July 2005

While searching for Linux-Windows integration articles to assist in my project to unify Linux authentication with Active Directory, I came across an entry in Robbie Allen’s Active Directory Cookbook blog that was talking about a new book titled Linux in a Windows World.

Turns out that O’Reilly has indeed published Linux in a Windows World.  Looks to be a good book; I’ll have to pick up a copy soon.

I suppose I should be finishing one project before starting another, but I can’t help myself.  I’m going to take on the project of integrating my Linux systems with Microsoft Active Directory, so that a single Active Directory account can be used to authenticate to both Windows-based systems as well as Linux-based systems on our network.

This new effort comes while I have yet to finish my projects on Squid log analysis tools or an internal news server running INN.  At least I did get Perdition working as expected, and figured out how to get Mail.app to use STARTTLS with IMAP4.

A couple of the resources I’m using for this effort are bookmarked in my del.icio.us bookmark list.  I’ll be adding more there as I find them.

I also have yet to decide if I will use Samba/Winbind or LDAP to handle the cross-platform authentication.  I’d love to hear any comments or feedback in this regard.

Windows Server 2003 has finally caught up with Novell NetWare in one key area, and that is in the enumeration of files and folders. With access-based enumeration, Windows Server 2003 now will display only those files and folders to which the user has permission.  If no permission is given, the file or folder is not displayed.  This is, in my opinion, a major improvement in Windows’ security.

I plan to give this functionality a swing on my own servers within the next few days.  I’ll post additional details here after my tests.

Here’s an interesting way to block access to your Mac OS X system.  Simply modify your ipfw script to block traffic to or from the 127.0.0.0/8 network.  When you do this, your Mac will simply fail to log you in, instead presenting you with an endless spinning disk.

The only workaround is to hold down the Shift key while booting (to initiate a Safe Boot), then disable the StartupItem that launches and configures the firewall.

Of course, I speak from personal experience, having added the aforementioned rules in an effort to block spoofed traffic from accessing the loopback interface.  Apparently, Mac OS X is different enough from FreeBSD that this advice (advocated on a couple of FreeBSD-related sites I found while searching for ipfw information) is not recommended.

At least it can’t be said that I only identify and write about Microsoft-related security flaws.  (I’d like to not have to write about security flaws at all, but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.)

This Zlib flaw affects Linux, BSD, and even some Microsoft products.  It’s an equal opportunity security flaw.

As described in the linked article above, patches have already been released for a number of products affected by the Zlib flaw.

It’s bad enough that Microsoft bundles Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player with every copy of Windows, and then integrates them so deeply that a flaw in one of these applications can compromise the entire system.  But bundling adware/spyware?

First, there was this rumor about Microsoft acquiring Claria, the company that distributes the Gator ad-serving software.  It was just a rumor, and one that not very many people took seriously.  But now, there’s this news that Microsoft’s anti-spyware program has lowered the rating on Claria’s software and changed the default action to “Ignore.”

So what does this mean?  In reality, nothing.  It may have been just an oversight, or it may be that Claria has reached some sort of monetary agreement with Microsoft.  In the meantime, I would recommend (as I have in the past) using multiple anti-spyware applications to protect yourself.

A short while back NewsForge published an article comparing Windows to Linux.  What’s so unusual about that, you may ask?  This article, titled “Windows rapidly approaching desktop usability,” takes a look at Windows as if it, not Linux, were the upstart newcomer in the OS lineup.  This is a viewpoint not often considered, and it is a valid viewpoint once you get over the presumption that Windows should be the default OS on your computer.

There are a couple of valid points made in the article.  To quote:

“Microsoft Windows XP, Home Edition, with Service Pack 2, is a tremendous improvement over previous Windows versions when it comes to stability and appearance, but it still has many glitches that keep it from being competitive with GNU/Linux for everyday users, including a tedious installation procedure, lack of productivity software included with the operating system, hardware compatibility problems, and a price so much higher than any of the Linux distributions…”

Don’t get me wrong; I’m not advocating that everyone out there should suddenly ditch Windows and migrate to Linux.  Are there situations where Linux is a better fit than Windows?  Of course.  Likewise, there are situations where Windows is a better fit than Linux.  And, of course, there’s always Mac OS X to consider as well.

Although the title may indicate otherwise, I’m actually glad to see more browsers popping up for Mac OS X.  Choice is good.

The new kid on the block this time is Shiira, a WebKit-based browser that offers some pretty useful features.  These features include Tab Expose, which is Expose for browser tabs (activated via F8); Growl integration; integration with Safari Bookmarks; and a clean, native Aqua interface.  Because it uses Apple’s WebKit (now open sourced and available here), it renders pages the same way as Safari.

I like some features about Shiira (especially the Growl integration and the tabbed browsing implementation), but still find myself going back to Camino.  A new alpha version of Camino 0.9 has been released, although I haven’t brought myself to use it yet.  If Camino had a way to provide notifications via Growl (I’d really like for my browser to notify me when a download is complete), I would be just absolutely thrilled.

Oh, and Shiira is an open source project, released under a BSD style license.

For those readers in the US, I want to wish you a very enjoyable and very happy Fourth of July!  As we celebrate another year of independence and freedom, take some time to remember those soldiers fighting overseas to preserve our freedom here as well as to give others the same kind of freedom.  Also take the time to thank the one true Author of freedom, and that is God.  May God bless each of you, and may God bless America!

Those individuals searching for an open source alternative to Microsoft Office (Windows isn’t the only Microsoft monopoly, you know) on Mac OS X should take note of NeoOffice/J 1.1, released a few weeks ago.  This article on MacNN alerted me to the release a while ago, but I’ve only just now gotten around to mentioning it here.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I try not to be partial in any way with regards to technology solutions.  If NeoOffice/J fits your needs, perfect.  If not, use Microsoft Office.  It’s just nice to see that we actually have some choices, however limited they may be, when it comes to choosing office productivity software.

I’m also hoping that the approval of the XML-based OpenOffice 2.0 file formats by OASIS (see this article) will help further spur more interoperability between office productivity applications.  Now, if we could just get Microsoft on board with this vendor-neutral format…