Avec la nouvelle loi Hadopi, on se demande bien comment un possesseur de Bbox va s’en sortir pour prouver son innocence face au cracking de celle-ci.

N’importe qu’elle péquin du coin peut facilement cracker la clé WPA d’une Bbox  de type THOMSON TG787.

Ce “péquin” peut donc télécharger librement des fichiers illégales au nez et à la barbe du détenteur de la Bbox.

La démonstration ci-dessous prouve à quel point la loi Hadopi est ridicule et dépassée.

Explication :

Il faut savoir que la PassPhrase des Bbox WPA est  constituée de 10 caractères hexadécimaux.

Thomson s’était légèrement trompé sur les algorithmes de génération des clés WPA par défaut sur les routeurs Speedtouch et British Telecom Homehub.

A l’époque, il y avait donc déjà la possibilité de cracker celle-ci avec le Tool Stkeys développé par Kevin Devine.

Il n’a pas fallu bien longtemps pour modifier le Tool Stkeys de Kevin Devine pour générer les clés WPA par défaut des Bbox.

M1ck3y, administrateur du site crack-wpa.fr, explique la méthode.

Bbkeys est un générateur de clés WPA par défaut pour les Bbox Bouygues Telecom.

Il suffit de lui donner la partie hexa contenue dans l’essid (par exemple pour l’essid Bbox-3983BC on récupère juste la variable 3983BC) et il va vous fournir la clé WPA par défaut.

M1ck3y a compilé 2 versions de Bbkeys, une version qui tourne sous système Unix nommé Bbkeys et une qui tourne sous Windows nommé Bbkeyswin.

Sous Linux:

Bbkeys a bien donné la clé par défaut qui figure sur l’interface d’administration de la Bbox.

Les paramètres à indiquer sont identiques.

Voir le détail sur http://www.crack-wpa.fr/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1360 par M1ck3y.

We waited, what? 10 years for DSL! (I wasn’t even in Leb yet and hearing people talking about the arrival of DSL). Well maybe it wasn’t thought of that DSL needs electricity, and we have SERIOUS electricity problems. I don’t know if it’s summer effect, but I feel that lately rationing has become irrational! No lights at night, sometimes 12 consecutive hours of rationing and more! I hear people talking about simple solutions to the problem… Such as using the energy from the “jabal zbeleh” and such things. I hope that someone will act about it soon! Until then, I wish you a bright and happy day !

OK, I admit it.  I was bored this afternoon.

My current router (a SpeedTouch 585, also know as a ‘BeBox’ provided by Be) has a handy telnet interface.  I am curious as to what devices appear on my network (as the kids have an access point, various other devices have ‘always on’ connections) so thought about scripting it to show the active devices.  I told you I was bored!

Here’s the script:

#!/bin/sh

if [ $# -ne 2 ]
then
  echo Usage: hostlist username password
  exit 1
fi

tempfile=`mktemp`
(
expect -- << xLimitString
spawn telnet 192.168.1.254
expect "Username : "
send "$1\r\n"
expect "Password : "
send "$2\r\n"
expect "_{Administrator}=>"
send ":hostmgr list\r\n"
expect "{Administrator}=>"
send "exit\r\n"
xLimitString
) > $tempfile
grep -v Unknown $tempfile | awk '{ if ($3 == "C") printf("%s: %s\n", $2, $8); }'

OK, I guess there’s a really limited audience here but the example may prove useful for… well, somebody?  Basically, the router dumps a whole list out with MAC address, IP, etc (some info removed)…

MAC-address       IP-address    Flags Type             Hostname
-----------       ----------    ----- ----             --------
00:00:5e:00:01:0a 78.87.128.2   C     Generic Device   Unknown-00-00-5e-00-01-0a
00:01:4a:6b:59:2b 192.168.1.65  C     Gaming Console   PSP
00:02:4b:e5:fb:56 89.194.192.2        Generic Device   BeProxy
00:03:59:11:56:a4 192.168.1.64  DL    Desktop Computer decider
00:03:bf:27:3e:8c 192.168.1.68        Laptop Computer  ewok
00:04:7c:5e:bf:ff 192.168.1.199 C     Desktop Computer spaceyjase-linux-pc

…which is then filtered by grep to remove the ‘Unknown’ connection (i.e. the big bad Internets, as seen by the router).  The ‘-v‘ inverts the filter so grep only shows known devices. awk takes the output produced by grep and looks at the status field where ‘C’ means that a host is active.  Given an active host awk will print fields two (ip address) and eight (the host name).  The output looks like this:

192.168.1.65: PSP
192.168.1.199: spaceyjase-linux-pc

Exciting?  Bored!  I can run this output into conky for über geek overload.

Enjoy

Aún recuerdo mis comienzos en Linux, cuando intenté arrancar fallidamente el famoso speedtouch330 en ubuntu 6.x de 64 bits….

Ahora con un poco más de experiencia, he modificado el script que existe para distribuciones basadas en Debian 32 bits para poder utilizarlo en distros de 64 bits (amd64)… así que ya no mas dolores de cabeza…

El script funciona igual que la version de 32 bits con la sola particularidad que instala el br2684ctl para amd64.-

Es necesario tener instalado los paquetes libatm1, el build-essential, pppoe además de las mismas dependencias del script original.-

Agradecimientos a kenoby31.-

O problemie z Mandrivą 2009 i modemem Speedtouch 330 już informowałem. Jądro 2.6.27 z Mandrivy 2009 nie działało dobrze z tym popularnym modemem, wykorzystywanym m.in. w usłudze neostrada. Wiem, z systemu statystyk na blogu, że sporo osób poszukuje jego rozwiązania. A rozwiązanie jest proste. Wszystkiemu można zaradzić nie korzystając nawet z tajemniczej konsoli…

1. Po pierwsze ściągamy sobie z internetu poprawione jądro. Pakiety dostępne są tutaj:

kernel-desktop

kernel-desktop-devel

Centrala Mandrivy we Francji chyba nadal nie zauważyła problemu, bo oficjalnych poprawek jeszcze nie ma. To co podałem wyżej, to wynik pracy społeczności polskiej Mandrivy (wielkie dzięki!!!)

Ściągamy też pakiet firmware dla Mandrivy 2009. Jest on dostępny na tej stronie.

