The default SSL on XAMPP only works by default in our localhost so it is accessible via https://localhost/any-directory-inside-htdocs.


To Make it work in Virtual Host Setup we need to do four things.

1. Configure httpd-vhosts.conf to work with standard virtual host http access at port 80.
-A detailed explanation on how to do step 1 is here: http://www.eg-designstudio.com/2009/01/14/configuring-apache-server-for-development-to-mimic-production-setup/

2. Configure httpd-ssl.conf to work with virtual host with https access or SSL enabled.

3. Modify hosts file of our Windows machine to point to virtual host mock address.

4. Restart apache server.

Things to note: In production setup SSL works by binding the SSL certificate on dedicated IP which is being done using network alias on Linux Machines. Short instruction on how to do that in Linux machine can be found here: Network Alias on CentOS

So with this in mind I’m going to bind the SSL certificate via my local IP connected to my wireless network which is : 192.168.1.34

Step 1. Configure httpd-vhost.conf to work with normal http access at port 80:
This can be found from DRIVE where you install xampp: /xampp/apache/conf/extra/httpd-vhost.conf

#################################################

ServerAdmin admin@eg-designstudio.com
DocumentRoot "D:/webprojects/whatever-your-folder-is"
ServerName www.mymocksite.com
ServerAlias mocksite.com

Step 2. Configure httpd-ssl.conf to work with virtual host with https access or SSL enabled.
This can be found from DRIVE where you install xampp: /xampp/apache/conf/extra/httpd-ssl.conf, this file has a built in example configuration of SSL which is configured to work with localhost.

Just append the code here at the bottom of the file.

########################################################################

# General setup for the virtual host
DocumentRoot "D:/webprojects/whatever-your-folder-is"
ServerName www.mymocksite.com:443
ServerAlias mocksite.com:443

ServerAdmin admin@eg-designstudio.com
ErrorLog logs/error.log

CustomLog logs/access.log combined

# SSL Engine Switch:
# Enable/Disable SSL for this virtual host.
SSLEngine on
# SSL Cipher Suite:
# List the ciphers that the client is permitted to negotiate.
# See the mod_ssl documentation for a complete list.
SSLCipherSuite ALL:!ADH:!EXPORT56:RC4+RSA:+HIGH:+MEDIUM:+LOW:+SSLv2:+EXP:+eNULL
SSLCertificateFile conf/ssl.crt/server.crt
SSLCertificateKeyFile conf/ssl.key/server.key

SSLOptions +StdEnvVars


BrowserMatch ".*MSIE.*" \
nokeepalive ssl-unclean-shutdown \
downgrade-1.0 force-response-1.0


########################################################################

3. Modify hosts file of our Windows machine to point to virtual host mock address.
Your host file can be found at C:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts

Modify your hosts file and append the code below to point to your local mock address

# Copyright (c) 1993-2009 Microsoft Corp.
#
# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.
#
# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each
# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should
# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.
# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one
# space.
#
# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual
# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.
#
# For example:
#
# 102.54.94.97 rhino.acme.com # source server
# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host
# localhost name resolution is handled within DNS itself.
# 127.0.0.1 localhost
# ::1 localhost
192.168.1.34 www.mymocksite.com
192.168.1.34 mymocksite.com

For Linux do the same as above or just do it once by adding the below code in your httpd.conf file
located at /etc/httpd/conf

#############################################

ServerAdmin admin@eg-designstudio.com
DocumentRoot /home/mocksite/public_html
ServerName www.mymocksite.com
ServerAlias mymocksite.com
ErrorLog logs/www.mocksite.com-error_log
CustomLog logs/www.mocksite.com-access_log combined



