Archive for July, 2007
Question: Do I need to have AntiVirus Software running on my Linux Machine?
Jul 31st
After thinking long and hard about this one I am going to tell you that you SHOULD have some sort of antivirus installed on your Linux distro. It doesn’t matter if it is ClamAv, Avast! or any other with a good track record.
And now I am going to tell you why. There are about 100 know Linux viruses out there and they are not be turning up new ones every day like windows viruses BUT they do exist. And not being protected is just stupid. No offense. Actually you can take offense I don’t realy care. I personally back up every OS incrementally and run some sort of AV software with heuristics. This should give you some protection from Zero day threats.
Ok ok simmer down. Now onto WHY I think it is very necessary to be protected. I have a question for you:
Do you have insurance? You know medical dental or what not?
Of course you do you woud be crazy not to becuase WHAT IF something happens. This should be your same attitude to computer security. Do you have a lock on your home? How about a security alarm?
Are you following me here? As an Admin I always feel it is better safe then sorry. And especially if it is all because you were SURE that no one could hack into YOUR machine. Now who better to have a try at it than a Linux Guru? It won’t be long before the spammers and virus writers get tired of the Windows platform and move on… After all isn’t Mac OSX built on Linux?
Hmmm… Gaining the majority of market share might cause some new internest by hackers…
Here is an excerpt from DesktopLinux.com:
Here is an excerpt from DesktopLinux.com:
Security, and freedom from viruses, has been one of the key selling points for
moving to Linux in the home and for the enterprise. How is Linux at risk from
viruses today? by Keith Peer
Currently there are under 100 native Linux viruses known but in many organizations the fact that a Linux viruses exists is enough reason to install and use Linux antivirus protection on Linux desktops and servers.
Additionaly users of StarOffice and OpenOffice.org have the ability to
open and view Microsoft Office documents that may contain viruses. These viruses
may not infect the Linux computer but the user can easily attach and send these
infected documents unknowingly to someone else and that is a serious problem.As
system administrators move to Linux files servers they have a real problem to
deal with since the Linux file server can store Windows-based viruses.Windows-based viruses can write to a Linux/Samba network share as easily as they can on a Microsoft Windows based network. System administrators must protect the Linux server from storing these viruses. The only way is through active
antivirus defense on the Linux server itself. Our Vexira Antivirus for Linux, as
an example, detects not only Linux-based viruses but also Windows and DOS-based
as well, I think the current number of malicious or potentially malicious
applications (viruses, trojans, worms, etc…) we detect is above 74,000
now.Still not sure continue reading this article for more Fan boy dream killing information… _TheAdmiN_
Symantec Ghost 12 Install Error: VProConsole has encountered an error and needs to close
Jul 31st
This question AND answer comes to us from our good friends over @ Bauer-Power:
I was messing around this weekend with Norton ghost 12 on one of my home
computers. It would install fine, then after reboot I would get an error saying“VProConsole has encountered an error and needs to close…”.
I was getting so frustrated, I couldn’t see straight. I tried looking on
Symantec’s website with no luck. I tried a general search on Google for the
error, no luck there. Why wasn’t this thing working for me?Well I finally found
the answer. I checked my system’s event logs and found out that Ghost was
crashing because of a problem with .NET Runtime 2.0. I decided to go to Windows
updates and check for any missing updates. Sure enough I was missing a patch for
.NET Framework 2.0. Of course, with my luck the patch didn’t install. I decided
plan B for getting my necessary patch. I opened Firefox and went to Windiz
Updates.That’s right, I didn’t misspell that. Windiz updates is a place you can go
for Microsoft updates if you are a Firefox user.Anyway, long story short, I got
the patch installed then rebooted. When my machine came back up, Norton Ghost
was running like a charm. Now there finally is an article online on how to
correct that VProConsole error, because Symantec is too lazy to put something up
about it in their knowledge base!(In case you missed it, the fix is to install any missing .NET
Framework 2.0 Patches from Microsoft).
Originaly posted by El
Di Pablo on Bauer-Power
@El Di Pablo – What patches were missing on your system? Do you have the KB#’s?
Symantec Ghost 12 Install Error: VProConsole has encountered an error and needs to close
Jul 31st
This question AND answer comes to us from our good friends over @ Bauer-Power:
I was messing around this weekend with Norton ghost 12 on one of my home
computers. It would install fine, then after reboot I would get an error saying“VProConsole has encountered an error and needs to close…”.