Można je ściągnąć z poziomu WIndowsa, lub na starszą instalację Mandrivy, lub jakiegokolwiek innego systemu, który możecie podłączyć do sieci. Spokojnie możemy trzymać oba pakiety na partycji użytkownika (/home) o ile taką macie, lub wrzucić je sobie na pendriva.

2. Instalujemy Mandrivę. Spokojnie w opcjach partycjonowania możemy sobie odptaszyć partycję /home z formatowania (koniecznie jeśli trzymamy tam nasze pakiety). Wówczas pozostaną nam wszystkie dokumenty, a nawe ustawienia programów ze starszych instalacji. Instalacji dokonujemy bez podłączonego modemu ST 330!!!

3. Na świeżo zainstalowanym systemie, nadal nie podłączonym do sieci Instalujemy nowe jądro. Oba pakiety możemy w trybie graficznym zaznaczyć i klikając prawym klawiszem myszy wybrać opcję instalacji oprogramowania z rozwijanego menu. Po zainstalowaniu jądra i kernel-devel możemy w analogiczny sposób zainstalować sterownik do modemu. Po wykonaniu instalacji wychodzimy z Mandrivy. Uruchamiamy system ponownie wybierając w opcjach GRUBa (podczas uruchamiania systemu) kernel-desktop-2.6.27.2-1mnb. W ten sposób system uruchomi nam się z nowym jądrem.

4. Po uruchomieniu (już z podłączonym modemem!) przeprowadzamy konfigurację połączenia internetowego:

Klikamy prawym klawiszem myszy na ikonę połączenia (u was zamiast zielonej kropki z “ptaszkiem”, będzie czerwona z krzyżykiem)

Z rozwiniętego menu wybieramy opcję “Konfiguracja sieci”

Postepujemy zgodnie z pojawiającymi się w konfiguratorze poleceniami. Wybieramy połączenie DSL-ppp0a, wpisujemy hasło, nazwę użytkownika etc.

Na sam koniec powinniśmy się cieszyć połączeniem z siecią.

5. Możemy usunąć w Centrum Sterowania zbędne pakiety starego kernela. Problemem staje się teraz brak wsparcia dla sterowników karty graficznej. Nie jest to jednak problem nie do rozwiązania.

Na początek powinniśmy skonfigurować urpmi – managera pakietów w Mandrivie.  W tym celu za pomocą firefoksa wchodzimy na stronę easy urpmi i postępujemy zgodnie z zawartymi tam wskazówkami. Konfiguracja repozytoriów z oprogramowaniem następuje całkowicie automatycznie, z poziomu przeglądarki.

Jeśli chcesz mieć większą kontrolę nad tym procesem i możliwość wyboru dodatkowych, niestandardowych repozytoriów, wejdź na stronę smart-urpmi i wklej polecenia w konsoli.

Po przeprowadzeniu konfiguracji urpmi wejdź do Centrum Sterowania i wybierz opcję “Konfiguracja nośników do instalacji aktualizacji”. Tam zaznacz wykorzystywanie przez system wszystkich możliwych repozytoriów, szczególnie repozytoriów plf i non-free.

Później wejdź w okno instalacji nowego oprogramowania i z jego poziomu zainstaluj pakiet x11-driver-video-nvidia-current i dkms-nvidia-current (o ile masz kartę nvidii, lub odpowiedni sterownik dla ATI). Nie instaluj pakietów nvidia-kernel, bo współpracują one tylko z oficjalnymi jądrami Mandrivy (a ty masz już zainstalowane jądro nieoficjalne). Po instalacji możesz ponownie uruchomić system.

Po tych wszystkich zabiegach, w czasie bootowania systemu, przed ekranem logowania powinien pojawić się u Ciebie ekran Nvidii (w tych kartach, jak z ATI nie mam pojęcia, Intel w ogóle nie potrzebuje żadnych dodatkowych zabiegów). Będziesz już mógł uruchomić u siebie Compiza i efekty pulpitu.

W opracowaniu niniejszego poradnika korzystałem w informacji zawartych na forum Mandrivy w Polsce.

I tyle. Powodzenia.

Dzisiaj bardzo krótko. Zainstalowałem na laptopie Mandrivę 2009 walcząc z buntami czytnika CD/DVD (precz z Asusami!!!). Udało się po długiej walce. Niestety wyszła na jaw wada nowego systemu: Mandriva 2009 nie lubi modemu Thomson Speedtouch 330 – popularnego w neostradzie. Z podłączonym modemem system nie bootuje (zaczyna, nie kończy), nie chce się uruchomić konfigurator sieci, a nawet Centrum Sterowania. Do tej pory, starsze wersje Mandrivy świetnie i out of box (w wersji One i PowerPack) radziły sobie z neostradą i Speedtouch.

Całość zachowuje się stabilnie, jak na KDE 4.1 nadzwyczaj stabilnie. Niestety, neostrada to mój jedyny domowy kontakt z siecią. Niemożność skonfigurowania połączenia eliminuje dla mnie Mandrivę 2009.

Problem sprawdziłem na moim Asusie A6km oraz na komputerze stacjonarnym (w drugim przypadku z poziomu systemu odpalanego w trybie Live). Jak naprawią, to wrócę. Mam tylko nadzieję, że to nie problem nowego kernela.

I recently came across a great service called OpenDNS. The concept is fairly simple, but very powerful. You point your local DNS settings to OpenDNS’s DNS servers and you get access to all kinds of nice options on their website. You can set the level of blocking you’d like to have (ie. No phishing sites, no porn, no p2p) or add some custom blocked/allowed sites. Then there’s the cool feature of ’shortcuts’. Usually I’d edit my machine’s hosts file to add some custom entries like ‘intranet’ or ‘test’ for a project i’m working on, but with shortcuts you can just edit them online. So you can have ‘intranet’ point to intranet.mycompany.com (or some other domain). Then there’s stats you can check out about your dns requests. All very nice.

Now, I wanted to set this up on my adsl modem at home (Thomson 780WL), but the web interface doesn’t let me edit the dns settings of the internet connection. So I had a look around using telnet, and found that it’s actually fairly easy to change the DNS settings. First, you telnet to your modem by running ‘telnet 192.168.0.1′ replace the 192.168.0.1 with your modem’s ipaddress. Then login with the Administrator account (default password is blank). then type ‘dns server route’. Then type ‘list’ to list your current DNS settings. Write these down somewhere so you’ll be able to change them back if you want to.

