I recently needed to set up a mailing list for a group of friends (my bike club). I had become tired of mail bounces and failures because we were all relying on an out of date list of addresses originally cobbled together by one member. That list of addresses was routinely used in “reply all” …
Category: linux and unix
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/07/22/implementing-mailman-and-postfix-with-lighttpd-on-debian/
Jul 16 2008
ooops
An apt-get dist-upgrade (to bring the kernel up to date and install some new patches) on the slugs killed the webcam. Of course I should have remembered that the gspca module was built against the old kernel and might fail. One quick “m-a auto-install gspca” later and all is working again. Of course the kernel …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/07/16/ooops/
Jul 09 2008
slugs are history
Jim Buzbee, of batbox fame and one of the original NSLU2 hackers, apparently gave a presentation about the history of slug hacking at the Boulder Linux Users Group. A PDF copy of his presentation can be found on his batbox.org site. Jim also notes that Linkys are ending production of the NSLU2 after four years …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/07/09/slugs-are-history/
Jul 02 2008
mine’s longer than yours
You could regard this as another pointless entry to go alongside the webcam. But hey – so what. I had cause to check the uptime on my slugs a little while ago now that they are largely stable and providing the services I want. After doing so I thought it would be good to be …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/07/02/mines-longer-than-yours/
Jun 20 2008
backtrack 3 released
Any half decent sysadmin will routinely test the security of his or her own systems. A good, and sensible, sysadmin will follow up those tests with an independent security audit by a professional company – preferably one which is a member of a recognised industry body (such as CREST). Finding the holes in your security …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/06/20/backtrack-3-released/
Jun 05 2008
xkcd on the openssl fiasco
I’ve had my attention drawn to Randall Munroe’s take on the openssl coding change problem. Beautiful.
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/06/05/xkcd-on-the-openssl-fiasco/
Jun 02 2008
debian and the openssl flaw
Ben Laurie wrote about the Debian SSL problem a couple of weeks ago. That particular post has attracted a huge response which is well worth reading if you care about free open source software and/or privacy/security issues (or even if you don’t). The key point to take from the discussion is that about two years …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/06/02/debian-and-the-openssl-flaw/
Jun 02 2008
recursion: see recursion
I have written about how I use one of my slugs to backup my internal files via rsync over ssh. Well it turns out I made a pretty silly mistake in my rsync options. I thought I’d been careful in specifying the files I specifically wanted excluded from the backup (ephemeral stuff, thumbnail images, some …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/06/02/recursion-see-recursion/
May 26 2008
linuxdoc.org hijacked
Sadly it appears that the once useful linuxdoc.org website has been hijacked by one of those awful domain squatters who seem to want to sell mortgages, holidays and houses. I tried today to check out an old “howto” I had bookmarked and was greeted by a completely new site – as below: At first I …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/05/26/linuxdocorg-hijacked/
May 05 2008
slugs aren’t really slow
A recent email exchange with the friend who originally suggested that I take a look at the NSLU2 got me thinking about the machines we currently take for granted. In his email he outlined that he had consolidated a set of services previously run on a couple of old desktops (a Dell and a Shuttle) …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/05/05/slugs-arent-really-slow/
May 04 2008
a problem slug
I bought myself another slug recently so that I could have one dedicated to internal work and the other used for public facing webs. I wasn’t really comfortable with having my network backup and apt-get mirror on the same beast as a public web. I know from experience that public facing systems are vulnerable and …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/05/04/a-problem-slug/
Apr 07 2008
slugs as pets
Following a recommendation from a friend of mine, I have recently been playing with a Linksys NSLU2. This device is no larger than a paperback book yet packs some remarkable capabilities. It was originally designed by Linksys (Cisco) to act as a “Network Storage Link for USB 2.0 Disk Drives” (hence NSLU2). Externally, the rear …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/04/07/slugs-as-pets/
Apr 06 2008
google oddness
A google search for “loadlin” produces a sponsored link for “Inflatable lilos”. Strangely no references to insects or food however.
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/04/06/google-oddness/
Jan 19 2008
another vulnerability in the home hub
The guys at gnucitizen have posted details of another vulnerability in the BT home hub (and related Thomson routers). This vulnerability allows a remote attacker to reconfigure the router using the UPnP functionality which is turned on by default. UPnP is an authenticationless protocol designed to allow local devices to reconfigure the router – typically …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2008/01/19/another-vulnerability-in-the-home-hub/
Dec 30 2007
reflashing the BT home hub from a linux PC
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I found several references to successful reflashes of the BT hub to a genuine Thomson 7G image on a variety of sites. None of those sites gave instructions as to how to do this if you run a linux PC. So I have documented how I did it …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2007/12/30/reflashing-the-bt-home-hub-from-a-linux-pc/
Nov 25 2007
update to ripping DVDs to a sony psp on linux
Since writing the entry below, I have discovered a much simpler way of ripping and transcoding DVDs – k9copy. I really should have noticed this earlier because I investigated k9copy when I was playing with dvd::rip and winFF as GUI tools for ripping. I had (stupidly) assumed that k9copy could only copy a DVD to …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2007/11/25/update-to-ripping-dvds-to-a-sony-psp-on-linux/
Nov 04 2007
ripping DVDs to a sony psp on linux
I spend a lot of time on trains – I mean a /lot/ of time. My daily commute amounts to around 6 hours in total each day. Of that, at least 4 hours is spent sitting on a train avoiding listening to the cacophony of irritating chunterers and morons on mobiles. The worst period is …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2007/11/04/ripping-dvds-to-a-sony-psp-on-linux/
Feb 08 2007
update on the Reg about BT and the GPL
I knew this one would run….. The Register notes that BT believe they have done enough to comply with the GPL by publishing the code here. But the Free Software Foundation remains unconvinced. In my view BT should respond more positively and work with the foundation to meet the requirements of the GPL. We’ll see.
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2007/02/08/update-on-the-reg-about-bt-and-the-gpl/
Jan 22 2007
BT home hub and the GPL
I mentioned the Home Hub Blog in an earlier post. That author of that blog (amongst others) has been trying to find a way to unlock the Hub so that it can be used on ISPs other than BT itself. Unfortunately, BT seems to have tied the beast down (and ties it further with each …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2007/01/22/bt-home-hub-and-the-gpl/
Jan 02 2007
BT home hub
In my searches for more information about the BT Home Hub and its configuration I have come across a couple of good sites. The Home Hub Blog is an interesting collection of notes about the author’s attempts to unlock the Hub so that it can be used on other ISP’s networks. This is the reverse …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2007/01/02/bt-home-hub/
Dec 31 2006
update to correspondence with a corporation
BT support finally called me back again today (two days late, but hey) and again attempted to transfer me immediately to the Broadband Talk support department. Before I allowed them to do so, however, I made certain that the person I was talking to fully understood my problem. I believe she did. But she confirmed …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2006/12/31/update-to-correspondence-with-a-corporation/
Dec 30 2006
DMT for linux
I have just found a rather nice tool for querying my Thomson DSL modem. It is rewrite of a tool originally written for windows by A. Matthoefer. The author of the linux version is Timo Boettcher. The tool compiled cleanly and worked first time with my ST780WL. It should work equally well with the BT …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2006/12/30/dmt-for-linux/
Dec 29 2006
correspondence with a corporation
Recently I have been experiencing a small problem with my BT broadband connection. I should point out that in general my experience wth BT’s broadband offering is very good. Whilst not the cheapest around, the quality and reliability of the connection are better than I have heard reported from friends and colleagues with other ISPs. …
Permanent link to this article: https://baldric.net/2006/12/29/correspondence-with-a-corporation/