vladrac

Barbecue 2010

2010-06-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

Word Salad/Schitzophasia

2010-06-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

In the mental health field, schizophasia, commonly referred to as word salad, is confused, and often repetitious, language that is symptomatic of various mental illnesses.^[1]
It is usually associated with a manic presentation and other symptoms of serious mental illnesses, such as psychoses, including schizophrenia. It is characterized by an apparently confused usage of words with no apparent meaning or relationship attached to them. In this context, it is considered to be a symptom of a formal thought disorder. In some cases schizophasia can be a sign of asymptomatic schizophrenia; e.g. the question "Why do people believe in God?" could elicit a response consisting of a series of words commonly associated with religion or prayer but strung together with no regard to language rules.

Crazy Lady Calls Leo Laporte

2010-06-01T17:06:00.000-07:00

2010-04-04T10:46:00.001-07:00

HTC hero test with androblogger

2009-10-14T15:19:00.001-07:00

this is a small.post to test the mobile Android application Andrologger. The interface is excellent,very clear and easy to use, not just a slimmed down html version of Blogger :)

Projector Reviews.com

2009-09-23T13:54:00.001-07:00

Excellent website. In depth honest reviews and advice.

in reference to: Projector Reviews - Projectors: LCD Projectors, DLP Video and Home Theater Projectors, Projector Screens (view on Google Sidewiki)

Optoma HD65

2009-09-23T13:53:00.001-07:00

Excellent, good priced 720p Projector.

Best price circa £540.

in reference to: Optoma HD65 Home Theater Projector Review - Overview, Specs (view on Google Sidewiki)

centos bastille - psad: Intrusion Detection and Log Analysis with iptables setup

2009-01-14T06:43:00.000-08:00

Create an additional account for Systems Administration

adduser service
Reboot the system
Please reboot the system as a final check. Ensure everything starts properly.
reboot

Create password

passwd service

Create a directory for downloads.

mkdir /downloads
cd /downloads

PSAD - Intrusion Detection and Log Analysis with iptables setup

wget http://www.cipherdyne.com/psad/download/psad-1.4.6-1.i386.rpm
rpm -Uvh psad-1.4.6-1.i386.rpm

Installing Bastille

wget http://easynews.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/bastille-linux/Bastille-3.0.9-1.0.noarch.rpm
wget ftp://ftp.icm.edu.pl/vol/rzm4/linux-dag/redhat/el4/en/i386/RPMS.dag/perl-Curses-1.12-1.2.el4.rf.i386.rpm

rpm -ivh Bastille-3.0.9-1.0.noarch.rpm
rpm -Uvh perl-Curses-1.12-1.2.el4.rf.i386.rpm

Running Bastille

This will start the interactive prompt.

/usr/sbin/bastille -c

Interactive prompt response

accept

Would you like to set more restrictive permissions on the administration utilities? -> YES

Would you like to disable SUID status for mount/umount? -> YES
Would you like to disable SUID status for ping? -> YES
Would you like to disable SUID status for at? -> YES
Would you like to disable the r-tools? -> YES
Would you like to disable SUID status for usernetctl? -> YES
Would you like to disable SUID status for traceroute? -> YES
Should Bastille disable clear-text r-protocols that use IP-based authentication? -> YES
Would you like to enforce password aging? -> YES
Do you want to set the default umask? -> YES
What umask would you like to set for users on the system? -> 007
Should we disallow root login on tty's 1-6? -> NO
Should Bastille ask you for extraneous accounts to delete? -> NO
Would you like to password-protect the GRUB prompt? -> NO
Would you like to disable CTRL-ALT-DELETE rebooting? -> YES
Would you like to password protect single-user mode? -> NO
Would you like to set a default-deny on TCP Wrappers and xinetd? -> NO
Would you like to display "Authorized Use" messages at log-in time? -> YES
Who is responsible for granting authorization to use this machine? -> YOUR COMPANY NAME
Would you like to put limits on system resource usage? -> YES

Should we restrict console access to a small group of user accounts? -> YES
Which accounts should be able to login at console? -> root
Would you like to set up process accounting? -> NO

Would you like to disable acpid and/or apmd? -> YES
Would you like to disable PCMCIA services? -> YES
Would you like to disable GPM? -> YES
Would you like to deactivate the HP OfficeJet (hpoj) script on this machine? -> YES
Would you like to deactivate the ISDN script on this machine? -> YES
Would you like to deactivate kudzu's run at boot? -> YES
Do you want to stop sendmail from running in daemon mode? -> YES
Would you like to deactivate named, at least for now? -> NO
Would you like to deactivate the Apache web server? -> NO
Would you like to bind the Web server to listen only to the localhost? -> NO
Would you like to bind the web server to a particular interface? -> NO