Then type ‘flush’ to delete all dns servers in the list. Type ‘add dns=208.67.222.222 metric=1 intf=Internet’ to add the first OpenDNS dns server. Type ‘add dns=208.67.220.220 metric=1 intf=Internet’ for the second dns server.

if you type ‘list’ again, it should now look like this: http://www.grabout.com/Default.aspx?i=c51c146f-72c0-454e-bbd6-98998dfd7cb5

Then type ’saveall’ to save these new settings. And finally ‘exit’ to exit the telnet session. You should now able to browse the web using OpenDNS. Check out the OpenDNS website to setup an account and have a look at all the useful options.

Virgin Media is driving us nuts; the phone line crackles and they keep dropping our broadband connection.

In the beginning (see Broadbandit), they gave me a start date for the broadband, and all was well — fast broadband, clear telephone calls. We had set up a system and nothing changed.

At least, nothing changed at this end.  After 2 months, Virgin accidentally disconnected our broadband; they had thought we had discontinued or cancelled or something.  Anyway, they admitted it was their mistake, and we got a date for reconnection.

I swear we touched nothing, but once we got reconnected at the exchange, the telephone line was crackling during a call — both sides of the call could hear the noise.

Virgin said it had to be the BT line.  BT said that they would charge us a fortune to visit or check things, so they asked us to run specific checks beforehand.  We tried other phones, different arrangements — we even bought new microfilters.  Then BT declared the problem to be with Virgin!

Aaaaaaaaargh.

Rather than spend our lives being wound up dialling call centres and being put on hold for hours, we decided to live with the noise.

When someone called, or when we wanted to make a telephone call, we simply shut down the broadband, and when the call was complete, we reconnected the broadband again.  That was the only way we could use the telephone that avoided crackling and hissing.

After about a year of that, we couldn’t easily reconnect after a call — it would say that there was no dialling tone!  We would have to keep trying until it connected.  This has got worse, and now we have to get a dialling tone on the phone before we can connect to broadband — and we keep losing the connection!  It really is annoying! However, and strangely, the crackling now seems to be only at our end!

I decided to run a test at MoneySupermarket.com to see what speed we were getting.

I am paying for “upto 8Meg” download and I know the exchange (which is 0.5 km away according to the Samknows checker), can only allow up to 2 Meg, but I seem to be getting well under 1 Meg. Not good. So I thought I would do this test at another site.

This second test confirmed a speed of 681 kbps. The upload speed is what I expected, but I was thinking that about 1.5 Meg would be my download, hopefully nearer the 2000 kbps, not 681!

Rough Speed Guide

The disconnecting and crackling really is not funny now.  I think it might be the speedtouch usb adsl broadband modem.  The diagnostics says error code 28.

To solve the phone and connection problems, we got a modem through eBay, but it wasn’t a usb one, and we just couldn’t get it to work with the network cable. We could try that again, but even if it stops the crackle and keeps us connected — we would still have a crap download speed and be paying a fortune relative to the current prices.

Things change, and it might now be better for us to risk hassle of a £6 direct debit than a £20 a month no contract option.

I think it is time to change ISPs.

Informazioni sul pacchetto:

Ver  : 1.24 CP5

Data: 22/07/2008

E’ finalmente possibile installare il WiFi, in modo semplice e veloce, sul sistema operativo Linux (distribuzione Ubuntu a 32 Bit), per il modem Alice W-Gate di Telecom Italia e il modem SpeedTouch di Tiscali.

I dispositivi hardware non supportati nativamente, o supportati solo in parte, che vengono gestiti dall’applicativo WST sono:

• l’adapter wireless USB dlink G-122
• l’adapter wireless USB dlink G-132

• la scheda wireless dlink G-510
• la scheda wireless dlink G-520

• la penna wireless USB trendNet “TEW-444UB”

• le schede wifi “broadcom bcm43xx” Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g (presenti nei notebook HP alice)

• è possibile inoltre utilizzare i dispositivi hardware WiFi riconosciuti nativamente dal sistema operativo Linux

La procedura di configurazione è automatica, ma necessita di interagire con l’utente per ottenere delle informazioni indispensabili che non possono essere ricavate in modo automatico.

E’ quindi necessario rispondere con esattezza a tali domande perchè poi la connessione WiFi possa essere attivata con successo.

Molti degli errori riportati dagli utilizzatori comuni, e v erificati in fase di troubleshooting sono da ricondurre all’erroneo inserimento dei dati richiesti durante la fase di installazione e/o riconfigurazione.

Il tool consente due diverse modalità di configurazione della rete:

1. Configurazione con ppoE: E’ la configurazione del modem W-Gate Alice/USB DLink DWG 132 di Telecom Italia dato in comodato d’uso dall’offerta WiFi. Questa risulta più complessa della seconda a causa della configurazione del protocollo pppoE sul client. Ovvero ogni pc non può utilizzare una connessione avviata dal gateway (Alice W-Gate), ma deve avviarne una propria.
2. Configurazione con ppoA: E’ la configurazione più semplice, poichè a differenza della precedente, sfrutta una connesione già in essere avviata dal gateway (SpeedTouch) stesso.

Tutte le procedure descritte per il tool WST e per l’adapter USB DW G132, sono le medesime per tutti gli altri dispositivi supportati, a meno della stringa comando che li identifica.

Per conoscere gli esempi di utilizzo o l’help comandi del tool WST, consultare le info restituite dal tool avviato attraverso il comando:

root@domenico-desktop:~# ./alice_wifi_cp5.sh -h

IMPORTANTE: La procedura di installazione NON necessita di alcun pacchetto aggiuntivo. Tutti i package e i driver dei dispositivi gestiti sono contenuti nel pacchetto di installazione. I pacchetti contenuti all’interno di questa distribuzione sono esclusivamente per architetture i386, i686 a 32Bit 

AVVERTENZA: Alcuni BUG sono già stati individuati nell’applicativo. Gli attuali BUG riguardano l’avvio della connessione attraverso l’auto-boot o attraverso il click effettuato dall’icona installata nel menu. Queste funzionalità quindi potrebbero risultare in parte o del tutto non funzionanti.

