Big Scary Daemons;

Michael W. Lucas — 2006-01-12T00:00-08:00

One intriguing feature of the BSDs is their ability to run binaries for Linux distributions. This can be very useful for running commercial software. Michael W. Lucas demonstrates how to configure and use the Linux compatibility layer on FreeBSD.

Michael W. Lucas — 2005-10-27T00:00-08:00

You can trace every packet on your network from source to destination, if you really want to. Having all of this information is useless unless you can actually find what you need to know. Netflow not only helps record traffic information but also can help you report on just the types of packets you want. Michael W. Lucas demonstrates.

Michael W. Lucas — 2005-09-15T00:00-08:00

SNMP and MTRG can tell you what your network is doing, but they don't always give you the details you need. Netflow does--but sometimes a pretty graph says more than thousands of lines of log output. Fortunately, Michael W. Lucas shows how to use FlowScan and CUFlow with Netflow to see the traffic on your network.

Michael W. Lucas — 2005-08-18T00:00-08:00

SNMP and MTRG can tell you what your network is doing, but they don't always give you the details you need. Netflow does--but it has a complex setup and configuration. Fortunately, Michael W. Lucas shows how to install and configure modern versions.

Michael W. Lucas — 2005-07-21T00:00-08:00

The recent disclosure of side-channel techniques to retrieve cryptographic secrets on hyperthreading machines caused stirs in security and operating system development communities. Colin Percival, a FreeBSD security officer, reported the vulnerability and weathered the questions and criticisms. Michael W. Lucas recently interviewed him on this vulnerability, vendors' responses, and security research.

Michael W. Lucas — 2004-04-29T00:00-08:00

Running a low-power, low-maintenance PC can make your life easier in many ways, but managing and upgrading its Compact Flash cards can be frustrating. What if you built a diskless box that could boot from the network? Michael Lucas shows how to build a Soekris box running OpenBSD that boots over the network.

Michael W. Lucas — 2004-04-01T00:00-08:00

Free operating systems are immune to the latest Windows viruses, but that fact doesn't keep our inboxes clean. If your BSD or Linux box receives mail for other clients, filters can help them, too. Michael Lucas demonstrates how to use MIMEDefang, SpamAssassin, ClamAV, and Sendmail to filter unwanted mail.

Michael W. Lucas — 2004-03-11T00:00-08:00

BSD runs nicely on older PCs, but they can be noisy and time-consuming to set up. Worse yet, the hardware may be at the end of its life. Is there a better alternative to dedicated (and closed) hardware devices? Michael Lucas demonstrates using BSD on a low-power, low-fuss Soekris box.

Michael W. Lucas — 2004-02-05T00:00-08:00

Though plain-text configuration files often work nicely, some Unixisms are terse -- printcap printer configuration comes to mind. They're not as bad as they seem, though. Michael Lucas explains how to configure printers and print clients, even printing to multiple printers on separate networks.

Michael W. Lucas — 2003-11-06T00:00-08:00

While Unix has roots in document formatting and layout, configuring printers has always required more black-arts arcana. This hasn't been helped by the appearance of low-cost commodity WinPrinters. Fortunately, tools like Ghostscript, gimp-print, and Apsfilter make configuring printers much easier. Michael Lucas demonstrates quick and dirty -- and working -- printer configuration.

Michael W. Lucas — 2003-09-25T00:00-08:00

Now that you have NetBSD installed on your palmtop, what will you do with it? Customizing and enhancing the installation can be tricky, but what if you had access to much more disk space? Michael Lucas explains how to enhance your palmtop experience with NFS support, so you can build and install software.

Michael W. Lucas — 2003-06-05T00:00-08:00

"Of course it runs NetBSD." NetBSD's fantastically portable, but that doesn't make it supremely easy to install on oddball hardware like a Dreamcast or a palmtop computer. Michael Lucas demonstrates cross-installation with the HP Jornada 728.

Michael W. Lucas — 2003-04-10T00:00-08:00

Open source never stands still. Even the flexible and mature BSDs are continuing to evolve. In this article, Michael Lucas looks at the NetBSD upgrade process, demonstrating the most common steps to stay abreast of the current source code.

Michael W. Lucas — 2003-02-27T00:00-08:00

The systrace project is spreading from Open and NetBSD to other free Unixes. Having introduced systrace in a previous column, Michael Lucas demonstrates how to write a systrace policy from scratch -- or use an existing one.

Michael W. Lucas — 2003-01-30T00:00-08:00

NetBSD and OpenBSD have an interesting new system policy manager called systrace. With the proper policies, system administrators can control which system calls can be made and how. Michael Lucas explains how this works and how to understand -- and write -- a good policy file.