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The
LangaList
Standard Edition
2003-10-16
A Free Email Newsletter from
Fred Langa
That Helps You Get More From Your Hardware,
Software, and Time Online
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and help keep the LangaList S.E. free!
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1) A Linux
Positive...
Hi Fred! Just thought I'd pass along a link to a linux distribution based on
Red Hat. It's called JAMD and is available at
http://www.jamd-linux.com/ .
It's based on Red Hat 9, maintains full compatibility it, but tweaks it to
include all the good multimedia features a home desktop user need. It also has a
very helpful forum to receive support from it's community....which is excellent
BTW.
It tries to have a Mac-ish sorta look to the default desktop, but it's easy
to change it if you don't like it. If you want to try linux, and just have
something that works completely out of the box....give it a whirl! Cheers!---Pat
Thanks, Pat. It does look interesting: A single CD that includes the OS,
OpenOffice, Mozilla Web browser, Evolution PIM, GnuCash personal finance
The Gimp graphics editor, games, educational software, and more; a simple 4 step install (mouse, timezone, administrator password, User account
creation); and a claim of "13 minutes from install to desktop."
This one'll be fun to try
out! Click to email this item to a
friend
http://www.langa.com/sendit2.htm
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2) ...And A Linux
Negative
Is MS unique in its problems? Will switching OSes end
our patching woes? Probably not. OpenSource may be in part benefiting from modular
fingerpointing as practical Linux distributions (not just kernel) have many
pieces with many "owning" project organizations. Any commercial organization
that writes complete OSes, applications or kitchen sink work environments (MS)
is going the suffer the effect of all fingers pointing to one place.
Note the OpenSSH problem below. Sounds just like MS repeating RPC problems.
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/linux/mandrake/2003-q3/0170.html
" A buffer management error was discovered in all versions of
[Linux's] openssh prior
to version 3.7. According to the OpenSSH team's advisory... It is uncertain whether this error is potentially exploitable, however, we
prefer to see bugs fixed proactively." There have also been reports of an
exploit in the wild.
MandrakeSoft encourages all users to upgrade to these patched openssh
packages immediately and to disable sshd until you are able to upgrade if at all
possible.
Update: The OpenSSH developers discovered more, similar, problems and revised the
patch to correct these issues. These new packages have the latest patch fix
applied."
And OpenSSH has been having similar problems since 2001
--- Administrator 4. Falter
Thanks, Admin. Indeed, all software has weaknesses
and flaws.
Microsoft has some special problems (see
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-09-29.htm#1 ), but people who
think they'll be safe from trouble if they switch to Macs or Linux or whatever
will be sorely disappointed. No commercial OS is immune from bugs or security
problems. Probably, none ever will be. And whichever OS is the current top dog
will get the most negative attention and hack attempts. It's inevitable.
No matter what OS you use, you have to stay current
with patches, and keep your guard up.
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3) Connection
Sharing Follow-Ons: Low-Cost...
re "Internet Connection Sharing Limitations" (
http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-10-02.htm#5 )
Sygate Network is a good product, but I'm partial to NAT32 which is
available from http://www.nat32.com . It comes in a "home" version for a single network ($25) or a "professional" version ($50) for more complex topologies involving routing between multiple networks.
There is no licensing limit on the number of machines which may be used on a NAT32 network which makes it even more attractive for the bargain-basement price.
I've been running NAT32 on an ancient 90Mhz Pentium machine running Windows95 and supporting 17 miscellaneous computers, three print servers and a wireless access point.
I installed NAT32 about five years ago to share a dial-up connection. Later I moved up to ISDN and now to a cable modem. The system has been rock solid, running 24x7 with absolutely no problems. Email support from the vendor has been excellent.
I selected NAT32 among a number of connection sharing products because its licensing is simple and does not limit the number of machines on your network; it provides its own DHCP server and allows mixing static and dynamic IPs on the LAN; the documentation is excellent and fully available online BEFORE you buy; and, of course, it has a very low price and simple licensing. One can download a full version demo and make sure it the product does what one wants before one buys. The demo is set up to shut itself down after an hour of use and can be re-started an unlimited number of times, so there's plenty of time to try out various features and configurations. Purchasing a license provides a "registration key" which removes the timer.
