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity efforts are successful by utilizing network and security skills. - Should have CCNA at a minimum and capable of setting up and maintaining routing protocols. - Must have experience with UNIX based systems as well as Windows Based Systems - Must be versed in EIGRP, NHRP, IPsec, TCP/IP, DNS, DHCP, and Active Directory. - Must be willing to travel (less than 5% of the time) - Must have 2 to 3 years of verifiable experience in the above areas. Enjoy a relaxed working environment with a great group of individuals who enjoy solving problems for a multi-site bank and mortgage corporation. Corinthian Mortgage offers a full package of benefits including medical, dental, life insurance, 401k, vacation, and more.

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USB flash recovery tools?
by Jon Pruente 17 Mar '07

17 Mar '07

I've got a 512MB USB flash keychain. Tonight I tried to use it and it didn't work. Ack! So, after some cleaning of contacts and messing around I got it to be recognized on my Mac mini, but with no filesystem. I dd'd the contents to a .iso file so I'd at least have some sort of backup. As it stands, the backup file is smaller than it should be (480MB?) so I'm not too confident in it. Anyway, can anyoe suggest a recovery tool for the drive itself, or to process a block dump? Either Mac OS or Linux tools would be good. I'm fairly sure it was in FAT32. So far Googling tends to bring up demos and trial ware.

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Linux PVR as possible self-control of content for families?
by Oren Beck 15 Mar '07

15 Mar '07

This morning I saw how commonplace Porno Video of frankly crude conduct has become. The "movie channel" had at 730 am- prime time for kids getting ready for school- a pornfest. Folks- usually we see stuff of this sort on the camslut torrents not on any "non pay" media. Suffice to say it was *NOT* ok for singledigit age kids to be watching. But they COULD if someone were not both aware of the issue- and empowered to control; it! So my porno surprise hatched a question. And let me preface this by admitting that I have never used Tivo or ANY of the PVR type systems personally. So I plead ignorance of their capabilities or limitations. Thus- Can the Linux projects for PVR media centers be used to create a personal content firewall? It's at first an almost oxymoronic application question. Then again- the issues are as usual, in the details. My initial core concept is starkly simple yet nontrivial to make simply easy. I want to have some method of recording kid safe content and -an ability to audit anything questionable if ratings or other rulesets make that indicated. So the only content that the kids see is as censored as practical.. My stepdaughter has 4 kids under 10 years old. So she's become the target customer for my application question. She does NOT have time to either hand censor all the kids'content in real time, nor the computer skills we do to even semi automate the task. Can we offer any help? Let me close with my overwhelming reasoning for posting this. The only person having final veto over what their children watch is their parent in control. And we can create an instrumentality of that control.

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Crosspost: MySQL Special Speaking Event ...
by Dave Hull 14 Mar '07

14 Mar '07

Pardon the crosspost, I know it's bad netiquette, but it's efficient. Scolding goes to /dev/null. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Jeannette Browning [mailto:jbrowning@mysql.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 6:14 AM Subject: MySQL Special Speaking Event ... <http://na1.salesforce.com/servlet/servlet.ImageServer?oid=00D300000000L xW&id=015300000000Oyr> Maximum Velocity MySQL Tuesday, March 20th ~ 1:30 - 4:30pm University of Kansas, Lawrence KS Union-Jayhawk Room Thank you for your commitment to MySQL! Let's face it, no matter how good we are as developers and DBAs, all applications have their breaking points and as a result can cause serious performance and execution issues. Wouldn't it be great if MySQL shared some of our secrets on how to properly diagnose the schema and streamline application code? That is exactly why I have asked Jay Pipes, MySQL Community Relations Manager, North America, to do a special presentation at no charge for you! In this talk, you can learn: * How to diagnose MySQL database performance bottlenecks using a variety of tools. * How to identify and FIX problem SQL code. * Best practices for writing streamlined, efficient SQL code that takes advantage of MySQL's strengths. * About advanced index concepts. * How to build an effective indexing strategy. * How to choose appropriate storage engines for different types of data. * How to adjust MySQL server parameters to squeeze the most performance out of your application. * How to plan for growth, in your code and in your index strategy. * How you can receive automatic preemptive advice & code for improving performance! This free session is for the MySQL Community at large, so please feel free to invite your co-workers, managers, and friends! Anyone, or any company, who attends this session is eligible for a 10% discount on 2+ servers of MySQL Enterprise Gold, or 15% for 2+ servers of Platinum! Regards, Jeannette Browning Sales Executive | MySQL, Inc. 817.491.6042 (p) | 817-288-0736 (f) jbrowning(a)mysql.com <mailto:jbrowning@mysql.com> | Skype: JBinTX | www.mysql.com <http://www.mysql.com/> "The future of the database market will be the standardization on MySQL." - Meta Group Contact me for discounted passes to the MySQL Conference & Expo 2007! ~ http://www.mysqlconf.com/ <http://www.mysqlconf.com/> About the speaker: Jay Pipes is the North American Community Relations Manager at MySQL. Co-author of Pro MySQL (Apress, 2005), Jay has also written articles for Linux Magazine and regularly assists software developers in identifying how to make the most effective use of MySQL. He has given sessions on performance tuning at the MySQL Users Conference, RedHat Summit, NY PHP Conference, OSCON, and Ohio LinuxFest, among others. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife, Julie, and his four animals. In his abundant free time, when not being pestered by his two needy cats and two noisy dogs, he daydreams in PHP code and ponders the ramifications of __clone(). <http://na1.salesforce.com/servlet/servlet.ImageServer> <http://na1.salesforce.com/servlet/servlet.ImageServer?oid=00D300000000L xW&esid=01830000005HPPh>

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Speeding up a machine
by Billy Crook 14 Mar '07

14 Mar '07

I'd like to think I have a decent system. (2.33GHz Core2Duo, 4 Gigs DDR667, 7200RPM SATA drive, nVid Quadro FX2500) I show it to people sometimes when they gripe about the brand new computer they bought that doesn't work because it came preinfected with Vista. For the most part, my system ROCKS! But sometimes, it can just be slow on some things. It takes about two minutes to do a full restart. I've set grub's delay to 1 second, and configured the bios for "fast boot" and skip memory check. Still, I'd like to make it faster. I can run a lean windows 2000 box, and have at work for a long time. On it, I could reboot in less than a minute, and its hardware wasn't half what I have now. I am less skilled with Linux than I am with Windows, but I'd like to change that. I've looked around the web for ways to optimize your Linux system. hdparm was mentioned a lot, but my drive is sata, and my cdrom is set to be recognised as scsi because as IDE, its throughput was too jerky to watch DVDs. When I tried to turn on DMA, hdparm kept throwing a fit about "HDIO_SET_DMA failed: Inappropriate ioctl for device". sdparm doesn't seem to offer the same. For example, I wand to use 32-bit transfer mode with sync, hdparm won't cooperate, and sdparm doesn't know what I'm talking about. My system is fast enough for me. I'm OK with waiting 6 seconds for FireFox to load the first time, 9 for OpenOffice.org Writer, and 2 each subsequent time, but skeptical windows users cling to any excuse to hate it. So far, I've trimmed down what services start at boot, I even have VMWare set not to start automatically, which should shave off a few seconds (No VMs are configured to start on their own, only the service was.) I wish the stuff that starts up on boot could start up asynchronously, or as asynchronously as possible. I'm not holding my breath on that though. Also, my display flickers every now and then. It doesn't appear to affect the applications or the system. It happens with and without beryl and vmware running. I'm using nvidia's latest driver as well. Any ideas?

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