Archive for the 'applications/software' Category

How To Install VMware Server On OpenSUSE Linux 10.3

bold writing are command that you need to enter

red letting are command that you need to issue as root

  1. click on Computer > More Applications > YaST

  2. Put in root password for YaST

  3. Scroll down until you see Software Management and single click on it

  4. Check for the following software. If you don’t have it installed, install it

    1. kernel-source

    2. gcc

    3. gcc-c++

    4. make (This is most likely already installed, but just to double check)

    5. Continue reading ‘How To Install VMware Server On OpenSUSE Linux 10.3′

Install Ruby On Rails and getting started

Getting Started With Ruby On Rails

Installing Ruby on Rails (RoR) on windows, OSX and Linux. Generally there are 3 installations: OSX, Windows and Linux, and Linux install is the most easy one.

Windows:

Go to http://www.rubyonrails.org/, and download the package containing gems (windows installer).

Install the package.

Update the gem system via:

gem update –system

Update installed gems via:

gem update

When this is done install the relevant gems. I would suggest the following as a minimum:
*rails (for the framework)
Please note, that rails 2.02 is the newest version, you can install an older version via

gem install v1.2.6 rails

*mysql (for database assess)
*mongrel (webserver better when webrick)

When asked for the version you want to use, choose the newst version, that has win32 in the option.

OSX 10.4 and 10.5

Go to http://www.macports.org/ and download the correct version of the file (tiger/leopard).

Read through the installation guide: http://www.macports.org/install.php

Quick guide:
Install the correct xcode for your system.
Install the macports program (this can take a little while)
When done, do:

sudo port install ruby
sudo port install rb-gems (enabling gems under ruby)
sudo gem install rails (framework)
sudo port install rb-mysql (mysql for use under RoR)
sudo gem install mongrel (webserver)
sudo port install subversion (for easy install for remote plugins)

Linux (Ubuntu like / Debian based)

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade (getting newst list, and updateing software before continuing).
sudo apt-get install ruby subversion mysql libmysql-ruby1.8

sudo gem install rails
sudo gem install mongrel

And you should be set to go.

IDE for use with RoR:
Textmate (OSX), has very poor subversion integration, but good RoR integration
Not free
Eclipse (good integration, via plugins)
http://www.eclipse.org/ download plugins via Aptana website, for RoR support.
Free

Aptana (good integration via plugins) http://www.aptana.com/
complete IDE, eclipse based. Free
IDEA (good integration via plugins)
Complete IDE suite, with great integration of subversion, mysql and even jira for bugtracking.
Professional, but expensive.

Remeber to point your IDE to where your RoR / rails is installed for best integration:
Windows most often: c:\ruby\bin
OSX: /opt/local/
Linux: /usr/bin/ruby

Errors:

Linux:

sudo gem update –system

Which introduced this error:

/usr/bin/gem:23: uninitialized constant Gem::GemRunner(NameError)

whenever I tried to run rubygems. On the rails forum, I found a fix for it!. Simply add the line to the file /usr/bin/gem (may be different on a mac):

require 'rubygems/gem_runner'

after

require 'rubygems'

Source: http://www.nickpeters.net/2007/12/31/fix-for-uninitialized-constant-gemgemrunner-nameerror/

This error when installing gems:

extconf.rb:1:in `require’: no such file to load—mkmf (LoadError)

from extconf.rb:1.

Do:

sudo apt-get install ruby1.8-dev

Install and Configure TrueCrypt With GUI On Ubuntu 7.10

Version 1.0
Author: Oliver Meyer <o [dot] meyer [at] projektfarm [dot] de>
Last edited 12/18/2007

This document describes how to set up TrueCrypt with GUI on Ubuntu 7.10. TrueCrypt is a free open-source encryption software for desktop usage.

This howto is a practical guide without any warranty – it doesn’t cover the theoretical backgrounds. There are many ways to set up such a system – this is the way I chose.

Continue reading ‘Install and Configure TrueCrypt With GUI On Ubuntu 7.10′

Intrusion Detection: Snort, Base, MySQL, and Apache2 On Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon)

This tutorial is based on another howto written by DevilMan, however I didn’t like the idea of manually compiling every package or the use of a GUI to get the software installed. This howto will work on a Gutsy Server or Gutsy desktop. With that said some of this howto is a direct copy from the original.

In this tutorial I will describe how to install and configure Snort (an intrusion detection system (IDS)) from source, BASE (Basic Analysis and Security Engine), MySQL, and Apache2 on Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon). Snort will assist you in monitoring your network and alert you about possible threats. Snort will output its log files to a MySQL database which BASE will use to display a graphical interface in a web browser.

Continue reading ‘Intrusion Detection: Snort, Base, MySQL, and Apache2 On Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon)’

How to Secure Linux laptops for maximum security

Laptop and notebooks are being stolen at an ever-increasing rate. In 2004, Safeware Insurance which sells computer insurance, estimated 600,000 laptop and notebooks a year were being stolen. In 2006 an estimated 750,000 were being swiped, according to Absolute Software a company that makes computer tracking products — and does not support Linux. LoJack For Laptops, another computer tracing company — which also does not support Linux — says FBI statistics show 2 million laptop and notebook computers were stolen in the US in a recent year. While the figures may not agree in detail, they all show that laptop and notebook theft is a major problem — and if you’re not careful, your Linux laptop might be next.

