Linux question: guest account

Areeda

Areeda

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Areeda
Here's the deal: My wife inherited one of the kids' XP computer (sony vaio desktop). It started bitching about Genuine Windows failing its test and Norton was complaining about a couple of trojan horses.

So I backed up all the data and went to reload but of course the original CD were nowhere to be found. Refusing to spend $100 for another copy of Windows the choices were a new computer either $500 for a Windows box or maybe $1,200 for an iMac or free for Linux. We went for free (Centos5).

It's not a problem as she uses Internet searches, email, some office apps and wants some photo manipulation. I think she will be happy with Firefox (that's what she's used to), Thunderbird (instead of Outlook :yawn:), OpenOffice (instead of MS Office), and GIMP.

Everything is up and running except Skype (she video talks with relatives in Sweden and her son in DC).

My question has to do with visitors. Her computer is the most accessible and being Linux is the easiest to have a fairly secure guest account.

I'm thinking of making the account more restrictive than just an unprivileged regular user. Is it worth it? What have others done?

Joe
 
I'm not sure I'd worry about it too much. A regular user should be fine. The regular user really won't be able to destroy the system. They're certainly not going to pick up a virus. Nor should the user be able to access any of the file's in your wife's home account.

Keep in mind that you can generally order the OEM restore CD's from the manufacturer for basically the price of shipping.
 
Thanks Jesse.

I guess I should call about the restore CD just in case, but so far she's pretty happy. We'll see, she's only been on line for a half hour.

I kind of like the idea of a public computer in the house.

Another question. What would you consider the minimum memory for this? Processor speed is 2.4 GHz (according to dmesg) but memory is only 256MB. Seems kind of slow. Looking at the swap part of sysinfo I think going to 1GB will be fine. I have to take it apart to see what kind of memory and what the max is.

Thanks again,
Joe
 
Just create a regular account and call it "Guest." Or "Louie." Or "Gertrude." Whatever you like. Guests won't be able to break anything in Linux without root access. That's one of the joys of Linux.

I have had four nieces, a nephew, and two godchildren -- ranging in age from 4 through 12 -- using Linux for years, on regular accounts. Never had a problem.

Even my gray-haired mother has informed me that she's using Ubuntu on her laptop these days. THAT will be the ultimate test.

-Rich

EDIT: 1 GB RAM should be fine.
 
Thanks!

After a full day, I've heard no requests to go back to Windows. She uses a Mac at work and so far no "stop flying that plane and by me a Mac" either.

Just for Kent, after a few weeks I'll ask specifically if she wants a Mac instead.

Joe
 
Just be careful with hardware compatibility. Linux hardware support has vastly improved in the last ten years, but it's still good to check before buying.

Most HP printers are well-supported on CUPS, for example. I've also found good, full-featured, official drivers for many Brother multifunction machines on Brother's site. Lexmark, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with Linux last time I checked. So it's a good idea to check first.

Incidentally, I installed a used PhotoSmart 7150 (I think) printer on my goddaughters' Ubuntu / WinXP dual-boot machine this past Sunday. (They need Windows to watch movies on Netflix. Other than that, they prefer Linux.)

Ubuntu detected the printer and configured it automatically as soon as I plugged it in. Total time from plug to play was less than a minute. Windows took about 10 minutes.

-Rich
 
Rich,

This machine had a Canon S800 inkjet, excellent photo printer with separate cartridges. Plug and play no issues.

Well I just have to figure out how to turn on lpd so I can use it from the other computers in the house. I did that for my CLBP 460 which also was easy. I just forgot what I did.

Sound was easy.

Skype is a pain but she's been using the telephone instead so not a big deal.

Joe
 
Areeda said:
Rich,

This machine had a Canon S800 inkjet, excellent photo printer with separate cartridges. Plug and play no issues.

Well I just have to figure out how to turn on lpd so I can use it from the other computers in the house. I did that for my CLBP 460 which also was easy. I just forgot what I did.

Sound was easy.

Skype is a pain but she's been using the telephone instead so not a big deal.

Joe
Click to expand...
Now I have to figure out how to hook up my new Canon Pixma 860 up to an Ubuntu box via wireless. And back to the original topic, I'll agree with everyone and say that a standard guest account should be fine for this. You can probably do fine with only 512Mb or RAM, though 1Gb+ would, of course, be preferable. My laptop, though, certainly has less than that and runs acceptably!
 
Areeda said:
Rich,

This machine had a Canon S800 inkjet, excellent photo printer with separate cartridges. Plug and play no issues.

Well I just have to figure out how to turn on lpd so I can use it from the other computers in the house. I did that for my CLBP 460 which also was easy. I just forgot what I did.

Sound was easy.

Skype is a pain but she's been using the telephone instead so not a big deal.

Joe
Click to expand...

http://man.sourcentral.org/centos5/8+cups-lpd
 
gprellwitz said:
Now I have to figure out how to hook up my new Canon Pixma 860 up to an Ubuntu box via wireless. And back to the original topic, I'll agree with everyone and say that a standard guest account should be fine for this. You can probably do fine with only 512Mb or RAM, though 1Gb+ would, of course, be preferable. My laptop, though, certainly has less than that and runs acceptably!
Click to expand...

