Technopotomus

Try before you fly!

I want to try Linux, but all of my stuff is for Windows.
Windows is fast enough for me.
I don’t want to install a new OS, I’ll lose all the stuff on my computer!
Nah, Linux is for programmers and computer geeks.

Any of these sound familiar? 

Seems to me the main reason people don’t want to try Linux, is the same reason kids don’t want to try the broccoli mom put on their plate.  They hate it because it’s new and/or different.

Why do we care if our kids eat broccoli?  Because it’s good for them, and you’d feel pretty dumb trying to explain why your child has the scurvy.  That’s a pretty extreme example, of course, but it’s funny to say “scurvy”.

As we get older, our minds adapt to the things we like and dislike, making us less and less likely to be open to new things.  Examples of these people are…

• Those who don’t use the channel guide on their cable box, they’d rather flip through 300 different channels one at a time.  They use terms like “new-fangled”, “high-tech”, and “computer-illiterate”.
• Unwilling to try something new because they assume is going to be bad.  i.e.  ”Transformers?!?!  That movie is going to be stupid!  A movie about dumb robots!  That’s for kids.”
• Excuses abound in the form of… “I don’t have time for that.”  ”I don’t want it all messed up.”  ”Nah, I like it the way it is.”

Well, if the everyone thought that way, we’d still be throwing spears at mammoths, and there would be NO productivity.

What you will find with people who are “set in their ways” is that they are more comfortable doing things the way they’ve always done them.  I think all people are slightly set in their ways… we all have favortie things that we are attached to.  Food, games, clothes, people, etc.

Anyway, back to the broccoli.  The funny part about all of this, is that parents do everything they can to get thier child to try new things.  Food, games, clothes, people, etc.  So then, why is it when the child grows to an adult, he becomes set in his ways, and unwilling to change?

Because the process doesn’t change!
The child learned

Simple Solution:

• Food:  Don’t Eat Broccoli!
• Games:  Don’t Play Games!
• Clothes:  Don’t wear sweaters!
• People:  Don’t talk to Judy!

But what if there were a better way…  Think about the problem…

• Food:  Broccoli tastes pretty good with ranch on it.
• Games:  Play different games.
• Clothes:  Pullover sweaters are uncomfortable, but zip-up ones work great.
• People:  I get along with Judy just fine, if we don’t talk about politics.

Now… how does this all figure into the whole Linux experience I mentioned in the beginning?  I found a way to put some ranch on it!

Ubuntu 9.04 has two different ways to give it a try without modifying your system.  In other words, you can run Ubuntu on your current computer, as well as Windows.  Enter LiveCD.

After you download the Ubunut 9.04 CD Image, (www.ubuntu.com) and burn a CD, boot from that CD.  You will see this…

Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer?  How’s that possible?  Well, it runs kinda slow because it keeps reading off of the boot CD.  But it allows you to see how Ubuntu works.  Play around a bit, and if you like it, you can move to the next step.

I like it, but I’m still not sure… and what the heck is GRUB anyway?

Enter Wubi!  http://wubi-installer.org/ 

Wubi Icon

Download Wubi to your desktop.  Set your preferences, and Wubi will download and install Ubuntu for you inside of Windows.

That’s right…  Wubi allows you to install Ubuntu INSIDE Windows XP (or Vista) by making a Ubuntu folder on your Windows HD Partition.  Ubuntu then makes a file inside that folder that is the same size as the install size you choose.  Then you uss the Windows Boot-Loader to choose between a boot into Windows or Ubuntu.  If you decide that you don’t like Ubuntu, you can erase it inside Windows by using “Add-Remove Programs.”

There is a slight performance hit when you install Ubuntu this way.  And I do mean VERY slight.

Finally, if you do like Ubuntu.  Drop the CD in the drive again, and run the full install.   When you get to the partitioner, choose to install them side, choosing between them each startup.

Drag the slider to the left to increase the amount of space for Ubuntu.   A good Ubuntu install is around 20-30GB.

