Google has released official builds of Google Chrome for Linux and Mac OS X
Here is how you install this puppy on openSUSE 11.2

zypper ar -t YUM http://dl.google.com/linux/rp

zypper in google-chrome-unstable

At some point or another, you’ll likely end up needing an SSL certificate for a Web site somewhere along the line. For a commercial site, your hosting provider can or will help you get this all squared away. This article is not for people in that situation.

What we’re doing here will be to create our own Certificate Authority. Then, we’ll create our own server key and a signing request. Then, we’ll sign our own certificate using the key and certificate from our own Certificate Authority. In other words, we’re not just going to create an SSL certificate, but we’re going to sign that bad boy, too.

This is useful for personal websites that need a little security, or when you’re waiting for your real cert from a real Certificate Authority. Perhaps you need it for transmitting data from an external server to your Intranet. Or perhaps you need it in any of the three hundred thousand seven hundred forty-two other situations that may arise.

The first thing that you’ll need is root access to the server. SSH in and head somewhere secure like /root.

Next, we’ll go ahead and generate our own Certificate Authority key. In this step, we are impersonating someone like Verisign or Thawte. Well, not impersonating, but we are going to do the same thing for ourselves that they would normally do.

To create our key, we’ll run this command:

openssl genrsa -des3 -out ca.key 4096

When we do that, it looks something like this:

[1257][root@mail:~/cert]$ openssl genrsa -des3 -out ca.key 4096
Generating RSA private key, 4096 bit long modulus
...............................................................................................................................++
.................................................++
e is 65537 (0x10001)
Enter pass phrase for ca.key: [enter a pass phrase here for the CA key]
Verifying - Enter pass phrase for ca.key: [verify the same pass phrase here]
[1258][root@mail:~/cert]$

Note that those pass phrases are something you make up right then. You are not authenticating anything, but rather setting up a pass phrase for authenticating later.

Next, we’ll need to use that key to create a certificate. Before we do this, the information that you will enter here is NOT the information you will enter later for your own server. Remember, we are emulating a Certificate Authority here. When we generate our server certificate, we will put in the real information which must differ from what is here. With that, let’s whip out the certificate. Notice that we are making it good for 3650 days, or 10 years. Adjust to your taste. So let’s make the cert, now. This is done with the following command:

openssl req -new -x509 -days 3650 -key ca.key -out ca.crt

And doing this may resemble something like this:

[1306][root@mail:~/cert]$ openssl req -new -x509 -days 3650 -key ca.key -out ca.crt
Enter pass phrase for ca.key: [enter the CA pass phrase from above here]
You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated
into your certificate request.
What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a DN.
There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
For some fields there will be a default value,
If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
-----
Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]:US
State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]:WA
Locality Name (eg, city) []:Redmond
Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]:Microsoft Corporation
Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:
Common Name (eg, YOUR name) []:www.microsoft.com
Email Address []:bill.gates@microsoft.com
[1307][root@mail:~/cert]$

Next up on the list is to create a key that corresponds to our server. The first one we made was for the Certificate Authority. This one will be generated by and for our own server. We will do that with this command:

openssl genrsa -des3 -out server.key 4096

The output should look familiar:

[1310][root@mail:~/cert]$ openssl genrsa -des3 -out server.key 4096
Generating RSA private key, 4096 bit long modulus
................................++
....++
e is 65537 (0x10001)
Enter pass phrase for server.key: [enter a pass phrase here for our server key]
Verifying - Enter pass phrase for server.key: [verify the same pass phrase here]
[1313][root@mail:~/cert]$

Again, those pass phrases are something you make up right then. You are not authenticating anything, but rather setting up a pass phrase for authenticating later.

Now… let’s see… oh yeah. Now, we have to create a signing request, or CSR, from the server key we just made. This signing request will usually make a trip to a genuine Certificate Authority to have the key signed and a real, verified, bonafide signed certificate returned back to us. So, to generate our signed certificate, we’ll need to first have a signing request so we can make the signed cert. See how that works?

To create the CSR, we do this:

openssl req -new -key server.key -out server.csr

Now remember, kids. This is the part where we do put in our actual real information because the server does in fact belong to us. Put in the real domain where it says “Common Name (eg, YOUR name) []:”. Fill out everything correctly. And so we do:

[1313][root@mail:~/cert]$ openssl req -new -key server.key -out server.csr
Enter pass phrase for server.key: [enter the pass phrase here for our server key from above]
You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated
into your certificate request.
What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a DN.
There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
For some fields there will be a default value,
If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
-----
Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]:US
State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]:UT
Locality Name (eg, city) []:Eagle Mountain
Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]:Suse Blog
Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:
Common Name (eg, YOUR name) []:www.suseblog.com
Email Address []:my-address@suseblog.com [put in your real email address here]

Please enter the following 'extra' attributes
to be sent with your certificate request
A challenge password []:
An optional company name []:
[1323][root@mail:~/cert]$

Now, we are going to take all these files and make them do some voodoo. We are going to sign the signing request using the Certificate Authority certificate and key that we made at the beginning. What we will get is our perfectly forged signed certificate. OK, not perfectly, because we are not a real CA. But we’ll get a pretty darn good signed cert that will work for us rather nicely.

