In an earlier post I talked about UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) for Ubuntu.
If your looking for a firewall to protect your entire network have a look at SmoothWall Express 3.0. Smoothwall is an Open Source firewall based on Linux, which is developed by SmoothWall Ltd who also provides commercial software.
The firewall distro has been hardened and the entire download is 81MB. Installation and setup is easy and straightforward with the documentation made available. After the initial installation all configuration is done via web-based GUI over a secure port. The distro is also feature complete allowing you to setup a DHCP server, NTP server, Intrusion Detection System, and manage VPN connections along with many other features.
Smoothwall is really a set and forget distro requiring very minimal specs to run. If you have old hardware collecting dust give this distro a try. Having more control over your network is a good thing.
Looking for more news on Ubuntu in one place? The website http://voices.canonical.com/ is a comprehensive blog that compiles posts from Canonical projects and Ubuntu members into one place. If you like RSS feeds like me this is the way to keep up with what’s going on. If you want a more technical view of Ubuntu or any Canonical project you should head to https://lists.ubuntu.com and sign up for the project you are interested in.
It appears this site has just started aggregating the different blogs of Ubuntu into one site.
Want to know Canonical’s secret business plan? Or find out the latest features we’re working on in Ubuntu or UbuntuOne? Then hop over to the Canonical Voices site. It’s a blog aggregator that provides a single location for Canonical employees to blog and engage with the wider world.
I can’t promise that I’ll be any better at blogging regularly, I’ve already broken quite a few promises and resolutions on that front! Nonetheless, I’ve started aggregating posts about Ubuntu, Linux and Canonical over to the Voices site. Please check it out and become part of the conversation!
I’m trying to decide which OS will be better for my media server. I have little experience with CentOS or any Red-Hat based linux system. I have a few questions:
Is it well supported like Ubuntu?
Is is more security-oreinted?
Which one runs web services better?
I have an IDS running on CentOS right now that I enjoy working on except for the different file placement. So I’m off to further research CentOS and if you have any thoughts let me know.
Most people know about Dropbox. If you don’t go HERE. A nice little gem I found using Dropbox is a plugin for Wordpress. The plugin was developed by software.o-o.ro in August of this year. I decided to give this plugin a try. I wasn’t really impressed. So why am I writing about it? With some more polishing on the front and back-end this plugin could be an extremely helpful tool for users on your website who wish to send you large files or you could share large files to your users. Some of the things I’d like to see are:
Bordering around the virtual box
More security (I’m not sure if the password you store in the database is encrypted)
Option to contain users in a certain directory
Compatibility with Wordpress version 2.8.6 (currently only up to 2.7.1)
With a little more time this plugin should come in very handy. I will watch the progress of this plugin and update if I see progress being made.
With this being the season of giving, let me point you to an organization I recently started donating to. St. Jude Hospital is a wonderful organization dedicated to the research and treatment of pediatric cancer and other catastrophic childhood diseases. Reba McEntire made a music video in 1991 dedicated to St. Jude. This video is sad, but it’s what pushed me to donate monthly. I’m reminded that there is so much pain in this world and that others need money and support more than I do. To donate please go to www.stjude.org
The Developers over atSkynet-Solutions have just released EasyIDS 0.4. This is an excellent turn-key solution for someone wanting to learn about open source security programs up to medium size businesses needing network security. I was fortunate to be included in the beta testing and I think you’ll like what the developers have added and/or improved. Also, a forum has been set up for the community HERE and be sure to check out the screenshots HERE. I have posted the changelog below.
CrossWire.org is an organization with the purpose to sponsor and provide a place for engineers and others to come and collaborate on free, open-source projects aimed at furthering the Kingdom of our God.
I ran across this organization while looking for a desktop and a web-based bible study program. All of the programs on CrossWire.org are based upon The Sword Project bible study program and they all use the same module library. The module library contains plugins that allows you to expand your functionality in the bible study program you choose. For example, the modules are different translations of the bible and/or commentaries to help you study.
The bible study program that I choose was Xiphos, because it is included in Ubuntu CE and it has a really polished UI. Adding different modules in Xiphos is really simple also.
I did find a web-based program on CrossWire, but I haven’t tried it out yet. I’m still looking as I’d like to find something a little more updated and with active involvement. If I could code my way out of a box I’d like to start my own web-based project.
So if your looking for an expandable bible study program look at CrossWire.org. Some if not all programs also run on Windows.
In an earlier post I talked about UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) for Ubuntu.
Looking for more news on Ubuntu in one place? The website 
Most people know about Dropbox. If you don’t go 
CrossWire.org is an organization with the purpose to sponsor and provide a place for engineers and others to come and collaborate on free, open-source projects aimed at furthering the Kingdom of our God.
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