Rumor: iPhone and SlingPlayer over 3G without Jailbreak

I've overheard a couple rumors that users have been able to use the SlingPlayer application with their iPhone over 3G (as opposed to Wi-Fi) without having to jailbreak their phone. Apparently, when they connected their iPhone using a Cisco VPN solution, they were able to use the SlingPlayer application. It got me thinking if this rumor is true, would this trick work with another type of VPN server that is compatible with the iPhone? Perhaps running a PPTP server at home, such as Poptop?

I haven't been able to confirm or deny this, since I'm not willing to pay $30 for the iPhone app, and I'm not sure if it will work with my original SlingBox, but I wanted to share for those that would be interested.

Monkey - House: A Big F-U to GoDaddy

Heads up to those that, like me, trust their domain registrations with GoDaddy.

Monkey - House: A Big F-U to GoDaddy

It's ridiculous what they can do when your domain lapses. I guess I got distracted by their advertising.

Getting the VMware Boot/POST screen

I was trying to re-kickstart an install of a Linux server in my VMware cluster, but I couldn't get the VMware Boot/POST screen so I could choose the PXE network install option. I also was having a rough time with my Google search queries to find the answer. Since I had a tough time finding it, I thought I would write it here, so if anything, I could find it again.

I had to modify my .vmx file for my virtual machine and add the line

bios.bootDelay = "10000"

The numeric value is the number of seconds the POST/Boot screen is shown. So in my example, this would be 10 seconds, which deceptively goes by pretty quick.

DNS and Asset Information

Saw this post at TaoSecurity today about using DNS as a tool for Asset Management.

http://taosecurity.blogspot.com/2009/02/asset-management-assistance-via-custom.html

It toys with the thought of creating custom DNS records that identify asset owners. It's an interesting thought that was partially used at my last job. Our senior sysadmin had an unwritten policy that any server added to our internal DNS would also need a TXT record that contained information such as the hardware serial number. I'm not sure how many characters a TXT record supports, but I'm sure you could add other info as well. If you weren't sure who the contact person for a server was, or where it was located, you could "dig servername txt".

Here's an example of a DNS TXT record entry.

http://www.zytrax.com/books/dns/ch8/txt.html

Man page reading tip

I usually keep my ssh windows pretty small, but it makes them a pain to read man pages. The way I read man pages now is using Google and finding man pages posted online. That way, it's as easy as reading any other web page.

For Linux, I use the search string (minus the quotes) "man linux command", and it usually pulls up the appropriate man page on http://linux.die.net.

For Solaris, I'll use the search string (minus the quotes) "man sunos command", since the syntax or switches of the Solaris command may be slightly different than the Linux one.

Another bonus is that commands and configurations in the "SEE ALSO" section are usually hyperlinked to the corresponding web entry. There are probably browser plugins or toolbars that will accomplish the same thing, but this is universal and lightweight.

NFS with VMware

I came across this blog post, and it piqued my interest.

http://blogs.netapp.com/virtualization/2009/02/mythbusters-nfs.html

It briefly suggests that NFS is a viable alternative for VMware instead of SAN. I don't have the resources or clout to try this, but I'm curious to how well NFS would work. This information could potentially be useful for people that don't use NetApp also.

Modifications to stock CUPS server

I've been tasked with setting up a Unix print server, since the current one runs unmanaged on a PC beneath someone's desk. Since we use RHEL4 for our servers, obviously this is going to be using CUPS. Setting up CUPS isn't too painful. The web interface is pretty easy to use. My concern though is when you click on the Administration link and log in, it continues to use plain-text HTTP to pass the credentials.

Here are the few things I've changed to make me feel a little bit less uneasy.

First, I created a self-signed SSL certificate and copied the key and crt to /etc/cups/ssl.

Then, I enabled the following in cupsd.conf

ServerCertificate /etc/cups/ssl/server.crt
ServerKey /etc/cups/ssl/server.key
SSLPort 443

I still have the stock port 631 listening as well.

Finally, I modified the index HTML page for the CUPS service. I found this located in /usr/share/cups/doc/index.html. I edited the two hyperlinks for administrator so that it pointed to "https://print.example.com/admin". I know this won't stop people from using "http://print.example.com:631/admin", but at least if they are just clicky-clicky, it will have them log into the administrative interface using HTTPS. I'm not sure how to force users to use HTTPS when accessing the administrative page in CUPS, but at least this is a start.

Now, I don't feel like my usernames and passwords are floating around in the clear when it comes to CUPS.