See also http://www.nat32.com/ics.html for a brief discussion on "Why NAT32 is superior to Windows 98 SE Internet Connection Sharing."
Regards, Will Roberts
[continued in next item]
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4) Connection
Sharing Follow-Ons: ...And NO-Cost!
Fred, Your newsletter is extremely useful to me. I would like to give a little back
by providing another answer to the gentleman that asked you about sharing and Internet connection in your issue 10-2-03.
I would recommend using VSocks lite. It is free, has a lot of features but
even better it is extremely easy to use. I have used it on a lan of 10 -15 machines and it worked flawlessly. It will dial up if automatically if need
be, it provides some limited firewall protection, runs on Windows 95 and requires very little in the way of resources.
You can find it here
http://www.pscs.co.uk/products/vsockslight/index.html
Thanks for the great newsletter, John Miller
Windows' ICS is built-in and free, but it's a
minimalist tool. Like the basic firewall built into XP, these tools are better
than nothing, but almost any add-on product will give you more flexibility. For
firewalls, ZoneAlarm, Sygate, and many others leave XP's built-in firewall in
the dust. Likewise, NAT32, Vsocks, Sygate Office and other sharing tools can be
much better than the built-in Internet Connection Sharing that's been part of
Windows since Win98.
Actually, the letters above are just two of the many I've gotten on the
subject of internet connection sharing. Thanks to all who wrote in!
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5) Meet Eder!
We've added another child--- the tenth!--- to the
group sponsored on an ongoing basis by LangaList Plus! subscribers:
Eder Elizandry
Gonzales Monzon is a 10-year-old boy living
in a small village in
Guatemala.
The local aid project describes his life this way:
Eder comes from an indigenous family
that speaks only the Spanish language and wears westernized clothes. Eder has
two brothers. Both parents are literate. His father works as a merchant, and
his mother does the house chores. The family's monthly income is below
US$100.00. Their salary is not enough to provide their basic needs. They live
in their own three-room dwelling, built of adobe walls, tile roof, and cement
floor. They have running water, a rustic latrine, and electricity. Meals are
cooked on a rustic stove. Eder's health is good, and his nutritional statue is
normal.
More info and a photo:
For Plus! Subscribers:
http://www.langalist.com/plus/kids/meet_eder.asp
Public site:
http://www.freetune.com/newsletters/meet_eder.htm
Here's what this is all about: Those of us with computers and Internet access
are vastly better off than most of the world's population. Because of this, I
decided that a portion of the LangaList Plus! subscription fees would be donated
to registered/legitimate charities helping the underprivileged around the world.
The contribution does not increase the cost of a Plus! subscription in any way;
the donation is taken "off the top" of any profits. (This is described in the
pages at
http://www.langa.com/plus.htm )
Eder is the 10th child sponsored on an ongoing basis--- week in, week out--- by
the collective generosity of LangaList subscribers. LangaList Plus! subscribers
also have collectively contributed to emergency earthquake relief efforts in
India and to funds to help the victims of the Sept 11th attacks in the US. (To
see all the donations so far, click to
http://www.langa.com/plus2.htm#kids )
As the year goes on, and as more readers sign up for Plus! subscriptions, I hope
we'll be able to sponsor more children and assist other charities around the
world.
If you're already a LangaList Plus! subscriber, thank you! You can feel good
about giving back a little to those less fortunate, and opening a door to the
future for a child in otherwise-desperate circumstances.
If you're not yet a Plus! subscriber check it out: With a Plus! subscription,
you can not only help yourself make the most of your hardware, software and time
online--- but you also can help those less fortunate (like Eder) make the most
of their very lives. Thanks for your help!
New Subscriptions:
http://www.langa.com/plus.htm
Or, Give A Gift Subscription:
http://www.langa.com/plus_gift.htm
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6)
Is This Newsletter Interesting? Useful?
If you think the LangaList is a worthwhile read,
maybe a friend would find it useful too! Just use the following link to
recommend the LangaList---your friend may find a new source of useful
information and you just may win one of three FREE ONE YEAR SUBSCRIPTIONS to the
LangaList Plus! edition given each month. (If your name is drawn and you're
already a Plus! subscriber, your current subscription will be extended by a full
year.)