While you can find dozens of products to secure Windows laptops, security products for Linux laptops are scarcer — but they do exist. We found a range of products and fixes ranging from security patches for the operating system to encryption to the equivalent of computer bicycle locks which can help keep your Linux laptop or notebook safe.

Continue reading ‘How to Secure Linux laptops for maximum security’

Install and Set Up Subversion And Trac As Virtual Hosts On An Ubuntu Linux Server

This howto outlines the process by which one can set up the Subversion version control system, and have it work in tandem with Trac, the project manager for software development projects, on a server running Ubuntu (or possibly Debian). It is brought to you by Openject Consulting.

Setting up Subversion

For detailed information on this, including alternate setups, have a look at Version Control with Subversion.

Continue reading ‘Install and Set Up Subversion And Trac As Virtual Hosts On An Ubuntu Linux Server’

Nice and Useful OpenOffice.org extensions

Apparently, the only thing that stopped developers from creating useful OpenOffice.org extensions was the lack of a place to publish them. With the launch of the OpenOffice.org Extension Repository, the number of extensions listed there has shot up, and there are no signs of a slowdown. Although quantity doesn’t always mean quality, the repository already offers a few nifty extensions that can expand the functionality of OpenOffice.org and make your work more efficient.

Bookmarks Menu

On the face of it, the Bookmarks Menu just adds bookmarks to documents, but dig deeper and you’ll discover that this extension can do much more. Once you’ve installed the Bookmarks Menu, it appears only in the Tools -> Add-Ons menu. To add the Bookmarks menu to the main toolbar, choose the Bookmark Menu item and press OK. By default, the menu contains two items: Bookmark This Document and Edit Bookmarks. The former allows you to quickly bookmark the currently opened document, so you don’t have to navigate to the desired document every time you want to open it. Of course, you can use the Recent Documents feature to do that, but it has some limitations: it can hold only up to 10 entries and you can’t sort the entries. More importantly, the Bookmarks Menu can bookmark not only documents but also macros and shell commands, and you can do this in just a few clicks.

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Howto – Securing Joomla! installations

Joomla! is a well-known content management system, mature enough to be used by thousands of amateur and professional Web portals. Installation is a breeze and consists of six click-next steps. However, a default Joomla! installation is not necessarily a secure one, so let’s see how we can protect our portal from potential attackers.

The first rule of security when it comes to Joomla! is “update frequently,” because whenever a new version comes out, it usually comprises several user-reported bug and security fixes. If your host allows it, use PHP5 instead of PHP4, because it’s more advanced and offers better security.

Once your site is ready to be launched, make sure to set your configuration.php file to read-only — a critical step that most users neglect. Change file and directory permissions — chmod 644 for files and chmod 755 for folders — but be sure to keep temporary and cache directories writable, lest you get a site error.

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Open Source Living – a Directory of OSS Apps

There maybe countless arguments for using open source applications, but one of the strongest is having a single interface to learn when working on Windows, Mac or Linux systems. Website directory Open Source Living helps you to find just those kind of programs. It’s not an extensive, all-in-one directory, but it seems to narrow its choices based on quality and widespread acceptance. Open Source Living is an archive of the best open source applications. Software is sorted by categories, such as Web, Graphics, Audio. And while not every application listed at Open Source Living is entirely cross-platform, a good deal of them are.

Check out also Mohawke’s Best of the Best Free and Open Source Software Collection: Mac OS X and Windows software Collection and Open Source Apps on Mac. Ah, and this one.

Start your new year with open source software :-p

Syncing your BlackBerry on Linux, a howto guide

If you use Linux on your desktop, and you also happen to have a BlackBerry handheld device, you’re probably aware that Research in Motion, the company that develops the BlackBerry platform, offers nothing in the way of support for its devices on Linux — but the intrepid geeks in the free software world do. Thanks to to the efforts of the Barry and OpenSync projects, I just finished syncing my BlackBerry 8800 with my Evolution contacts on my Ubuntu 7.10 desktop.

Blackberry

If all you want to do is share data between your Linux box and the BlackBerry, no sweat. The 2GB Micro SD storage I inserted in my 8800 is available to my Linux system just like any other USB storage device. When I connect the USB cable to the BlackBerry, I simply say yes when Ubuntu asks if I want to enter Mass Storage Mode, and I can copy music and photos to the phone. I have run into a problem getting the audio for videos that were created with Kino to work correctly, but other than that, moving data back and forth between the PDA and the desktop “just works.”The Barry and OpenSync projects aim to provide a little more functionality than just moving data. According to its home page, the Barry project “is a GPL C++ library for interfacing with the RIM BlackBerry Handheld. It comes with a command-line tool for exploring the device and a GUI for making quick backups. This project’s goal is to create a fully functional syncing mechanism on Linux.” Release 0.11, which I’ve been playing with the past week, goes a long way toward meeting those goals. With it, you can explore, backup and restore, and — with a little help from OpenSync — sync databases. There is, however, some assembly required.

Continue reading ‘Syncing your BlackBerry on Linux, a howto guide’