January 2016 - Roundtable

IBM "clicky" keyboards
by Adam Thompson 13 Oct '16

13 Oct '16

Enough people have wondered/asked/complained to me about this that I'm posting this now as a public service. IBM Model "M" keyboards are still available, *NEW*, today. They are expensive, but they are the original design that you can use as a melee weapon. The catch is that they don't say "IBM" or even "Lexmark" on them. They are available for purchase from the manufacturer, Unicomp, who can be found online at http://www.pckeyboard.com/. You can also find some vintage NIB units from time to time at http://www.clickykeyboards.com/. There are also a number of other manufacturers now making similar, but not quite as good, keyboards. - CVT Inc., the maker of the Avant Stellar (I own two of them), which is the direct descendant of the Northgate Omnikey, seems to have restructured and no trace of their keyboard manufacturing operation can be found online. However, Northgate keyboards are still available new-in-box from (this is a horrible site, beware) http://www.northgate-keyboard-repair.com/. - The Happy Hacking keyboard (now owned by Fujitsu, apparently) is equally comforting to some people despite having a totally different feel. They, and many others, can be had from http://www.elitekeyboards.com/ - Das Keyboard - Anything using Cherry MX Green, Blue, or White keyswitches. The "green" switches apparently are the closest anyone's come yet to emulating the IBM/Lexmark/Unicomp switches... and they can be had in MUCH cheaper keyboards, like the Rosewill RK-9000 (http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823201040 and http://techreport.com/review/23405/rosewill-rk-9000-series-mechanical-ke yboards-reviewed). - And there are an increasing number (yes, again, after the big die-off ca. 2009) of speciality manufacturers of "ergonomic" keyboards that are making clicky keyswitches available as an option. One of the better ones is a tiny shop in Ontario, but I can't find the name right now. References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_M_keyboard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unicomp http://deskthority.net/wiki/Cherry_MX -Adam Thompson athompso(a)athompso.net

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SpamAssassin false positives on DATE_IN_FUTURE_96_Q?
by Gilbert E. Detillieux 23 Feb '16

23 Feb '16

I mentioned this problem at the last round-table session, but didn't get a solution, so I thought I'd post it here, just in case anyone has any suggestions to offer. I'm still seeing a whole bunch of false positives in SpamAssassin, since an update was installed in mid-September on a CentOS 5.7 system, for a rule called DATE_IN_FUTURE_96_Q, which is only supposed to be triggered when the "Date:" header has a date that is 4 days to 4 month ahead of the date in the "Received" header that has the _smallest_ difference in date. Here are the headers from the latest e-mail I've received with this false-positive. (I've stripped out irrelevant headers, for the sake of clarity and simplicity.) From topfivestories(a)messagent.itworldcanada.com Mon Nov 14 07:50:13 2011 Received: from mail.messagent.itworldcanada.com (mail.messagent.itworldcanada.com [207.112.10.80]) by palladium.cs.umanitoba.ca (8.13.8/8.13.8) with SMTP id pAEDoAxV028594 for <gedetil(a)cs.umanitoba.ca>; Mon, 14 Nov 2011 07:50:12 -0600 Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2011 08:50:13 -0500 X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,DATE_IN_FUTURE_96_Q, HTML_MESSAGE,RP_MATCHES_RCVD autolearn=no version=3.3.1 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.3.1 (2010-03-16) on palladium.cs.umanitoba.ca Note that I'm calling spamd via the spamass-milter on a system running sendmail. Note also, that in the above example, the only "Received" header was the one generated by my own server. (I've had other false positives, however, with multiple "Received" headers, all of which were within seconds of the time in the "Date" header.) Any ideas? -- Gilbert E. Detillieux E-mail: <gedetil(a)muug.mb.ca> Manitoba UNIX User Group Web: http://www.muug.mb.ca/ PO Box 130 St-Boniface Phone: (204)474-8161 Winnipeg MB CANADA R2H 3B4 Fax: (204)474-7609

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Weird code showing up in bash history
by Kevin McGregor 30 Jan '16