TRICKS & TIPS: Dopo aver eseguito la procedura di installazione dei driver, e dopo aver configurato il proprio profilo di connessione, si consiglia di attivare e disattivare la connessione attraverso il comando:

La procedura è molto semplice, vediamola nel dettaglio:

• Scaricare il pacchetto da
  • Cohors Caius Download Page
•  Impostiamo la password all’utente root (se non l’avete mai fatto)

domenico@domenico-desktop:~# sudo passwd root
Enter new UNIX password: shroot
Retype new UNIX password: shroot

• Assumiamo i privilegi di root con il comando
  

  domenico@domenico-desktop:~# su – root

• Supponiamo di aver scaricato il pacchetto sul Desktop del nostro utente. Sotituendo alla stringa “<mio_utente>” il nome del nostro utente, copiamo il file nella home dell’utente root con il comando
  

  root@domenico-desktop:~# cp /home/<mio_utente>/Desktop/alice_wifi_CP5.tar.gz /root

• Assicurandoci di lavorare come utente root, scompattiamo il file con
  

  root@domenico-desktop:~# tar zxvf alice_wifi_CP5.tar.gz -C /root

• Entriamo nella directory del tool WST con il comando
  

  root@domenico-desktop:~# cd /root/alice_wifi

• Installiamo ad esempio l’adattatore USB WiFi DLink G-132 con il comando
  

  root@domenico-desktop:~/alice_wifi# ./alice_wifi_cp5.sh -install-driver dlink-dwlg132 profilo1

  Durante questa fase, verranno richieste alcune informazioni necessarie alla configurazione della nostra rete wireless:

  • Il provider: Può essere telecom, tiscali oppure other.
  • Il device wifi: questo va individuato dopo aver dato il comando “ifconfig -a“. Il nome di questo dispositivo può variare ed essere ad esempio wlan0 oppure wlan1, oppure su alcuni sistemi eth2, o eth3. Assicuratevi di rispondere in modo esatto a questa domanda, poichè in caso negativo la connessione WiFi non potrà essere avviata.
  • IP Address da impostare per il vostro PC: è l’indirizzo ip da assegnare al vostro pc. Si può lasciare quello suggerito. PREMERE ENTER
  • PppoE nome utente: nel caso di installazione Alice WiFi, è il nome dell’utente della connesione adsl (vuoto se il pppoE non va configurato come ad esempio per lo SpeedTouch Tiscali). Lasciare quello suggerito per Alice Adsl.
  • PppoE password: nel caso di installazione Alice WiFi, è la password della connesione adsl (vuoto se il pppoE non va configurato come ad esempio per lo SpeedTouch Tiscali). Lasciare quello suggerito per Alice Adsl.
  • ESSID: dovete leggerlo sulla lettera che e’ arrivata insieme al vostro router, nel caso stiate configurando una connessione al W-Gate Alice Adsl. In questo caso il valore sarà quello evidenziato dal nome Alice-xxxxxx per la rete Telecom Italia Alice
  • Tipo di cifratura: può essere WPA WEP NONE. E’ possibile lasciare quello suggerito. PREMERE ENTER
  • Nel caso abbiate scelto una cifratura di protezione di tipo WEP o WPA, la chiave per Alice Adsl, è riportata nella lettera di attivazione che avete ricevuto con il kit di Telecom Italia. Attenzione ad inserire la chiave senza spazi e con lettere minuscole!!

  Dopo aver installato i driver per l’adattatore DLink G-132, possiamo lanciare lo script in modalità di “avvio” attivando la connessione ADSL:

  root@domenico-desktop:~/alice_wifi# ./alice_wifi_cp5.sh -start dlink-dwlg132 profilo1

  oppure:

  root@domenico-desktop:~/alice_wifi# ./service.sh -start

  Se l’attività di installazione del driver e la fase di configurazione è andata a buon fine, a questo punto, tutto dovrebbe essere avviato correttamente e la connessione ADSL attiva. Avviate Firefox e controllate che il collegamento con il sito “www.google.it” sia ok.

   

  ATTENZIONE: Se durante l’operazione di avvio del tool WST, il led verde della chiavetta USB “LNK” non si accende, il dispositivo non e’ stato caricato correttamente; quindi l’attivita di start si interrompe segnalando la non disponibilita’ del dispositivo WiFi. Cosa fare?

  • Provare a staccare e riattaccare la chiavetta USB, una o più volte, e rieseguire l’attivita’ di start
  • Se l’operazione precedente non e’ sufficiente, rieseguire l’attività di installazione “-install-driver”; successivamente rieseguire l’attivita’ di start “-start”. L’attività di installazione sarà possibile solo e soltanto se NON sia stato effettuato un tentativo di avvio in precedenza. Nel caso sia stato effettuato almeno un avvio, il driver non potrà essere “scaricato” e quindi la nuova installazione non potrà essere eseguita. In questo caso riavviare il sistema con il comando “init 6” eseguito da utente di root.

  Se inoltre durante la procedura di start viene evidenziato un errore che segnala l’impossibilità di gestire il device in modalita’ “managed”, avete certamente sbagliato ad indicare il nome del dispositivo WiFi in fase di installazione: Procedete quindi alla riconfigurazione del dispositivo (-reconfigure), facendo attenzione questa volta ai parametri che segnalate, e successivamente eseguite nuovamente la modalita’ di start.

  • Nel caso si volesse riconfigurare i dati di connessione senza installare i driver. Vediamo il relativo comando

  root@domenico-desktop:~/alice_wifi# ./alice_wifi_cp5.sh -reconfigure profilo1

  Lo script offre la possibilità di abilitare/disabilitare lo start al boot. Personalmente non amo attivare il boot automatico della connessione ADSL, per diversi motivi. In alcuni casi il boot potrebbe rallentare, oppure mi potrebbe occorrere la connessione LAN e non quella WiFi.

  Vediamo i comandi relativi alla configurazione del boot automatico.

