No Such Luck

What is luck?  Outcome determined by chance?  That is probably a definition many would agree with.  But is it real?

Superstitions exist in the belief that it is.  They hope to perform some action to obtain good luck or avoid bad luck.  While superstitions may be difficult to prove via a rational analysis, there may be a practical basis at the origin of some.   The September 25th, 2011 edition of Get Fuzzy by Darby Conley puts a humorous perspective on several. 

One final thought for Christians who confess Christ as their Lord and Savior.  By their own statement they will acknowledge that the God is in control of their lives.  If so, what place does random chance take in their lives?  

The biblical worldview makes no such allowance for luck.  Instead it shows the plan and purpose God has for everyone and that plan can be known. 

Something to think about.

Enjoy.

Adding Windows Truetype Fonts to Linux

Out of the box, modern Linux systems have an adequate number of fonts for any task.  However like all things Linux, they are different from what the user who has just migrated from Windows is used to having, even with the ttf-mscorefonts package installed  This post will be a quick tutorial on how to add those "missing" Windows fonts to your Linux system.

Quick legal disclaimer:  this is a technical how-to article, not a legal interpretation of Microsoft's EULA for Windows or any other software that may have installed Truetype fonts under Windows.  If you have any questions or concerns, read the license agreement for yourself or seek other counsel before proceeding.

The assumption is that Windows is still available in a multi-boot configuration and that the Windows partition can be mounted in Nautilus, the Linux file manager.  If that is not the case, there are many sources of truetype fonts available on the web for free, even including handwriting fonts if you're interested.  The basic steps are:

1. Open the Nautilus file manager and select the correct "nn Gb Filesystem", to mount the Windows partition
2. Open a terminal session and become root via the su command
3. cd /usr/share/fonts/truetype
4. mkdir winxp
5. cp /media/your_mount_point/Windows/Fonts/*.ttf  /usr/share/fonts/truetype/winxp

The above mixes using the UI and terminal to use the easiest of both.  Details of using the mount command can be found quickly elsewhere on the web - both to mount the Windows parition from the terminal or query the mount point Nautilus selected.  It'.s probably the only really long hex number though.  Mounting the partition via the UI and verifying that /Windows/Fonts exists was also much easier to write up.

Lastly, there's nothing unique about the choice of the winxp/ directory name.  If you choose to add additional fonts from other sources, choose any name (ex: myfonts/) for the directories you create, as long as they are all under /usr/share/fonts/truetype.

I just walked a relatively new Linux user through this and so thought a quick post might help someone else too.

Enjoy.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

Not just Twitter actually, but any type of social media.  Some form of the subject question seems to come up on a semi-regular basis, probably more so in circles where the age creeps upwards and usage of social media is not a de-facto way of life.  The question came up recently where I work, so I thought I'd put a somewhat more reasoned answer in one of the forms of media that sparked the question.

Cutting right to the chase - why do I tweet, blog and book?  There is no one easy answer.  I took my time entering the field of public posting, attempting to make sense of it all first.  I doubt I've made perfect sense of it all now.  However, I think I have learned some things and can provide a "how it works for me" answer.  So in no particular order, here we go:

• Staking out a claim in cyberspace.  With a name like mine, there are not too many of us with the same name - but somebody had to be first.
• Preventing XPFA.  Short for Cross-site Personality Framing Attack.  Semi-related to the point above, follow the link for a not only a good explanation, but the original coining of the acronym.
• Connecting with old friends.  I have found and been found by friends that I'd known all the way back to Junior High.  We'd disconnected for various reasons, mostly unintentional and benign neglect.  The boundary free nature of social media provided a way to reconnect.
• Staying connected with current friends.  Short quick status updates initially seemed like shouting into cyberspace.  Over time, face to face meetups started to include conversations seeded from something that had been posted.  Instead of eliminating in person connections, social media has enhanced them.
• Keeping my friends.  I previously had the habit of occasionally sending out mass emails to various groupings of friends and family with everything from vacation pictures to political views.  I'm a realist, probably a lot of time they were just deleted.  Social media allows the recipient to tune how, when and if they view content you share - maybe helping me keep a few friends in the process.
• Professional connections.  I spent a couple of decades with a large international business that I still very much admire.  However at the time I was there, it was very much inward focused, not participating and thereby missing out on a lot of good people and ideas in the industry as a whole.  Focused national organizations and business networks provide a way to maintain connections and share very specific ideas.
• Giving something back.  It goes without saying that like most people, I've learned a lot through other people posting their experiences to the internet.  Not that anything I've put up is necessarily unique or special, but it just might give someone another perspective to consider.

Overall, it has been a very positive experience.  In addition to the benefits above, I've been contacted by persons who found my words to be useful and found my content cross linked in positive ways.  Being more in the public space has resulted in some harvesting of my name into various bogus listing services, but so far no harm done.

Sometimes blogging can still seem to me like answering questions that haven't been asked.  I started this post with one and will end with another.  Whether you consider yourself a reader, subscriber, follower, connection or friend - are you yet a writer?  There are a lot of choices, don't try and make too much sense of it, just get started and what is important will become clear.

Enjoy.

Fret Dressing

Collecting guitars is a trap many players fall into.  There's always thoughts of a "next guitar".  I'm likely no different.  The youngest of my first two sons (Steven Cimijotti) and I both agreed for years that the Fender Stratocaster sunburst finish was our favorite guitar style.  Neither of us did anything about it at the time, but I never changed my mind.

Fairly recently I came across one at a great price and decided it was my next guitar.  The neck was solid and straight.  The action was low and fast.  The finish was beautiful.  The one not so perfect element was the frets.  They were rounded nicely, but the cutoff ends were not finished well for a number of frets.  It was accounted for in the price and so I bought it, knowing one day I'd fix them.  That one day turned into many until our recent run of snowed in days.  It was time.

Let me say right off the start - I am not a luthier.  I have adjusted truss rods, replaced nuts and experimented with many different strings in making several guitars I've owned more playable.  However, I've never dressed frets before.  Never needed to actually.  So if you're using this as a guide, proceed at your own risk, but it did work for me.

