Major security flaw in Internet Explorer !!

I just came across this article on Yahoo!Tech:
Major flaw revealed in Internet Explorer; users urged to switch

Security experts are recommending that users switch from Internet Explorer to Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari as they are not affected.

This vulnerability affects Internet Explorer version 5 though 8 beta.

More information here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7784908.stm

Linux command of the week

I was working on my system today and was wondering, "How can I see the differences between two files?"

Well, the answer is ... the diff command.

The diff command will show you the differences between 2 files and the line numbers of where the two files differ.

eg $ diff file1 file2

http://blog.biggsk.net/?p=114

Official Google Blog: Net neutrality and the benefits of caching

Official Google Blog: Net neutrality and the benefits of caching

Official Google Blog: @Twitter: Welcome to Google Friend Connect

Official Google Blog: @Twitter: Welcome to Google Friend Connect

Official Google Blog: Google Chrome (BETA)

Google Chrome is out of beta now. I see that is only available for Windows XP and Windows Vista. Hopefully a Linux version will be available soon.
I tired this a few months ago when the beta was released. I was pretty impressed with it.
Have your tried it yet? What are you thoughts
Official Google Blog: Google Chrome <S>(BETA)</S>

Google Online Security Blog: Announcing "Browser Security Handbook"

Google Online Security Blog: Announcing "Browser Security Handbook"

Fedora Weekly News Issue 155

Here is the latest issue of Fedora Weekly News:
Fedora Weekly News Issue 155

Name suggestions for Fedora 11 ended yesterday.

To see the suggested names see the following link:

Suggested names

The Community vote on final name: Jan 5, 2009 - Jan 9, 2009

The name will be announced on Jan 10, 2009!

Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Tasks

Official Gmail Blog: New in Labs: Tasks

Fedora 10

I have noticed a lot of visits coming to my blog looking for information on Fedora 10. I apologize, I haven't kept up with the posts.
I am going to get it downloaded in the next few days and give it a review, and some helpful tips.

If you have tried it out let me know your opinion.

If you have question about Fedora let me know!
I will answer all comments.

Thanks all

Google Online Security Blog: Gmail security and recent phishing activity

Google Online Security Blog: Gmail security and recent phishing activity

Official Gmail Blog: Get your Gmail stickers

Official Gmail Blog: Get your Gmail stickers

Official Google Blog: Pirates vs. Ninjas: Who would win?

Official Google Blog: Pirates vs. Ninjas: Who would win?

Fedora 10

So Fedora 10 was released a few days ago, and unfortunately Ive been really busy and haven't had time to try it yet. Hopefully this weekend I will get a chance.

What are your thoughts on it?

Become a Fedora Ambassador

So you want to be come a Fedora Ambassador?
Well, ask yourself these questions:
Do you love Fedora?
Do you want to see Fedora advance and become better with each release?
Do you want to spread the word about how great Fedora is?

If you answered yes to these questions, you're probably ready to become a Fedora Ambassador.

Being a Fedora Ambassador is all about spreading the word about Fedora, whether it be telling your friends, or speaking to a large group at your college.
It all about spreading the word!

More info:
Fedora Ambassadors project

**Update** Dell Inspiron 1520

I finally got the webcam working on my Inspiron 1520 using the kdetv package.
("yum install kdetv")
It works great!


Now I just need to get the touchpad working, to where tapping simulates a
click...

Simple perl script for searching logfiles

Here is a Perl script I wrote about 6 months ago.
It is used for searching log files.

Failed SSH connections
Accepted SSH connections
Websites accessed (successfully) though a squid proxy

Its a very basic script, and is based on the default locations of the log files.
Here it is:

#!/usr/bin/perl

#system commands
$cls = "clear";
$user = "whoami";
$cmd0 = "grep Failed /var/log/secure*";
$cmd1 = "grep Accepted /var/log/secure*";
$cmd2 = "grep 200 /var/log/squid/access.* | less";

system($cls);
print "Hello,";
system($user);

print "What would you like to do?\n";
print "1. See Failed SSH connections.\n";
print "2. See Accepted SSH connections\n";
print "3. See websites that were accessed\n";

$ans = ;
chomp($ans);

if ($ans eq "1")
{
system($cls);
print "Failed SSH connections\n";
system($cmd0);
}
if ($ans eq "2")
{
system($cls);
print "Accepted SSH connections\n";
system($cmd1);
}
if ($ans eq "3")
{
system($cls);
print "Web access\n";
system($cmd2);
}

What do you think?
What would you make different?

Happy Birthday Fedora

5 years and still going strong!!

Fedora Project

Fedora 9 on a Dell Inspiron 1520

Installing Fedora 9 on my Dell 1520 was pretty simple task, pretty much everything was recognized, but there were a couple issues.

I haven't got the integrated webcam up and running just yet.
(As soon as I do get it working, Ill post the info)

Tapping on the touch pad to click something doesn't seem to work just yet either.