  Per abilitare:

  root@domenico-desktop:~/alice_wifi# ./alice_wifi_cp5.sh -enable-auto-boot
  Using user profile default
  Adding on boot service link..
  Adding system startup for /etc/init.d/alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh …
  /etc/rc0.d/K20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh -> ../init.d/alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh
  /etc/rc1.d/K20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh -> ../init.d/alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh
  /etc/rc6.d/K20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh -> ../init.d/alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh
  /etc/rc2.d/S20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh -> ../init.d/alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh
  /etc/rc3.d/S20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh -> ../init.d/alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh
  /etc/rc4.d/S20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh -> ../init.d/alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh
  /etc/rc5.d/S20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh -> ../init.d/alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh

  Per disabilitare:

  root@domenico-desktop:~/alice_wifi# ./alice_wifi_cp5.sh -disable-auto-boot
  Using user profile default
  Removing from boot service link..
  Removing any system startup links for /etc/init.d/alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh …
  /etc/rc0.d/K20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh
  /etc/rc1.d/K20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh
  /etc/rc2.d/S20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh
  /etc/rc3.d/S20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh
  /etc/rc4.d/S20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh
  /etc/rc5.d/S20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh
  /etc/rc6.d/K20alice_wifi_cp5_service.sh

  • Lo script offre inoltre, la possibilità di aggiungere/rimuovere un’icona di start nel menu Gnome/Ubuntu “Applications => Internet”. Vediamo i relativi comandi.
    • Ecco l’output dello script mostrato in modalità “installazione”
    • L’output dello script in modalità “start”

  Per aggiungere:

  root@domenico-desktop:~/alice_wifi# ./alice_wifi_cp5.sh -add-menu-icon
  Using user profile default
  Menu icon installed..

  Per rimuovere:

  root@domenico-desktop:~/alice_wifi# ./alice_wifi_cp5.sh -remove-menu-icon
  Using user profile default
  Menu icon removed..

  Per ulteriori dettagli, mostriamo gli output delle operazioni.

  root@domenico-desktop:~/alice_wifi# ./alice_wifi_cp5.sh -install-driver dlink-dwlg132 profilo1
  

  No LSB modules are available.
  Using user profile default
  Checking packages..
  done.
  Stop wpa supplicant..
  Checking for neta5agu uninstall driver.. Press Ctrl-C and reboot if command loop with no response.
  Driver neta5agu already installed. Try to remove..
  installing from /root/alice_wifi/profiles/default
  installing neta5agu …
  forcing parameter MapRegisters from 256 to 64
  forcing parameter MapRegisters from 256 to 64
  forcing parameter MapRegisters from 256 to 64
  forcing parameter MapRegisters from 256 to 64
  forcing parameter MapRegisters from 256 to 64
  forcing parameter MapRegisters from 256 to 64
  forcing parameter MapRegisters from 256 to 64
  forcing parameter MapRegisters from 256 to 64
  forcing parameter MapRegisters from 256 to 64
  forcing parameter MapRegisters from 256 to 64

  Preparing template file. Press Ctrl-C if config file are already present in folder.

  => Provider (telecom, tiscali, other) [telecom]:
  => pppoE username : aliceadsl
  => pppoE password : aliceadsl
  => Wlan device (only lower case character are allowed) [wlan0]: wlan1
  => Local ip to set [192.168.1.15]:
  => ESSID to set (Alice-41533534) [Alice-41533534]:
  => Cipher WPA WEP NONE [WPA]:
  => WPA-PSK key to set 24 chars [123456789012345678901234]: Your 24 char WPA key

  Device: wlan1
  Local IP Address: 192.168.1.15
  PppoE Username: aliceadsl
  PppoE Password: aliceadsl
  Alice SSID: Alice-41533534
  WPA-PSK Key: Your HEX char WPA key

  => Dismiss these selections y or n ? [n]:
  Creating config file from template..

  root@domenico-desktop:~/alice_wifi# ./alice_wifi_cp5.sh -start dlink-dwlg132 profilo1

  No LSB modules are available.
  Using user profile default
  Found for ESSID [Alice-41533534] Profile [default]. PppoE activity [yes]
  WiFi card/usb found at Bus 003 Device 002: ID 2001:3a03 D-Link Corp. [hex]
  Copy WPA config file in /etc
  Stop wpa supplicant..
  Copy network interfaces in /etc/network
  Checking packages..
  done.
  Usb WiFi found at Bus 003 Device 002: ID 2001:3a03 D-Link Corp. [hex]
  Driver neta5agu found
  Found interface ‘wlan1′
  Access point detached. Retry.
  Starting Wifi..
  Selected interface ‘wlan1′
  OK
  Selected interface ‘wlan1′
  OK
  –+
  –+SCANNING
  –+SCANNING

  –+
  Selected interface ‘wlan1′
  bssid=00:00:00:00:00:00
  ssid=Alice-41533534
  id=0
  pairwise_cipher=TKIP
  group_cipher=TKIP
  key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
  wpa_state=COMPLETED
  ip_address=192.168.1.15
  –+

  Copy resolv.conf /etc/ppp
  Copy chap-secrets /etc/ppp
  Copy pap-secrets /etc/ppp
  Copy options /etc/ppp
  Copy pppoe.conf /etc/ppp

  –+
  Start PPPoE..
  . Connected!
  –+

  Setting ip routing on wlan1
  ppp0 Link encap:Point-to-Point Protocol
  Routing ip 87.6.22.175
  Routing deleted
  Adding default gateway to ppp0 87.6.22.175
  Adding postrouting
  Adding forwarding
  Copy resolv.conf /etc

  +–
  Kernel IP routing table
  Destination Gateway Genmask Flags Metric Ref Use Iface
  192.168.100.1 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.255 UH 0 0 0 ppp0
  192.168.1.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.255.0 U 0 0 0 wlan1
  169.254.0.0 0.0.0.0 255.255.0.0 U 1000 0 0 wlan1
  0.0.0.0 87.6.22.175 0.0.0.0 UG 0 0 0 ppp0
  +–

  wlan1 IEEE 802.11g ESSID:”Alice-41533534″

  Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: 00:03:6F:94:C8:2F

  Bit Rate=54 Mb/s

  Encryption key: xxx Security mode:restricted

  Power Management max timeout:0us mode:All packets received

  Link Quality:89/100 Signal level:-39 dBm Noise level:-96 dBm

  Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0

  Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0

  +–

  done.

Ahora que se ha roto la huelga de guionistas voy a volver a meterle caña al megaupload y el rapidshare, pero no tengo cuenta premium y me he puesto a pensar….¿Qué coño hago?

La respuesta es fácil, mi proveedor orange no me da ip dinámica “no me puedo montar un servidor sin usar dyndns o algo parecido” pero a cambio puedo descargar a cascoporro.

