20030103 Lockergnome Penguin Shell

01.03.2003 PenguinREPORT

It's on you today, with another DIY Friday issue.

As you might imagine, the editorial piece on Total Information Awareness brought tons of mail. It was a pretty mixed bag, and while most readers expressed concern about the TIA strategy, that opinion was by no means unanimous.

From Ruben Ortiz

Thanks for the clear and concise articles regularly included in the Penguin Shell. However, I object to the follow passage from the issue regarding the TIA project:
"Heading up the TIA project is John Poindexter. He is possessed, in the estimation of most, of an almost unimaginable intellect. He was also convicted of perjury surrounding his testimony regarding his involvement in the Iran Contra scandal of the Reagan years. [Evidently those estimates are inaccurate, as others with more modest intellects have recently managed to lie under oath and avoid perjury convictions. - RO] In other words, he's shown a complete willingness to subvert Constitutional privilege and separation of powers for causes he feels are worthwhile, not to mention a blind loyalty to those who've appointed him to office."
The caricature is that of an evil genius that reads minds in order to further his master's nefarious plans. This characterization is likely more indicative of your political views than the actual perils associated with the project and taints an otherwise objective report.

From Hyrum Luke Mills

While I don't think you are at all out of line with regard to the capabilities of the database system you spoke of, I think you would do well to analyze how we got in our current homeland security situation in the first place. There is entirely too much information out there for the government to look at _any_ individual in a sufficient level of detail to warrant concern. We cannot process the information we have about known enemies, let alone suspected ones. While I think that the project deserves extremely scrutinous oversight, I also think it should go forward. There is much to learn about computer technology from this type of large-scale project, even if the project itself fails (which I think it will.)

From Thomas Torpey

I too share the concerns that have been expressed over the TIA. On a deeper level however, both the danger and the promise are far greater than may appear at first blush. If one begins to try to imagine the singular machine that will result from this effort as a demonstration of technology the promise emerges. The stated goals of this agency are noble and right. The fear comes with the expectation of the abuse of the resultant power. No technology can be rightly called good or evil in and of itself. Consider the internet itself, while it has created lines of communication and information sharing that has never existed before, and through this insured a higher level of freedom for all (consider Linux), those very same channels are used to transmit hate, perversion and lie more than ever possible before. A centralized information system that is, at least in a sense, self-aware is of inestimable value in the effort to insure the stable and efficient management of society. Instant language translation in real time is beyond valuable. Imagine that at some point in the future this system is able to predict the probability of events in the near future and that it predicts that there is a high probability of a traffic accident at a particular intersection involving a school bus and a car driven by a man who is under great stress and has just lost his job (the system would know this) and alters the traffic patterns to avoid the accident. This would involve the biometrics (stress levels) real time data and situational information and universal system access. The likelihood is that humans wouldn't even see the data until it becomes a situation as there would be far to great a volume for any one to be aware of. "It" is not the threat, we are. For years I've watched as science fiction has predicted reality in the oddest ways. Remember the first Flip Phone& from Motorola? Does anyone not think that the Star Trek communicator inspired it? It looks like the matrix is being developed in order to care for us, protect us, and keep us safe. That is the threat, our need, our demand, for molly coddling. Just one mans opinion.

From Gordon Martin

Mark Day asked "where do you draw the line between safety and privacy". None of the things being done under TIA make anything safer and I believe Benjamin Franklin said it best when he said "Those willing to give up freedom for security will neither get nor deserve either". Everything done in the name of security thus far only gives the illusion of security, especially the procedures implemented at airports. When all passengers are treated as criminals and have everything removed which would enable them to not be a victim, it only makes it more dangerous, but gives the illusion of safety and a "feel good" sense of security.

From Ernest N. Wilcox Jr.