Would you like to deactivate the following of symbolic links? -> YES
Would you like to disable printing? -> YES
Would you like to install TMPDIR/TMP scripts? -> NO
Would you like to run the packet filtering script? -> YES

Do you need the advanced networking options? -> NO
DNS Servers: [0.0.0.0/0] -> **LEAVE DEFAULT**
Public interfaces: -> eth+
TCP services to audit: -> telnet ftp imap pop3 finger sunrpc exec login linuxconf ssh
UDP services to audit: -> 31337
ICMP services to audit: -> **BLANK**
TCP service names or port numbers to allow on public interfaces: -> 21 22 25 53 80 110 111 143 443 631 953 993 995 3306
UDP service names or port numbers to allow on public interfaces: -> **BLANK**
Force passive mode? -> YES
TCP services to block: -> 2049 2065:2090 6000:6020 7100
UDP services to block: -> 2049 6770
ICMP allowed types: -> destination-unreachable echo-reply time-exceeded
Enable source address verification? -> YES
Reject method: -> DENY
Interfaces for DHCP queries: -> **BLANK**
NTP servers to query: -> **BLANK**
ICMP types to disallow outbound: -> destination-unreachable time-exceeded
Should Bastille run the firewall and enable it at boot time? -> YES
Would you like to setup psad? -> YES
psad check interval: -> 15
Port range scan threshold: -> 1
Enable scan persistence? -> NO
Scan timeout: -> 3600
Show all scan signatures? -> NO
Danger Levels: -> 5 50 1000 5000 10000
Email addresses: -> root@localhost
Email alert danger level: -> 1
Alert on all new packets? -> YES
Enable automatic blocking of scanning IPs? -> NO
Should Bastille enable psad at boot time? -> YES
Are you finished answering the questions, i.e. may we make the changes? -> YES

Secure SSH Configuration

vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Edit the following lines and remove the remark. Do not forget to save and exit.

#Protocol 2,1 -> Protocol 2
#PermitRootLogin yes -> PermitRootLogin no
#PermitEmptyPasswords no -> PermitEmptyPasswords no
#Banner /some/path -> Banner /etc/issue

Reboot

reboot

onnetworks.com David Lynch Interview

2008-11-29T08:14:00.000-08:00

In 2001 at a student talk at The Northern Film School (NSFTV), Cinematographer, Sir Freddie Francis, said the Elephant Man was filmed in black and white due to budgetary/finance reasons.

I'd like to know if this is true or not, if so, to hear his thoughts on that and also working with Francis.

http://www.onnetworks.com/videos/david-lynch-consciousness-and-creativity/consciousness-and-creativity?autoplay=true

2008-09-25T18:32:00.000-07:00

The Chemical Wedding - review

2008-09-11T04:02:00.000-07:00

Moonchildren, inappropriate urination, masterbation, shit play, murder/orgying, megalomanicinialcal cravings, ridiculous new aeon theory and general depravitivity. 1hr 15mins of my life I want back. Just vomit on me. At least it's quicker.

Fluxbox 1.1 installation on Ubuntu 8.04 - from source

2008-09-03T19:00:00.001-07:00

Fluxbox 1.1 was released yesterday and includes over 100 changes including

"ew Resize modes (NearestEdge, Left, Right, Top and Bottom), new modifiers to keys file, like OnToolbar and OnWindow, and some new or updated translations (de_AT, de_CH or mk_MK). "

New commands:

· Attach
· ClientMenu
· Delay
· Focus
· ForEach
· GoToWindow
· If
· StartMoving
· StartResizing
· StartTabbing
· SetDecor
· SetTitle
· SetTitleDialog
· SetLayer

New options to client patterns:

· focushidden
· fullscreen
· head
· iconhidden
· layer
· minimized
· maximized
· shaded
· stuck
· transient
· urgent
· workspace
· workspacename

To install

1: download the latest tarball

2: Open your favorite terminal and untar the file you downloaded. example :

tar xvzf fluxbox-0.9.14.tar.gz

3: cd into the directory created.

4: Type

./configure --enable-kde --enable-gnome --disable-xmb

5: Type make

6: Type sudo checkinstall. This builds the package and puts it in /usr/local/bin

Enjoy!

Google Chrome + Linux

2008-09-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

It's been widely reported that a version of Chrome for Mac OS and Linux will be available in the near future.

A quick search through the Chromium Development Documentation reveals that

"Note: Our intent is that you should be able to build Chromium on any reasonably modern Linux distribution, and we try to list prerequisites as explicitly as we can. However, please bear in mind that the Linux port is in its early stages, and our opportunity to test on a multiple Linux distributions has been limited. Internally, our development platform has been a variant of Ubuntu 8 (Hardy Heron); we expect you will have the most luck on this platform."

