AirPrint Server with Ubuntu - The easy way

With an AirPrint enabled printer, you can easily print over wifi from your Iphone, Ipad, and Ipod Touch.

If you don't have a printer, or your printer is on its last leg, the easy way is to buy a $69 HP Wifi Printer, Scanner, and Fax.


However, many of us like our printers and don't want to buy another. So here is the real easy way to make your old printer AirPrint compatible.

You need to have:

• Ubuntu installed (10.10 was tested)
• The printer working in ubuntu. Usually not difficult, but it is beyond the scope of this blog post.

Steps:

Copy and paste this line into the terminal. You can find the terminal by clicking applications, accessories, terminal.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:hughescih/ppa && sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install airprint-daemon

This will ask for your password to continue. After entering the password, you will see hundreds of lines fly by.
Finally open your printing manager by clicking System, Administration, Printing
Open the printer server settings by clicking Server, Settings
Check the box for 'Publish shared printers connected to this system'
Check the box for 'Allow printing from the Internet'
Click Ok.

Thats it. You can now print from your iphone, etc.

This is based on the blog post here: http://gtk-apps.org/content/show.php/Apple+AirPrint+Support+for+Ubuntu?content=136756

DIY Personalized Email Marketing with OpenOffice.org for Free

The Problem and a Marketing Tip:
When I photograph a wedding, I will place cards on the tables for guests to write in their name and email address. I tell the guests that I will notify them as soon as the pictures are online. So far, guests are happy about it and they actually thank me for the doing this for them. I make a point to only mail once to avoid being spam-y. Well, I like the messages to list their name in the salutation. 'Hi Joe' just works better for me than something less personable. Tools and online services for this are expensive. So digging around I figured out how to do it with OpenOffice.org for FREE.

Keep reading if you want the techie details. If not, Follow Me, to get more photography and tech tips. This will be a long one. EDIT: These instructions are made for Ubuntu / Linux. You may need to adjust for windows.






Setup:

• Ensure your default mail client is configured to handle mail. If you use webmail, configure your email client to be able to send to the web account before continuing.
• Setup Your Mail Merge Email account in OpenOffice Writer by choosing Tools, Options. 
• Then expand the OpenOffice.org Writer settings. 
• Finally click Mail Merge E-mail and fill in your values.

Create SpreadSheet:
Create spreadsheet with Row1 having column titles. Two columns you will likely need are Name and Email but feel free to have others.

Create Message Template:

• Create a letter you would like to send without names or other merged values.
• Put the mouse in the location you would like the first field.
• Goto Insert, fields, Other or press Ctrl-F2
• On the Database tab, select mail merge fields in the Type Box

• Click Browse and locate your spreadsheet.
• After choosing your spreadsheet, it should now appear in the list of databases.
• Expand the database and sheet1.
• 

• Click on the field you want to use and click insert. the field should now appear in your document.

• Without closing the Fields window you can click in other areas of your document and insert other fields.
• You probably don't want to insert the email address into the message body. That will come later.

MailMerge Wizard:
Once you are done you can open the mail merge wizard. Tools, MailMerge Wizard. The wizard divides the task into 8 steps. Most of which you will skip.

• Step 1. Leave as Current Document.

• Step 2. Choose Email Message
• Step 3. Select your database for the address list.

• Step 4. Skip. You have already completed this by inserting fields. This part of the wizard is clumsy so we did it a better way.
• Step 5. Nothing to do here. It should be grayed out.
• Step 6. Nothing to do here, but you can click the arrows and actually see your data in your message template.

• Step 7. Nothing to do here, but at this point OpenOffice will create a new document with all your merged data. If you cancel now, it will close this temporary document, and take you back to your template.
• Step 8. Select the last option, Send merged document as E-Mail.
• For To: Select your email address field.
• For Subject: Type any Subject
• Send As: I leave as HTML, choose what you need.
• Click Send Documents

If all goes well you will see a progress bar complete the sending. You should be able to check your Sent Items folder and see all the messages. If you mistyped any email addresses, you will probably get a failure notification by email just for the bad addressess.

Cleaning Up:
If you use this email marketing a lot, you may start to build a lot of databases. To remove databases from the OpenOffice list (this doesn't delete the database file):

• Click on View, Datasources (or press F4). 
• Right-Click in the database box and click Registered Databases. 

