I'm Still Here

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth. Been very busy the past few months.
Went back to school and got my computer certification.
Also started a new career with a company that has plenty of business and future potential. Very excited about this opportunity.

And check this out. They use Linux for some of their computer work!
I'm in heaven!!!

Also have built 2 custom computers for a customer.
Nice systems running the newest AMD Phenom Quad Cores with Nvidia 9800 video cards.
Both systems are housed in the very impressive Antec Nine Hundred case.
The only pitfall of these cases is that the power supply sits on the bottom and there is no wire trough or cable management system in these cases.
And a modular power supply is a must!

Then there are the usual computer repairs.
Had 2 last week that were as different as night and day.
One was a Linux based system and the other was an XP system.

The customer that had the Linux system said something happened that broke his network connection. He thought it may have been an update that was the problem.
He dropped it off and I checked it out. Hooked it up to my network and had a working connection.
So I call him up and ask if he has a second computer.
He tells me that he does. So I have him hook the second computer to the network cable that the Linux system was using.
No connection.
Turns out the network cable went bad.
Simple fix. All finished.

The XP system is another story.
The computer was totally infested.
Zango, WinFixer, Virtumonde, Codec Virus and numerous others.
Apparently the customer's children downloaded a mp3 file and when they tried to play it they got a pop up saying they needed to download a codec to play the song.
That was the beginning of the end.
The system downloaded a trojan.

Then they were online and a pop up appeared saying the system was infected and they could fix it by clicking on the button.
That pretty much ended the last bit of life in the computer.
It was the WinFixer virus.

Other stuff that was downloaded then proceeded to disable the firewall and antivirus software.
A check of the system logs showed that the Guest account became enabled and was given Admin permissions. It also changed group policies to deny the actual user access to msconfig, regedit, installer and other tools.
It also changed the host file, enabled remote desktop and added in a network redirect hook.

Took me several days using multiple tools to clean it all up and get it back to a normally operating XP system.
Even now I still have reservations as to whether I have all the permissions and policies back to where they should be.

I've joked numerous times about switching back to Windows.
Trust me, after going through all of the above to fix an infected XP system I can promise you that I will never use any Windows OS other then in a virtual environment.
And if I become insane enough to use Windows as a primary system just shoot me!
LOL!!

I also think I may be popping in at Spedman's house.
He is building a Mame arcade system based on an older AMD 750 Mhz CPU.
He called me the other night wanting to know why Puppy Linux wouldn't install properly. Rather it installed but the boot loader would always error out on a reboot with a "Drive Not Found" message.
So I guess I'll pop in one night and see what the menu.lst has in it.

And finally I will be doing a lot of self study so that I can continue on my certification journey.
Plan to take my Security+ and Linux Certification tests.
Will take the Linux test last as I have heard they are planning to update the test shortly. Will need to see what they plan to have in the new test. The current test is 5 years old and is pretty much out of date by today's Linux standards and features.

Hope to see some of my friends around the forums in the near future.
Right now my new career gets priority on my available time.

See ya around!

TaZMAn

Making The Switch

I'm switching back to Windows.
I gave Linux a shot for a long while but have no choice other then to switch.
I've found that I am missing out on so many features not available in Linux.
And all that quality software available for Windows is helping my decision.

Linux is good for many tasks but still leaves me wanting more.
I mean that I miss Nero, Irfanview, UltraIso, Nlite, Fruity Loops, Photoshop, DVD Architect.
Now those are some good software titles and allows you to do plenty.
In Linux all we have is stuff like k3b, Iso Master, LFS, LMMS, Xara, Gimp, Cinelerra and Kino.

Also when I switch back to Windows, I won't have people staring at me like I'm some kind of outer space creature every time I mention Linux.
It's hard enough for some people to understand Windows terms. Tossing out Linux terms like sudo, gedit, fstab, modprobe can really confuse them.

Then there is the way the Linux file system is arranged along with the folder names.
Most Windows users will know what you mean when you mention folder names like Documents, Windows, System32.
But try using folder names like etc, dev, mnt, usr or lib. It's way out there for most Windows users.