So, there you have it.  Pretty simple to accomplish.  I do however suggest that you try Wubi, or LiveCD install first!  If you decide to do a full Ubuntu install, it will install side by side with Windows right from the get-go.  However, doing it this way installs the GRUB Bootloader.  This is a Linux based bootloader which allows you to choose between booting into different Linux kernels, as well as Windows.  It works great!  The drawback is that if you decide you don’t like Ubuntu at this point, you’re going to have a difficult time getting rid of GRUB.  Best place I’ve found to look so far is here… http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=426708

Enjoy Ubuntu.  

Hard Drive Partitioning with GParted

Partitions?

For those who are uninitiated in partitions, here’s the quick and easy low down.

If you have just one hard drive and you wish you had two, you can divide and conquer.  Of course this does not give you double the storage space, it just gives you two logical drives on one physical drive.   Now it’s possible to divide it up even smaller, and smaller.  This is accomplished by partitioning your hard drive.  There are different type of software for this, but what my friend Sean pointed out to me is definitely worth having.

In the past, it was not something you would want to do when you have data you don’t want to lose, especially your operating system (unless you plan on reinstalling anyway).  Microsoft used to, and possibly still does, include fdisk which could partition your drive.  However, doing so was the equivalent to formatting it first.  It’s not something you wanted to do as an afterthought.

When you install Ubuntu (or Kubuntu, Edubuntu, etc.) it will ask if you want to erase your hard drive and start fresh with it being your sole operating system, or if you would like to dual boot (that is having the choice of booting up into Ubuntu or Windows).  If you chose the dual boot option, then it will want to setup a partition, setting aside a portion of the hard drive for Windows and a portion for Ubuntu.  You get to decide the size of the partitions.  It works very well.  I have never lost my Windows operating system once even after a dozen separate installs.  Pretty slick.

A lot of people like to do this the first time they install Ubuntu, so they can keep Windows installed if it turns out they don’t like Ubuntu.   Sometimes too, they may have certain programs that are necessary and work ONLY in Windows.  I use this last option.

Partition Messup

Now one day I was installing Ubuntu for a dual boot setup, however grub kept giving me a hassle.  So I would try to re-install.  I did this a few times.  Then I noticed that my hard drive was shrinking.  Every time that I went to re-install, I was losing an unrecoverable partition from the previous attempt.  Why exactly, I don’t know.

The fix came in the form of GParted.  I downloaded the iso file and burned that to a CD-ROM and then rebooted off the CD.  Up came a graphical interface and I was able to see the partitions of each of my 3 drives.  I was able to delete partitions, make new partitions, or combine partitions.  I was also given a choice of filesystem format from Fat32, NTFS, ext3 and many others.

GParted screen

Problem solved.

This is a disk I will keep in my arsenal for sure.  What’s nice is that it’s a live-cd so if someone needs help with their PC, there’s no need to install any software, download anything, just slap this puppy in the drive and boot.

Linux? Isn’t that for programmers and computer geeks?

Well, sure it is.  But so is Pepsi, Television, and water-balloon fights.

Simple fact of the matter is that everyone has a computer now-a-days.  We all use our computers for different things.  And we all want our computer to WORK!  Specifically, we all want our computers to be FAST!  It amazes me to this day the amount of frustration that people are willing to put up with in a computer.  Slow boots, lag, viruses, crashes, the infamous “blue-screen-of-death”, etc.  Think about it.  How many times have you heard something to the effect of…  “I just bought this $1500.00 laptop, and it takes over 5 minutes to boot up and allow me to use it!”

If your car functioned this way, you’d drive it off a cliff.  Fortunately there is a solution for “Average Joe Computer User”.

I’m not as “techno-savvy” as some, and not as “computer-illiterate” (to coin a phrase) as others.  But I do know when something isn’t working right.  Windows XP, or Vista always seem to just run …slow…  So I started complaining about it, one night, to my friend Tyler.  Well, Tyler is something of a Techno-Buff, and he told me to try Linux.  And to be perfectly honest, it took about three months to muster up the courage to try it.