• In the new window select the databases you created and delete them. Do not delete the databases the system created, such as Bibliography.

Thanks for reading. Hopefully it all went smooth for you. I wish I could have found instructions like these when I started... Enjoy!

Don't spam anyone and before sending a large list of emails ensure you follow the rules of your email provider or they may drop your account. For example, Gmail limits you to 500 emails per day. And if you get a large number of failed deliveries they may temporarily disable your account.

Ps. I've tried to include a small graphics in my emails, but they don't make it to the email system. If you are handy with HTML, it may be better to link to an internet hosted graphic.

Introduction Of Guest Writer: Dr. Watson

As a guest writer on Techorator I will hopefully be adding value to this blog by incorporating my own flavor and style of writing.  Like John, I am huge tech geek who loves to try new things and share the experience with others.  So not to bore you will more useless background information, I will get right to the meat:  I have decided to spend my time reviewing Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx.  As 10.04 is a work in progress (currently Alpha 2), I will share my journey into this release exposing the changes as they are made and hopefully enlightening followers, guests, and passersby along the way.

How to clean up Google Chrome on Ubuntu 9.10

If you saw my post yesterday you will know I wasn't happy about the 39 new packages Google Chrome decided to install. I have a command that will clean the mess up for most ubuntu desktop systems.


sudo apt-get autoremove bsd-mailx g++-4.4 dpkg-dev

• dpkg-dev gets rid of the bulk (30+ packages) including alien, rpm and QT.
• bsd-mailx gets rid of the mail server stuff like postfix
• g++-4.4 cleans up one or two odds and ends. 

Make sure you don't actually use any of these packages. If you do, adjust the command to just get rid of what you don't need.


I went through all the packages that were installed and this command takes them all out plus Google Chrome itself.

No more open ports for my desktop system. Just the way I like it.

TLS support for Pure-FTP Server

Here are the final steps in my series on setting up Pure-FTP in Ubuntu.

Again, connect to your server via putty or open a terminal and switch to root.

Then follow these commands below.
echo 1 > /etc/pure-ftpd/conf/TLS
You can set this to 0 for off, 1 for optional, and 2 for required. My goal is to reach 2 but my clients aren't ready for that.


Install OpenSSL package.
apt-get install openssl

The command below creates an encryption key for your ftp. Several questions will be asked
openssl req -x509 -nodes -newkey rsa:1024 -keyout /etc/ssl/private/pure-ftpd.pem -out /etc/ssl/private/pure-ftpd.pem

Here are example choices for a Key.
Country: US

State: Maryland

Locality: Columbia

Organization Name: ftp

Organization Unit: blank

Common Name: ftp

Email Address: blank

Lock the key file from other users.
chmod 600 /etc/ssl/private/pure-ftpd.pem

Reboot your server and now you should be able to connect to your server with encryption on. This is an easy step if everything goes well. Your choice is to decide between 1 and 2 for the TLS option. If you decide to use 2, you must know who your users are so you can guide them through setting up their client. If this is a personal FTP then it is no problem.

Well I hope you are enjoying your FTP server now. Good Luck.

Creatively using mount to handle SMB shares for Pure-FTP

 This portion will walk you through mounting SMB shares. I do some things differently for a more complex layout. But in the end it's worth it. I also use a credentials file to protect my share user accounts. Again, get to your server as Root.

Install smbfs so you can mount these network shares:
apt-get install smbfs

Go to the /mnt folder. Some may prefer media, but I like to reserve that for less permanent shares.
cd /mnt

create a folder for each network share

mkdir music
mkdir video
mkdir work

Give ownership of your share folders to the ftpgroup. This shouldn't matter because these folders will end up with the permissions given by the mount settings.

chown -R nobody:ftpgroup .
---Note: The period at the end is intentional

Create credential files to protect mounted accounts. The credential files are sensitive to spaces and line feeds. Just fill it in exactly as below.

nano music.cred

username=shareuser
password=thisisapassword

Save and exit.

nano video.cred

username=videouser
password=morepasswords

etc.

restrict credential files. You need to make it so only the root account can read these files.

chmod 600 *.cred


Now lets permanently mount some of these shares:

nano /etc/fstab

Add the following to the bottom of the file, noperm (no permission checking) on the first line is recommended for any share which the user will upload/write into. ro shares (read only) shouldn't need this.

