I was looking to install Skipfish, Google’s web security testing application, on my development server. My server runs CentOS (basically RedHat). There seem to be a bunch of instructions for Debian-based Linux installs, but not for RedHat versions.

Skipfish will allow me to test my various websites for security issues such as cross-site scripting, SQL injection, server config problems, and more in a development environment. The idea is to test sites (especially anything handling monetary transactions) before any large updates are implemented to a production/live system.

Obviously, the first step is download the latest version of Skipfish to the server you’re working on. As of today, the current version is 1.34b; as updates are made make sure you update the below statement.

Use the Yum automated software installer and ensure you have the appropriate dependencies.

Use make to compile the application and copy the default library to be used (per the Skipfish project’s suggestions).

Everything should be all set and ready to go. You can access Skipfish by running the skipfish command with various flags. See the Skipfish documentation for details or enter the below for a quick review.

The bill currently in front of the House of Representatives must be stopped. It is a massive tax increase – the burden of which will be placed on every American.

The goal of this bill isn’t to improve our country’s ecology, but rather to dramatically increase the income of the Federal Government in a sly, back-door way. Even Greenpeace says this bill is no good – what more proof do you need?!

CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS NOW!

Call the House’s phone switchboard at (202) 224-3121. If the line is busy, keep trying, but also give your Congressional Representative’s local office a call (find the right number here). Tell them you want them to vote NO against this horrendous piece of legislation. Tell them you will actively campaign against them if they vote yes or present.

Reasons to Deny Cap and Trade

• Increases the cost of products manufactured here, in the United States. Are corporations going to accept less profit? No! They’ll move the jobs outside the country (thanks Democrats for pushing more jobs to India!).
• Any additional expenses brought on by this new tax will be passed directly onto you – the American consumer. We’ll all be paying more to our Government (and what do we get back?).
• This bill gives the already powerful EPA even further reaching authority – who will stop these eager government bureaucrats from sticking their noses into everything?
• This bill disproportionately affects lower class Americans – who really stands for this group (hint: not Liberals)?

Right or Left, we’ve all done it. And it felt good. We have bashed the opposition party’s leader (Bush or Obama) just for the pure joy of putting down someone we don’t agree with. For Conservatives slamming President Obama feels a bit like getting even for the treatment of Mr. Bush by Liberals. We can create excuses and reasoning for this behavior all day.

It’s time to stop.

I am not a fan of Obama’s policies, or even really of him. I don’t agree with many of his beliefs and I probably wouldn’t want to share a meal with him. Regardless, the constant assault on him is not helping anyone.

The Republican party is particularly involved with these attacks; GOP Chairman Michael Steele himself sends out email after email blasting Obama for being ineffective and offering the wrong solutions to today’s problems. I agree, but where are the right solutions?

I believe that most Americans are truly Conservatives – maybe not to the same level as I am, but most of my fellow citizens just want the government to leave them alone (maybe they’re Libertarians…). A Liberal here would be considered a right-leaning Moderate in Europe – America is a Conservative country. (Europe is a scary place)

Many in the American population would support a party defined by smaller government, more personal freedom, and greater individual responsibility. That being said, the constant attacks and negative words flying out the Republican machine are alienating all these citizens who would likely support the party. Republicans aren’t yet offering their own solutions; at least the Democrats are putting forth proposals (as horrible as they are).

To become the party of America, Conservatives must also be the party of hope (stole that word right off an Obama campaign flier). We must stop focusing all our attention on Obama and instead promote our ideas to the country. Stop Blasting the opposition, and Start Solving.aa

If you want to get involved and share your opinion, I would suggest taking a look at The 9/12 Project. Also, visit The Conservative Underground (a great place to talk directly with others regarding your opinions and ideas).

May 15, 2009

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SJt9FbtnCw

Source: YouTube

Targeted email advertising is fast becoming a more important tool for online retailers. Communicating relevant offers and special savings to your email lists can provide a high return on investment for a relatively low cost.

phpList is a free, open source email marketing manager. It is a fully capable system including features such as: Double Opt-In Subscriptions, Scheduling, List Segmentation, and Bounce Management. It is a possible substitution for services like Constant Contact and iContact.

phpList Pros

• Free! Just visit phpList.com and download it.
• Includes most features used by email marketers (segmentation, bounce tracking, templates, scheduling, etc.).
• Very easy to install and set up.
• Utilizes extremely stable PHP scripts and programs.
• Self hosted, no third party companies to rely on.
• High level of customization available from subscription forms to account management to automated responses.

phpList Cons

• Harder to use and learn than alternative services.
• Have to be very careful when sending emails – spam complaints can lead to a block being placed on your website.
  
• Menus are sometimes a bit hard to use and can confuse even the most skilled users.
• Most web hosts limit email submissions (might have to throttle email sending process).
• Templates can be difficult to manage, especially if you use several.
• Completely lacks open/view tracking. Can only track bounce rate (unless you custom code your website to recognize the email as the source).