After I bought that MSI-Wind (Netbook), and it came with a copy of XP on it, this itching feeling in the back of my head (It’s a different itch… I’ll explain that itch to my doctor thank you very much.) just kept saying that this computer “SHOULD” be able to run faster.

Enter Linux…  There are many different “flavors” or “Distributions” of Linux.  So, my friend Tyler told me to try “Saybayon” Linux (the one that comes with its very own rubber mallet shaped just like the dent in my skull) “It’s the best distribution for performance!” …he says.  Well, he may be right, but it’s about as easy to get running as your bowels after a pizza party.  Then I enter the arena of openSuSE.  It works… but it takes up about 25GB of my 80GB HD.

Finally I was looking into distributions and I found Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex.  Ubuntu advertises itself as “Linux for Humans”  After a lot of deliberation, I came to the conclusion that I was, in fact, human.  So, I fired it up, had it installed in about 40 minutes, I had some Wi-Fi driver problems, but got those worked out fairly quick with the help of the incredibly friendly people at ubuntuforms.org.

Then… About a two weeks ago, I downloaded the latest distro of Ubuntu.  9.04 Jaunty Jackalope (Net-Book Remix).  Loaded it onto my MSI-Wind in about 20 minutes, and EVERYTHING worked perfectly on first boot.  The Net-Book Remix of 9.04 has a kernel made for the Intel Atom Processor that is in my MSI-Wind.  Now, this computer not only functions, but like driving a Ferrari, you can FEEL the performance.

Now… here’s the best part.  When I first used Linux in college, it looked like this:

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And that was confusing to me, and the other 99% of the world.  Now, it looks like this…

Graphical user interface, file browser, web-browser, backgrounds, etc.  Everything you want from an operating system.  Along with functionality.

Besides performance, what else would you want to run Ubuntu for?  Well, Ubuntu has a constantly updated repository of maintained applications from Canonical (people who maintain and update Ubuntu), and third party or open source (community) based applications.  All available right in Ubuntu.

Well, doesn’t Windows have all of this?  Certainly.  And Viruses.  Did I mention that Ubuntu doesn’t have viruses?  Don’t believe me?  Google it yourself, or check out this link…

http://lovehateubuntu.blogspot.com/2008/04/why-windows-has-viruses-and-ubuntu-or.html

One thing that Windows can do, that Ubuntu doesn’t, is charge…

Windows XP – $99.95
Windows Vista – $249.95
Microsoft Office Home and Student – $149.95
Adobe Photoshop – $599.95 (No wonder only professionals buy it.)
For a grand total of… $849.85 XP, $999.85 Vista.

Ubuntu 9.04 – Free
Open Office 3.0 (100% MS Office compatible) – Free, Included in Ubuntu
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) – Free, Included in Ubuntu
For a grand total of – Jack Jiminy Squat! Without being a software pirate!

Yes, the prices on the Windows software is full retail, and you can probably get a better price than that, but still, if you have to pay $5.00 for any of it, you’re still not getting it for free.

So I shall summarize…

Windows XP or Vista comes with a web browser, media player, notepad, and solitaire.

Ubuntu comes with a full set of productivity software (Open Office 3.0), Graphic Editing (GIMP), Internet Software (Mozilla Firefox, Evolution Mail, Pidgin Instant Messenger), and Games.

So… Isn’t that for programmers and computer geeks?
The answer is a resounding No.

Ubuntu 9.04 is made for the average computer user.  You and me.  Linux for Humans.   It makes your computer run faster, be virus free, added functionality, and has access to FREE software to download at any time.

Why am I so “Pro-Ubuntu” ?
I don’t work for Canonical, or even write code for Linux.  I’m just your average white suburbanite-slob. (Thanks Dennis Leary) I think people  just like to get what they paid for.  Think about it…  We all have HDTV’s, but no HD content.  We all have nice cars, and have to drive 55mph.  We all listen to music, but can’t crank it up because we’ll wake up Mrs. Nesbitt.  We all have computers, and have to suffer with Windows…  Not anymore.

Give it a whirl…  Go to www.ubuntu.com, and dowload Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope LiveCD.  It even allows you to try it without any change to your windows system.