The command we’re going to run looks like this:

openssl x509 -req -days 3650 -in server.csr -CA ca.crt -CAkey ca.key -set_serial 01 -out server.crt

And when we run it, we see something hopefully resembling this:

[1326][root@mail:~/cert]$ openssl x509 -req -days 3650 -in server.csr -CA ca.crt -CAkey ca.key -set_serial 01 -out server.crt
Signature ok
subject=/C=US/ST=UT/L=Eagle Mountain/O=Suse Blog/CN=www.suseblog.com/emailAddress=my-address@suseblog.com
Getting CA Private Key
Enter pass phrase for ca.key: [enter the CA pass phrase from above here]
[1332][root@mail:~/cert]$

Now, we have a little problem. Our server.key file will cause apache2 to prompt us for a password every time it starts. We need to fix it so that doesn’t happen. We’ll do that with these three commands:

openssl rsa -in server.key -out server.key.insecure
mv server.key server.key.secure
mv server.key.insecure server.key

When we run these commands, here’s our output:

[1354][root@mail:~/cert]$ openssl rsa -in server.key -out server.key.insecure
Enter pass phrase for server.key: [enter the pass phrase here for our server key from above]
writing RSA key
[1354][root@mail:~/cert]$ mv server.key server.key.secure
[1354][root@mail:~/cert]$ mv server.key.insecure server.key
[1354][root@mail:~/cert]$

At this stage, you should now have a bunch of files. These, in fact:

[1354][root@mail:~/cert]$ ll
total 32
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root 4096 2008-06-02 13:54 .
drwx------ 10 root root 4096 2008-06-02 13:35 ..
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 2529 2008-06-02 13:07 ca.crt [CA certificate]
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 3311 2008-06-02 12:58 ca.key [CA key]
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 2049 2008-06-02 13:32 server.crt [our server certificate]
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 1748 2008-06-02 13:23 server.csr [our server signing request]
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 3243 2008-06-02 13:54 server.key [our password-less server key]
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 3311 2008-06-02 13:13 server.key.secure [our passworded server key]
[1355][root@mail:~/cert]$

Just having them doesn’t get us anywhere, so let’s get them installed. First, we are going to change some permissions, because we don’t want just anyone having access to these files. To apply the appropriate permissions, run this:

chmod 0600 server.key.secure server.key server.csr server.crt

Now, here’s where things depend on the distribution that you are using. I will describe what I am doing so that if you are not on OpenSUSE, you will still be able to get this working.

In OpenSUSE, the apache2 config directory is located at /etc/apache2. Underneath that, there are a handful of directories. The three we care about are /etc/apache2/ssl.crt, /etc/apache2/ssl.csr, and /etc/apache2/ssl.key. The server.crt needs to be moved to /etc/apache2/ssl.crt. The server.csr file needs to be moved to /etc/apache2/ssl.csr. And the server.key file needs to be moved to /etc/apache2/ssl.key:

[1348][root@mail:~/cert]$ mv server.key /etc/apache2/ssl.key/server.key
[1349][root@mail:~/cert]$ mv server.crt /etc/apache2/ssl.crt/server.crt
[1349][root@mail:~/cert]$ mv server.csr /etc/apache2/ssl.csr/server.csr
[1349][root@mail:~/cert]$

Yep, pretty complex stuff, moving files.

Now, we need to make a handful more edits to some files, and we’re just about there.

First thing is to edit /etc/sysconfig/apache2. Search through that file for the directive called APACHE_MODULES. Make sure you see ’ssl’ in there. If not, add it. Then, search through the file and find APACHE_SERVER_FLAGS. Make sure it has ‘SSL’ in it. If not, add it. Save and close the file.

You can also manage apache’s modules with the ‘a2enmod’ command. To view the list of loaded modules, run ‘a2enmod -l’.

Next, open up the config file that tells apache2 which ports to listen on. In OpenSUSE, this file is /etc/apache2/listen.conf. Rip that bad boy open. You will see the following line:

Listen 80

Add a new line for port 443, our HTTPS port, so that it looks like this:

Listen 80
Listen 443

Then, look for the following line:

NameVirtualHost *:80

Add a new line for port 443, our HTTPS port, so that it looks like this:

NameVirtualHost *:80
NameVirtualHost *:443

Save and quit.