//worldbook-work/work /mnt/work cifs credentials=/etc/work.cred,rw,uid=65534,gid=2001,noperm 0 0


//worldbook-media/music /mnt/music cifs credentials=/etc/music.cred,ro,uid=65534,gid=2001 0 0


//worldbook-media/video /mnt/video cifs credentials=/etc/video.cred,ro,uid=65534,gid=2001 0 0


# These following lines bind the mounts to our FTP folders.
/mnt/music /var/ftp/media/music none bind 0 0


/mnt/video /var/ftp/media/video none bind 0 0


/mnt/work /var/ftp/work none bind 0 0


/var/ftp/work /var/ftp/workmedia/work none bind 0 0


/var/ftp/media /var/ftp/workmedia/media none rbind,_netdev,noauto 0 0


Because /var/ftp/workmedia/media relies on another nested mount the timing of the mounts prevents the mount from working right away. To solve this I added some lines to rc.local to force mounting again at login.

nano /etc/rc.local

before exit 0 add these lines.

sleep 10


/bin/mount -a -t cifs


sleep 5


/bin/mount /var/ftp/workmedia/media

Exit and Save.
Reboot and go to your var/ftp (or other mount folder) and see if it worked.

You may notice that I bind my  shares into the FTP folders instead of mounting them right there. This is done because my FTP folder is for FTP, but the mount folder is for any purpose. If I decide my FTP server will also serve as a DLNA media server then I have nothing else to do but point the dlna server to my mount folder.

HOWTO: Setup Virtual Users with shared folder access on Pure-FTP in Ubuntu 9.10

This post assumes you have already setup pure FTP and ubuntu server 9.10. If you have not, go read my earlier posts. Start by logging into the server and switching to root.

If you haven't already, make sure pure-ftp supports the database file for virtual users.
ln -s /etc/pure-ftpd/conf/PureDB /etc/pure-ftpd/auth/50pure

Restart your FTP server process or just reboot.

Create an FTP group account and 2 shared accounts for users. Users will get individual virtual accounts.
groupadd -g 2001 ftpgroup

useradd -u 2010 -s /bin/false -d /bin/null -c "pureftp limited access user" -g ftpgroup ftplimited
useradd -u 2011 -s /bin/false -d /bin/null -c "pureftp full access user" -g ftpgroup ftpfull

Create a set of directories for the FTP files and to serve as chroot access points. I create a mess of folders for my purposes. You can read about my goals in an earlier post.
cd /var
mkdir ftp
cd /var/ftp
mkdir dropbox
mkdir work
mkdir media
cd media
mkdir music
mkdir video
cd /var/ftp
mkdir workmedia
cd workmedia
mkdir work
mkdir media
cd /var/ftp
chown -R ftpfull:ftpgroup /var/ftp
chmod -R 755 /var/ftp
chmod 735 /var/ftp/dropbox

Lets add some users:

Joey - dropbox user, SLOW download (he shouldn't need to download anyways.)
pure-pw useradd joey -u ftplimited -g ftpgroup -d /var/ftp/dropbox -t 1
Make up a password for joey at the next prompt.

Pam - Dropbox admin, normal download, but slow upload
pure-pw useradd pam -u ftpfull -g ftpgroup -d /var/ftp/dropbox -t 200 -T 1

Mr. Smith - Work user, normal download speed, unlimited upload
pure-pw useradd smith -u ftpfull -g ftpgroup -d /var/ftp/work -t 250

Dave - Media user, normal download speed, unlimited upload
pure-pw useradd dave -u ftplimited -g ftpgroup -d /var/ftp/media -t 250

ME. No speed limits.
pure-pw useradd john -u ftpfull -g ftpgroup -d /var/ftp/workmedia


After adding/modifying users you must issue this command to commit them.
pure-pw mkdb


Some other helpful commands:
List all user accounts
pure-pw list
Show a particular account details
pure-pw show dave
List all active users
pure-ftpwho
Reset User Password
pure-pw passwd dave
Delete User
pure-pw userdel dave
Modify User (give Dave an upload speed limit of 20)

pure-pw usermod dave -T 20

You should be able to log in as any user. However since we have not mounted the shares, no files will be visible. Some users should be able to upload files, but delete these temporary files before mounting your shares.
Next I'll go through my mounting techniques. I use binding too to simplify mounting.

HOWTO: Setup Pure-FTP on Ubuntu 9.10 with passive NAT support.

