JDPFu.com 2010

Each of us use a computer for various reasons. Some just want a system that works, without any hassle. Most of us want to run specific software, work with specific file types, connect with everyone else, and possibly just do what the people around us are doing to be the same.

I’ll be as honest as I can and put the reasons in order.

Some of you know that I’m a fan of Linux. Ok, so that is an understatement. Would you like to convert? I’ll help you! Linux lets me do what I want while still providing nearly complete control over the hardware, for free. I like it and I’m shocked when other computer users don’t like it too. In fact, I think that almost every Grandmother should be running Linux these days.

Here’s a story, Linux Experiment Gone Horribly … Perfect, about a tech trying to solve problems with a client’s laptop. After exhausting all other solutions to a virus infected, spyware running, root kit loving Vista install, he got to the point of needing to reinstall Vista, but no reinstall disks were available. The client didn’t have them or any backup. The answer? Ubuntu Desktop 10.04 (Lucid Lynx).

In short, unsophisticated computer users will probably do better with a properly configured Linux system. I’d try Ubuntu, Mint or PCLinux on end users for the best outcomes. All are based on Debian, very stable and work on almost any hardware.

Would you like to try Linux? I’ll help you!

Below are a few incidents that I’m personally aware of which impacted a few different projects. Some are from my personal desktop to production dispatching systems with 20K+ users to some that impacted a space shuttle launch data.

People like Top 10 Lists, but I could think of only 9 near disasters. Perhaps something interesting will happen this week? ;)

Ooops – beep, beep, beep ….

I came across a short article on the Free Software Foundation building a federated social network solution and figured a few of my readers would be interested.

How do you deal with abusive web aggregators?

You know, those automatic programs that search out and grab web content so that others can see it? Usually, this is a good thing for a web site, since it makes your content visible to others that wouldn’t normally see it. That is, until it becomes abusive.

Adobe has been plagued with security issues in their most popular tool, like Acrobat and Reader. These issues seem to be on all platforms, but are mostly targeted by hackers on MS-Windows. For years, we’ve known that Acrobat allowed PDF documents more access than most people need by default – JavaScript and the ability to start other programs running on the system. 99% of Acrobat Reader users do not need or want either of those features, yet, they are enabled by default.

Adobe has been slow to correct issues and claimed to be on a quarterly patch cycle. This is for Flash, Shockwave, Reader and all products including PhotoShop. For almost all of these tools, there are alternatives that are not the main targets of hackers.

So, I gotta ask …

Why are you still using Adobe Tools?

How to ask for help for Linux issues.

All of us need a little help now and again. Linux users aren’t any different than MS-Windows or Mac users in that regard. The difference is that to get help for Linux, you need to do a little more research first.

We’ll assume you don’t have a nearby Linux knowledgeable friend that knows everything. You’ll need to ask people you do not know for help. Or, perhaps you are the Linux guru in your circle of friends and your questions are more complex than most.

Below, I’ll suggest a few methods to use to get help and outline the data you should include in your requests to optimize the ability of others to actually be helpful to you.

Sometimes a home or small business would like to extend a network without running any ethernet cables or using expensive power line methods. Many homes have an old WiFi router that is still working, but the new router still doesn’t get signal to all parts of the home or some devices do not support WiFi networking, only 100base-tx wired. By using the new WiFi router with the older WiFi router, it is possible to extend a network over WiFi and locate wired connections on the far side of the home using just the two wifi routers in bridge mode.

In the last few days, a permanent article here about a WiFi Router Security Checklist has gotten a very large number of hits, over 100x the normal page views. It contains 15 or so suggestions that every home or small business wifi router user should do from a security point of view.

We all know to keep our systems patched, but that isn’t always easy. Mozilla has come up with an easy way for everyone to check their browser for out of date plugins. This applies to Firefox browsers, but it also works for EI, Safari, Opera and perhaps other browsers.
So, open a new browser tab and go check your plugins http://www.mozilla.com/plugincheck/ now.