Lo primero que hago es entrar a la configuración de mi router, un Speedtouch 585 v6, le doy al botón de desconectar y observo el paquete http que genera, que es una petición post, y a continuación lo simulo con un wget:

wget --post-data "0=12&1=Internet&5=2" "http://192.168.0.1/cgi/b/bb/?ce=1&be=0&l0=1&l1=-1"

And that’s all!!! Me creo un lanzador con ese comando y se me cambia la ip con un solo click sin reiniciar el router, ya que ese proceso tarda como dos minutos, y éste es instantáneo

Les cuento que hace unos días instale Ubuntu 7.10 en mi máquina, es mi primera experiencia con Linux y aunque hacia mucho tiempo que quería meterme, nunca me había animado.

Muchos me decían que iba a ser complicado hacer andar el modem USB que me dio Speedy, después de buscar y preguntar bastante lo logre hacer andar!

Para todos aquellos que como a mi, les faltaba un empujoncito acá va el pequeño tutorial para que no tengan excusas.

Procedimiento que seguí para instalar en Ubuntu 7.10 mi modem SPEEDTOUCH 330 (USB) que me dio Speedy.

Aunque yo lo probe solo en Ubuntu, debería funcionar tambien en otras distribuciones de Linux.

Hay que tener instalado:

* gcc
* make
* kernel-headers
* build-essential

Estos paquetes, los podemos instalar via apt-get desde una consola, o via synaptic desde el modo gráfico.

Hay que bajar:

* speedtouchconf-27-Jun-2006.tar.gz . Este archivo, contiene los drivers, como un script de configuración sencillo.
* rev4fw.zip .

Cómo instalar el modem:

* Bajamos los archivos y descomprimimos speedtouchconf.26-Jun-2006.tar.gz. NO HAY QUE DESCOMPRIMIR rev4fw.zip!!!!

$ tar zxvf speedtouchconf-xxx.tar.gz

* Copiamos el zip con el firmware dentro del directorio de los drivers

$ sudo sh speedtouchconf.sh

* En el momento que se nos pide por los valores VPI/VCI, los seteamos como:

ZONA TELEFONICA: “8 35″, o sea VPI=8 y el VCI=35

ZONA TELECOM: “0 33″, o sea VPI=0 y el VCI=33

* Se completan los valores de nombre de usuario y password correspondientes.
* El programa compila el driver y trata de inicializar el modem; después prueba que la conexión esté viva haciendo un ping a google.
* En caso de salir todo bien, se nos ofrece agregar un script al /etc/init.d que levanta automáticamente la conexión. Recomiendo que lo instalen.

Eso es todo…

Cualquier duda pregunten, ANIMENSE… y sumen gente a linux.

Τα usb ADSL modem Sagem Fast 800, Speedtouch και ZXDSL-852 προσφέρονται με τα οικονομικότερα πακέτα αρκετών παρόχων ADSL internet στην Ελλάδα. Το Sagem Fast 800 παρέχεται επίσης από την OTEnet με σύνδεση ADSL μέσω του φοιτητικού πακέτου ΔΙΟΔΟΣ.

Ενώ τα ακριβότερα ADSL routers/modems που παρέχουν σύνδεση ethernet ή/και wifi αποτελούν αυτόνομες συσκευές που συνδέονται αυτόνομα στο δίκτυο ADSL και ρυθμίζονται μέσω web interface από οποιονδήποτε web browser ανεξάρτητα λειτουργικού συστήματος, τα USB ADSL modems απαιτούν την ύπαρξη ειδικού λογισμικού (driver και προγράμματος ρυθμίσεων) στον υπολογιστή με τον οποίο είναι συνδεμένα προκειμένου να ρυθμιστούν και να συνδεθούν στο δίκτυο ADSL. Δυστυχώς οι κατασκευάστριες εταιρίες και οι πάροχοι που δίνουν αυτά τα modem δεν διαθέτουν το απαραίτητο λογισμικό και επίσημη υποστήριξη για λειτουργικό σύστημα linux με αποτέλεσμα οι συσκευές αυτές να αποτελέσουν, ειδικά όταν πρωτοκυκλοφόρησαν, πονοκέφαλο στους χρήστες linux που επιθυμούσαν να συνδέονται με αυτές στο διαδίκτυο. Η εγκατάσταση τις περισσότερες φορές περιλάμβανε, εκτός των αρκετών ωρών αναζήτησης στο διαδίκτυο, παρεμβάσεις σε πηγαίο κώδικα και αρχεία ρυθμίσεων, μεταγλώττιση modules και πυρήνα, καθώς και εξαγωγή πληροφορίας από τον driver για windows, ενέργειες δύσκολες και κουραστικές ειδικά για χρήστες χωρίς τεχνικές γνώσεις.

Πλέον όμως, χάρη στο πρόγραμμα UbuDSL (http://www.ubudsl.com) η εγκατάσταση αυτών των αρκετά δημοφιλών USB ADSL modems σε λειτουργικό σύστημα ubuntu linux αποτελεί υπόθεση τεσσάρων κλικ. Αρκεί να επισκεφθείτε αυτή τη σελίδα, να κατεβάσετε το πακέτο εγκατάστασης και το πακέτο υλικολογισμικού (firmware) που αντιστοιχεί στο μοντέλο του modem σας, να εγκαταστήσετε τα πακέτα αυτά (με διπλό κλικ στο αρχείο deb του πακέτου ανοίγει το πρόγραμμα εγκατάστασης gdebi που αναλαμβάνει την εγκατάσταση) και στη συνέχεια να επιλέξετε “UbuDSL – ρύθμιση” από το μενού Εφαρμογές/Διαδίκτυο. Τόσο απλά!!!

Primeiro, faça download do programa de configuração

SOFTWARE DE ROTEAMENTO PPPoE/PPPoA
Agora siga as instruções
No início, escolha conexão PPPoE

Em outro determinado momento escolha ADSL2+
Insira seu usuário e senha corretamente
Defina um usuário para acessar o modem, recomendo “admin” no usuário e a senha deixe em branco.

Pronto, vai levar alguns segundos e o modem deve reiniciar.
Aguarde mais 1 ou 2 minutos e verifique se todos os leds estão acesos.

Só usar.

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Poznato je da telekomunikacijski operater, koji to baš i nije u pravom smislu, zbog lošeg odnosa prema korisnicima, prijevarnog oglašavanja, obmanjivanja i neprikazivanja manjkavosti usluge, prilikom sklapanja zahtjeva nije obavijestio nikoga o tome, pa su korisnici koji su nasjeli njihovim reklamama u diskriminirajućem položaju na osnovu drugih operatera, te čak u opisu usuge piše regija Slovenija, što je definitivno sramno i nedopustivo.