Please read my earlier posts on what I'm trying to accomplish. They will guide you to setup an Ubuntu 9.10 Server and give you an idea of my conventions. This is assuming you are using Ubuntu Server 9.10. Other flavors of linux may behave differently. The majority of my guidance on this came from ubuntu howto. My real work came from putting the other pieces together to meet my particular needs. Namely, the other 5 posts in the series.

Login and use sudo su again

apt-get install pure-ftpd

Now you should be able to connect to your FTP on port 21 at the server IP using your username and password. we are not ready to connect from the outside yet.

Setup all the pure-ftp settings. These setting files for pure-ftp work differently than what the pure documentation indicates. This may just be an Ubuntu thing. In the end, these files are 'translated' into command line switches.
Each line simply writes a value into the file. You can do the same by opening the file with nano and typing the value on the first line. Some setting files already exist and they should remain as they also contain important settings.

cd /etc/pure-ftpd/conf

Security Related Settings:

echo 99 > MaxDiskUsage
You can lower this but keep some setting here or someone could crash your server by filling the disk.

echo no > PAMAuthentication

echo 20 > MaxClientsNumber
You can change this but don't get too high. Be realistic with your bandwidth and server power.

echo 4 > MaxClientsPerIP

echo yes > ChrootEveryone

echo yes > NoChmod

echo yes > ProhibitDotFilesRead

echo yes > ProhibitDotFilesWrite

Network Settings:

echo 183.22.182.3 > ForcePassiveIP
Your external IP. Assuming you are behind a NAT Router.

echo ,3421 > Bind
A port for your FTP server. 21 is the standard but I change mine to keep them guessing. The comma is intentional.

echo 60000 60100 > PassivePortRange
For NAT forwarding issues you need to set this. Make sure your range supports 2x MaxClientsNumber. This and the Bind setting will be used on your router. write them down.

Misc Setting:

echo yes > BrokenClientsCompatibility


Finally restart your FTP server:
/etc/init.d/pure-ftpd restart

Here is my output from the command above.

Restarting ftp server: Running: /usr/sbin/pure-ftpd -l puredb:/etc/pure-ftpd/pureftpd.pdb -x -O clf:/var/log/pure-ftpd/transfer.log -u 1000 -S ,3421 -c 20 -k 99 -C 4 -P 183.22.182.3 -X -b -8 UTF-8 -Y 1 -A -E -R -p 60000:60100 -B

You can now go into your router and forward the main port (3421) and the passive port range (60000-60100) to your server IP (192.168.1.99).

Test your system from outside of your network if possible.

In the next post I will show you how to setup some virtual users with shared folder access.

HOWTO: Set up a versatile FTP server with Pure-FTP and Ubuntu 9.10 Server

Over the next several posts I am going to give you the steps I used to setup my Pure FTP server. I have some requirements that others may have and I feel you could benefit from parts of it too. Here are the broad details with hypothetical names and purposes to make explaining the situation easier.

I have two network shared devices called worldbook-work and worldbook-media. I will refer to these as work and media respectively. Work is used by my company as an information store. Users will need to read and write to it. Media has two separate shares on it. One for music and one for videos. I have this to allow family access remotely. There is no need to write to this remotely so the share account on the device only allows reading as another layer of security. Finally I need to support a dropbox for a photography group I am in. The photographers will drop their pictures off and the administrator will log in, download the pictures and put them on another website, the administrator will delete the files once retrieved. Photographers should not be able to see or modify another photographer's files. I am just using local server disk for this since the files are transitory and the original photographer can send another copy if a problem arises.
Work users will need full access to work. Family will need read access to media. I will need full access to work and read access to media. and I have users who need to use the dropbox as described above. All while most shares are over a SMB mount.

Here are the coming posts to show you what I did.

• Setting up Ubuntu Server with Static IP, network device aliases, and SSH support.
• Setting up Pure-FTP server with Passive NAT support, and proper security precautions
• Setting up a directory structure with permissions and virtual users with bandwidth control
• Setting up mounts with credential files for added security and binding to share mounts amoung many folders.
• Setting up TLS security to enable encrypted FTP. Referred to as FTPS.