Using DNS to block access to unwanted websites on your network.

Why block sites from your network?

Some businesses need to protect themselves from sexual harassment suits, so certain sites need to be blocked.  Just because they have a no harassment policy does not mean ALL employees are going to obey it.  Trust me, I work with some of these boneheads.  Companies also attempt to block time wasting on the computers as well.  They have the right, and some exercise it, to monitor net traffic on their network, but sometimes it’s just easier and cheaper to block certain websites.

I read a post one day where a man was allowing his daughter and deadbeat son-in-law to live in his attached apartment while the son-in-law supposedly was looking for a job.  He allowed them to use his wireless Internet connection since the son-in-law claimed it was necessary in finding a job.  The father was suspicious of the Internet activities so as the Internet provider for his daughter and son-in-law, he wanted a way in which he could limit certain activities.

Categories

Parents too may feel the need to block certain sites for obvious reasons, but then they may want to also be more specific in what’s blocked.

There are several options available.

One option is a little more involved and I hope to be able to play with it and post my experience here.  That would involve setting up a proxy server such as squid, and then setting up either SquidGuard or DansGuardian to block unwanted content.

Another option would work for windows and mac users.  That would be NetNanny.  The basic Family Pack Special at the time of this writing is under $60 for 3 Windows PCs for a year.  I’ve looked at it a while back and is quite configureable.  If you want to spend the money, this looks like a great option.  But we’ll see if we can find anything cheaper that fits the bill.

The one we’re going to look at today is OpenDNS.  Can you say “FREE“?  Okay, why are we waiting?  No, I am not paid by OpenDNS, but for a freebie, it is definitely worth interrogating.

The nice thing about OpenDNS is that it replaces your current DNS servers, so what operating system you use is a non issue.  Also, if you want your router to provide DNS listing, you’re covered there as well.  Nifty, I must say.   So, how does this work?  What do I need to do?  After reading these steps and you decide this is an option you wish to explore, go to OpenDNS, of course, and create an account.

How does OpenDNS work?

Just to recap from my post on Dynamic DNS, when you ask for a website through your browser, your computer does not know where to get it from, so it asks a DNS server, for example, where technopotomus.com resides.  The DNS server then tells your computer the IP address of the requested URL and then your computer makes a request for a web page from that particular IP address it was given.

Does it matter what DNS server you use?  Mostly yes, sometimes no.  Or is it the other way around?  Anyway, the closer to you that your DNS server is, the faster the response to your request will be.  Also, most DNS servers are constantly being updated with the IP addresses of all the domains on the Internet.  So normally, you’d want the DNS server that your Internet provider provides for you.  This is normally given to your computer or router automatically through DHCP as it also grabs its dynamic IP address.

Identification through IP address.

If now, you change your DNS server to OpenDNS’ servers, will everything work okay?  NO.  How will they be able to differentiate your requests from mine?  By your IP address.  This provides a dilemma, considering most people use dynamic IP addresses.  It changes anytime they reconnect to their Internet provider.  Even if you have a broadband connection and never disconnect, you still run that risk.  The power in your area could experience a momentary hit, causing your router to be powered off  long enough to have to reconnect, thereby getting a new assigned dynamic IP.

How do we fix this?  Dynamic DNS.  Even if you are not interested in a domain name to connect to your computer or network, it is necessary in order to use OpenDNS.  Why?  Because they said so!!  That’s why!  Oh . . . wait, no that’s not why.  It’s so when your IP address changes, your computer or router logs into your Dynamic DNS service, therefore updating with them what YOUR IP address is at any given moment (except for that moment the power went out for a minute and your computer/router logged back on to the net).  That service can be setup to then update your IP address with OpenDNS.  NOW they know your IP address. And NOW they know who is making the request for a specific web site.

Okay.  Do we have that all cleared up now?   Good.  Let’s move on.

All your base are belong to us.

Networks

What does that mean?  Okay, wikipedia has the answer to this one.  Let me rephrase that.   Now that OpenDNS knows what your IP address is, their DNS server can then give you the IP addresses of the sites and only the sites that you desire per your settings.