Također je nedopustivo da iz orginalnog pakovanja uklanjaju uputstva za upotrebu i to samo iz razloga da bi korisnike držali neupućene o mogućnostima usluge, a isto tako sprečavaju čak i korištenje instalacijskog CD-a koji služi za konfiguraciju Wlan veze i to korisnikove veze između računala i routera.
To je krajnje besramno i neodgovorno. Telefon kada ne radi, a to je jako često u slušalici pozivatelja se čuje "MOBILNA STANICA JE ISKLJUČENA" , a to dovodi do upitnosti takve usluge i vas stavljaju u neodgovoran položaj, jer pozivatelj misli da se koristite preusmjerenjem veze i da mu se nećete javiti, pa se dešava i da izgubite svoje povjerenje, a sve to zbog njihove slovenske politike.Zbog svega toga sam poduzeo određene korake protiv istih, te se ovdje polako naziru rezultati.Inače jako mrzim kada mi bilo što dostave, nitko se ne želi potpisati na bilo koji dokumenat, a niti žele odgovoriti na dopis i to samo iz razloga da korisnicima nebi ostavili bilo kakav pisani trag o svojim kriminalnim radnjama.

Bem…vamos apenas esclarecer que eu partilho da dor daqueles que pretendem colocar um router ADSL SpeedTouch sob monitorização. E que bicho é este? Fica aqui uma foto do rapazito para ajudar à contextualização:

Tendo isso em conta, avancemos para umas dicas de como monitorizar um SpeedTouch 585 com firmware v6.1.0.5.

ICMP

Por defeito a configuração do router permite o acesso IP originado na interface lan. Para se poder verificar esta configuração existe um comando muito simpático e, curiosamente, muito pouco documentado, o qual se segue:

:service system list name=PING_RESPONDER expand=enabled

Idx Name Protocol SrcPort DstPort Group
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 PING_RESPONDER icmp 8
Description................ ICMP echo responder
Properties................. server
Attributes................. state aclip aclif aclifgroup log
User Managed Attributes.... state aclip aclif aclifgroup log
Attribute Values :
State...................... enabled
Ip Access List............. any
Interface Access List...... any
Interface Group Access List lan
Logging.................... disabled

Agora adiciona-se o interface ao grupo wan para acesso externo:

:service system ifadd name=PING_RESPONDER group=wan

O router neste momento irá responder a pings proveninentes de qualquer fonte. Porquê? Porque existe aquilo que se pode considerar uma access list associada ao serviço, a qual por defeito permite tudo de todo o lado. Para se limitar o acesso apenas a determinados IPs, basta especificar o(s) endereço(s) permitido(s). Supondo que o endereço externo a permitir acesso é o 172.16.1.123, teremos:

:service system ipadd name=PING_RESPONDER ip= 172.16.1.123

Adicionamos agora a rede interna (e.g. 10.0.0.0/24):

:service system ipadd name=PING_RESPONDER ip=10.0.0.[1-254]

ou

:service system ipadd name=PING_RESPONDER ip=10.0.0.1-10.0.0.254

E agora já temos a configuração do serviço PING_RESPONDER como pretendemos:
:service system list name=PING_RESPONDER expand=enabled
Idx Name Protocol SrcPort DstPort Group
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 PING_RESPONDER icmp 8
Description................ ICMP echo responder
Properties................. server
Attributes................. state aclip aclif aclifgroup logUser
Managed Attributes.... state aclip aclif aclifgroup log
Attribute Values :
State...................... enabled
Ip Access List............. 172.16.1.123 10.0.0.[1-254]
Interface Access List...... any
Interface Group Access List lan wan
Logging.................... disabled

SNMP

Esta é daquelas que simples mais simples não há e para o exemplificar procedi à seguinte configuração:

• Acesso: leitura;
• Comunidade: public;
• Acesso: permitido a partir de um servidor da rede local.

:snmp community add securityname=ROCommunity communityname=public
:service system modify name SNMP_AGENT state enabled

Verifica-se qual o estado actual do serviço:

:service system list name=SNMP_AGENT expand=enabled
Idx Name Protocol SrcPort DstPort Group
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 SNMP_AGENT udp 161
Description................ Rx snmp GET, SET and GETNEXT PDUs
Properties................. server
Attributes................. state port aclip aclif aclifgroup map
User Managed Attributes.... state aclip aclif aclifgroup map
Attribute Values :
State...................... enabled
Port....................... 161
Ip Access List............. any
Interface Access List...... any
Interface Group Access List lan
Map List................... 161
Logging.................... enabled

Agora adicionamos o IP do servidor que fará o polling (e.g. 10.0.0.2):

:service system ipadd name=SNMP_AGENT ip=10.0.0.2

Finalmente…

voilá, afinal nem foi tão complicado…pois…

Espero que ajude e aqui ficam outros comandos interessantes:

:service system list
:interface list
:snmp walk

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Kako sam sklopio zahtjev za uslugu Amis 2u1, nisam niti sumnjao da će me isti odmah u početku početi krasti.

Ovdje je prva stranica zahtjeva koji sam ispunio za ostvarivanje usluge:

Obratite pažnju na ispunjene križiče i boju kod ispunjavanja zahtjeva, a ovo dolje je druga strana zahtjeva:

Jako dobro je vidljivo da sam prekrižio wlan za jednu kunu sa dodatnom telefonskom linijom, a označeno je strelicama kako je netko to prepravljao. No, nebi to meni bio nikakav problem, jer nisam škrt za novac da mi je barem ta usluga i isporučena.

Međutim, desilo se da su mi naplatili nešto što nisu isporučili, a ovdje je uplatnica za prilog:

Vrlo je vidljivo da mi je naplaćena instalacija modema, kojega baš nitko nije instalirao i ostavljen je inkriminirani SpeedTouch u dvorištu na daskama i to bih nekako i pretrpio, ali kada su naplatili telefon siemens koji uopće nisam dobio i netko ga je ukrao sebi, e to već neide.