There are lot of sites and videos that will show fret detail and dressing techniques for various repairs.  The problems I needed to correct were sharp edges on the bottom of multiple crowns where they'd been cutoff.  Also three frets where the tang was not flush with the neck.  Here are the steps I took to correct them.

Preparation

• Assemble the following:  micro file set,  painter's tape, wire cutters, polyurethane (optional).

Setup

• Relax and cutoff both E strings.  To keep tension on the neck during the work, I left the middle four intact, just removing what was needed for filing.
• Tape down each side of the neck, just below the frets.  Using blue painters tape insures that it will come off easily and be easy to see if hit with the file.
• Tape down in parallel to the frets, as close as possible without touching.

Dressing

• Pick a flat file that seems suitable, maybe one with a taper.  Starting roughly parallel to the fret, draw the file around the end of the fret and down.
• Start near the bottom, around 12th where still have some room, develop technique in a lesser played area.
• Use the flat side of a tapered file.  One direction, rolling motion, starting parallel to fret, rounding over end and down (end of stroke illustrated)

A couple of tips to keep in mind along the way:

• If you're tempted to not use tape - don't.  The tape, especially the blue tape which turns white when roughed up, provides a visual of when getting too deep.  Plus a thin margin of error for slips.
• Place the tape across the frets like laying out string for a setting a fence - as close as possible without touching.
• Near the body frets are narrower than the tape so you can't pre-tape the whole neck to do the job factory style.  There will be iterations of tape removal and resetting.  This is more craft anyway, take your time.
• Since the strat is a double cutaway, I was able to dress 16 on one side and 19 on the other side.  I never play further down the neck anyway, so risking the paint shop finish on the body (the main reason I bought the guitar) wasn't worth it
• Filing took about two hours, a slow and meticulous process, running my hand along entire neck many times as comparision for each one as it was being worked.

Completion

Overall, this was a great success and I'm glad that I did it.  The neck feels much better now when playing.  There are one or two spots where I should have stopped which resulting in a couple micro fine and very short grooves next to a fret.  They weren't enough to require any refinishing, therefore the polyurethane was listed as optional above, more as a warning.

The neck more than passes the 6x6 rule (visible at 6 inches, but not from six feet) which is good enough for me.  However, if you're really particular and/or have a very expensive guitar, finding a professional luthier to do the work for you might be less stressful.

The picture below (that I couldn't get the lighting just right on) provides some idea of what the finished product looks like, restrung and back hanging on the wall. 

For me, this project was probably as much about customizing the guitar as it was just trying something different to see if I could do it.  Looking back, I'd do it again without hesitation.

Now to take it back off the wall and enjoy.

The Best Discussion

STRTweets posted an entry last week linking to Joe Holland's blog post on "8 Tips for Talking to Kids About the Sermon".  In that original article Mr Holland begins and ends with two observations about kids:

1. They retain more than you think they do
2. They understand more than you think they do

Both are accurate statements in my experience.  The first is encouraging to any parent wanting to pass along their values to their children.  The second echoes my previous thoughts on the ability of children to think critically.

In between those two observations, he makes a number of good suggestions on how to create opportunities to introduce your children to Jesus.  My own experience as a parent is filled with both failure and success, many of each, in making those introductions.  Especially in the area of post sermon discussions.  The remainder of this post focuses on some elements of the successes, as additional considerations in addition to the "8 Tips" linked above.

We've tried a number of techniques to both emphasize a sermon message and to use it as spring board into broader family discussions.  When children were very young, completing the picture in a children's bulletin was a start.  That graduated into writing any three notes about the sermon, which typically became a song title, picture and Bible verse.  Finding the right balance after those early stages has been more challenging and varies between children.  Particularly when as a parent you believe a child isn't "working at their potential", to use a common school phrase. 

Two things that have generally worked well in our family have been big picture discussions and chasing rabbit trails.  The big picture is typically easy to grasp, even for wandering attentions, and leads naturally to a discussion on life application.  Often though, it branch off down a rabbit trail, which has lead to all sorts of interesting insights.  In both, open ended questions help encourage thinking and typically provide guidance for where the conversations will or should go.

In the end, the best discussion might be not be a specific discussion technique at all.  It might be the experience of spending time and talking with your children.  It just might provide a memory of what you value to them, in more ways than one.  Something to pray about.

Enjoy.

Learning to Love Linux

My entire family has been converted to Linux.  While I drove the adoption as the tech support in residence, the conversion wasn't always met with open arms by all.  In the end the the fear of the unknown was overcome and everyone did learn to (mostly) love Linux.

This post is a summary of the applications that have helped in that adoption.  There are many Windows to Linux application equivalence charts.  This won't be another one.  Nor is this a detailed analysis of the merits of various alternative applications.  Instead, like most posts on this site, is more statement of what worked for us, with minimal explanation.

User Interface

This is the area where adoption begins - initial navigation.  Being able to find, start and stop programs is crucial.  Like it or not, the 800 pound gorilla is Windows and it's navigation paradigm.  Following it has benefits both in home adoption and in transferring skills to systems outside the home, such as at school.  Based primarily on that plus overall out-of-the box functionality, Linux Mint is our main choice, however we have at least one of each below.

• Linux Mint - best Windows equivalent:  start menu, taskbar, min/max/close buttons
• Ubuntu - the foundation for the other two distributions:  inverted UI for Windows users, a lot of "the same only different"
• UNE (was UNR) - Screen optimized for netbooks:  nothing the same here, launcher very unique

Identical - Linux

These applications comprise most of the home computer usage in our family.  Either originally on Windows or once converted to Linux, these are identical.  It should probably be noted that no one is a PC gamer.  Those that enjoy those use dedicated consoles.

• Firefox - customizable web browsing
• Office - word processing, spreadsheet and presentations
• Picasa - photo management
• Google Desktop - desktop, email and web searching
• KeePassX - password manager 

 Office above refers to Open Office, which is cross platform.  Since most home users don't use 3% of the installed function of Office applications, switch the default file type to the Microsoft format (for sharing) and you'll never know the difference.

Alternatives - Linux

These are the native Linux applications that round out the functions wanted by the family.  Note that these links are given for information only.  Applications are installed via the package manager within a Linux system, not via web downloads.