Even if you have more than one IP address, you can add it and configure different settings for any computers using that address.  It is quite configurable I must say.  This opens up a larger number of possible scenarios.

Create a Shortcut

Another nice customization they offer is that of shortcuts.  Let’s say you have a URL that you go to alot, but it’s a long one to type.  Say for instance TECHNOPOTOMUS.COM.  Now that’s too many letters for your tired fingers and of course you don’t know how to user bookmarks in your browser, right?   Okay, sarcasm aside, this is still a cool little feature.  Instead of typing in the URL you want, you pre configure a shorter version, say in this instance: TECH.   Now all you have to do is type in TECH in your brower and click send, hit enter, do whatever it is you desire to send those bits in a blazing flash to the DNS server so that you can recieve your data at light speed.

Managing and Reporting

Manage your account

Now that you have everything all set up, you can enjoy being able to see that it’s working.  Of course, one way is to try to access a site that should deny you access.  You should get a page from OpenDNS telling you why the page was denied.  That is if everything is setup right.  Of course don’t test it out by visiting a site you don’t want the kids to see while they’re standing there.  Just in case you forgot to change your DNS servers.   Oh yeah, we didn’t get to that did we?  In a minute.

Top Domain List

With your account all setup, you can access the dashboard to manage your account and check stats.  The stats can show you all the web traffic from you network including what was blocked.  What’s nice is being able to specify a range of days, type of domain and then filter what you want your report to display.

Action

Once that’s done, you can go through the list and click on action for a particular URL to either block it in the future, or unblock it if the site was originally blocked and you desire it not to be.  It’s these individual exceptions that are nice to have easy access to.

Configuring your DNS servers.

Normally, as was mentioned earlier, your computer or router gets the DNS server information automatically through DHCP.  However, if you are using different DNS servers than what your ISP wants to assign to you, you’ll need to configure them on your device manually.

LINUX – Yeah, this is easy.  Change the nameservers listed in your /etc/resolv.conf file to your new OpenDNS DNS server addresses.

DNS settings

Windows – Access the properties for your network card, be it wired or wireless, then click on Internet Protocol in the list of items your connection uses, then click on the properties button.  At the bottom of this new panel you should have an option to obtain your DNS server addresses automatically or you can set them yourself.  Are you reading ahead?  No?  Then how did you know I was going to tell you to click on the “Use the following DNS server addresses” option?   You are one smart cookie.  Okay, then configure the addresses, smarty.

Mac –  Mmmm, sorry, as nice as Macs are, my exposure to them is about every six months.  Just long enough to be reminded that I don’t know my way around one very well.  I’ll bet if you don’t know how to change your DNS settings on your Mac, you could find information on the Internet.  Oops, I guess this page is on the internet.  Okay, elsewhere on the Interntet.  One day I will have a Mac and you can teach me.

Linksys setup

Linksys Router –  Okay, I only have information for Linksys Routers.  Mainly because it’s the more common one out there.  If your router is a different brand, you too should be able to find the info you look for by searching Google.  However, you may be able to find it easy enough on your own.  Now on the Linksys main setup page, there should be settings toware the bottom for entering in your DNS server addresses.  Wow, could it be any harder?

Summing up.

OpenDNS does allow you to make exceptions to the rules.  So if you wanted to block ALL blogs, except this one, you would select blogs in your categories to block, but then at the bottom of the page add whatever exceptions you want.

I have experienced a site that should not have come through.  This is possible seeing as how someone has to maintain the database and it will not be 100% perfect.  But I do know it’s more thorough than a business hiring someone to sift through a gazillion web pages to determine what category they belong to.  If you do hit a site that should’ve been blocked, OpenDNS provides a means to enter that in so that others can benefit from your find.  You can search for sites and see what category they fit into, if any.

Keep in mind though, they are a free service and you can expect to get what you pay for.  However I do believe here you’re getting alot more.

They do though have this little quip on their site.  Read into it however you wish.

Note: Domain blocking is not intended to be a category blocking service, like phishing or adult site blocking. It’s intended to give you pinpoint control over what’s on your network.