30 Jan '16

Has anyone seen this happen? On several Ubuntu server systems (10.04, 14.04, 15.10), I'll be scrolling through the bash history with the up-arrow, and suddenly there will be a ton a code with the word "tideway" used in it very often. I'll check the dot-bash_history file, and sure enough there are large sections of script/code in there which I obviously did not type. Where did it come from? How do I stop it? Here's a short sample: tw_command() { cpuspeed=`egrep '^(cpu MHz|cpu clock|clock)' /proc/cpuinfo | cut -f2 -d: | sed -e 's/\.[0-9]*//' -e 's/Mhz//i' -e 's/ //g' | head -n 1`; cputype=`egrep '^cpu[^a-z]*:' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | cut -f2 -d: | sed -e 's/^ //' | head -n 1`; if [ "${cputype}" = "" ]; then cputype=`egrep '^model name' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | cut -f2 -d: | sed -e 's/^ //' | head -n 1`; fi; if [ "${cputype}" = "" ]; then cputype=`egrep '^arch' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | cut -f2 -d: | sed -e 's/^ //' | head -n 1`; fi; if [ "${cputype}" = "" ]; then cputype=`egrep '^(cpu model|family|vendor_id|machine|Processor)' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | cut -f2 -d: | sed -e 's/^ //' | head -n 1`; fi; logical=`egrep '^[pP]rocessor' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | wc -l`; physical=0; cores=0; threads_per_core=0; if [ "`echo $cputype | cut -c-2`" = "PA" ]; then cpufamily=`egrep '^(cpu family)' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | cut -f2 -d: | sed -e 's/^ //' | head -n 1`; if [ "`echo $cpufamily | cut -c-7`" = "PA-RISC" ]; then cputype="${cp(tideway_i=__TIDEWAY; echo ${tideway_i}_CMD_START__; tw_command; echo ${tideway_i}_CMD_END__) tw_command() { cpuspeed=`egrep '^(cpu MHz|cpu clock|clock)' /proc/cpuinfo | cut -f2 -d: | sed -e 's/\.[0-9]*//' -e 's/Mhz//i' -e 's/ //g' | head -n 1`; cputype=`egrep '^cpu[^a-z]*:' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | cut -f2 -d: | sed -e 's/^ //' | head -n 1`; if [ "${cputype}" = "" ]; then cputype=`egrep '^model name' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | cut -f2 -d: | sed -e 's/^ //' | head -n 1`; fi; if [ "${cputype}" = "" ]; then cputype=`egrep '^arch' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | cut -f2 -d: | sed -e 's/^ //' | head -n 1`; fi; if [ "${cputype}" = "" ]; then cputype=`egrep '^(cpu model|family|vendor_id|machine|Processor)' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | cut -f2 -d: | sed -e 's/^ //' | head -n 1`; fi; logical=`egrep '^[pP]rocessor' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | wc -l`; physical=0; cores=0; threads_per_core=0; if [ "`echo $cputype | cut -c-2`" = "PA" ]; then cpufamily=`egrep '^(cpu family)' /proc/cpuinfo | sort -u | cut -f2 -d: | sed -e 's/^ //' | head -n 1`; if [ "`echo $cpufamily | cut -c-7`" = "PA-RISC" ]; then cputype="${cpprintf("hostid: ");

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Red Hat on Azure
by John Lange 27 Jan '16

27 Jan '16

I thought some people on this list might be interested. https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/campaigns/redhat/ In a nutshell, you can buy your Red Hat machines as a VM directly from the Azure market place. The monthly fees include the Red Hat subscription and support as well as the VM to host the server. There are a few flavors available including a "micro" footprint server. SUSE has been available in Azure for quite some time, now Red Hat is officially available. Note that this is really intended for businesses looking for fully supported solutions. It's not really suited to hobbyists looking for inexpensive DIY. Regards, -- John Lange www.johnlange.ca

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server space
by Ian 27 Jan '16

27 Jan '16

I need to move my simple website sometime soon. I'd prefer to support someone locally. Please offer some suggestions. Ian Timshel http://www.timshels.com -- Ian

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Re: [RndTbl] server space
by Ian 27 Jan '16

27 Jan '16

Thanks for all the input folks. I'm grateful for what looks to be a good solution all round. I'm not familiar with HostGator. The guy that I've used for many years has been great. I wouldn't be leaving if he wasn't shutting that part of his business interests down. I'll be in touch Hartmut. Thanks again. Cheers! On 26 January 2016 at 21:33, Hartmut W Sager <hwsager(a)marityme.net> wrote: > Hi all, but especially Ian, > > I am local, and a MUUG member since about 1988, and a small-time Winnipeg > schmuck who might be able to fill your need. Phone me anytime (like right > now) - 24/7 is safe for phoning. My official hosting offerings are shown > at (lowest price is $4 per month): > > http://www.canadagarden.net/CanadaGarden_CWH-VPS-1_HostingPrices.HTML > > And yes, I have ex-HostGator customers. :) > > My more general presence is at: > > http://www.marityme.com/ > > Hartmut W Sager - Tel +1-204-339-8331, +1-204-515-1701, +1-204-515-1700 > > > On 26 January 2016 at 17:43, Adam Thompson <athompso(a)athompso.net> wrote: > >> Unfortunately, while the desire to support someone locally is good, even >> if I were still in business as a service provider, I would tell you in good >> conscience to take your business to one of the many, MANY nearly-free >> website hosting operators out there. >> >> Even GoDaddy (who I don't normally trust to even execute 1+1=10 >> correctly) offers basic website hosting for $5/month. >> >> HostPapa (canadian) are $4/month. >> >> There's also (still in Canada) iPage, iWeb, SKGoldHosting, >> BlueBirdHosting ($0 !?), ToonieHosting.ca... just make sure you do some >> research and make sure your chosen hosting partner isn't complete and utter >> garbage. >> >> I'm guessing you're with HostGator right now, based on your nameservers. >> Obviously you're not happy with them, which ... well... doesn't surprise me. >> >> I don't think (but I could be wrong) that anyone local will even come >> close to touching $5/month for hosting a website. Especially if you need >> to transfer the domain name, too. >> >> -Adam >> >> >> >> On 16-01-26 02:31 PM, Ian wrote: >> >> I need to move my simple website sometime soon. I'd prefer to support >> someone locally. Please offer some suggestions. >> Ian Timshel >> >> http://www.timshels.com >> >> -- >> Ian >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Roundtable mailing listRoundtable@muug.mb.cahttp://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Roundtable mailing list >> Roundtable(a)muug.mb.ca >> http://www.muug.mb.ca/mailman/listinfo/roundtable >> >> > -- Ian