• Banshee - music manager and mp3 sync.  Syncs perfectly to multiple mp3 players and Android.
• Songbird - music manager and iPod sync.  We have only one iPod owner and this works well for him.
• Totem movie player - DVD playback.  VLC has more options and may be use less CPU though.
• apcupsd - software control for APC UPS.  Battery operation options for UPS.
• gnuCash - accounting software.  Amazing software, gave it 14 months of usage, but switched back to Quicken.
• simplescan - multi sheet scanning to PDF.  The 300Mb+ of HP Solution Center is gone.
• Tomboy - cross platform - sticky notes, useful with DropBox. 

Productivity - Linux

Many people create written content either to send (email), print (documents) or remember (sticky notes).  Those that make a discipline out of creating content, in the hope they'll be more productive, might be interested in these.

• Nevernote - an open source, cross platform (near) clone of Evernote, focused on creating the "missing" Linux client
• Rednotebook - an open source, cross platform (including Windows portable version) journal and calendar application

Alternatives - Cloud

A switch in operating systems might also be a good time to look at cloud, or web based services.  Consider your access, storage and security needs.  You may find this is a good time to move to a computer anywhere model.

• Springpad - cross platform, web and mobile. Social and email linkage.  If I ever switched from Evernote, this would be it.  Maybe when I upgrade to Android 2.1, hmmm.
• Mint - Owned by Intuit, "Quicken Lite" - limited to pulling 3 months history when starting, relatively inflexible categories, very coarse grained tax designations.  But, like GnuCash, great for a free application.
• Google Docs - All office type applications and data are web based.  The performance lag, plus existing critical mass keep me from this, but there is a lot of positives if starting fresh.
• Dropbox - cross platform, web and mobile.  Synchronized file access for all your computers via the web.  Allows access from any web browser.

Identical - Wine

This section gives me a deja vu from my time as a OS/2 Version 3 (aka Warp) support engineer.  The Win 3.x compatibility and IBM's inability to market small systems led to OS/2s downfall, but I digress.  In any event, while trying alternatives I did test the following two 32bit Windows applications, which worked perfectly for everything I tested under Wine 1.2 (Windows emulator):

• Quicken 2009 - personal finance management
• Evernote 3.1 - tagged note taking, cross platform (except Linux), web and mobile

Don't Need

A short list of some of the things you'll no longer need to have bogging down your system, keeping updated or having to spend.

• Anti-Virus
• Anti-Spyware
• Disk Defrag
• Adobe Reader
• PDF Writer
• Proprietary Scanner
• Validation
• Upgrade $$$

Problems

Linux is not Utopian computing.  At the end of the day there are still some computer "they're all like that" issues - see the "mostly" comment at the start.  This is our short list of items that I haven't solved due to time, expertise or interest.  One of our Linux Mint systems loses X-Windows only occasionally when two users are logged in.  The UNE system uses a launcher that removed Places which makes local file sharing more inconvenient than it should be.  Our lowest end system (1.8Ghz/512Mb) runs movies better on WinXP, although everything else runs better under Linux Mint.  If none of these situations apply (or make sense to you), have no worries.

Still not sure?  Try one of the Live CD distributions.  While the actual boot is about 20 times slower than off a hard drive, you'll have full functionality once its up and running.  It will even allow installations (for that session) of additional software.

Hopefully this can be a small additional resource to those considering the move to Linux or just starting out.  Net:  the benefits far outweigh the small learning curve to be climbed.  You just might end up loving it.

Enjoy.

Computer Donation

How do you safely donate a computer to a person or organization when you've moved on in your technology needs?  How can you do so without putting your own digital information or identity at risk?  The difficulty in answering these questions keep many old computers sitting unused in closets.

While better than going to a landfill, there are uses that are better yet.  Job retraining facilities can use older machines for teaching purposes, running local applications for courses such as typing and basic computer skills.  Non profits can also use downlevel machines as dedicated kiosks they might otherwise not afford.  Whatever the use might be, something is better than nothing.  Let's get started with some how-to considerations.

The key is to remove personal information from the machine and any licensed software that you are not including in the donation (including original media, documentation and license).  Personal information not only includes information in email and files, also browser cache, cookies, history.

The easiest way to insure nothing is disclosed is to wipe the entire drive.  There are several utilities that will do this, including the popular Darik's Boot and Nuke.  Download the .iso, burn it to a CD (not as a file, as an image).  Insert the CD into the old machine and (you guessed it) - boot and nuke.

The downside to this is that the machine is now unusable without a reload of an operating system.  To reinstall on an older machine, find all necessary drivers, configure preferences, etc. can take some time.  The staff at your chosen ministry or nonprofit might not have the necessary skills or tools either.  It might be faster to do some selective deletion.  The suggestions below will provide some steps to get you started.

• Open the Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs then create a new user with administrative rights.
• Write the userid and password on a piece of tape and put it on the side of the machine.
• Logoff then logon with the new id
• Delete all other ids
• Open C:\Documents and Settings, delete all folders except All Users, Default User and the one you just created
• Open the Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs then delete as necessary
• Browse the Start menu for applications that may need to be deleted
• Open C:\Program Files, then look for any remaining applications for deletion
• Look for files off the root of C:\ such as \Temp, \Tmp etc that could be candidates for deletion
• Install CCleaner being sure to add the menu to the Recycle Bin
• Empty the Recycle Bin using secure delete
• Use CCleaner to wipe free space

I wrote this from memory as a precursor to helping a friend out this weekend.  I've been away from Windows support for a long time and wrote this as much to collect my thoughts as anything.  Suggestions on better or more current techniques are welcome.

In the meantime, it should help me and maybe some others.  Enjoy.

Some People

While updating a Windows computer on a family member's machine recently I received the unexpected pop up (captured below) when attempting to install Microsoft Security Essentials:

It seems that the copy of McAfee SiteAdvisor I'd just installed on the system was warning me that Microsoft's site had unsafe downloads - as identified by "some people".  The McAfee sales force perhaps?

Too classic not to share.  More geek humor.  Enjoy.

Fix Your Code

Something a little fun to add to your day.  Think of the melody to the American Christmas song “Jingle Bells” as you read the lyrics below.  Credit goes to a friend for the overall inspiration and partial lyrics of the chorus.  As an otherwise original adaptation, I do like the way it turned out.  Geek humor.  Enjoy.