Build Instructions can be found here

Happy Birthday GNU!

2008-09-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

I dont use gNewSense distro, the ideals of the Free Software Foundation are persuasive though...that said the thought of having to trawl through pages and pages of forums to get my nvidia card working and FSF approved software is too much for me to contemplate.

Stephen Fry has contributed to a video wishing GNU Happy Birthday, if your not familiar with the Freesoftware Foundation/GNU/Richard Stallman it's a good place to start

Google Chrome

2008-09-01T19:36:00.000-07:00

I am a fan of Google, I use g-mail, g-maps, g-earth, picasa, g-search services. If they want to send me targetted ads in exchange for these services thats fine by me.

Microsofts much discussed IE8 Privacy feature seems like a sly attempt at sabotaging Google's revenue model and consequently attacking it's own ad revenue model too. If you carn't beat them, ruin them, seems to be their philosophy. Or words to that effect. I doubt that this effort to forcefully change revenue models will work.

I digress, Google issued a statement on it's Blogspot of the release of Google Chrome, a new Internet Browser. Additionally it "leaked" a Comic, illustrating some of the features and design, definetly worth a look.

The Comic/Blueprints make a few compelling cases for it's existance, this isnt Firefox Mach 4.

.xls Nightmares

2008-09-01T19:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a couple of years since I've last used Spreadsheets, I was recently asked to make an .xls, monthly employee Time sheet for Brunswick Centre.

OpenOffice was used, I sent it back to them for testing and waited with baited breath to see if it was compatible with MS Office and the like. Hopefully by tommorow or later today, I'll get some feedback.

Venture Bros

2008-09-01T19:25:00.001-07:00

The Venture Brothers is one of my favourite cartoons. If your familiar with Doc Venture, Brock and the Monarch, you'll already have seen Jackson Publick's Livejournal, if not, take a look as it's an interesting inside perspective on the series. Go Team Venture!

Purpose

2008-09-01T19:19:00.001-07:00

This Blog is a personal repository of information that I've found to be useful or interesting. It's based around my own interests, as a result the content may appear to be completly random, nobody else has any input.

I'd welcome suggestions and informative links though so if you have any, email them to me!

Useful Terminal Commands

2008-09-01T19:14:00.001-07:00

alias    Create an alias
apropos  Search Help manual pages (man -k)
awk      Find and Replace text, database sort/validate/index

bash     GNU Bourne-Again SHell
bc       Arbitrary precision calculator language
bg       Send to background
break    Exit from a loop
builtin  Run a shell builtin
bzip2    Compress or decompress named file(s)

cal      Display a calendar
case     Conditionally perform a command
cat      Display the contents of a file
cd       Change Directory
cfdisk   Partition table manipulator for Linux
chgrp    Change group ownership
chmod    Change access permissions
chown    Change file owner and group
chroot   Run a command with a different root directory
cksum    Print CRC checksum and byte counts
clear    Clear terminal screen
cmp      Compare two files
comm     Compare two sorted files line by line
command  Run a command - ignoring shell functions
continue Resume the next iteration of a loop
cp       Copy one or more files to another location
cron     Daemon to execute scheduled commands
crontab  Schedule a command to run at a later time
csplit   Split a file into context-determined pieces
cut      Divide a file into several parts

date     Display or change the date & time
dc       Desk Calculator
dd       Convert and copy a file, write disk headers, boot records
ddrescue Data recovery tool
declare  Declare variables and give them attributes
df       Display free disk space
diff     Display the differences between two files
diff3    Show differences among three files
dig      DNS lookup
dir      Briefly list directory contents
dircolors Colour setup for `ls'
dirname  Convert a full pathname to just a path
dirs     Display list of remembered directories
du       Estimate file space usage

echo     Display message on screen
egrep    Search file(s) for lines that match an extended expression
eject    Eject removable media
enable   Enable and disable builtin shell commands
env      Environment variables
ethtool  Ethernet card settings
eval     Evaluate several commands/arguments
exec     Execute a command
exit     Exit the shell
expand   Convert tabs to spaces
export   Set an environment variable
expr     Evaluate expressions

false    Do nothing, unsuccessfully
fdformat Low-level format a floppy disk
fdisk    Partition table manipulator for Linux
fg       Send job to foreground
fgrep    Search file(s) for lines that match a fixed string
file     Determine file type
find     Search for files that meet a desired criteria
fmt      Reformat paragraph text
fold     Wrap text to fit a specified width.
for      Expand words, and execute commands
format   Format disks or tapes
free     Display memory usage
fsck     File system consistency check and repair
ftp      File Transfer Protocol
function Define Function Macros