In OpenSUSE, it’s really easy to have virtual hosts on a machine. I have like 10 on mine. One of them is my blog, www.suseblog.com. Well, to make this easy, in OpenSUSE, the virtual domain configuration files are located in /etc/apache2/vhosts.d, each with their own name. My www.suseblog.com configuration file is called suseblog.conf. To set up SSL for this virtual host, just duplicate the file and give it another name. In my case, I named it ssl-suseblog.conf.

Now, we’re going to open up that file and add like 4 lines to it. No sweat.

At the top of the file, there is a line that looks like this:

<VirtualHost *:80>

Change the port from 80 to 443, so it looks like this:

<VirtualHost *:443>

Then, go down a ways and add these lines:

SSLEngine on
SSLCipherSuite ALL:!ADH:!EXPORT56:RC4+RSA:+HIGH:+MEDIUM:+LOW:+SSLv2:+EXP:+eNULL
SSLCertificateFile /etc/apache2/ssl.crt/server.crt
SSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/apache2/ssl.key/server.key

Save and quit on that one, too.

We can configure this thing perfectly, but if the firewall doesn’t know to let traffic through, we will not have HTTPS access to the server. Let’s check the firewall really quick to make sure.

Fire up YAST. Go to the Security & Users option on the right, and select FIREWALL from the left. If you do not have a firewall running on the machine, you can just exit now. If you do, you will need to go to ALLOWED SERVICES. In the SERVICES TO ALLOW drop-down on the right, select HTTPS Server. Then click ADD. Then click NEXT, and finally FINISH. You should now have port 443 opened for HTTPS business.

Now, let’s go ahead and restart apache and enjoy our new self-signed self-generated SSL cert on our HTTPS service:

[1426][root@mail:/etc/apache2]$ /etc/init.d/apache2 restart
Syntax OK
Shutting down httpd2 (waiting for all children to terminate)          done
Starting httpd2 (prefork)                                             done
[1427][root@mail:/etc/apache2]$

Well, we’ve concluded. Enjoy.

More info on the mod_ssl page

Article By: SuseBlog

Another one of those days that I look forward to …. yes, openSUSE 11.0 has been officially released.

“Looking at the list of Top500 supercomputers, we find that 20 of the top 50 run SUSE Linux. This ratio extends to the entire Top500 – around 40% run SUSE.”

If you have never heard of this distro, as is now known as Mercedes-Benz of Linux, openSUSE originated in 2005, with Novell’s decision to begin developing the existing Suse Linux Professional product in collaboration with external developers, including bringing the community into the beta-testing process. Previously all development had been done in-house.

A lot has changed since openSUSE 10.3, and a lot of work has gone into improving openSUSE. In this release you’ll find updated versions of almost every program, a vastly improved installer, faster and easier package management, and much more. Features added to OpenSuse 11.0 since version 10.3, the latest stable version, include Linux kernel 2.6.25, Xen 3.2 virtualisation, windowing engine X.Org 7.3.

openSUSE 11.0 includes two branches of KDE — the KDE 3.5.x series, which is the stable and older KDE series that many openSUSE users are already familiar with, and the cutting edge KDE4. GNOME users will find a lot to like in openSUSE 11.0. openSUSE’s GNOME is very close to upstream GNOME, because Novell and openSUSE want to do as much work as possible in the upstream release. OpenOffice.org 2.4 provides openSUSE users with a top-notch office suite with a word processor (Writer), spreadsheet (Calc), presentation tool (Impress), and drawing software (Draw). Here’s some of the improvements you’ll see in openSUSE 11.0:

• Rewritten installer that makes installation even easier
• Faster and easier package management
• Easier system updates with PackageKit
• Easier 3-D effects with Compi z-Fusion and CCSM
• KDE 4 – The next generation KDE Desktop
• GNOME 2.22 – Latest and greatest GNOME release
• Firefox 3.0 – openSUSE ships with Firefox 3.0 beta 5, will update to 3.0 final
• OpenOffice.org 2.4 – Latest OpenOffice.org, with dozens of improvments and new features, including better VBA support, 3-D transitions in Impress, and import support for Microsoft Office 2007 document formats.
• Banshee 1.0 – Major update to Novell-sponsored multimedia application.
• Tasque – Simple and elegant to-do application.
• NetworkManager 0.7 – Cutting edge release of NetworkManager, which includes support for EV-DO/UMTS cards.
• PulseAudio – Better sound management in GNOME.
• Linux kernel 2.6.25 – Most recent major release of the Linux kernel
• Nearly every application has been updated since 10.3
• More than 200 new features specific to openSUSE

It’s now easy to enable and configure Compiz in KDE and GNOME, using Simple CCSM, which is labeled Desktop Effects in the main menu. Using the Simple CCSM dialog you can enable/disable Compiz, and change some of the more prominent Compiz features without getting deep into all of the functionality of Compiz. From here you can choose effects profiles which vary from lightweight profiles with a few effects to more comprehensive sets of effects which may have a more marked effect on performance. More advanced users may want to delve deep into Compiz functionality with the CompizConfig Settings Manager (ccsm), which is also part of openSUSE 11.0’s default package set.