I had to use ndiswrapper with the bcmmwl5 driver.
(Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4310 USB Controller (rev 01))

All together (not including troubleshooting on
Fedora Forum) it took about an hour to install the operating system and config the system to suit my needs.


Here are the specs:
Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Mobile Processor T2370
4GB, DDR2, 667MHz
250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini Card
Integrated webcam

What is your laptop running?

Official Google Blog: Update to Google Chrome's terms of service

Official Google Blog: Update to Google Chrome's terms of service

CompTIA Security+ exam

I am getting ready to take my Security+ exam within the next month or so, and wanted to get some input from people who have taken it.

What did you do to prepare?
How was your testing experience?
What should I expect?

I have been going though the book and practice exams I purchased from PrepLogic.

Thanks in advance for your comments!

Google Chrome: My thoughts

At first glance it looks like any standard browser, tabbed browsing, bookmarks, history, etc.

But there are some pretty interesting, and new features with Chrome.

One feature that I found really interesting is that each tab is run as its own process, giving you the ability to monitor the memory usage, CPU usage, and network activity.
If a web site giving you problems, you can kill the process without completely closing out of the browser.
Task manager

Another cool feature is “Incognito mode”.

"Webpages that you open and files downloaded while you are incognito won't be logged in your browsing and download histories; all new cookies are deleted after you close the incognito window."

This does not prevent the destination website from logging your activities, and any files you download will still remain on the computer.

Here is situation where Incognito mode would be helpful. Say you are doing some Christmas shopping for your kids online, and they are somewhat computer savvy, this would prevent them from going into the history and spoiling the surprise.
Incognito mode

For all of the features see the link below:
Google Chrome Features

It is definitely worth checking out.

Official Google Blog: A fresh take on the browser

Official Google Blog: A fresh take on the browser

Download Google Chrome now

What are your thoughts on it?

Top five reason to use Fedora

Here are my top five reasons why Fedora is such a great operating system, and why you should use it:

5. Updates are simple...

By running one simple command, 'yum update', all updates for packages currently installed on your system are downloaded and then installed/updated. If you are looking for a program, chances are it's in one of the repositories, just do 'yum install packageName', it will be downloaded and installed right then.

4. Easy / Straightforward installation...
You can select the type of installation you want, based on what you will be using the machine for.
The default is 'Office and Productivity'. Which would be a standard desktop installation, used for emailing, Internet, and typing documents.
The other options include 'Software development', and 'Web server'.
You can also add additional repositories,and add optional software you want installed during this stage.

3. Latest software...
There is a new release of Fedora every six months (roughly), which includes the most cutting edge software.
I started with Fedora 4, and haven't been disappointed since.

2. Great support forum...
Every time I have asked a question on fedoraforum.org, I have received a response within a day, most of the time within the hour. It is one of the best support forums I have ever been on, with very friendly and helpful people.

1. Its FREE...
It's free to download.
It's free use.
It's free to modify.
It's free to distribute.

So...
What distribution do you use?
Why is it your favorite?

Tropical storm Fay

Tropical storm Fay is still hanging around, here's a couple shots of our backyard:







...more to come...

Maybe I'll go for a swim later on...

Fedora Ambassador project

I'm finally going to have some time to get more involved with the Fedora Ambassador project. I am going to burn a bunch of the Fedora 9 live CDs and start spreading the word around town here, starting at the community college I attend.

If you want to get involved with the Fedora Project check out the link below, if your in the Central Florida area and want to help out let me know. I was also thinking about get a Fedora LUG going here in town.

Fedora Project

Firestarter Firewall

Firestarter is a easy to use firewall program with a GUI interface great for a personal, or business use. I currently use it on all my Fedora machines.

It is supported by both 2.4 and 2.6 Linux Kernels, and is available for Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4, Debian, Gentoo, source tarball, and source RPM
The latest stable version is 1.0.3, but you can download older versions from Sourceforge.
Download Firestarter

Management is very user friendly and can be done though the GUI or via the shell.
You can use it for internet connection sharing, controlling inbound and outbound connections, create whitelists and blacklist access policies, view traffic in real-time, and active connections, and see connections that have been blocked by the firewall.
Another great feature of Firestarter is that it can be used as a DHCP server.

Over all I think this firewall is great for the user that is new to Linux and firewalls, but its even suitable for the Linux pro! :)

Feel free to leave me your comments.

For more information see the Firestarter website:
http://www.fs-security.com/

linux, firewall, network security

Fedora

I've been using Fedora since Fedora 4, it was my first taste of Linux.
I've tried some other distributions but it is my favorite distro, by far.

If you don't know about Fedora you should definitely check it out:
Fedora Project

There is a new release every 6 months, with the latest in free and open source software, the installation is pretty straight forward, you can choose to set it up as a desktop or server or for development, and they have a great support forum:
Fedora Forum
(You can find me on there posting under biggsk)

If you have time leave me some comments on what your favorite distro is and why.