gawk     Find and Replace text within file(s)
getopts  Parse positional parameters
grep     Search file(s) for lines that match a given pattern
groups   Print group names a user is in
gzip     Compress or decompress named file(s)

hash     Remember the full pathname of a name argument
head     Output the first part of file(s)
history  Command History
hostname Print or set system name

id       Print user and group id's
if       Conditionally perform a command
ifconfig Configure a network interface
import   Capture an X server screen and save the image to file
install  Copy files and set attributes

join     Join lines on a common field

kill     Stop a process from running

less     Display output one screen at a time
let      Perform arithmetic on shell variables
ln       Make links between files
local    Create variables
locate   Find files
logname  Print current login name
logout   Exit a login shell
look     Display lines beginning with a given string
lpc      Line printer control program
lpr      Off line print
lprint   Print a file
lprintd  Abort a print job
lprintq  List the print queue
lprm     Remove jobs from the print queue
ls       List information about file(s)
lsof     List open files

make     Recompile a group of programs
man      Help manual
mkdir    Create new folder(s)
mkfifo   Make FIFOs (named pipes)
mkisofs  Create an hybrid ISO9660/JOLIET/HFS filesystem
mknod    Make block or character special files
more     Display output one screen at a time
mount    Mount a file system
mtools   Manipulate MS-DOS files
mv       Move or rename files or directories

netstat  Networking information
nice     Set the priority of a command or job
nl       Number lines and write files
nohup    Run a command immune to hangups
nslookup Query Internet name servers interactively

open     Open a file in its default application
op       Operator access

passwd   Modify a user password
paste    Merge lines of files
pathchk  Check file name portability
ping     Test a network connection
popd     Restore the previous value of the current directory
pr       Prepare files for printing
printcap Printer capability database
printenv Print environment variables
printf   Format and print data
ps       Process status
pushd    Save and then change the current directory
pwd      Print Working Directory

quota    Display disk usage and limits
quotacheck Scan a file system for disk usage
quotactl Set disk quotas

ram      ram disk device
rcp      Copy files between two machines.
read     read a line from standard input
readonly Mark variables/functions as readonly
renice   Alter priority of running processes
remsync  Synchronize remote files via email
return   Exit a shell function
rm       Remove files
rmdir    Remove folder(s)
rsync    Remote file copy (Synchronize file trees)

screen   Multiplex terminal, run remote shells via ssh
scp      Secure copy (remote file copy)
sdiff    Merge two files interactively
sed      Stream Editor
select   Accept keyboard input
seq      Print numeric sequences
set      Manipulate shell variables and functions
sftp     Secure File Transfer Program
shift    Shift positional parameters
shopt    Shell Options
shutdown Shutdown or restart linux
sleep    Delay for a specified time
sort     Sort text files
source   Run commands from a file `.'
split    Split a file into fixed-size pieces
ssh      Secure Shell client (remote login program)
strace   Trace system calls and signals
su       Substitute user identity
sudo     Execute a command as another user
sum      Print a checksum for a file
symlink  Make a new name for a file
sync     Synchronize data on disk with memory

tail     Output the last part of files
tar      Tape ARchiver
tee      Redirect output to multiple files
test     Evaluate a conditional expression
time     Measure Program running time
times    User and system times
touch    Change file timestamps
top      List processes running on the system
traceroute Trace Route to Host
trap     Run a command when a signal is set(bourne)
tr       Translate, squeeze, and/or delete characters
true     Do nothing, successfully
tsort    Topological sort
tty      Print filename of terminal on stdin
type     Describe a command

ulimit   Limit user resources
umask    Users file creation mask
umount   Unmount a device
unalias  Remove an alias
uname    Print system information
unexpand Convert spaces to tabs
uniq     Uniquify files
units    Convert units from one scale to another
unset    Remove variable or function names
unshar   Unpack shell archive scripts
until    Execute commands (until error)
useradd  Create new user account
usermod  Modify user account
users    List users currently logged in
uuencode Encode a binary file
uudecode Decode a file created by uuencode

v        Verbosely list directory contents (`ls -l -b')
vdir     Verbosely list directory contents (`ls -l -b')
vi       Text Editor

watch    Execute/display a program periodically
wc       Print byte, word, and line counts
whereis  Report all known instances of a command   
which    Locate a program file in the user's path.
while    Execute commands
who      Print all usernames currently logged in
whoami   Print the current user id and name (`id -un')
Wget     Retrieve web pages or files via HTTP, HTTPS or FTP

xargs    Execute utility, passing constructed argument list(s)
yes      Print a string until interrupted

.        Run a command script in the current shell

Linux Desktop

2008-09-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

This is the desktop on my linux box. It runs Ubuntu 8.04 with gnome and compiz installed.

Backtrack 3 and Zenwalk Linux are installed purely to tinker with!