It is true that much of what TIA is looking to track is already being tracked, but not as one single database by one entity empowered with immunity.
Sears may be able to tell what tools I purchase, my local computer seller may be able to identify my preferences in computer hardware, and the many clothing sellers in my town may be able to see what my tastes [or lack thereof] in clothing are. It is even possible my ISP can put together a reasonable profile of my WEB surfing habits, but these are only fragmented glimpses into who am I, much like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle which are held by strangers who will never meet.
I must admit, the idea of being safe in my own home is a powerful inducement to support TIA. But then again, I grew up in a world living on the edge of nuclear disaster, where we did 'duck-and-cover' exercises when I was in elementary school. I later decided these exercises were designed to provide the illusion we could survive such a war. Like it or not, we have never been safe. Further more it is unlikely we will ever be safe. If we are not killing each other in wars, or otherwise, disease is doing the job. This past summer, the eastern part of the United States was terrorized by two individuals who went on a killing spree. How will TIA protect us from this sort of terrorism?
In my most humble opinion, I believe we must learn to live with the fact that we are not now, and never will be safe. We were not safe prior to 9/11, and we are not safe today. TIA can not make us safe, but it can eliminate our privacy. It sounds too much like the scenario of the book 1984 - where big brother is watching. I ask you in return, at what point do privacy and freedom become too high a price for safety?

Of course, we've completed a couple of distro reviews since the last DIY Friday. There were many comments about those distros, but the largest number addressed Mandrake.

From Dave Shemchak

A thought about the boot disk creation, or lack of, in Mandrake 9.0. I am a newbie to Linux so this may be out in left field. I started with Mandrake (and Linux) in general a couple of months ago. At the time I didn't have a DSL connection so I downloaded directory after directory of files off the nearest ftp site - after about a week of nearly 24hr straight downloading I had Mandrake 8.x on the hard drive. Because I didn't have the CD images I made an install floppy and (after many attempts and plenty of colorful language) I had Mandrake on my second hard drive. At the appropriate time during the installation, it created a boot disk.
Shortly thereafter, I got DSL and Mandrake 9.0 was available so I downloaded the CD images and installed right from the CD. As you, and another reader said, there was no attempt to create a boot disk. Yesterday, I installed 9.0 on my wife's machine - again no attempt to create a boot disk. This got me to thinking that maybe there's some relationship between the type of original installation and boot disk creation!?!
Anyway, I appreciate your newsletter. I've been a LockerGnome subscriber going back probably five years and as I've upgraded OS's I've continued to add newsletters to my list. (Tech Specialist and Penguin Shell)I'm looking forward to learning how to program in Linux. At present, I'm a truck driver and have been writing a Windows based business program to keep track of my business. That being a priority, I haven't been able to devote as much time to Linux as I would like. I haven't put it (Linux) on my laptop (for use in the truck) because I'm afraid my business program would suffer! So I read through your newsletter and squirrel them away for later use when I have the time! Keep up the good work!

From Shawn Jefferds

I've tried making the move away from the dark side and tried several different distros of Linux over the last two or so years. Each time I gave up after being frustrated, upset to have to return to Micro$oft products. I have a new laptop my company supplied and it has Win2K and I have to admit I really like it.
My sons computer (AMD K6-2 333, 192 Meg of memory and 8 gig of space on two drives) slowly started giving up the ghost despite a full install of 98SE just over a month before. He gave it up for dead and after several attempts to revive, I did to. I decided that since nobody was going to rely on it for consistent use, I'd go ahead and tray to get Linux up and running on it. I initially tried the Mandrake 8.1 disks I'd purchased last year but for some reason, I did not take. I downloaded Debian and got it started, but had preferred Mandrake so downloaded the new 9.0 disks.
The install was reasonably straight forward with only hiccups on the USB wheel mouse that were easily remedied and a hiccup with the Linksys WPM11 Wireless Network Card. I found the install for the card, downloaded and un-tared the files, then hit a brick wall. I read the readme, install and config files, but it was like reading Chinese. Everything said install this or that, okay, HOW??? As a newbie, most of what it says is completely meaningless to me, how does one install? There were no EXE or BAT files I was used to. If you ever saw "Where the Heart Is", the main character tells the librarian that while she's trying to read the book on caring for trees, she has to stop and look words up in the dictionary, then has to stop again and get the children's' dictionary to look up words from the adult dictionary, this pretty much describes how I've felt.
Today when I read your story on Install Files, it gave me hope and has motivate me to keep trying. Fortunately I have the luxury of having a system that does not need to be 100% today or next month, so time is on my side for once.
I used to write technical instructions for equipment at an old company, I'd like to pass along some advice to the people who write the install files. My job was to take the big books that came with the equipment or software and distill it down to one or two pages that explained how to use the new item. I always tried to write for the least intelligent person I knew or at about 4th grade level. If I could hand a 4th grader the instructions and they could easily follow them, I considered my writing a success. Experienced users will skim over all the gibberish and can find the meat and potatoes easily enough while newbies can go line by line and still get the job done.
While I'm sure that someday a few months from now I'll breeze through this stuff, it is still very frustrating at this point.

Today's GnomeTWEAK, GnomeCORE and (as always) GnomeVOICE sections are written by you, as well. Though the comments don't all address topics covered in their respective sections, I've tried to break them out into the section that suits the comments best. Answer a few questions if you can. Take the answers you need, And, as always, thanks for the input.

Have a great weekend.

Tony Steidler-Dennison

GnomeTWEAK
Readers' Tweaks
Package Management
From Shiva

I've been using linux for a while now - trying out various distros,and finally sticking on to Mandrake 9. All the ones I have tried so far have the RPM Package Management System - which is overall quite comfortable, though the dependencies still drive me crazy sometimes!! I heard that the Debian Package Management System was much better at handling dependencies - though I have frankly been a little perturbed about Debian having the reputation of being very hard to install(i.e. you have to be a linux guru to install it!!). Slackware doesn't have any Package Management System as such ,does it - just tarballs, right ? Was wondering if you could cover this aspect as part of your Slackware review ?
I think that the Package Management System for Linux is one thing that still needs a bit of polishing - at least as far as a newbie is concerned.
And Tony, you are doing a great job...Happy New Year!!
Firewalls
From Tony McCallie

Tony, I really appreciate the series on firewalls. Great choice! Before I knew about the Firewall specific distros, I found a great Webmin module for firewalls called Turtle Firewall. I know Webmin comes with its own firewall module, but I found Turtle Firewall to be much easier for a newbie. Both are based on IPTables. I'm currently running RH7.3 on an old 233Mhz with 40Mb ram and it makes a great firewall for my home office.
From Richard Garrow

Well you are doing a great job on the Gnome Firewall Tweak. I do have a question or a point to make concerning your suggestion on using SmoothWall. I downloaded the program and ran it up with out any problems as you said we would. I then when in and had a look at the Scripts that the firewall was using. Here comes the question are you aware that Smoothwall 1.0 is still using IPChains and not IPTables?? I was surprised and then again I know that IPChains has been around quite a while and it has proven itself in the field. So I guess the old saying comes into play here if it not broken then do not try and fix it.
From Dan Welshans

I have been using a derivative of Smoothwall for the past year. IPCop put out by some of the programmers who originally produced Smoothwall. They decided that Smoothwall Limited had some anti-open source views and created a "new"firewall utility from Smoothwall source. IPCop is a slightly updated version of Smoothwall 0.9.9.Ithas the identical web-based configuration utility, which I find handy. They have promised a new version that will use the 2.4 kernel and have a ton of new features. Too bad they have not released any updates lately. I hope that they have not lost interest in this project.
From Gael Duval

Tony:
MandrakeSoft today announced a new network-product - "Multi Network Firewall" - which can be used to deploy easily a complex and secured network infrastructure (including VPN - Virtual Private Network - and DMZ - DeMilitarized Zone). It also includes network traffic management, and - as usual for MandrakeSoft products - offers a very friendly user-interface.
All informations about this new product are available here.
MNF is available at http://MandrakeStore.com and is priced 1990 Euros/1,990 USD. The price includes a commercial license for 1 server and an unlimited number of clients. The MNF is a dual-licensed product. A downloadable version is also available at usual places but comes without any support from MandrakeSoft.
From Steve Cody

Having recently managed to put together a firewall so that the kids can share the shiny new cable connection, I have a few comments to make about using an "old PC".
I hunted around a bit and settled on freesco as a suitable single floppy firewall distro.
My first attempt was to use a small case 386 - a beautiful little box that would sit quite nicely out of the way of all my other clutter. That one bombed out when I couldn't get more than 8M of memory into the box, couldn't disable the HDD in BIOS, and had to resort to a hacksaw to trim one card back to fit into the box. Sigh.
My next attempt was a 66Mhz 486. That one had one of those ISA bus risers in it so that the cards sat parallel to the motherboard. Unfortunately the riser only accommodated 3 x 16 bit cards - I needed 4. Another sigh.
Finally I got my firewall going in a 266Mhz PII. This ran beautifully for a while until, after sputtering random errors for a week or so, one of the ethernet cards died. The kids mutinied, removed the firewall and went back to fighting for PC time.
So what's the wash-up?
Learning experience 10/10. I beat BIOS settings, network card configuration, firewall rules, and a raft of other issues. I learned heaps.
Value for money. Nah! If you add up the number of hours I spent on the project and the cost of running a 200W pc full time it doesn't cut it. I'm going to save up and but me one of those DSL routers. It only draws 10W and there is nothing much to break.

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Readers' Core
Background Processes
From Marcel de Jong

I believe that there is a small error in the GnomeTweak of 23.12.2002
It says:
ctrl+d: send the current process to the background
It should say:
ctrl+z: send the current process to the background
From Matthew Thull

Long time reader, first time writer.
This note is a comment really, in today's newsletter (12-23-02) you wrote in the GnomeTWEAK about keyboard shortcuts. Something I noticed was the Ctrl-d function for both logging out and sending processes to the background... isn't the later done with Ctrl-Z? I didn't think both would be combined to the same keystrokes in a console window? I'm checking it out as well, but wanted to send a note while I remembered it.
I also want to note that I've been archiving your newsletter since inception and often go back to find tips and tweaks. I am a long time UNIX (Solaris) system admin, and while there are many similarities with Linux, there have been a few curve balls. Your distro reviews have been invaluable, I'm using RH7.3 currently, but I am anxiously awaiting the Mandrake 9.0 review.
nmap
From Chris Berry

I just thought you should know that nmap is available for windows too. We have a mixed Mandrake 8.2 and win2k environment, and it works well on both for us.
here
Latest stable Nmap command-line zip file: nmap-3.00-win32.zip Latest development Nmap command-line zip file: nmap-3.10ALPHA7-win32.zip Latest Nmapwin Installer (includes Nmap and Winpcap): nmapwin_1.3.1.exe
From Eric Fortin

Maybe it has already been pointed out to you, but just in case: There's a Windows port of nmap and it seems to have the same functionality as the Linux version. Great tool!
Network Configuration
From Ernest Wilcox

Just a small note:
When you get to the screen which displays your network cards [and phone modems], you can de-select any devices which you do not wish to configure.
I use a Broadband connection to the Internet, and do not wish to configure my Phone Modem as a Network Device - so I click the small depressed box at the left to de-select it.
devfs
From Gary Greene

In concerns about devfs, Mandrake has used it by default since 8.0 However, the /dev mount point isn't empty when the system mounts the devfs. This is so in case the system has any difficulties with devfsd (the little daemon that creates the backwards compatible symlinks.)
Actually, I'm more geeked about the 2.5.X kernel series method of handling the /proc mess with the /sysfs
gzexe
From Andrew Molyneux

I noticed your recommendation of gzexe in Penguin Shell 2002-12-13. You might want to point your readers at UPX (upx.sourceforge.net). It can also compress DOS, Windows and Atari TOS executables, to name just a few. It's free, and it's the best EXE packer I've ever seen, including several commercial products.

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MicroBSD 0.6RC2
http://www.microbsd.net/modules/news/
"MicroBSD is a hardened, secure, and small OS for x86/Alpha/Sun/PPC (or other) platforms. It uses as little hard disk space as possible, while providing a fully-functional system. It includes services for firewalling, intrusion detection, VPN, SMTP, WWW, DNS, FTP, and others, and features POSIX 1e Audit Controls and logging, mandatory access controls, filesystem level ACLs, application stack hardening and protection, modular design, easy installation via FTP, CD-ROM, or floppy disk, and much more."

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dd'ing
Scribbled by David Snyder
"Here at work we use dd to create disk images. One of our products uses Xenix, a Microsoft Unix that was discontinued in the early 90's. Windows can't read a Xenix diskette, so we use a Linux box to maintain the disk images. Just slap the source floppy in the drive and type 'dd if=/dev/fd0 of=~/dsk_img_01' and you've got a nice disk image. To create a new floppy from that image, reverse the commands: 'dd if=~/dsk_img_01 of=/dev/fd0'.
"I've also used this technique when running VMware on Linux, because it had some issues writing to the floppy. Create an image of a floppy using dd, mount it as a drive in VMware, write whatever I need to transfer to it, unmount, dd the image to the floppy and sneaker net it wherever it needs to go."

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