To do/desires:

• Force TLS for all users except dropbox users.
• send an email after a file is sent to dropbox, but no other share
• (Not possible without a separate server process from what I can tell.)
• Refine directory management and permissions. Perhaps have a virtual layer of permissions on top of existing directory permissions.
• (Not possible without a software change. Though it should be possible to code with dot files in folders.)
• Allow each virtual user to have a virtual private folder.
• (I have no clue or even a suggestion for this)

Check out the coming posts in this series to see the way I solved this task.

Jailbreaking the Iphone

I love my iPhone and the last thing I thought I would do would be to Jailbreak the iPhone. I wasn't even sure what it really meant. However my computer lost my itunes library for the second time in a row which left me totally unprepared without any kind of backup (it's a long story). I am so tired of rebuilding my itunes library and fiddling with the stuff that would be so much easier without all this 'protection'. I'm certain I have lost several games and music purchases. But what really gets me is loosing my app data. All those wasted hours on games with accomplishments I'm certain I will not be able to do again are very important to me. Ohh yeah, I've had to fill in data a couple of times into mSecure and I sure don't want to do that again either.

Well it turns out there is an easy way to backup your app data. But it's only available in Jailbreak land. It's called Chronos. Why apple doesn't provide some means of backing up just app data is beyond me. A full restore can be destructive to certain things when all you need is to backup your app data, sync with a new itunes library, and restore app data. There are other great improvements available for Jailbroken iphones which I may explore in a future post.

The amazing thing for Jail Breaking the iphone is it is surprisingly easy and very low risk. Simply download the utility. Plug in your Iphone, and click one button. As far as risk, Jailbreaking doesn't modify the phone, it just gives you a means to install new applications. The applications you choose to install would bear the risk, much like installing applications on your computer. In the worse case scenario, you would have to restore the iPhone, but very few have had that issue.

If you want to learn more, post a comment and I'll try to write about it.

Ten Tips for Keeping Windows Fast and Secure (Part 3 of 3)

If you missed the first two parts, please go read them now.

8. Use an active virus scanner and spyware blocker.
    There isn't much of an explanation for needed this. In the windows world this is required. On Ubuntu, virus scanners and spyware scanners are not needed due to other measures in place to help prevent infections. However, for Windows, ensure the definitions are updated daily and don't let your scanners expire. You need to stay up to date.

9. Don't click links in emails even if you know the source.
    This is true for any OS, but even more so with Windows. In every OS, links in emails can trick you to reveal your passwords and other private data to bad guys. In windows, they can also infect your computer easily. Also watch out for attachments. If you get a file from someone you know, it can still be bad. If it's a video, or a picture ask them to put it on a popular site like youtube, flikr, or facebook. Then go view it there. All it takes is a new virus which infects that type of file to get in their system, then it will be in your system. Using a known third party doesn't eliminate the risk completely, but it reduces the risk.

10. Don't be an administrator.
    Many of us share a computer with family. It can be a pain in the butt, but to help keep the bad guys out of the computer give each family member their own account. Make sure your family member is not also an administrator. In fact, it's better if you create a separate account for yourself too which isn't an administrator. When you need to install a new application, switch to the administrator account and run the install. Some applications won't play nicely with this and expect administrator privileges. Really if they can't get these security requirements right, do you expect them to get it right in other ways?

If you enjoy this blog, please click the follow button!

Ten Tips for Keeping Windows Fast and Secure (Part 2 of 3)

5. Don't install free or cheap applications unless it's open source.
    There are some exceptions to this too such as AVG Virus Scanner. However most free or cheap closed source applications want something in return for that low price. Perhaps they give you spyware, or they will start harassing you to buy a license. Even if this is not the case the coder can unintentionally create a vulnerability or fail to patch a vulnerability. Adobe Acrobat Reader is a free application supported by a major software company and even that has introduced vulnerabilities. Open source applications are exceptions because they can be maintained and critiqued by others. With all software though you have to justify the risk with the rewards. These applications also have to be updated, windows will not do it for you. Ubuntu will keep all your applications up to date which is a huge plus for linux security.

6. Don't install extra applications.
    When installing any application, use advanced install and un-check any offer to install additional applications. Even applications from Adobe and Apple ask to install something else, always say NO. If you are installing iTunes, don't accept Safari too. Don't install any software if you aren't going to use it.

7. Turn off nearly every program that is running near the clock.
    Programs running in the background are a huge risk because they can be listening for or communicating with the internet without you knowing. Each one also takes a little speed away from the computer. While turning all all unneeded background tasks can require a degree in computers, most of us can get the tasks near the clock to stop running. Of course there are windows provided icons and your virus scanner that must remain. But you don't need that office toolbar, Adobe updater, etc.