I was getting so frustrated, I couldn’t see straight. I tried looking on
Symantec’s website with no luck. I tried a general search on Google for the
error, no luck there. Why wasn’t this thing working for me?Well I finally found
the answer. I checked my system’s event logs and found out that Ghost was
crashing because of a problem with .NET Runtime 2.0. I decided to go to Windows
updates and check for any missing updates. Sure enough I was missing a patch for
.NET Framework 2.0. Of course, with my luck the patch didn’t install. I decided
plan B for getting my necessary patch. I opened Firefox and went to Windiz
Updates.That’s right, I didn’t misspell that. Windiz updates is a place you can go
for Microsoft updates if you are a Firefox user.Anyway, long story short, I got
the patch installed then rebooted. When my machine came back up, Norton Ghost
was running like a charm. Now there finally is an article online on how to
correct that VProConsole error, because Symantec is too lazy to put something up
about it in their knowledge base!(In case you missed it, the fix is to install any missing .NET
Framework 2.0 Patches from Microsoft).
Originaly posted by El
Di Pablo on Bauer-Power
@El Di Pablo – What patches were missing on your system? Do you have the KB#’s?
Question: I have an External Certance LTO2 tape drive and my tape is stuck. Can you help?
Jul 31st
Joe Admin has an External Certance LTO2 drive bought from Dell and it is out of warranty. The OS does not recognize the drive as attached at all. The drive gets power but thats about it. The red and green lights on the front of the drive continously blink.
They have accepted that the drive is dead and just want to get the backup tape out of the drive – because it contains sensitive client data.
We have had issues with these drives as well and have come to the conclusion they are very fragile. When you put the tape in do not use a lot of pressure pusing the tape in the drive. It only needs to pass a certain point and the leaders guide the tape into place. If you push too hard it damages the internal stuff and the tape gets stuck
We found a way to get the tape out! And that is without taking the drive apart (That didn’t work for us…Long story).
- Power the drive on – it does not need to be connected to a computer.
- Hold down the power button for about 30 seconds.
- If the mechanism isn’t too badly damaged the tape will spit right out!
Question: Why cant i sync my tmobile Wing to my Mac using Missing Sync?
Jul 30th
Racquel took advantage of our new AskTheAdmin a question link and writes to us:
I have a MAC OS X, VER 10.4.9 and previously used Missing Sync for Windows
Mobile 3.0.0 to sync up my MDA, now that I have upgraded to the WING I can not
sync up using Missing Sync for Windows. Is there a script that I need to down
load? I am attempting to sync via Blue tooth.
Thanks in advance for your help.
Now the major change between the wing and your MDA is that the Wing is an
official WM6 device and needs active sync 4.5 to function. They have not made
this available to Mac Osx users just yet (big surprise). So we have snagged
Racquel a work around compliments of kirankonathala.wordpress.comHere’s the email: (Edit They Updated The Missing Sync for $40 to support wm6)
Missing Sync has done a great job with WM5 synchronisation
services but they refuse to port the same app to WM6 devices – they say that no
‘Real’ WM6 device has ever been released but thousands of devices at XDA Devs
are powered by mighty WM6!! Well,so what about us,Mac users? How can we sync our devices for appointments and contacts (mail and files follows!).Well,I have been
using a practical solution – A free MS Exchange Server with which you can
Active Sync your Windows Mobile on the go with WiFi/3G/GPRS/EDGE!!
This guy,Austin provides this free service (MS Exchange Server).Check it out at http://port88.org/SignupSignup for this great service.Shoot out
any questions just in case
Let us know if this works out for you or do you need another solution? Don’t worry I’m sure Microsoft hasn’t forgotten about you and an update for Active Sync for Mac should be on its way! (don’t hold your breath)
Mod your Iphone All Easy Like – But you gotta have an Intel Mac to do it. (Ringtones, Backgrounds & Home Screens)
Jul 30th
The guys over at IPhoneAlley.com are ahead of their game. They’ve even gotten it to version 2.1. The program is called Ifuntastic. Michael Jonhston at Iphone Alley writes
“First on the list of improvements is a “news”
section of the app where changes are posted. You can rename the app to anything
you like, as well. The “Home Screen” can be rearranged much more extensively and
.m4p is now a recognized extension.”
IFunTastic is an Iphone Mod App that has been written to allow more extensive customization of the Iphone Home screen, as well as background graphics and ringtones. Looks like the race is well underway to completely go against Apple’s original intentions of keeping the back side of this phone secure with a (what seems to be) virtual “do not enter sign”. Not gonna happen, and I’m pretty sure these hacks are going to become more pervasive over time, spanning OS’s and platforms. In fact, I would love to see a God-app released for this thing so I can finally justify spending the $600 buckaroos for this pretty toy.
This hack is a prime example of how the more subdued methods of getting into this phone are going to become prettier, easier to use, and more mainstream than ever. And I love to see the progression of underground programming.
For all you early adopters out there who have happened to pair an Intel Mac with an Iphone, this little app will make your Iphone cooler than anyone else’s, espescially those hapless Lusers who dont check AskTheAdmin for the daily fix of tech goodness.
For the meantime, us PPC Mac owners wait patiently until these guys release a multi-processor version, but the grin on our faces will be apparent.
Peace
Commodore64 (the one you played Bruce Lee on)