In the end, I feel phpList is a great substitute to the (sometimes) costly services available today if you are sending newsletters to small lists. The added risk of Spam complaints and Domain blocking when sending to larger lists is not worth it. If you send a monthly newsletter to 1,000 addresses then this could be the way to go.

For most retail businesses phpList just doesn’t fit the bill. While it is stable, it doesn’t offer the level of personalization that other services provide. Its somewhat cumbersome menu system makes maintaining several templates at one time difficult. And most web hosts do not allow unlimited emailing from their servers (GoDaddy.com for example limits servers to 1,000 sent emails per day). The risk of having your domain blocked by an ISP is too great when sending to large lists.

For help creating or managing your email marketing campaigns, please feel free to contact me. 2 Guys Consulting offers a range of services to help you create a successful marketing program.

phpList.com, Constant Contact, iContact

May 13, 2009

Source: Sig Sauer

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed suit against the U.S. Patent Office, Myriad Genetics, and the University of Utah Research Foundation claiming unconstitutional behavior and a violation of the First Amendment’s right to free speech. Story »

Myriad was granted two patents on human genes related to breast and ovarian cancer. These genes are natural forming and were not produced by Myriad. The patents prevent other researchers from testing on these genes and has arguably slowed the rate of progress toward preventing these types of cancer.

The claim that this is a violation of the right to free speech is a bit far-fetched, though. They are not keeping someone from stating their opinion. Is studying a gene “speech”?

While I agree that the patents are wrong, I do not agree with the ACLU’s goals. The suit should have focused on reversing the patents based on existing guidelines and rules. The ACLU will likely not get very far with their approach.

The two patents in question are for publicly available items – which cannot be patented. “It’s like trying to patent the moon,” expressed Arthur Caplan of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. “You didn’t do anything to create it, just discovered something that already existed.”

Patents are privileges, not rights. They can be taken away if it is found that the patent was issued improperly.

And as much as it pains me to say it, the ACLU is right to try to change this. They are just doing it the wrong way.

Source: CNN.com – ACLU sues over patents on breast cancer genes

MAY 12, 2009

Source: GlennBeck.com

With the costs involved in obtaining a legal copy of the Microsoft Office suite I keep hearing the question “Is OpenOffice any good?“ Hopefully I can shed some light and provide some useful information.

OpenOffice Pros

• Free! Just visit OpenOffice.org and download it.
• Includes all the basic (and most advanced) functions MS Office users utilize.
• Looks and feels much like Microsoft Office 2003.
• Pre-installed with compatibility pack for reading and writing MS Office documents.
• Fairly large number of free and retail extensions for more advanced users.
• Export to documents to PDF, slide shows to Flash without additional software (and free).

OpenOffice Cons

• Harder to use the advanced features (the MS Office generally does a good job making menus quick and easy to use).
• Doesn’t look nearly as “pretty” as Office 2007.
• File sizes are larger than the new Office 2007 XML-based documents.
• OpenOffice – Microsoft Office file conversions are sometimes a bit picky (formatting can get skewed).
• OpenOffice lacks an email client like Microsoft’s Outlook.

In the end, I feel OpenOffice is a great substitute for home users that write a few documents and play with spreadsheets (but don’t write many functions). Many of these users are already utilizing their Hotmail/Gmail/Yahoo web-based email clients, so the loss of Outlook has no influence on their decision (and for those who need an email client there is Mozilla Thunderbird – a pretty good app when set up properly).

For a business environment Microsoft Office is still king. The latest version provides faster loads, drastically smaller file sizes (using the new XML format), broad compatibility, and, of course, familiarity (no need to train employees). For those IT professionals managing an Active Domain or Enterprise Server installation is a breeze.

Winner: Tie (I hate ties)

OpenOffice.org, Microsoft Office

Earlier this week President Obama released a list containing 121 proposed programs he would like to cut which he claims will save taxpayers approximately $17 billion. He continually referred to these program terminations as “cuts”. This couldn’t be much further from the truth.

A “cut” would be a decrease in overall spending. A prime example would be Obama’s $100 million cut several weeks back (even though it was minuscule relative to his proposed budget). With his new $17 billion he is not reducing spending, just transferring it to other programs he wants to fund. This doesn’t save the taxpayers a single penny.

Let’s talk numbers:

$17 billion (that’s a whole lot o’ moola) is about 0.050% of Obama’s Fiscal Year 2010 budget. In other words, it is about the same as cutting (not really, though…just transferring) $250 from the budget of a family earning $50,000 a year. The $100 million he actually cut is a teeny tiny 0.003% of the budget ($1.50 to that same middle class family)…yikes.

The people over at the Heritage Foundation made a great illustration demonstrating Obama’s horrible money management. I highly suggest taking a stroll over to their site.

Now is the time to stand up and voice your concerns. Let them know you want real fiscal responsibility, not illusions. Call your Senators, call your Representatives. It’s quick and painless. Send an email. DO SOMETHING!