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Nagios XI wizards make setup a snap for network monitoring

vdanen — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 03:57:29 +0000

One of my last TechMails to ever be published by TechRepublic is Nagios XI wizards make setup a snap for network monitoring. This tip looks at using Nagios XI, a really slick commercially-backed install of Nagios with a really incredible GUI frontend for configuring Nagios. Anyone who has configured Nagios by hand using vim and a stack of text files will appreciate the web interface to configure it from top to bottom.

This is also one of the last TechMails that TechRepublic will be publishing that I’ve written. There might be one or two more in the queue yet, I can’t remember if everything I’ve submitted has been published or not. It has been almost 12 years of writing monthly for TechRepublic — initially as full length articles and the last few years as blog-style tips (which are both easier and harder to write; you get less words and more topics to cover in a month). The last year or so I’ve also been writing Mac tips for TechRepublic, as one of the original contributors to the Mac track.

Twelve years is a long time, so it is with mixed feelings that I gave my resignation to TechRepublic last month. I’ve worked with some really great editors: Jack, Sonja, Selena… you guys have been great to work with and I will definitely miss working with you. I think, after a respite from technical writing, that I’ll work on updating some of the documentation I have on the linsec.ca wiki, and hopefully finish off a few more that I’ve started but never completed. At least writing for my own wiki there are no deadlines, no wracking the brain for various topics that appeal to a larger crowd (I can concentrate on the niche security/sysadmin stuff that I enjoy), so it should be a little more relaxed and hobby-ish, rather than feeling like “real work”.

Two-factor SSH authentication via Google secures Linux logins

vdanen — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 15:35:11 +0000

Last week’s TechMail was Two-factor SSH authentication via Google secures Linux logins which talks about using Google two-factor authentication with SSH (and PAM in general). I really like it and it works quite well although the comments in the TechMail indicate another option called Duo for two-factor authentication that sounds really interesting as well.

Chromium on Fedora Linux is closing in on Firefox

vdanen — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 06:00:09 +0000

The TechMail from a few weeks ago was Chromium on Fedora Linux is closing in on Firefox which takes a look at using Spot’s Chromium for Fedora repo (thanks Spot!) to get Chromium running on Fedora. I have to admit that in the last month or so, I have thoroughly enjoyed running Chromium on Fedora 14 (F15 will be upgraded to this weekend hopefully), and don’t miss Firefox at all (although I still have to dust it off for a few sites). Definitely worth checking out if you like the Chrome/Chromium browsers on other platforms.

Practical SELinux: Port contexts and handling access alerts

vdanen — Wed, 25 May 2011 21:57:00 +0000

Last week was my third and final part of my series that introduced SELinux on Techrepublic: Practical SELinux: Port contexts and handling access alerts. This one finishes off what we were looking at in part two, and introduces port contexts (ensuring that a program can only listen to specified ports and nothing else), and shows us how to use sealert to look at violations that SELinux is reporting and how we can fix them, or at least make the system understand that certain behaviour is both desirable and permissible. It also looks at SELinux booleans and how to toggle certain functionality with the getsebool and setsebool command.

Two SSH clients to consider for the iPad

vdanen — Wed, 25 May 2011 21:51:03 +0000

This week’s mac tip is Two SSH clients to consider for the iPad. In this tip I look at two really great SSH clients for the iPad (and iPhone as well, although I was mostly just looking at the iPad versions which do vary from their iPhone counterpart): iSSH and Prompt. Really great clients for anyone that needs to SSH into a remote box. They’re quite inexpensive and very well done.

Google Apps’ two-factor authentication provides security boost for Mac and iPhone users

vdanen — Wed, 25 May 2011 21:48:03 +0000

Last week’s mac tip was Google Apps’ two-factor authentication provides security boost for Mac and iPhone users which looks at how to setup two-factor authentication on the mac (or anywhere else really, this isn’t quite specific to the mac).

Two-factor authentication turns off a lot of people because they think it’s too hard but it honestly isn’t, and the security benefits it provides are outstanding. Two-factor authentication operates on two principles or components for an authentication “token” (or password for lack of a better term): one thing you know (your password) and one thing you don’t (a random time-based PIN that a hardware device generates for you). This means that if someone has my username and password, that information is utterly useless without having my hardware token (which can be, in the case of Google, an iPhone or Android phone, etc.). Which makes my account really quite secure, and certainly more secure than it would be with just a password.

If you sincerely care about your Google Apps security, you really owe it to yourself to check out the two-factor authentication support. It’s easy to setup, cheap to setup, and easy to use as well.

Work some project management magic with Merlin

vdanen — Tue, 17 May 2011 22:42:14 +0000

Last week’s mac techmail was Work some project management magic with Merlin where we look at using ProjectWizards’ Merlin project management software. If you need project management on steroids, Merlin is a good bet. Even more importantly, if you need an easy way to share project management files within a group or with co-workers, Merlin is probably the only real contender on the mac right now.

Practical SELinux for the beginner: Contexts and labels

vdanen — Tue, 10 May 2011 18:30:33 +0000

This week’s techmail is Practical SELinux for the beginner: Contexts and labels which is part two of my series on SELinux. This one talks about how to get started with SELinux (how to turn it on or off), how to view contexts, and how to create new contexts, how to set them, and how to restore them. If you’re new to SELinux, this is a good primer to get you started.

Finding uses for the iPad 2: A skeptic gives it another shot

vdanen — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 20:10:02 +0000

This week’s mac techmail is Finding uses for the iPad 2: A skeptic gives it another shot in which I write about my experience with the iPad2. Short version: I like it. It’s no replacement for any existing device I have, but it’s definitely useful. Read the tip for why I like it and what I use it for.

Introduction to SELinux: Don’t let complexity scare you off

vdanen — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:55:20 +0000

This week’s techmail is Introduction to SELinux: Don’t let complexity scare you off. This is the first of a three-part series that introduces SELinux and digs into some of the basics on how to change policies, add policies, troubleshoot SELinux, and basically give you enough info to not feel intimidated by it, and enough rope to hang yourself with it (just kidding!). So if you were like me and kept turning SELinux off because you thought it would be too painful/scary to use, you might want to read this tip and keep an eye out for the future tips that will help you get up to speed with the basics and let you realize that it’s not as scary as it sounds.