E@zyVG’s Vichar::World Connected

Put your old PC to work as an experimental learning lab for the aspiring PC technician in you.

Most desktop components are easy to remove and install. Hard drives, graphics cards, optical drives, and memory are the parts that most commonly need replacing over time, and they can make a huge difference in your system’s performance when brought up to date. Most parts come with installation instructions, but if you want some hands-on experience, start by removing and reinstalling the innards of that old PC sitting in the corner.Before you know it, you’ll be ready to soup up your system and eventually move on to building your own rig.

1. If you’ve always wanted to give Linux a try but are reluctant to abandon Windows, here’s your chance to put that old PC to work for you; Linux runs quite well on older platforms. After backing up whatever data you’d like to retain, simply download and install one of the many free variations of Linux (called distributions or distros), grab a handful of free Linux applications off the Web, and discover the world of open-source computing. Even easier to use are the many versions of Linux that come on “live CDs,” meaning disks that will boot you directly into a Linux environment without installing anything on your hard drive.

2. Even though you’ve got Windows firewall turned on and your router supplies NAT (Network Address Translation) and SPI (Stateful Packet Inspection) protection, you are still vulnerable to virus attacks, spyware infiltration, and identity theft every time you connect to the Internet.

There are several Linux-based firewall distros available as free downloads, including SmoothWall Express (www.smoothwall.org), which requires a minimum configuration of a Pentium-class processor, 64MB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, a CD drive, and two network connections. The nice thing about SmoothWall is that you don’t have to know anything about Linux; simply download the installation files, create a bootable CD, and install the application, which also contains the OS. A series of easy-to-follow instructional menus will guide you through the process and help you configure the box for your network. Just like that, you’ve built a “Smoothie,” which gives you, in addition to NAT and SPI, the ability to block specific IP addresses, enable port forwarding, set up a VPN, and sync up with a Network Time Protocol server.

3. Other than that you can always donate it to some organisation or give it to someone who is not in position to buy one, better with Linux pre-installed. Finally, if your old PC just isn’t worth donating or is too far gone to be reused, recycle it. Whether you decide to donate or recycle, make sure you completely remove all of your personal data.

For more on Linux and Open Source head (to my other blog).

 It’s fairly easy to misconfigure your firewall if you don’t have strong technology expertise among your staff. Though with Linux (and BSD) deployed it does indeed get’s easier to protect your computers hooked to internet, it is still something you should seriously care about.

1. If you have a network and don’t have it firewalled, get it done as soon as possible.
2. Use a firewall device or software to provide your firewall service. Don’t use some other device that may provide some hint of security. The capability can be built into a server or a router or something else, but make sure what you are getting is a firewall.
3. Protect each individual device in your network, or that might be used on your network, with device level security tools.
4. Make sure you properly “wall off” applications from unintended external and internal use.
5. Think of security is an ongoing process, not something you do once and can forget about. Make sure you are installing patches for your network as they are made available. Consider investing in an annual security assessment from a reputable IT consultant or solution provider.
6. Look to an IT consultant, or solution provider, to help you with your implementation. They have the expertise to guide you through the process and ensure that you are able to protect yourself and balance that with making sure you have the ability to run your business.

For desktop users: some Linux distributions do not have firewall installed by default, or activated, so make sure that there is one. For example openSUSE uses iptables as it’s firewall application with Yast Firewall frontend which makes it easier to manage your firewall settings.

No matter which OS you are using on your servers (and desktops/notebooks) the above list is to be followed if you want to be sure that you are safe and secure 99.99% (0.01% - there is a always a key to any lock)

Linux is “Free” in two senses. In one sense, the Linux consumer is free to modify the system and do anything he or she wishes with it. In another sense, acquiring Linux does not necessarily require any cash outlay at all.

There are two very popular methods for acquiring and distributing Linux: internet (ftp and torrent) and CD/DVD. Most of the major Linux distributions (openSUSE, Red Hat, Ubuntu, Debian, Slackware) are available for free download from several popular sites. Though time consuming, it does not cost anything beyond connection charges.

Getting Linux by CD/DVD seems to make more sense in many cases. For a few dollars (essentially the cost of the physical disc itself and shipping and handling), anyone can get the major Linux distributions. Many vendors even offer several-CD sets or DVD with prices averaging less than $2 per disc.

This would be a bargain if Linux were a run of the mill system with few frills and no truly compelling features. As a matter of fact, Linux comes with full networking capabilities, a mind-boggling array of programs, utilities, and development tools, which is being updated on a daily basis by community (developers, contributers) and commercial organizations supporting Linux.

The development tools in particular make Linux a great platform for learning how to write software. In addition to the tools, you often get a full CD/DVD of source code (such as with openSUSE DVD) to browse and study and tinker with. Another advantage is that, as a multi-user system, it is much more likely to keep you from shooting yourself in the foot as you learn to program. Of course, if you are not inclined to write software or at least experiment, these things do not necessarily need to be installed.

Of course one of the greatest advantages of Linux is that it is the freedom to modify the existing code, that suites your requirements, and makes it a very easily extensible platform. Heck, you can even go commercial and make money from Linux, for example acting as a consultant. It is your choice ….. and I have chosen Linux.

P.S.>> If you don’t know, I host a blog dedicated to Linux and Open Source.