Check out the details at
http://www.langa.com/recommend.htm . Thanks for recommending the
LangaList--- and good luck!
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friend
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7) Toggle
Online/Offline Easily
Hello Fred, Thanks for many useful tips.
One of the many Windows "features" that I find annoying is the inability to
quickly change from "Online" working to "Offline" working easily. So I wrote a small program that seems to do the trick. It
just toggles the following registry key between 0=online and 1=offline in the
key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet
Settings\GlobalUserOffline
I have only tested this program using W2000 but can see no reason why it
should not work on other Windows 32 bit systems.
You can download the free program (including source written in C) at
http://www.helwith.daelnet.net/OnOffLine.html
Hope this helps somebody. Richard Kavanagh
Thanks Richard! It also worked fine on my XP setup. But even if this
doesn't work as-is on someone else's system, it suggests a way for other users
to create a similar tool by exporting the appropriate Registry Key on their
system, and editing it to produce two versions (one for online, one for
offline). By clicking on the either REG file, the values should be entered into
the registry, restoring the online/ or offline status. Experiment!
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8) They Loaded The Code
Do you have a home page or website? (It doesn't
matter what size.) Please click over to
http://www.langa.com/code.htm , and maybe you can join the hundreds and
hundreds of LangaList readers who have "Loaded the Code!" (If you've already
"Loaded The Code" and are wondering if your site will appear here or on the
Langa.Com web site, please see
http://www.langa.com/link.txt )
Speaking of which: Here's another eclectic sample of
reader sites--- some professional, some very personal:
View A Randomly-Chosen Reader Site
http://www.langa.com/randomlink.htm
Manually Browse All Posted-to-Date Sites Starting At
http://www.langa.com/readersites.htm
Mick's Web
http://www.mjleaver.com/
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
http://cincibjj.com/
Greg and Cathy fisher
http://www.gregandcathyfisher.com/
The Rant Filled World of Rick
http://www.angelfire.com/weird2/ricul7/
Living In The Tropics (AU)
http://www.livinginthetropics.com/
Irish Web Design
http://www.fealeit.com/
Binliner's Page
http://members.rogers.com/mignatiev/
Midlands Professional Wrestling
http://mpwa.ionichost.com/frames/mainframe.html
Plum Among The Kiwis
http://www.plumtree.net.nz/about_us.htm
Buzzcraf
http://www.buzzcraf.com/
Caddo-Bossier Windows User Group
http://home.sport.rr.com/pricetype/
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9) You Want Free
Tweaks? Here's A Ton!
Dear Fred, I found this very good site, for intermediate and advanced users,
http://www.pureperformance.com ,
and would like to share it with you and your readers.
It's a tweaking site, easy to navigate and with excellent explanations
suited for all windows versions. --- Tomas Behrend, Cordoba, Argentine
Thank you, Tomas. The site has lots of good info, and
is very easy to navigate, too. Nice find!
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10) Just For Grins
In just a couple of weeks, the third and last segment
of the Matrix trilogy will be released. That series of films has already spawned
a host of cinematic imitations, serious homages, and outright parodies.
Then there's this gem, from Germany, which gently
spoofs the Matrix, and not-so-gently lampoons Microsoft at the same time. It's a
great little film!
http://www.matrix-xp.com
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11) Plus! Edition Highlights:
- Expert's Opinion On PC
Cables
(a
nationally-recognized expert adds his advice)
- Still *More*
On Converting Tapes/Records
to CD
(reader/audiophiles suggest their favorite tools)
- Collectively Rate
Online Vendors
(see what
others say before you buy!)
The Plus! edition is only pennies per issue, and
comes with a MONEY BACK
GUARANTEE from Fred. How can you lose? Check out the details:
http://www.langa.com/plus.htm
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friend
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(Want to give a gift
subscription to the LangaList Plus edition?
Click <a href= "
http://www.langa.com/plus_gift.htm ">here</a>)
See you next issue!
Best,
Fred
( Editor@Langa.Com )
Please
recommend
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(The HTML version of each issue normally is available by 9AM EST [UT-5] of the
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