Abstract

Ruby is an object-oriented scripting language combining the OOP power of smalltalk with the utility of Perl and Python. We'll talk about what Ruby is and isn't, and what separates it from other languages. You'll leave knowing enough about Ruby to decide if you'd like to explore it further, and with resources to get started if you do.

The slides are available as a PDF.

Abstract

Mac OS X Panther is set to roar onto the scene later this year, and it's something you don't want to miss. No matter how you use your Mac, Panther offers many new features from head to paws. Learn more about the future today in this sneak preview.

Time permitting, Michael Peck may supplement the presentation with some stuff about Bluetooth and Mac OS X with my Nokia 3650 (that Bruce Potter touched on at last month's meeting). Topics include: using it as a mouse, connecting to the Internet through the phone, displaying caller ID stuff on the computer when the phone rings, and not-so-exciting synchronizing the address book & calendar stuff.

There are no slides for this talk.

Abstract

Three years ago, the words "security" and "mac os" were rarely used in the same sentence. Mac OS X has changed this. Mac OS 9 was an operating system based on early 90's technology. OS X is a modern operating system with a UNIX core and an advanced UI. UNIX security is difficult for any user or vendor. However, Apple and its user base being thrust into UNIX security is a bit like teleporting Henry Ford to a modern car factory and asking him to build a Mustang. After a few fits and false starts, Apple has really hit its stride with respect to security, and many users are at least security aware.

This talk will discuss the peculiarities of Mac OS X and the security mechanisms within the operating system. It will cover specific differences between Mac OS X, FreeBSD, and Linux. The talk will also discuss host level security including account management and NetInfo. Finally, the talk will provide recommendations for various deployment scenarios such as webservers or firewalls.

BIO

Bruce Potter is a senior software security consultant for Cigital, Inc. in Dulles Virginia. He his co-author of 802.11 Security from O'Reilly and Mac OS X Security from New Riders. Bruce is the founder of The Shmoo Group (www.shmoo.com) of security professionals and Capital Area Wireless Network (www.cawnet.org), a community wireless network initiative in the Metro DC area.

The slides are available as a PDF. The sources are also available as a PowerPoint file

Abstract

This is an updated version of Adrian Filipi-Martin's original talk on the Concurrent Versions System (CVS). It covers some of the basics of CVS, but goes on to cover some advanced issues that are typically encountered with long lived repositories.

The slides are available as a PDF. The MagicPoint sources are also available as a tarball

Abstract

Joshua Malone, a systems administrator from a local software company, will present a talk/tutorial on leveraging net-boot technologies to speed deployment of unix-like operating systems and centralize computing infrastructure by running diskless workstations and display terminals.

The talk will cover net-booted installs of Red Hat Linux and FreeBSD as well as details of running a system completely diskless. Topics include:

• Automating system installs (Red Hat and FreeBSD)
• Booting from PXE
• Booting from floppy using etherboot
• Booting from boot ROMs (and creating them)
• Preparing the boot servers
• Preparing the installation media
• Pitfalls, traps and other annoyances
• Case study: rapid deployment of a custom FreeBSD release
• Q/A

So leave those hard disks at home and come network with us.

The slides are available as a PDF.

Abstract

Tired of getting emails advertising everything from "all natural male enhancement" to "extreme colon cleanser"? Well fight back! Only recently have people started to take legal action against spammers, though mostly it's been large ISPs such as AOL. Most people don't realize that this state has had an anti-spam law since 1997. Furthermore, this law outlines civil remedies that any individual may bring to small claims court.

I discovered this about 6 months ago, and ever since then I've been saving all my spam and going to court. Come hear about my experiences, and find out what you can do to benefit from your spam.

The slides are available in PDF and PowerPoint.

Abstract

Most people think SSL provides "plug-and-play" security. Unfortunately, it doesn't, and as a result, the majority of SSL deployments are insecure, particularly those based on the popular OpenSSL library.

In this talk, we will look at some of the most common problems when using SSL to secure network connections, and methods for solving those problems. We'll also look at limitations of the SSL protocol, such as its inability to handle connectionless traffic.

About the Speaker

John Viega, Chief Scientist of Secure Software, Inc., is the co-author of Building Secure Software (Addison-Wesley), Network Security with OpenSSL (O'Reilly) and the forthcoming Secure Programming Cookbook (O'Reilly). John is responsible for numerous software security tools, and is the original author of Mailman, the GNU mailing list manager. He holds a B.A. and M.S. in Computer Science from the University of Virginia.

The slides are available here.

David Topper, the technical director, gave a presentation on the work being done at the Virginia Center for Computer Music. along with a demonstration of computer music.

There are no slides are available for this meeting.

A talk presented by Pann McCuaig on the package management tools of Debian. The emphasis is on the user's/admin's perspective. dpkg, dselect, apt-get and aptitude are covered.

The slides are available here.

A talk presented by Adrian Filipi-Martin on the chroot(2/8) and jail(2/8) facilities under UNIX and FreeBSD.

A PDF file of the slides (14KB) is available. Its MagicPoint sources are also available (6KB).

A talk presented by Rich Gregory on the simple steps needed to set up a department file/print server with RedHat and Samba.

The notes for this presentation are available.