“Fix Your Code”

Sung to the tune “Jingle Bells”

Scanning through the code

Using all the tools today

O'er the fields we go

Tracing flows all the way

Bad coding practice brings

Dashboard colors bright

What fun it is to laugh and sing

A scanning song tonight

Oh, fix your code, fix your code

Fix your code today

Oh what fun the assessors have

In the team doing SCA

Oh, fix your code, fix your code

Fix your code today

Oh, no WAF can ever provide

A one fix to open SIAs

Checking all the vulns

Finding needles in the hay

O'er the source we go

Rating findings 'long the way

Bad coding practice brings

Dashboard colors bright

What fun it is to laugh and sing

A scanning song tonight

Oh, fix your code, fix your code

Fix your code today

Oh what fun the assessors have

In an ethical hack today

Oh, fix your code, fix your code

Fix your code today

Oh, no WAF can ever provide

A guarantee for your SLA

Keep Your Eyes Open

Often after a Windows cleanup or conversion to Linux the question comes up - "Is my PC secure/safe now?"  What is usually meant is "Am I safe to surf the web now?"  There is a distinction.  The short answer is no.

A relatively short and excellent example of why, written in layman's terms, was posted by Jeremiah Grossman.   Note that (at the time of this writing) visiting this site will put a harmless link in your Google history by way of demonstration, if you're logged in.

No operating system (Linux, OS X, Windows), full patched, loaded down with watchdog applications like anti virus, anti spyware, ad blockers, firewalls, etc will protect from browser based exploits.  No browser (Firefox, Safari, IE) or combination of plugins (NoScript, AdBlock) will make surfing totally secure either.  Content filtering and reputation based services (OpenDNS, SiteAdvisor) don't close the door.  Browser based exploits rely on vulnerabilities in the web sites you visit.

There are valid analogies between owning a computer and owning a car such as both requiring maintenance.  The key is that where and how you drive both can make a real difference in how safe you and your assets are.  Knowing what website to trust is very difficult, even for security professionals.  How do you make the selection - company size, market share, revenue?  Remember the exploit above - it was on Google - which ranks pretty high in each of those categories.

There is no easy single answer.  I've listed some suggestions previously for safe PC usage.  Secured operating systems, browsers and addons can help.  They just don't make things completely safe so you can close your eyes while driving web surfing.

A Big Savings

Everyone thinks their dog is the best in some way.  I recognize that when I say that we thought our Yorkie-Poodle mix was too.  Last October, after thirteen plus years of companionship, we had ample opportunity to reflect on that when she passed on.

We knew we'd get another one.  It was only a question of when.  There were a couple of months of contacting shelters, rescue operations and private breeders.  That odyssey itself is enough material for another post, particularly the rescue operations that required more paperwork to just talk to us than I've signed buying some cars.

The question was finally answered when my wife visited the Petland Arboretum location.  The frustration of the previous months and the irresistible nature of holding anything small, warm and furry won out.   A full AKC Yorkie, now named "Oscar" resides with us.

This many months later, while organizing some files, I ended up handling the receipt for Oscar.  These little dogs are in demand.  We learned that from the private breeders.  We really learned that at Petland.  Such is a free market economy.  Nobody forced us to buy him, but he was well over our original target amount.  What struck me fresh today was at the bottom of the receipt:

"You Have Saved:  $13.10".  Hmmm.  What exactly was the cost comparison here?  This wasn't a commodity purchase.  No mass market comparison shopping is possible on individual dogs that I know of.  Possibly on the "free" stuff that was thrown in as part of the package?  So what is the amount - an automatically added random number designed to induce customer loyalty?  If it wasn't for the seemingly random and inconsistent pricing on the dogs we've seen there since while buying supplies, it probably wouldn't have struck me this way.

Oscar is a good dog, although a bit of a rascal since he is still a puppy.  All in all I'd have like to have paid less, but we did get what we paid for.  Most importantly, my wife loves the little dog so I guess it was a big savings.

Eating My Own Dog Food

I've written about "needs based computing" before as part of the decision process in buy vs clean in the Cleaning an Infected PC post.  This last week I had an opportunity to eat my own dog food when the integrated video failed on our home desktop.

This desktop is over six years old.  The power supply failed first a few years ago, which I replaced.  Then the integrated NIC failed a year later, which I disabled and added a 3Com PCI card to restore.  Lately the power supply has been running warm and I'd started to think that the over 52K hours that this machine has been in service had taken its toll.  When the video failed I was sure of it.

So what were the family computing needs?  Had they changed?  Increased?  Not really.  Basic web surfing, document creation, money and photo management, podcasts and music.  Pretty pedestrian stuff that the old 3.0Ghz system handled well.  Given the chance, I'd like to swap the desktop for a laptop, but this isn't the time to spend the significant money it would require to get comparable laptop performance.

Therefore, I decided to find a used system compatible with the known good components from my current system.  While there was some risk of transferring age related problems to the next machine, the immediate value equation seemed balanced.

So began checking Craigslist and the local computer shops for systems with comparable performance and compatable hardware to my current system.  The memory would be the biggest concern and the detailed specs at MemoryStock really helped speed the identification process.  The third leg the stool was insuring that the new target system was hardware compatible with my OS of choice - Linux Mint.  The Linux HCL is the definitive single source, plus Googling never hurts.

In the end, I purchased a Dell mid tower system from a local computer shop (Best Tek Support) and added in the working parts from the old machine.  Besides offering a 30 day warranty, they were incredibly flexible in configuring and pricing the system with only what I needed in it.

There's probably a "never say never" lesson for me in here too.  I stated when I bought the last desktop new, that I'd never build another custom system, piece by piece.  This came close, but I had a little fun with it too.  It has every kitchen sink media component I own installed (3.5", 250M Zip, 6-in-1 media reader, CD-RW/DVD-RW, IDE, SATA and more USB ports than I can count).

All in all a good value.  So far, we're enjoying it.  It meets our needs.

A New Front Porch

The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed for Halloween that focused on the apparent lack of real physical danger to children participating in trick-or-treat.  I'm a little behind in my news feeds (what else is new?) but jumping through the articles I'd missed, this one gave me pause with two different thoughts.

First of all, the guilt release after allowing our youngest to consume the confections he brought home.  Not all at once mind you, even now there's more to go than already consumed.  Just that it might not have been the risk we may have been led to believe (except for the dental issues).  Turns out that through statistical analysis there might be merit for claiming Halloween: The Safest Day of the Year.

The second I almost missed toward the end of the article.  Its a little more subtle.  The author states that "...trick-or-treating is building the very thing that keeps us safe: community."  If this had been a typical year where we simply responded to the doorbell's ringing at random intervals, I wouldn't have thought this applied to us.  With a combination of grown kids and those old enough to be tour with friends and their parents, it would be easy to isolate ourselves from the day's tradition.  Instead, this year we choose to put ourselves directly in the middle of it.  We created a new front porch at the end of our driveway, as shown below.

This purposeful setup allowed us the opportunity to connect with the adults who typically stay at the curb.  The flags, fall produce and heart carved pumpkin all provided conversation points.  Keeping a safe distance for the little ones, the fire pit proved very popular as the evening turned out to be fairly chilly and people would linger a while to warm up.  Closer to tradition, we did give out "goodie bags" my wife assembled of nominal value with candy, school supplies and novelty million dollar bills.

It seemed to be a good combination of purely social and outreach elements.  We talked to people who lived only blocks away, but yet we haven't talked to in years.  There was catching up on kids, jobs and the small things that when combined, weave the fabric of life.  We also met new neighbors that similarly hadn't found or made an opportunity for expanding their neighborhood connections.  A truly unexpected event was when a tractor pulled hayride pulled into our village and most of the riders jumped off to visit.

So while it might not bring back a 1950's front porch atmosphere year round, it did provide a re-union of sorts among neighbors that have drifted into benign neglect.  We have a great neighborhood with all the superlatives you'd hope for in suburban America or most anywhere.  However, that sense of connection can't help but further increase the sense of community in our neighborhood.

Besides, we enjoyed it and are already thinking of how to create the same experience again.  Hmmm, BBQ....?

In God We Trust

The American Family Association (AFA) commissioned Christian songwriter/singer Eric Horner to write a moving patriotic song to honor our national motto, "In God We Trust."

A very nice song with great lyrics. Enjoy.

Windows XP Security - Linux Alternatives

This is the fourth and (intended) final article in a series on Windows XP security. The first three focused on cleaning malware, preventing malware with software and preventing malware with defensive computing habits. This article will identify how to prevent operating system level malware by switching operating systems.

There are a lot of reasons why Windows in all its versions, has the predominant market share in desktop computing. Discussion of those reasons would branch into the depths of marketing practices and technical merits. Without going there, I'd submit that at the end of the day it is due to preloading. Virtually every retail PC sold has Windows preloaded. Not many consumers will take time to research alternatives, learn new skills, potentially spend additional dollars - when they have something that works. As long as it works for you, I agree. For those that find it not working, at whatever threshold that is for you, continue reading.

For the vast majority of home users, at least those that I deal with that don't make their living in some form of technical field, it doesn't matter what they're running. Any device that allows web surfing, web mail, plays video and handles file attachments (documents and spreadsheets) will do just fine. With that market segment in mind, major PC manufacturers have started offering alternatives such as Dell does with Ubuntu (a distribution of Linux), often at reduced fees - because most all distributions of Linux are free.

The good news is that PC owners don't have to buy a new system to try a new operating system. It can be downloaded for free, tried without any risk or changes to the current operating system, then installed in a variety of co-existent or replacement modes. All at your own pace and comfort level.

Many choices exist for free and open source operating systems. Most will be some base form of Linux assembled into a bundle of applications called a distribution. The selection of which distribution is "best" or "right" is subjective, however all will offer security advantages over *a default* Windows XP installation. This is primarily because Linux distributions, like all Unix variants, are designed to work with the principle of "least privilege". Users do not run as system adminstrators. If elevated level of access is required, the user is prompted for their password, the task is completed then the default level of privilege is restored. All applications will run within this security model without additional steps. As described in earlier articles, it can be implemented in Windows XP, but not all applications will run seamlessly with this change. There have been modifications to the architecture of later versions of Windows, but this series focuses on XP.

For the majority of Windows users looking for alternatives, I believe Linux Mint will make for an extremely smooth transition. Linux purists will howl at this statement, but it is the most "Windows like" right out of the box. What it means to the "average" PC user is that it provides full multimedia support without any extra effort, meaning that you can listen to MP3's watch DVD's and view web pages that require Flash technology right after install. Wireless internet connectivity and printing will work seamlessly as well.

As many Linux distributions do, Linux Mint combines both the installation CD with a Live CD that will run the full operating system straight from the CD, without modifying the hard drive. Download the "Live CD, 32 bit, The standard version" from http://www.linuxmint.com/download.php The filetype of .iso you've downloaded is a CD image, meaning it must be opened by a CD burning program that can use it to make a CD. This is different than simply burning a file to CD. If you need a CD burning program for Windows, a good free one is CDBurnerXP from http://cdburnerxp.se/ The same site describes how to burn an ISO image to CD at http://cdburnerxp.se/help/Data/burn-iso

Boot from the CD for a couple of sessions and see how things work.  Recognize that the boot from the CD will be much slower than from an operating system installed to the hard drive because of the orders of magnitude speed difference in the two different disk technologies.  When you're ready to install to the hard drive, for the speed improvement and ability to save your customizations - backup your data!  Then you have several options:  installing under windows as any other application; installing in dual boot mode; completely replacing Windows XP as the sole operating system on the hard drive.  There are advantages to each.  Booted from the CD, selecting the Install icon on the Desktop and installing in dual boot mode may be the most comfortable choice for those starting out.

Additional information is available in the excellent Introduction to Linux Mint document, the Ubuntu (on which Mint is based) community documentation and many sites with guides to getting started using Linux for persons whose only experience is Windows.  If you want a system that runs clean and fast - and stays that way - it may be worth your time do do a little reading.  Don't be afraid to experiment either, with computers it can be the best way to learn.