Ten Tips for Keeping Windows Fast and Secure (Part 1 of 3)

1. Use Firefox for internet browsing.
    Internet Explorer has been one of the weakest points in windows security. Using Firefox eliminates a huge portion of risk and supports web standards better than internet explorer. Did you know most websites run special compatibility code just for internet explorer?

2. Turn on automatic updates. Ensure it runs daily.
    Many people don't even turn on automatic updates. And if you aren't updating because your Microsoft Windows is an illegal copy, you are even more vulnerable. If you need a legal copy and have more than one computer in the family you can save money by getting a family pack. If you can not afford it, switch to Ubuntu for free.

3. Ensure you choose shutdown and install updates before turning off your computer.
    Every night you should choose to shutdown and install updates. This ensures updates are getting installed, it also reduces the number of lockups and slowdowns you can have from running windows too long. Also you are helping to stay green by not keeping the computer on all night.

4. Don't install browser toolbars or plugins.
    There are some exceptions but toolbars and plugins in general are another point of vulnerabilities and web speed issues. They just aren't worth the risk no matter how cute they are. Plugin exceptions are flash and ad blockers.

Security Camera Recommendations

There have been some break-ins in a few neighborhoods around my house. Mostly just smash and grabs with stuff left in cars. My Wife had her ipod stolen and a dvd player two years ago, so I have been personally affected.

Since then I have been on the look out for outdoor security cameras which have a decent image at night and don't cost a fortune. I've not been happy with many of the options I have found but after quite a bit of research I have narrowed it down to two cameras.

Both cameras are capable for outdoors. Both can perform at night. Though the Panasonic may need SOME light from a porch light.

Panasonic bb-hcm531
Offers Pan/Tilt controls.
Power Over Ethernet (PoE)
Must buy a PoE adapter or switch
Sample Images: http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-gallery/B000P7X438/ref=cm_ciu_pdp_images_1?ie=UTF8&index=1


Y-Cam Black - $269 or $999 for 4
http://www.y-cam.com/y-cam-black
Wireless networking, just need power.
No Pan/Tilt. Its fixed
IR LED for night illumination
Must buy outdoor housing for $99 more per camera.
Sample Live Camera here: http://ycam3.dtdns.net:8150/en/login.asp
Login is guest Password guest


At this point I don't see the need for pan tilt because once it's set there should be little reason to move it. I've looked for other options but with the low light requirement and outdoor mounting you can't get much better image wise without spending at least $1200.

The cameras can serve the video themselves over the internet, but I'm going to try to use ZoneMinder. A free security application which can control multiple cameras.

As of now, I'm going to buy the Y-Cam Black because it seems to be easier to install and has a true night vision mode. The pan and tilt just isn't that important for what I need. To install the Y-Cam properly you should run the power cable through the soffet(sp) and in the attic run an outlet from the nearest junction box. I'm thinking of avoiding ladders and just mounting it outside a window and run the power through the window. We'll see.

FTP Server with Ubuntu 9.10 Server

I still use FTP. Mostly because all the other methods I looked at (WebDAV, SFTP, and Web Based file server) were all missing one thing or another that I feel I need. I have the following types of needs:

• I need a ftp location that a user can upload into, but not download or see. (Drop box)
• I need someone else with the ability to download and delete files from that dropbox
• I need an group that can read/write one particular folder (shared workspace)
• Another group that can access that same shared workspace while also giving access to another folder with read only permissions (Library).
• I need a group that can access the same Library folder mentioned above. But not access the shared workspace.

I had other types of configurations which I decided I could drop from the requirements for now just to make my life easier.
Other requirements:

• Minimal configuring, management, trouble shooting for individual users
• per user bandwidth control, 
• nat support, 
• simple client instructions/requirements, 
• and for most of the shared files to come from a SMB NAS.

I have used a windows FTP server for over 5 years to achieve all of the above. The windows FTP server I preferred was called bulletproof or G6 depending on how far you go back. It is actually an excellent server that I recommend to anyone in the windows world. Here are some of the features that I used:

• Virtual Users (A user list managed by the FTP server instead of the OS)
• Virtual Groups
• Per User/Group bandwidth throttling
• Easy user setup by just picking their group.
• Chrooted Users (Keep the user from getting to the rest of your file system)
• Virtual Links and Link traversing
• Virtual Folder Permission control
• Nearly all folders on a network NAS device (Buffalo Terrastations)
• NAT Traversal/Passive FTP
• Non Standard Port
• etc.