For some reason it's harder for people to remember 3 letter folder names then it is to remember long folder names like Documents and Settings or My Documents. I need to get back to those long folder names. It helps with the memory exercises that can prevent alzheimers.


And there are many other extras that come with using Windows.
Stuff like what is going to happen on this date.
That is why I decided to switch.
To fully understand my reasons for this post and change of OS's, I strongly urge you to read this page;

The Facts

It will explain everything.

TaZMAn

One Crazy Ride!

Either they are crazy, stupid or both!
And that bull is really PO'ed. LOL!!

Some Changes To My Blog

I'm sorry to say that there are some minor changes to my blog.
The past few days I have had a problem with a poster from China that insists on posting spam in the comments box.

I could just keep comments open and delete them on a daily basis but unfortunately at this time my schedule is too full for me to take the time deleting comments on a post by post basis.

Therefore I have turned comment moderation on and can review and approve/disapprove comments as a whole.

Sorry for this to happen but I will not have my blog turn into a spam server.
Thank you for your understanding and be assured that all comments submitted and pertaining to the subject will always be approved.

TaZMAn

15 in 1 MultiBoot Linux DVD With Links

Just finished up a multi-boot Linux DVD that contains almost everything a user could need.
I previously had said I wasn't going to make any more multi-boot disks but this was done on a challenge. Someone made a comment to me that it couldn't be done because of conflicts between distros with the same kernel names.
Anyone who knows me will tell you that I like a challenge.

So I made this DVD and now the bug has bit me.
I have already started working on another disk that will also include an XP Pe environment. I don't use any special software to make these disks other then a hex editor, iso master and my archive reading software.

I do test my projects in VirtualBox before I burn the final product. Saves me money on DVD's when I screw up which is bound to happen.
For the record this multi-boot contains several major distros and numerous utilities.

One of these utilities allows me to install from a list of several major distros using the DVD and an internet connection. A virtual 6 in 1 by itself as I can choose which Linux distro I want to install on a computer and not need the specific disk.

The list is as follows:

Mint
Puppy
DSL
SliTaz
Clonezilla
DBAN
NT Password and Registry Editor
PING (Partimage Is Not Ghost)
Parted Magic
RIPLinux
Net Boot
SystemRescueCd
Trinity Rescue Kit
Balder Dos / FreeDos
Memtest

So I'm still alive and very active.


Here are the links

I have finally gotten the files uploaded to Rapidshare.
There are 15 Rar files and 1 How-to text file.
The links can be found here;

15 in 1 Links
http://rapidshare.com/users/LN4B53/2
Unrar all 15 files. This will create 1 Rar file. Unrar that file and you will have a DVD Iso that can be burned to a blank DVD.

Instructions on how to unrar, burn and modify the Iso can be found in the How-to text file.

Also feel free to pass it around, host it as a torrent or whatever. It's Linux, Open Source and free for all.

UPDATE!  

Check out my new 20 in 1 Live DVD found at my blog post here;
20 in 1 Multiboot Live DVD

Enjoy!

TaZMAn

Tabbed Nautilus In Ubuntu 8.10

Tabbed browsing in Nautilus is a dream come true.
While this may be old news for many readers it was recently 'discovered' by me in an accidental way.

But now I'm hooked. It's like tabbed Firefox and makes copying or moving files a breeze.
Open Documents then a new tab for Pictures.
Right click on a picture file in the Documents folder, tab over to the Pictures folder and paste!

And yes! Sometimes I'm a bit slow.
LOL!!

Enjoy!

TaZMAn

Add Custom Functionality To Nautilus

I came across this web page that explains how to add custom functionality to Nautilus.
By adding the Nautilus Action Package from Synaptic you can essentially create your own custom scripts that will show up in the right click menu.

It's not that hard to use and they provide a link to a web page filled with pre-made action scripts.

The page with a small tutorial and links to the pre-made scripts is at the link in the title or here;

Customize Nautilus

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/add-custom-functionality-to-nautilus-linux/


Enjoy!

TaZMAn