Zanimljiva stavka je da je i tehničar koji se sam predstavio na jednom portalu, a zove se Andrej Zubak, te je to isti koji je i dostavio uređaj kod mene i napisao lažno izvješće i prijetio da ako me sretne u Zagrebu da će mi trebati policija.

Čudno ophođenje prema strankama, a i prijetnje nisu za odbaciti, jer tko zna što takvim ljudima sve može pasti na pamet, da bi spasili svoju nesposobnost ili eventualno prikrili krađu.

Po mom osobnom mišljenju, to su lopovi, kojima ne treba pružiti povjerenje, kao niti imati posla sa njima.

Prijeteći post od Andreja Zubaka ću kao i ovo proslijediti inspektoratu, a i upoznati ću i policiju sa sadržajem između redaka.

High Critical vulnerability has been discovered in this multifunctional device, quite popular all around the UK.

The problem:

The router can be totally owned remotely (Full Admin control).

Requirements:

The “victim” has to visit a malicious site. That’s it, no more no less, this could be easily done with a bit of Social engineering.

How:

Using an exploit to enable a backdoor.

What an attacker can do:

- Stealing VoIP credentials (Spying calls).

-Exposing internal hosts on the DMZ.

- Fake the DNS to steal bank credentials.

- Steal WEP/WPA key.

- Change the autoupdates to avoid this fix to be corrected.

and so on…

Here you are a little video showing it (Poor quality):

We have to thank all this information to GNUcitizen.

 More details about the vulnerability here.

Well, for once, a problem of my own to report. I’m having some issues with the Speedtouch USB drivers. I installed a USB device that caused my system to go absolutely haywire. When I uninstalled it, a bunch of other devices went a bit nuts as well. Tried to reinstall the Speedtouch and now Windows XP keeps redetecting the device. I’ve narrowed it down, it’s definitely an issue with the drivers themselves on the system, but can’t seem to fix it. I’m updating this from my laptop right now (useful information, the Speedtouch drivers install fine in Vista Home Premium!)

Thankfully I’m not the only one with this issue. So, I’ll let you guys know how to fix it and if what The Scream forum people suggest works.

Also, thanks to SFC for the link (acronym to protect the delicate sensibilities!) It’s a funny blog, full of rage.

Edit: The Scream walk through works. Beware though, the French download from CCCleaner doesn’t actually work. Australian does.

I’m a fairly experienced Linux user these days. Not an expert, mind you, just experienced. I can find my way around the OS pretty well as an average Joe user, am comfortable using the shell and generally am no longer intimidated by the differences between Linux and Windows. However…

After I managed to hose my XP install on Thursday last week (it was due for a reinstall anyway), I put in a new 80Gb drive as the primary, split it in half and installed XP on one partition. My intention was to install Linux on the other. Now, I’ve been using Linux for years on my laptop and other desktop PC. They both connect to the Internet via a LAN and proxy setup on the main PC (the one I’ve just reinstalled). Easy.

My Internet connection here in the UK is fairly standard I suppose: ADSL, Speedtouch USB modem etc. Nothing fancy. You can imagine my surprise when I tried and failed to get Linux running on the main PC and dialling into my ISP via the USB modem. What a bloody farce! No wonder so many people won’t entertain the idea of using Linux! If I as an experienced IT professional with some knowledge of Linux had so much trouble, what the hell is the novice ex-Windows user going to do?!

I read through the instructions and forum posts (for ADSL setups) for both Ubuntu and PCLinuxOS, my two distros of choice. Both distros ran perfectly and connected online through my LAN using the Live CD’s, so I would have been happy to install either. However, after reading the ridiculous instructions on how to get a Speedtouch working, I didn’t bother. I don’t have time or energy to fight with Linux in order to get a simple USB peripheral working.

As the Speedtouch is such a common ADSL modem, you’d think it would be very easy to get it working in Linux, wouldn’t you? Well, it is easy. Providing you have the time and patience to start editing config files and installing packages manually. I honestly cannot be bothered. As much as I detest Windows, it took me less than a minute to get the Speedtouch installed and dialling when I reinstalled XP last week. Why can’t Linux do that?!?!? Before you reply, that was a rhetorical question!

I don’t care that much about the reasons generally given. I’m well aware of issues surrounding closed and proprietary drivers, multiple versions of firmware (as in the case of the Speedtouch), bundling problems, licensing drivers etc. It doesn’t matter to the average user who just wants a working OS…If Linux wants to be taken seriously, then the noobs need to be catered for. Full stop, end of story. Expecting people to have to search forum posts and follow complex, archaic instructions (which may or may not work!!!) in order to get a common USB modem working is just crazy. People won’t do it. I know, I know…Linux is leet and shouldn’t be touched by Windoze users etc. etc. I’ve actually heard this drivel from one or two Linux “gurus” over the years and it’s rubbish. Linux is desperate to be taken seriously as a desktop OS, and quite rightly so. It’s got a hell of a reputation for being elitist, complex and a real pain to get working for someone without a doctorate in IT. Maybe that reputation is largely unfounded these days, but things are not as simple as they could or should be….yet. It’s coming, but we aren’t there yet.

Ubuntu is probably the biggest distro. It’s arguably the most well known. Yet, I still have to jump through hoops to get online with it. Stop shouting from the rooftops how much better Linux is than Windoze. Stop yelling about how good an OS it is on its own merits. If common hardware doesn’t work out of the box or is a royal pain in the rear to set up, then Linux will continue failing to gain credibility or momentum. When attempting to make inroads into the OS of choice for most people, Linux needs to be a bit smarter. Windows isn’t perfect with drivers, but it’s a lot better than Linux.

Who’s at fault? Nobody really. I’m not ranting at the Linux community. I’m just generally frustrated that my favourite operating system is still lagging far behind the amateurish offering from those folk at Redmond. Vista is a dreadful excuse for an OS. Yet, people are still persevering with it because they think they have to or they don’t know any better! Vista is even more of a beta release than WindowsME was. Who remembers Windows 98 first edition?

I’m hoping the fantastic move by Dell to sell Linux PC’s will be the tipping point. Surely this will spur the larger hardware manufacturers to start thinking seriously about releasing Linux drivers? It would be nice to think so. Rumour has it that HP/Compaq may be looking to follow Dell. I’d be surprised if they didn’t. But, is it enough? Is there a big enough market of brave people out there, willing to take the plunge and sack Windows for something a bit more adventurous and worthwhile? Perhaps. Only time will tell.

Jim