The GNU/Linux User Show #14!
The GNU/Linux User Show #014 (MP3 11.0MB - 31min 52sec)
The GNU/Linux User Show #014 (OGG 12.9MB - 31min 52sec)
The OGG link is broken. It will be fixed shortly. Sorry for the problem! The OGG is working again…enjoy!
MP3: LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE
OGG: LISTEN TO THE PODCAST HERE
This week Kelly Penguin Girl takes the Linux IQ Quiz on CNET. Needless to say her take on the questions is pretty off the wall. I don’t know if anyone’s gonna learn anything from this show, but we sure had a lot of fun!
Fair warning: we tried recording this show with mic boost on to enhance the audio. I don’t know how successful it is - it’s definitely loud…maybe too loud. Let us know if it’s annoying.
Show intro: 00:38
Health Show Promo: 01:11
First Questions: 01:38
Kelly’s talks about her contest winner: 02:21
Butt-kicking new TPN promo: 12:34
Linus Torvalds pronouncing ‘Linux’: 19:56
The last Win4Lin contest: 27:50
The Linux Link Tech Show’s 100th Episode is coming up: 30:19
This week’s contest for THE LAST Win4Lin license:
Kelly wants a Linux limerick emailed to her at kellypenguingirl at gmail dot com. It has to contain the words Linux, Linux, Torvalds, and Kelly Penguin Girl.
Good Luck!
If you like the show, review us and cast a vote for us on the Podcast Pickle!
Show Forums: here
Kelly Penguin Girl’s website: here
Intro voice by Bob Taylor Productions: here
Intro/Outro music by Mirror Shades: here
September 4th, 2005 at 5:23 am
Howecome the OGG returnes a 403 error?
September 5th, 2005 at 8:09 am
Nobody knows yet. The head techy dude for TPN is on the road and although everyone’s taken a kick at the cat, it’s something really odd that we can’t figure out.
So…now we’re all waiting for Mick to get off the road and take a look.
It sure is weird….
September 6th, 2005 at 1:03 am
And for 10 points…where did this quote come from…”have no fear…for I is here”
Oh yeah…i fixed it…for some reason it had different permissions set on the file….”read” was set for “owner” only and not for “group” or “public”…a quick CHMOD fixed it….and 10 extra points for Kelly Penguin Girl if she understands what i just wrote ;)
September 6th, 2005 at 2:48 am
Laff…I don’t know where the quote came from, but I’ll tell Kelly she can get 10 points :)
Thanks!
September 6th, 2005 at 4:22 pm
I am no Unix/Linux expert but I don’t understand the concept that a “linux virus can’t do much damage”? I would think that a linux virus can do the ultimate damage. What if a user logged in as root, downloads something that puts a script in the / (root directory) that runs the following command “rm -r /*.*”? Surely, this is theorically possible and would in fact delete everything? (note I could be wrong)
Molly
September 6th, 2005 at 11:37 pm
Hi Molly,
You are absolutely correct - hence the cardinal rule for GNU/Linux users: NEVER USE THE ROOT ACCOUNT FOR DAY TO DAY COMPUTING!
Every GNU/Linux distro on the planet (OK, well I haven’t seen them all..but they should) prompts you for a non-user account during install and warns you not to use the root account for normal use. Amongst other reasons, this scenario is a prime example of why you should never be logged in as root unless you absolutely have to, and then log out to your non-priviledged user account again as soon as possible.
Come to think of it though, I’ve never really mentioned that rule before…
On another note, I doubt that script would execute anyhow. I’m very skeptical (but not willing to try it) that it’s executable bit would be set and be able to run even if it was sucessfully deposited into your / directory (not that it would have to be there anyhow). I just totally made that up though, I really don’t have a firm grasp on how file permissions are retained. I just know that I have to make pretty much every file I want to run executable manually before it will run.
So, if you’re not an expert, where did you come across the rm /r *.* command? Have you been on that nasty Internet again? :)
September 8th, 2005 at 11:53 am
I have some knowledge of the black arts of Unix/Linux as I need them for work but don’t play with them on a daily bases to get really good at them.
I guess the point I was making that if you are on a Windows Box and don’t have Admin priviliages, your ability to reck the OS would be similar to that of Linux. I guess the point is that it isn’t linux the OS that protects you as much as the rule that you shouldn’t be logged in as root (I think). The problem is that (as you have often said in your show) there are somethings that you have to be root to execute/run and for that reason, when the non technical people starting to use Linux, the easiest way to over come this issue of somethings needing to be root to execute, is to always login as root!
JMTC (could be totally wrong!)
Molly
September 8th, 2005 at 12:01 pm
Not totally true.
The fundamental difference is that when most applications on Windows run with kernel level privileges and therefore have access to pretty much the entire system. This is why Windows virii can pretty much do whatever they want (write to the boot sector, rummage through the registry, email themselves out, etc).
When an application runs when I am logged on, it runs with the same privileges as I have. Therefore they don’t have access to the whole machine.
Because Windows wasn’t initially developed as a multi-user OS, the twists and turns that MS has added in order to make it multi-user are all at the user level. The underlying applications can do whatever they want regardless of who’s running the application or who is logged on.
That’s not the best explanation, but show #16 will have Mark Rais on to explain this idea better. I asked him to come on in response to your question :)
September 9th, 2005 at 2:05 pm
Here’s a link that explains it better than me:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/10/06/linux_vs_windows_viruses/