In this series, I've attempted to cover the short course on tools and techniques I use when pressed into service to assist someone with a malware problem on Windows XP.   The articles have covered cleanup, two types of prevention and my recommended alternative to almost everyone (especially anyone I've helped more than once).  There are other similar articles around, written for there own purposes.  This series provides the answer for when I'm asked "what would you do?".

Now you know.  Enjoy.

Edited 2010.10.04 - Added Ubuntu community documentation reference.

Windows XP Security - Safe PC Usage

This is the third in a series on Windows XP security. The first two focused on cleaning malware and preventing malware with software. This article will identify how to prevent malware with defensive computing habits.

The lists below are terse. Quick soundbites, easily digestable. Not so easily explained. The rationale behind some, including attack vectors, exploits and countermeasures could fill volumes. There are many blogs by security experts that cover vulnerabilities and exploits extremely well.  In this space we'll just focus on practical security measures, again for the "average" PC user.

 Safe Computing

• Don't login with Administrator rights. Make yourself a standard user and Run As... a separate Administrator privileged account only when needed. At least run applications that connect to the internet with reduced privileges via programs such as DropMyRights
• Don't install programs unless they're absolutely necessary. Screensavers, wallpaper switchers, video players, system "upgrades" and other freeware utilities often have a hidden (malware) reason they're free.
• Install programs only from trusted sources such as SourceForge at http://sourceforge.net/ or those reviewed by reputable third parties such as Gizmo at http://www.techsupportalert.com/  (yes, the name - I know) or to a lesser extent CNet at http://download.cnet.com - read the user reviews, not just the editor rating.

Safe Surfing

• Select websites from Favorites/Bookmarks or manual typing
• Never click on links in email, even from a sender you believe you can trust
• Search for websites instead of guessing the URL or risking a typo
• Use different passwords (and userids) for each website (use an encrypted password database like KeePass)
• Heed the warnings provided by McAfee SiteAdvisor in searching for websites
• Examine SSL certificate security warnings, don't just click through them
• Close popups via the taskbar vs clicking anywhere in the popup - right click on the taskbar, select Close
• Consider carefully entering personal data on a site that has a "This page contains both secure and nonsecure items" warning when visited
• Understand unexpected program launches caught by the outbound firewall
• Log out then close all browser windows after done using any site with financial transactions
• Keep only one browser window or tab open when performing financial transactions, don't multi task by general surfing
• Remember "Google is your friend" - search for file names, program names, virtually anything that you encounter that you don't understand. You don't need to be a computer genius to understand most results and make decisions.

Notes

• Firefox will not make you invincible.
• Even trusted websites can be compromised by partner content or bad programming
• NoScript is good, but actually makes you more susceptible (by default) to ClickJacking
• No one security program can do it all - think before you click

Windows XP Security - Protecting a Clean PC

Part two in a series on Windows XP Security. This article focus on keeping a clean PC clean - from malware. We're going to start with the assumption that we have a newly loaded Windows XP machine, preferably from the manufacturer's recovery CD, not yet connected to the internet. Possibly even from a cleanup on an infected machine, using techniques described in the first article in the series.

The steps below can be done in virtually any order, however do not place the clean machine directly on the internet without having installed a hardware router.  Don't wait to do it later, you're not as fast as the bad guys - they're automated.  Also, some may question the necessity of installing this many tools.  Each covers primarily one space and together they implement what is known as "defense in depth".

As with the first article's selections, the tools chosen may not represent an absolute best in breed, but focus on tool availability (aka "free") and potential acceptance for the "average" Windows PC user.   Based on personal experience with these recommendations, I believe they are within the grasp of all moderately experienced computer owners.

1. Install a hardware router in between your home network and the cable modem. Even if you only have one machine. Even if that machine is wired. Even if you don't think you can do hardware. This will greatly remove threat and network load on your PC because of the firewall implementation in the router. One I've recommended and installed for friends and family which is absolutely foolproof is the Cisco - Linksys E1000
2. Install all updates from http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com   Configure automatic updates to occur on a scheduled basis, using the link on the site. Note the firewall warning below.
3. Set a system restore point following the instructions at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/getstarted/ballew_03may19.mspx . This can be done multiple times when known good configurations are achieved and in theory reverted to in the event of system corruption.  This is a good point to make the first one.  Learn how to restore from one too, before you need to.
4. Install a firewall that blocks outbound connnections. This is noisy at first because each first time you start an application the firewall will ask you if you want to allow the connection. If you can be certain that the requested action is the direct result of an an application you started, create a rule for it and you won't be asked again. One caveat is that you may have to manually run system updates as the firewall can block this process. Well worth it. My recommendation here is: Comodo - http://www.comodo.com/home/download/download.php?prod=firewall 
5. Install Microsoft Security Essentials. This contains anti-virus and anti-spyware from the mother ship, for free. http://www.microsoft.com/security_essentials/  Note that the vast majority of anti-virus applications on the internet are frauds. They themselves are malware. Choose from a major vendor or a trusted freeware evaluation.  These protections focus on free software tools. Particularly in the anti-virus space, there are excellent paid alternatives such as (in alphabetical order) Kaspersky, McAfee, Nod32, Symantec and Trend Micro.  Your ISP may provide one as well.
6. Install a monitor that watches when applications are added to one of multiple startup areas on your PC. You will be asked for permission before the application (or malware) can imbed itself there. Don't just say "No" to malware attempting to install an auto-start however, you'll still need to deal with the malware running somewhere on your machine.  One warning to this is that some programs that have auto-updaters will attempt to have their "Check for updates" program install each time they're loaded. It can be a nuisance, but the trade off is improved performance and free memory. You choose. My recommendation here is:  Startup Monitor  http://www.mlin.net/StartupMonitor.shtml 
7. Switch from Internet Explorer to Firefox. I'm not going to wade into the fervor that surrounds this one, however there are several add-ons to Firefox that I feel make the difference for the average user. Install Firefox from Mozilla, then the following add-ons: AdBlock Plus and optionally NoScript. NoScript may disable valid functionality on sites that you want to re-enable on a per-site basis (the discussion can get complicated quickly on this one). Like the firewall, this activity will be less over time, but helps reduce some browser based exploits on untrusted sites.  http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/products/download.html 
8. Install McAfee SiteAdvisor to provide a first level threat rating of sites returned in Google searches. http://www.siteadvisor.com/  This ties directly to a safe computing recommendation (for the next article) - never type a url directly - search for it, then click the correct result.
9. Install Microsoft DropMyRights and configure to be able to run Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Outlook Express for example, with non-administrator icons. http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms972827.aspx The following article de-mystifies implementation http://cybercoyote.org/security/drop.shtml  An alternative which is even better is to run everything as a non-admin, as described below.
10. Run as non-administrator.  This really should be first (second behind the hardware router/firewall) but is last because of the amount of software to be installed listed above.  In daily computer usage, new programs are almost never installed and so administrator rights are not needed and in practice are almost always a bad thing. Open the Control Panel, start the User Accounts applet and create a new account.  Give it administrator level rights.  Log in as the new administrator account, open the User Accounts applet again and drop your original account to a standard User.  Insure that the Guest account is disabled.  Insure that all accounts have non trivial, different passwords.  Log in to the original account.  You're done, start surfing.  If you ever find the need to run as an administrator, don't login to the administrator account, instead right click the program and select Run As... choosing the created administrator account.