This is how now my desktop a@home looks like … not much changes, apart from new monitor, webcam, keyboard and mouse and there at the bottom left corner my new HTC P3300 “Artemis”.

openSUSE 10.2: KDE 3.5.6 + Beryl/Xgl 0.2

Just for fun decided to put up a screenshot of me from Novell’s Linux Ready Map.

In 2003, IBM began releasing ThinkPad laptop computers with integrated accelerometers and associated software to protect the hard disks when the unit is dropped. Enterprising hackers from IBM and elsewhere have worked to develop modules for the Linux kernel to take advantage of these sensors. On-screen display orientation, desktop switching, even game control and real-time 3D models of the tilt of the laptop are now available. This article presents a new twist — knock codes — and a simple program to run commands when specific knock codes are detected.

For the first time, you can hit your computer and get a meaningful response! Using Linux® and the Hard Drive Active Protection System (HDAPS) kernel drivers, you can access the embedded accelerometers on Lenovo (formerly IBM®) ThinkPads, then process the accelerometer data to read specific sequences of “knocking” events — literally rapping on the laptop case with your knuckles — and run commands based on those knocks. Double tap to lock the screen, and knock in your secret code to unlock. Tap the display lid once to move your mp3 player to the next track. The possibilities are endless.

More here on how to accomplish this on your Thinkpad.

The president of India, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, added to a growing foreign-relations headache for Microsoft with a speech in which he advocated broader adoption of open-source software.
- speech during dedication ceremonies at new International Institute of Information Technology in Pune in 2003

Given the benefits of open source, is it any wonder that an increasing number of local and national governments around the world have passed laws or adopted policies to encourage the use of free and open source software?

Peru became the latest country to pass a law encouraging the use of FOSS, despite heavy lobbying by Microsoft and the US government.

Other countries that have actively pursued the use of FOSS in government are Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, South Africa, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam.

Several researches have shown that going open source is better option than staying with proprietary and legacy software. Even Microsoft is going with open source philosophy.

International OSS and FOSS sites:

• FOSSAP - Free and Open Source Software Asia-Pacific
  
• FOSSFA - Free Software and Open Source Foundation for Africa
  
• FSFE - Free Software Foundation Europe
  
• AFUL - L’Association Francophone des Utilisateurs de Linux et des logiciels libres
  
• European Working Group on Libre Software
  
• Free Software and the WSIS process: Free Software Foundation for Europe Portal
• UNDPU and UNESCO

My other blog which is dedicated to Linux and Open Source has received a record number of visitors  equalling 10,006 visitors in one day and hitting number Uno spot on Wordpress.com.

I feel very kewl today.

Matt Perry has cool article on what he calls “wardriving” - roaming around with GPS tracker and looking around for WiFi access points and then marking them on Google map. I am definitely going to give this a try in future, for fun, as he does, so not to forget this post I will re-post it here. One thing for sure, instead of using GPS tracker that connects to notebook via serial port, I will prefer to have some PDA which is GPS enabled and connects to notebook via Bluetooth or USB … how hard it is going to be to make it work with Linux! And, yes, I will have probably either SUSE or MEIPS distribution running on the notebook, instead of Ubuntu.

Wardriving is fun. Going around the neighborhood and mapping all the wireless networks may be nothing more than a geeky hobby but it can sure teach you alot. And viewing the results in Google Earth is icing on the cake.

I’ve used NetStumbler on windows and this works great but since my computers at home are now nearly Microsoft-free, I had to relearn the process on Linux. It breaks down into a few easy steps:

1. Install the drivers for you wireless card. On my HP laptop with a Broadcom card, I followed the instructions on the ubuntu forums which worked great with one exception: the driver link on that page doesn’t have a valid md5 sum so you can download it from this url instead
2. Install gpsd. This is the software that talks to your gps unit and is available in the ubuntu packages through apt. The one hitch is that I had to set up my Magellan GPS unit up for the correct baud rate and NMEA output. Once installed, I connected the GPS unit via a serial port, turned it on and ran gpsd /dev/ttyS0 to start the gpsd server.
3. Install kismet, the wireless packet sniffer. The version in the ubuntu repository is not recent enough to support my Broadcom driver so I had to download the latest source and compile it with the standard configure, make, sudo make install . Then I had to edit the /usr/local/etc/kismet.conf to reflect my system configuration; I changed the suiduser, source and logtemplate variables. Once configured, you can start it with the command sudo kismet.
4. Now drive/bike/walk around for a bit with your laptop and gps unit. When you’re done, shutdown kismet and you’ll have a bunch of fresh logfiles to work with.
5. The main kismet log is an xml file containing all the info on the available wireless networks including their SSID, their encryption sheme, transfer rater and their geographic position via gpsd. I worked up a small python script, kismet2kml.py (based on a blog entry at jkx@Home), to parse the logfile into a KML file for use with Google Earth. It could certainly use some tweaking but it’s a start. To run it, give it the kismet logfile and pipe the output to a kml file:
   kismet2kml.py kismet-log-Jul-03-2006-1.xml > wardrive.kml
6. Now fire up Google Earth (Linux version now available!) and load your KML file.

Also, as James Fee points out, posting your data as KML files means that the data can be integrated into a growing number of kml-ready apps including google maps (just upload the kml and point your browser to http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://your.server/wardrive.kml).

Another neat application I’ve found for dealing with kismet logs is the kismet2gpx script for converting the kismet gps tracklog into gpx. Since most gps units have pretty tight limitations on the length of stored tracks, logging them to your laptop with kismet could be an effective way of creating detailed tracks on very long trips.