In the next FTP posting I'm going to show how I came close enough to these features in Ubuntu 9.10 Server to eliminate another windows machine using Pure-FTP. Surprisingly there wasn't just one hurdle for accomplishing this, but nearly every feature had to be painfully worked out. On the plus side I have more features than I had before and I have better options to manage the server.

How-To: DOD CAC Card on Ubuntu 9.10 (Webmail, AKO, DKO)

Whenever I'm faced with a problem I first turn to google. I used to go to a particular forum and just search that but now the forum searches are used if google doesn't find the answer first. Well the other day I needed a way to use my CAC card at home. And I preferred to use it inside Ubuntu.

This is the article I used to configure my CAC: http://www.hrgeeks.com/2008/11/21/using-a-dod-cac-with-ubuntu-and-firefox/

Below I'm pasting the actual commands from the article above: (slightly modified as I noted some changes)

• apt-get install libccid pcscd coolkey
• In firefox  Edit-Preferences-Advanced-Encryption-Security Devices-Load
• Use DoD CAC for the module name and /usr/lib/pkcs11/libcoolkeypk11.so for the file.
• Click OK on the next few popups. 
• Back on the Security Devices page, insert your CAC, and make sure Login lights up. 
• You may want to make sure you have the security device under DoD CAC selected.

If you can't get the login button to activate, you may need to update the CAC reader or get a new CAC reader. I chose to just buy a new keyboard with a CAC reader from Dell.

Go to http://dodpki.c3pki.chamb.disa.mil/rootca.html and select each of the certificate links starting at the top. Firefox will prompt you, just accept the prompts. If you believe the DOD page has been hacked you can validate the certificates before accepting them, but that's up to you.

Finally go to the site you want to access (webmail, AKO, DKO, etc). For me I needed webmail. When I visited the site it asked me which certificate to use. I first selected the certificate that indicated it was for authentication. This didn't work and the site refused to work again. I undid this mistake by doing the following:

• In firefox  Edit-Preferences-Advanced-Encryption-View Certificates-Servers
• Find the website in the list and delete it.
  

Now go back to the DoD site and choose the correct certificate. For webmail access it ended up being the email signing certificate.

Here is the official Ubuntu help page. It may have more guidance if you get stuck. I didn't find this page until now so I wasn't able to use it.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/CommonAccessCard

To Do Another Day:

• My browser asks for my pin and for me to choose the certificate on every visit. Not bad, but I would like it to remember the certificate.
• Enable email signing via webmail.
  

Project Ubuntu

I like the idea behind linux and open source. I like the cost in general which is usually free. Also I don't mind paying for good closed source applications which at least play nicely with the open source community, ie. runs on linux

In general I use the Ubuntu Operating System www.ubuntu.com for my day to day activities. It was amazingly easy to install and use. It runs much faster than windows ever has and I don't worry as much about viruses and spyware. I've given it to some people who love it and some people who didn't like it. If you are open to trying something new AND FREE, I recommend you give it a fair try. In the long run the benefits will outweigh any shortcoming.

If you need any help, there are local groups all over the world who would be happy to help you get going. You can find them here: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/LoCoTeams

If you aren't ready to take the plunge, I recommend trying some of this free software on windows:
Open Office - www.openoffice.org
A great stand in for Microsoft Office. It can open and save in Microsoft formats saving you tons of money. It also can save as PDF making life much easier.

Firefox - www.getfirefox.com
Excellent web browser recommended by geeks. While Microsoft Internet Explorer is free, in my experience it is too risky to use. Just by using Firefox as my browser I have saved myself from many viruses and spyware infections.

Picasa - www.picasa.google.com
Photo manager/editor. Not open source, but free. The reason I recommend it is because it is very user friendly and if you ever do move to Ubuntu it is also available there.

GnuCash - www.gnucash.org
Money Manager. I have used others and this application works very well. It allows import from many formats and has served all my needs well for the past year.

I believe that if you get used to using free software, you will want more free software. Also when you finally move to Ubuntu you will already be familiar with the majority of your daily software.

Ubuntu is free, but if you want to get some disks and a book here is a link for amazon: