In attempting to set up XAMPP on a Windows XP Pro workstation, I couldn't get Apache to start. Attempting a command-line start gave me an error message that port 80 was in use. The netstat command showed nothing listening on that port. As a work-around, I edited the config file for Apache to work on http port 8888 and https port 8443 and confirmed that Apache was installed correctly and working fine. Finally, digging around in the Services applet showed that the IISAdmin was running. Dredging around on Google yielded this blog entry that recommends disabling the service and rebooting to detect which app is launching IISAdmin. That cured the problem; Apache's up and running. XAMPP rocks.
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HP endorses Debian as Linux of choice on HP
HP announces support for Debian Linux.
(InfoWorld) – “Hewlett-Packard is throwing its support behind the Debian Linux distribution, the first major hardware maker to align itself with the noncommercial community-based Linux offering… HP also announced Monday that unit sales of 1.5 million Linux servers generated revenue of close to $6.2 billion for the 12 months ending in May, 50 percent more revenue than its nearest competitor.”
I think we'll continue to see some interesting alignments between vendors and Linux distributions: Lenovo's announced SuSE support, HP aligns with Debian. The Dell Linux site makes it clear they're not going to lose a sale over the choice of OS: you can pick your own, but RedHat and Novell SuSE are their top picks.
We don't want to go back to the one hardware vendor – one OS model: Ultrix, Solaris, HPUX, and the rest created a Balkanization of UNIX that lead to its downfall. However, vendors supporting Linux, especially multiple flavors, is a good sign.
MS06-040 exploited, a few days
Slashdot post: Botnet Herders Attack MS06-040 Worm Hole. “Laljeetji writes “eweek reports that the first wave of malicious attacks against the MS06-040 vulnerability is underway, using malware that hijacks unpatched Windows machines for use in IRC-controlled botnets. The attacks, which started late Aug. 12, use a variant of a backdoor Trojan that installs itself on a system, modifies security settings, connects to a remote IRC (Internet Relay Chat) server and starts listening for commands from a remote hacker. On the MSRC blog, Microsoft is calling it a very small, targeted attack that does not (yet?) have an auto-spreading mechanism. LURHQ has a detailed analysis of the backdoor.”
Sounds nasty. An auto-spreading mechanism will turn this one into an epidemic. Patch now, if you haven't already.
Data provenance
Joho the Blog points out Authorial authoritative provenance. “Jon Udell blogs about Lorcan Dempsey's blogging of the OCLC's fuzzy matching service that searches the Library of Congress Name Authority File, finding misspelled authors' names, etc. Jon discovered that his own name was misspelled in the Authority File, and he explains the process for getting it corrected. And, Jon says, we should be making provenance and ways to correct provenance more explicit.”
OpenOffice.org security flaws identified, some patched
Robert McMillan of InfoWorld: Top News reports OpenOffice.org security 'insufficient'. “With Microsoft Corp.'s Office suite now being targeted by hackers, researchers at the French Ministry of Defense say users of the OpenOffice.org software may be at even greater risk from computer viruses… “The general security of OpenOffice is insufficient,” the researchers wrote in a paper entitled “In-depth analysis of the viral threats with OpenOffice.org documents.” … “This suite is up to now still vulnerable to many potential malware attacks,” they wrote.”
Despite the negative tone of the beginning of this article, it's more good news for OO.o than bad. First, the one major flaw that was found has been patched – yeah, Open Source! – and you'll want to ensure you're running the latest OpenOffice.org. The second positive spin of the article is the tone: governments and companies are seriously evaluating OpenOffice.org as a replacement for their current office products. I wonder if this change in the tone has to do with the acceptance of the Office Document Format as a recognized international standard.
But don't just take my word for it…
Microsoft Watch from Mary Jo Foley reports Patch Windows Now, Homeland Security Warns. “The Department of Homeland Security has spoken. Apply the patches in the MS06-040 security bulletin for Windows, which Microsoft released on August 8, the agency is warning users.”
Microsoft's Monthly Security Patches for August 2006
I received the “Microsoft Security Bulletin Summary for August, 2006” in my inbox this morning. You'll want to sign up on the Microsoft site if you don't get this email and have responsibility for supporting and protecting Windows machines. You can find the bulletin here.
Nearly all the 12 items were rated critical and resulted in “Remote Code Execution” – in other words, someone else taking over your machine. Every version of Windows – those still supported – Windows 2000 SP4 through Windows Server 2003 – are affected. Individual applications getting patched include all the Office products, VBA-enabled products, and nearly anything with HTML: Internet Explorer, HTML Help, Microsoft Management Console. Get patching!
MS06-040 – Vulnerability in Server Service Could Allow Remote Code Execution (921883)
MS06-041 – Vulnerability in DNS Resolution Could Allow Remote Code Execution (920683)
MS06-042 – Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (918899)
MS06-043 – Vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Could Allow Remote Code Execution (920214)
MS06-044 – Vulnerability in Microsoft Management Console Could Allow Remote Code Execution (917008)
MS06-046 – Vulnerability in HTML Help Could Allow Remote Code Execution (922616)
MS06-047 – Vulnerability in Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications Could Allow Remote Code Execution (921645)
MS06-048 – Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office Could Allow Remote Code Execution (922968)
MS06-051 – Vulnerability in Windows Kernel Could Result in Remote Code Execution (917422)
MS06-045 – Vulnerability in Windows Explorer Could Allow Remote Code Execution (921398)
MS06-049 – Vulnerability in Windows Kernel Could Result in Elevation of Privilege (920958)
MS06-050 – Vulnerabilities in Microsoft Windows Hyperlink Object Library Could Allow Remote Code Execution (920670)
We're up to 51 patches on the 32nd week of the year. It's pretty apparent that whatever Trustworthy Computing brings us, it won't be a static thing.
Converting an existing Windows install into a VM
Here is a clever solution to the problem of trying to remember all of your passwords, settings, configurations and so forth when converting your current OS into a VM: backup your old installation and restore it into a clean VM. There may be problems with drivers and such, since the VM “hardware” may not work with all the drivers you have installed, but it sure looks like it could be a timesave.
VMWare on Ubuntu
Reinstalling one of my development workstations with Kubuntu as the primary operating system, and thought I'd take a shot at using VMWare and guest OSes for the other work I might have to do. I found a great HOWTO here on the Ubuntu site: HowTo: Windows (XP) on Ubuntu with VMWare Server
WWDC Keynote dissected
Andy Ihnatko writes a guest column for InfoWorld that's a great insight into the mind of Mac users and interesting speculation on what we saw, or didn't see, at the recent WWDC keynote.
Leopard's top-secret secrets.
(InfoWorld) – When you watch a Steve Jobs keynote from home, you only get about two-thirds of the value. For one, there's usually complimentary orange juice and danish on the way into the hall. For another, you get to go hyper-nerd obsessive on every observable detail.