Check out the list of more than 200 new features specific to openSUSE.

Users have two options for installation — the live CDs, which feature a simplified installer that doesn’t require the user to make any decisions about package selection, and the openSUSE DVDs, which allow users to choose their desktop (including KDE 3.5 and Xfce, or no desktop at all) and other packages not included on the live CDs.

LiveCD Installer

DVD Installer

KDE 4.0.x Desktop

KDE 3.5.x Desktop

Gnome 2.22 Desktop

Wine with its monumental 1.0 release

Download openSUSE 10.3:

To install from the DVD, see openSUSE 11.0 DVD Installation. For live CDs, see openSUSE 11.0 Live-CD Installation. As usually I recommend, use torrents so not to overload ftp servers.

Download: Software.opensuse.org
Buy it: http://en.opensuse.org/Buy_openSUSE

Instructions are available as follows:

Installation from DVD/CD:

Official openSUSE 11.0 Start-Up guide
Step-by-step installation guide

Network Installation:

Internet Installation

Don’t forget to check out the openSUSE-Community.org website … a great place for information.

To get help, provide any feedback, ask questions, or get involved and help contribute to the openSUSE distribution, please communicate. There are several ways to get in touch with the openSUSE community, including:

• IRC: #opensuse on irc.freenode.net
• Discussion Forums: newly launched openSUSE Forum
• Mailing Lists: in particular, the opensuse@opensuse.org (subscribe) is available for all support questions. For additional help with subscribing, check here
• For other ways such as Jabber and Usenet, see the Communicate page.

If you find a bug report it http://bugzilla.novell.com and will help openSUSE mature more.

Expect posts on openSUSE from me. If you have some questions, or topics that you would like me to cover, regarding 11.0, let me know and I’ll see if I can.

A huge thanks to all those involved in the release, particularly all the community contributors, for making this an excellent openSUSE release!

Read the following to get yourself introduced to 11.0:

• openSUSE 11.0: Installing ATI and nVidia Video Drivers
• OpenSUSE 11 a redemptive OS with a Mactastic shine

Article By: E@zyVG

Free and open source full-stack enterprise framework for agile development of secure database-driven web-based applications, written and programmable in Python.

• No installation, no configuration, no dependencies. All in one package. You can run it off a USB drive
• Runs on Windows, OSX, Unix/Linux, and Windows CE phones.
• Allows development, debugging, testing, deployment, maintenance and administration, including database administration, via the provided web interface.
• Enforces good Software Engineer practices, like the Model-View-Controller design, validation and self-submission of forms.
• Strong on security. Prevents the most common types of vulnerabilities: Cross Site Scripting, Injection Flaws, and Malicious File Execution.
• Talks HTML, XML, RSS, ATOM, AJAX, JSON, RTF, CSV, WIKI, XML-RPC, REST, Flash, etc.
• Dynamically and transparently generates SQL queries for you for SQLite, MySQL, PostgreSQL and Oracle. Even creates and alters tables for you when required. Performs automatic transactions.
• Allows you to create apps easily, byte-code compile them, and distribute them in open or closed source under any license you like.
• Faster then the competition, designed for small as well as large projects, includes the ability to upload/download/stream large files, internationalization support, distributed transactions, …

Get it here

Spicebird was created by a group called Synovel Technologies, “an opensource technology startup based in Hyderabad, India. They develop and contribute to Free and Open Source applications, especially in the enterprise communication and collaboration space.”

Spicebird is a collection of contact and collaboration tools, including Chat, Email, Calendar, Tasks and Contacts. What’s nice about the integrative approach to these tools is that, for example, you can check on a contact, and not only do you get basic contact information, you also see your contact’s online status, so you can IM this user via the built-in Chat window, or contact him via Jabber, if you choose. The application is built on top of mozilla Thunderbird, Sunbird, Xmpp4moz and adds more features and integration. The extensibility of the mozilla platform makes adding new tools and customization of the suite easy. Spicebird has a long road ahead to become a comprehensive communications suite.

Check out the Video Demo of the product.

Article By: E@zyVG

Redbook allows you to log your daily activities during the day and comes with a great reporting function.

Read More 

rush is a replacement for the unix shell (bash, zsh, etc) which uses pure Ruby syntax. Grep through files, find and kill processes, copy files – everything you do in the shell, now in Ruby.

More Info

I will be back to posting after this weekends Linux Expo here in Los Angleses, CA. Sorry for the long wait…