ServerName www.mymocksite.com:443
ServerAlias mocksite.com:443
DocumentRoot /home/mocksite/public_html
ErrorLog logs/www.mymocksite.com-error_log
CustomLog logs/www.mymocksite.com-access_log combined
LogLevel warn
SSLEngine on
SSLCipherSuite ALL:!ADH:!EXPORT56:RC4+RSA:+HIGH:+MEDIUM:+LOW:+SSLv2:+EXP
SSLCertificateFile /etc/httpd/conf/myssl/www.mymocksite.com.crt
SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/httpd/conf/myssl/www.mocksite.com.private.key
SSLCACertificateFile /etc/pki/tls/certs/ca-bundle.crt

SSLOptions +StdEnvVars

SetEnvIf User-Agent ".*MSIE.*" \
nokeepalive ssl-unclean-shutdown \
downgrade-1.0 force-response-1.0

########################################


Step 4. Restart apache server and we are good to go. If you’ve done all the steps above then your SSL certificate should be properly configured by now and working.

I’m recently playing with poMMo for me to use it on some clients website that requires a mass mailing software, the installation works perfectly in Linux machine and I managed to install and configure it without hassle. Now comes the customization part and that means duplicating the installation in my development machine running apache on Windows. Installation is pretty straight forward you just need to edit the file config.sample.php provide your database access information and save it as config.php and call the installation script from poMMo install directory and voila you have just installed your poMMo mailer. As I have said it works perfectly in Linux machine. In Linux you don’t need to change the overrides as it works perfectly but Windows is a different story.

Now comes the Windows installation quirks. Assuming that you’ve just configured it almost exactly as your live site to customize the look of the software. In effect you will just be retracing your installation steps mentioned above.

In Windows we need tweak the override configuration from the config file:

::: Overrides :::
Uncomment (remove the leading “**”) to define the following settings.
NOTE: These settings are auto-detected by default, and best left unchanged.

Set the webhost’s listening port [Usually 80, 443, or 8080]

The above configuration will allow you to install the mailer but will give you this access error when you try to access the home/login page.

looking for cache

Changing the [workDir] part to “cache” will allow you to access the login page:

[workDir] = “cache”
Set the “working” directory. poMMo writes files to this directory.
By default, it is set to the “cache” directory in the poMMo root.

but will give you this error when you try to sign in.

pommo error login

with the following backtrace in debug mode:

BACKTRACE:
Backtrace:

BaseURL:/
HTTP:http://www.whatever.com
BaseDir: F:\Projects\mailer\pommo/
WorkDir:
Lang:
Verbosity:1
Revision: 42
Section:

So to keep everything short and working you need change this line [workDir] = ” “ and leave it blank to keep your installation working allowing you to access the home/login page and administration interface

[workDir] = “” //leave the cache work directory blank
Set the “working” directory. poMMo writes files to this directory.
By default, it is set to the “cache” directory in the poMMo root.

Make sure you set the double quotes without space in between or it will give you the error below:

double quotes

The update on this site is infrequent but it doesn’t mean that I’m not monitoring it anymore, and you people can play with it if you will. Please use your talents in more productive way or better yet build your own rather than destroy someone else work and what can you gain from a minute of glory?.

Putty Connection Manager

The features of Putty Connection Manager are as follows:

* Tabs and dockable windows for PuTTY instances.
* Fully compatible with PuTTY configuration (using registry).
* Easily customizable to optimize workspace (fullscreen, minimze to tray, add/remove toolbar, etc…).
* Automatic login feature regardless to protocol restrictions (user keyboard simulation).
* Post-login commands (execute any shell command when logged).
* Connection Manager : Manage a large number of connections with specific configuration (auto-login, specific PuTTY Session, post-command, etc…).
* Quick connect toolbar to quickly launch a PuTTY connection.
* Import/Export whole connections informations to XML format (generate your configuration automatically from another tool and import it, or export your configuration for backup purpose).
* Encrypted configuration database option available to store connections informations safely (external library supporting AES algorithm used with key sizes of 128, 192 and 256 bits, please refer for the legal status of encryption software in your country).
* Standalone executable, no setup required.
* Localizable : English (default) and French available (only when using setup version, standalone is english only).
* Completely free for commercial and personal use : PuTTY Connection Manager is freeware.