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USB drive encryption
by Dan Martin 26 Jan '16

26 Jan '16

I need a device to transport data securely between machines - from PC to Mac or Mac to PC, or between 2 PCs. Problem is, I don't have admin rights on any of the PCs. I also don't want to leave unencrypted copies of the files on the PCs. Preferably, I would want various forms of software on PC or Mac to read and write to the drive transparently after the passphrase is entered. Will a hardware encrypted flash drive do this? or will it want to set up something on the PC requiring admin rights? Can anyone suggest a good, relatively cheap device? -Dan

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ssh can blab private keys early _nixCraft
by jd 22 Jan '16

22 Jan '16

ssh (certain version) appears to volunteer rather much, before getting down & crypty. via nixCraft (on facecrack) ** https://www.facebook.com/nixcraft/posts/1217637954916247 Fix: http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/howto-openssh-client-security-update-cve-0216-… ** Image attached - termscrot of ssh attempt on a fake nastynode, via nixCraft: ssh_Caution_nixCraft.png

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Request for HELP! Solaris 11 printing (CUPS)
by Kevin McGregor 13 Jan '16

13 Jan '16

I just don't understand Unix printing, I guess. We had it working on Solaris 10 using the old standby lp printing system. Solaris 11 now uses CUPS, and I can't find a reference anywhere that is helpful. On the old/current Solaris 10 system, we have: $ lpstat -t scheduler is running no system default destination system for cowsvpprmom: 192.168.59.113 (as lpd:// 192.168.59.113/printers/GENERAL_ENTRY#Solaris) system for cowsvdprmom: 172.17.176.58 (as lpd:// 172.17.176.58/printers/GENERAL_ENTRY#Solaris) cowsvpprmom accepting requests since Fri Jan 08 12:09:10 2016 cowsvdprmom accepting requests since Fri Jan 08 12:09:10 2016 printer cowsvpprmom disabled since Fri Jan 08 12:09:11 2016. available. printer cowsvdprmom disabled since Fri Jan 08 12:09:11 2016. available. On the new Solaris 11 system (zone) I tried: # lpadmin -p cowsvdprmom -E -v lpd://cowsvdprmom/printers/GENERAL_ENTRY # lpadmin -p cowsvpprmom -E -v lpd://cowsvpprmom/printers/GENERAL_ENTRY ...which doesn't seem to work, because I couldn't print anything (the lpr command works, but then the print queue gets disabled) and this shows up in the CUPS error log: D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] Connecting to printer... D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] STATE: -connecting-to-device D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] Connected to printer... D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] Connected to 192.168.59.113:515 (IPv4) (local port 1015)... D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] lpd_command 02 printers/GENERAL_ENTRY D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] Sending command string (24 bytes)... D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] Reading command status... D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] lpd_command returning 1 D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] Backend returned status 1 (failed) D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] Printer stopped due to backend errors; please consult the error_log file for details. D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] End of messages D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] printer-state=5(stopped) D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] printer-state-message="/usr/lib/cups/backend/lpd failed" D [13/Jan/2016:11:18:20 +0600] [Job 3] printer-state-reasons=paused Have I just got the queue name wrong or something? Or should I be doing something completely different in defining the queue/printer? Thanks for any help you can provide! Kevin

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This is recursive!
by Michael Doob 13 Jan '16

13 Jan '16

Relating to last night's meeting on qrencode: Look at this page from my Math1200 course: http://math-01.cs.umanitoba.ca/math1220/frontmatter-1.html You might wonder what possible use this might have. Despite a bulk mailing to the whole class, I still get asked for the link to this site during class. I'll just say, "Scan this!" It's nice to still have fun giving lectures. Cheers, Michael -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ Michael Doob Telephone: (204) 474-9796 Department of Mathematics Fax: (204) 474-7606 University of Manitoba email: Michael_Doob(a)umanitoba.ca Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3T 2N2 ------------------------------------------------------------------

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