One step not listed in above because it isn't really a preventative step is backing up your data.  Select a program and process that is workable for you.  Then execute it on a regular basis.  How often depends on how frequently your data changes and how much you can afford to lose.   I would personally recommend backing up to an external hard drive.  Others favor a burning to DVD's with offsite storage rotation.  Just do something.

While we're at it, if you're using a constantly on desktop PC, consider investing in a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS).  Not only will they provide battery backup in the case of power failures, they can condition line voltage to extend the life and reliability of your equipment.


Additional information on protecting your Windows PC can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/security/pypc.aspx and many more places on the web.  Remember "Google is your friend."

Disclaimer - no warranty is expressed or implied by this article.  Proceed at your own risk.  Understand all directions and consequences before using any tools or making any system modifications.  I have no affiliation with any product, service, or retail establishment listed above as they are given for illustration purposes only.

Windows XP Security - Cleaning An Infected PC

Every so often I'm asked for advice on PC's. Usually running Windows XP. Typically running so slow that the owner is ready to buy a new one. The question then usually comes in one of the following two flavors: "What computer should I buy?" or "What would you do?". To avoid keeping anyone in suspense, my two answers are "The computer you can afford, which you can test running all the applications you want to use." and "Backup all data, reload an operating system, prevent it from happening again." respectively.

So for those adventurous souls that want to remain on Windows XP and control their own PC destiny, I've decided to write what will likely be an article series on my recommendations for the following Windows XP Security topics: Cleaning an Infected PC; Protecting a Clean PC; Safe PC Usage; Linux Alternatives.

The series will cover malware software issues on marginally running machines. Not software boot errors. Not hardware problems. Not Windows versions other than XP.  Not using tools I personally haven't had some measure of success with.  Let's get started.

Like most who find themselves in their circle of family and friends as the designated "computer expert" I have my own answers to both questions in the first paragraph, using my own set of preferred tools and techniques. While this is not part of my current professional role, in the past I have been part of infrastructure support teams. That experience guides some of my choices but really isn't reflected directly in the tools and techniques chosen. Mostly because I've chosen to focus on tool availability and comprehension for the "average" Windows PC user. For this reason as well, some tools and techniques might not be the choice of the experienced technorati, but should be well with the grasp of most and still provide good results.

If you're unsure if this is what you want to do, those with virtually unusable PC's have the following options:

• Pay a computer tech to fix the problem. The well known Geek Squad charges fees that start at $149 for in store service.  I've personally known friends that have paid close to $300 when everything was said and done. Too expensive for me.
• Buy a new computer. A decent laptop will still set you back around $600.  This is the most expensive option, and does have advantage of temporarily having a new machine. If the problem machine still exceeds specs for the applications you need to run, I'd rather make sure its truly hopeless before going this route.
• Fix it yourself. Obviously where this article comes in. The financial cost of this route is minimal, limited to a blank CD or two and possibly a USB flash drive. It's likely that most people already own both. The real cost here is time, potentially lots of it.

Realize that in order to save hundreds of dollars in support fees or for a new system, you are becoming your own computer expert.  You don't have to be an expert in every computer domain - that's impossible for anyone. You just have to become enough of an expert this one time to fix this one problem. Another thing that is impossible is for this article to contain enough prescriptive advice to cover every situation and every tool usage scenario. As an aside, its primarily for that reason that I've resisted writing an article like this before now. Therefore, the instructions provided assume some level of computer usage (not support) proficiency and leave it up to the reader to Google specific questions regarding a tool or technique recommended.

Having a cleanly running second computer available to search for information, download utilities, burn CDs and other tasks can make this odyssey a whole lot faster and easier, effectively determining the success of the effort.

Backup Data

Backing up data at this stage, before any changes are attempted has the risk at this stage of potentially backing up infected files, such as malicious macros contained in the above filetypes, but do it anyway. If something goes wrong later, it will be worth every second spent.  You can always make a second known good backup later.

1. Create a bootable CD from a Linux live cd distribution on a working system. Linux Mint is a good choice.
2. Boot the suspect system from the CD. You may need to set the boot order in the BIOS of the system to select the CD ahead of the hard drive.
3. Copy all data to a USB flash drive. USB 8Gb drives under $20 can be found on sale.  Booted using Linux Mint, select Menu then Computer. Those who have used copy and paste file operations with Windows Explorer should be comfortable copying directories to the USB device.
4. Make sure that data for all users is backed up. Look in "C:\Documents and Settings" to see the profiles of each user on the machine. Under each, good starting choices for backup would be "My Documents" and "Favorites".
5. Only backup data files such as documents, spreadsheets, presentations, financial, music, photos, etc. Don't backup the actual applications themselves.
6. Backup your product keys, especially for Microsoft products such as Windows and Office. Product key finders can make this easier. Some applications will list their keys under the menu items Help / About.

Set Limits

Don't skip this step. Even for experienced PC technicians, cleanup can take hours of research, utility execution and experimentation. Professional support teams usually have limits they'll expend in investigation on unknown problems - some as short as 10 minutes for a unusable machine - then they reimage (reload) the operating system on the machine. Its faster (and more enjoyable) to reconfigure a clean, fast machine once reloaded, than to spend more time trying to clean a painfully slow infected one.

