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December 16th, 2003
The Ruby
Language
Colin Steele, High Speed America
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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.
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October 28th, 2003
Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther"
Aaron Davis, Sr. System Engineer, Apple Computer, Inc.
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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.
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September 23rd, 2003
Mac OS X Security
Bruce
Potter
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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
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August 26th, 2003
New Topics in CVS
Adrian
Filipi-Martin
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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
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July 22nd, 2003
Install Disks
- Who Needs 'Em?... Not you after this talk.
Joshua
Malone
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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.
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June 24th, 2003
Suing Spammers for
Fun and Profit
Serge Egelman
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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.
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May 27th, 2003, Why SSL Isn't Securing
Your Software?
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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.
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April 29th, 2003, Virginia Center for
Computer Music
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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.
- March 25, 2003, Debian Packaging System
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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.
- February 25, 2003, chroot(2/8) and jail(2/8)
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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).
- January 27, 2003, File Serving with Samba
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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.