Exceptional for a free software. Get your copy of Putty Connection Manager Here. and thanks to the developers.

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1. Place your Windows CD in your cdrom drive. Then press on any key to boot from your installer.

2. Setup will begin inspecting your computer until you are prompted to press enter to setup windows.

Windows Welcome Screen

3. Accept the licensing agreement.

Licensing Agreement

4. Select the option to repair your Windows installation by pressing R.

Repair Windows

5. Let the repair run it will check your disk and copy the installation files.

Copying Installation Files

6. After copying files it will require you to reboot, but don’t press any key again. It will continue to install windows

Rebooting Windows

7. Continue Windows installation until you see at the progress bar indicating Installing devices. At this moment press SHIFT + F10 this is the security hole allowing you access to a command console.

Command Console

8. While at the command console type NUSRMGR.CPL this will give you access to your User Accounts in the Control Panel.

User Accounts Control Panel

9. Now you can select which account you need to reset, this will give you the facility to change the password on any account. But here we are concerned with the Administrator account so we are going to select it and reset the password.

Reset Administrator Account

10. Continue running the repair until it completes you may need to re-enter your serial number when prompted.

Finalizing the Installation

After that you will be able to access your Computer Again. Congratulations!.

Windows Login

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All of a sudden 3G connection is gone for 3 days straight now… currently connecting via EDGE reliable but slow, and manage to update this site and side notes.

We can do this using OpenSSH if you have a Linux machine or Mac then by no means you already have it in your system. This article focus primarily in using OpenSSH via Windows machine, I just included the Cygwin to do this but it can also be done by using Putty alone.

So to start with, lets define what do we mean:

* Client: the system one types directly on, such as a laptop or desktop system.

* Server: anything connected to from the client.

Some precautions don’t allow your root account to do this, you can always run sudo command to perform administrative task. To do this of just add a user to the wheel group in Linux system to allow them to become
sudoers.

Let’s begin:

1. Run Cygwin in your command prompt then check the version of OpenSSH installed in your system:
by by typing $ ssh -V

2. Run ssh-keygen to generate the private/public key pair if you are in Windows then it will save the copy of the keys under the account you are using in C:/Documents and Settings/Your_Account/.ssh/id_rsa (for the private key file) and id_rsa.pub (for the public key file)

3. Upload your public key in the server by typing $ scp ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub server.example.org
then set up the public key in your server

4. To do this create an .ssh directory in your folder in the server. This ~ symbol is an alias for your home directory

4.1 – server$ mkdir ~/.ssh >>> this creates a hidden .ssh directory in your home folder

4.2 – server$ chmod 700 ~/.ssh >>> make sure to set the file permission to 700

4.3 – server$ cat ~/id_rsa.pub >> ~/.ssh/authorized_keys >>> authorized your keys

4.4 – server$ chmod 600 ~/.ssh/authorized_keys >>> then set the file permission to 600 sometimes ssh will refuse connection if the file permission is too loose this is also useful to make sure to make sure that you are the only one who have access to your keys.

4.5 – server$ rm ~/id_rsa.pub >>> remove the copy of your public key from your home folder.

Then everything is ready lets test our connection if you do it correctly:
in cygwin type $ ssh username@example.com -p 22 then it will prompt for your pass phrase. You can put a blank pass phrase but that is not advisable.

If that is working let’s setup putty to login automatically

1. Open Puttygen then load your private key file it will prompt you for your pass phrase save this as id_rsa.ppk, ppk us the default filename for putty’s private key file.

Loading Private key

2. Next Open Putty pageant and load your private key file to achieve automatic login via putty.

Load Key

3. In putty set up your session by typing the details of your server then go to SSH and select Auth browse for your private key file generated by puttygen and load it save this session profile before connecting.

Putty Profle

4. If you do it correctly then you will get this login prompt when connecting to your server:
First it will ask you of your username, and after typing it will automatically log you in using your generated keys for authentication.