Clean Up

Download the tools below on a known good machine. Malware may block and/or infect these as the download and attempt to run. Plus the performance will likely be terrible - why you started this in the first place. Burn to a CD - not a USB flash drive, but a device that malware can't corrupt. Boot the suspect machine in safe mode with networking by pressing F8 once a second or so, after the BIOS spash screen (the first screen of any type) displays. Login as administrator, insert the tools CD you just burned, run or install each one at a time, according to directions on the download site. Some may not run in Safe Mode and will tell you so. Its still best to try first.

1. McAfee Stinger - http://vil.nai.com/vil/stinger/  Follow the steps on the download site.
2. Ad-Aware - http://www.lavasoft.com/  Install the application and all updates. Run a full scan.
3. Spybot-S&D - http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html  Install the application and all updates. Run a full scan.
4. CCleaner - http://www.ccleaner.com/  Install and run the application. Use the Tools to investigate and Disable any suspected malware that is set to Autostart.  Google Tools you don't recognize by File, initially disabling (vs deleting) ones that are suspect.  Analyze and clean the system with the Cleaner. Scan and clean the Registry.  Reboot after usage.
5. Malicious Software Removal Tool - http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.aspx  Install the application and run a full scan.  Note that the tool itself is updated the second Tuesday of every month, with additional threat removal capabilities.
6. Browser Hijacks - For Internet Explorer, follow the steps at http://www.microsoft.com/security/spyware/browserhijacking.aspx  For Firefox, follow the steps at http://kb.mozillazine.org/Standard_diagnostic_-_Firefox  You may want to have a clean download of Firefox on the CD.

The next set of tools are actually built into the Windows operating system.  No download needed.

1. Task Manager - Ctrl-Alt-Del, choose Task Manager. Choose the process tab and look around. Columns can be sorted by double clicking on the header. Start with Googling "Image Name"s that have high CPU utilization, either constantly or in spikes. Stop any that you believe are malware by Right Clicking, then choosing End Process. Choosing the wrong one may de-stabilize your system.
2. Service Management - Press the Windows Key + R, type services.msc, press ENTER.  Focus initially on items that show Startup Type as Automatic. Google ones you suspect, then Disable by right clicking, selecting Properties... and using the dropdown for Startup Type.

The next tool isn't for downloading and burning to CD, but for execution on a machine that is running to the point where it can reliably bring up a browser to connect to the internet.

1. Trend Micro Online AV Scan - http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
   

Deep Cleaning

Can't get the anti-malware programs to launch from the CD? Perhaps a window or splash screen opens momentarily and then goes away? You no longer own your machine - a malware supervisor program is controlling what loads. Seriously think about reformatting the drive and reloading everything. If you're still in the game, these next two bootable CD's may keep you going. Focus initially on populating only the anti-malware tools. Be sure to have your original Windows CD handy. Building these is another task to perform on a clean machne.

1. BartPE - http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/
2. UBCD - http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

A good summary of bootable utility CDs is available on LifeHacker.  Another good summary, including using PhotoRec to recover deleted files, is from CGSecurity.

Investigate

These can be used at any time. Check for high CPU utilization, strange file/process names, listening ports open to sites you don't recognize, etc. This is the truly deep dive territory, but remember - "Google is your friend".

1. Process Explorer - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx  Lists all running processes and open files.
2. CurrPorts - http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.html  Lists all process and applications which have open connections (ports) to the internet, potentially sending out information or waiting for instructions
3. HijackThis - http://download.cnet.com/Trend-Micro-HijackThis/3000-8022_4-10227353.html  Lists all locations on the PC that process are started from.
4. WinDirStat - http://download.cnet.com/WinDirStat/3000-2248_4-10614593.html  Graphically displays disk space utilization

So in closing, manage your time carefully and consider my original advice: "Backup all data, reload an operating system, prevent it from happening again." Backup was covered in this article, we'll get to the rest later.


Disclaimer - no warranty is expressed or implied by this article.  Proceed at your own risk.  Understand all directions and consequences before using any tools or making any system modifications.  I have no affiliation with any product, service, or retail establishment listed above as they are given for illustration purposes only.


Edit 2010.09.28 - Added specific browser hijack advice.  Clarified a few lines.
Edit 2010.10.04 - Added product key backup.
Edit 2010.10.15 - Added bootable CD links

Struts 1.x Logical Flow

Java programmers should be familiar with Apache Struts as an extremely popular free and open-source framework for creating web applications. Although the 2.x branch of the project is the one currently being developed, the 1.x version continues to be widely used for a variety of reasons.

At one point a couple of years ago I found myself needing to explain the control flow through Struts 1 and was unable to find a visual representation that illustrated what I was thinking. Therefore I created the logical control flow shown below.

It does bear some resemblance to a spaghetti chart, but does illustrate several elements of a simple Struts control flow. While originally created for a single purpose, uses for it still surface occasionally in various forums, so I thought there may be some value in posting it for those learning or teaching Struts 1.

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this graphic is freely granted, provided that the original authorship notice is preserved.

One more thing out of my GTD "Someday" category. Enjoy.

Collected Entropy - 2010.09.25

Collected Entropy since the last post with this title. No particular order, rhyme or reason. Mostly too long to tweet

Special limited time only, while they last, small town edition. 

• Marshville is the home of Randy Travis, poultry processing plants and the annual Boll Weevil festival of Union County held last weekend. Even based on the erradication of tiny bugs...you just gotta love small town celebrations. Seriously. Charlotte may be think they've outgrown them, but here are a few more small towns that haven't.
• Unionville is having it's annual BBQ in a little over a month. Don't let the fact that the event is held at an elementary school fool you. These folks are serious about BBQ and on a large scale.  Check out the photos from last year, then mark your calendar for the first Friday in November.
• In keeping with the small town trend of this post, here is a calendar of other small town festivals coming up in Union County including the BBQ cookoff in Waxhaw on October 8-9th.
• Finishing off with a small town that has a big reputation...the 27th annual BBQ festival will be held in Lexington, NC on October 23rd.    Be sure to sample some of the Monk family's BBQ from Lexington #1.