I've never tried directly connecting Ubuntu to a wireless printer. In my experience, including when using Windows, I've found it a lot more reliable to give the printer a static IP address and associate its wireless adapter with the router's SSID (assuming a good signal exists between the two), rather than letting the individual computers connect directly to the printer wirelessly.

Once the printer is associated with the router SSID, I just point the computers to the printer's IP address and load the drivers exactly as I would it it were a wired Ethernet connection. Depending on the printer, it may or may not identify itself properly when queried. If it doesn't, I just manually select the driver.

When I was doing it the other way, I found that some wireless printers would hang and/or start spewing forth reams of rubbish when two or more computers tried to access the printer at the same times. Maybe they've improved things since then.

Another thing that would occasionally happen in apartment houses was that neighbors would inadvertently connect to each others' printers, especially if the printers were from the same manufacturer. The setup utility would find both printers, place the one with the stronger signal on top and highlight it, and the users would click "Next," assuming that the closer one was theirs (if they even gave it any thought at all).

But sometimes a neighbor's printer was actually the closer one or had a stronger signal for whatever reason. The user would select that printer and connect to it, and then spend hours trying to figure out why his printer wasn't printing. In the meantime, the next-door neighbor would be spending hours trying to stop his printer from printing test pages. Made for some amusing calls.

I've found that most of the time, associating the printer radio with the router SSID (especially when encrypted) prevents it from accepting ad hoc connections and avoids this sort of problem.

-Rich
 
RJM62 said:
I've never tried directly connecting Ubuntu to a wireless printer. In my experience, including when using Windows, I've found it a lot more reliable to give the printer a static IP address and associate its wireless adapter with the router's SSID (assuming a good signal exists between the two), rather than letting the individual computers connect directly to the printer wirelessly.

Once the printer is associated with the router SSID, I just point the computers to the printer's IP address and load the drivers exactly as I would it it were a wired Ethernet connection. Depending on the printer, it may or may not identify itself properly when queried. If it doesn't, I just manually select the driver.

When I was doing it the other way, I found that some wireless printers would hang and/or start spewing forth reams of rubbish when two or more computers tried to access the printer at the same times. Maybe they've improved things since then.

Another thing that would occasionally happen in apartment houses was that neighbors would inadvertently connect to each others' printers, especially if the printers were from the same manufacturer. The setup utility would find both printers, place the one with the stronger signal on top and highlight it, and the users would click "Next," assuming that the closer one was theirs (if they even gave it any thought at all).

But sometimes a neighbor's printer was actually the closer one or had a stronger signal for whatever reason. The user would select that printer and connect to it, and then spend hours trying to figure out why his printer wasn't printing. In the meantime, the next-door neighbor would be spending hours trying to stop his printer from printing test pages. Made for some amusing calls.

I've found that most of the time, associating the printer radio with the router SSID (especially when encrypted) prevents it from accepting ad hoc connections and avoids this sort of problem.

-Rich
Click to expand...
Yes, I can see where that would be a problem, especially if printing secure information like tax returns. Canon got around that problem, or at least reduced it, by not supporting as hoc connections and by configuring the printer's SSID, IP, and security from a computer already on the LAN via USB cable. So far, though, I haven't been able to talk to the printer from other computers on the network using just Windows' built-in network printer support. I could probably do it by using the software that came with the printer, but I'd just as soon a) have as little additional crud on the computer as possible and b) get the information I need to be able to set it up in Linux, which probably won't have that software available. I'm not spending a lot of time on this yet. Maybe I'll put some effort into it this weekend.
 
RJM62 said:
http://man.sourcentral.org/centos5/8+cups-lpd
Click to expand...
I now THINK there's a better way than using lpd, but maybe not.

I've been beating my head against the screen for hours on this.

The version of cups on CentOS5 is pretty cool.
point a browser at https://localhost:631 and cups can be configured with a fairly decent user interface.

I've gotten the other Linux systems to print but am struggling with my Vista laptop.

So far it looks like I should be using a network printer with the address http://<hostname>:631/printers/<printername> but I'm stuck on the rest. I assume the protocol is LPR not RAW and the Que Name seems redundant but it insists on it.

I can open that address in Firefox but I can't print a test page.

I've got visitors coming into LAX from Virginia. More to follow when I get back at it.

Joe
 
Areeda said:
I now THINK there's a better way than using lpd, but maybe not.

I've been beating my head against the screen for hours on this.

The version of cups on CentOS5 is pretty cool.
point a browser at https://localhost:631 and cups can be configured with a fairly decent user interface.

I've gotten the other Linux systems to print but am struggling with my Vista laptop.

So far it looks like I should be using a network printer with the address http://<hostname>:631/printers/<printername> but I'm stuck on the rest. I assume the protocol is LPR not RAW and the Que Name seems redundant but it insists on it.

I can open that address in Firefox but I can't print a test page.

I've got visitors coming into LAX from Virginia. More to follow when I get back at it.

Joe
Click to expand...

Do you have Print Services for UNIX installed on the Windows machine?

EDIT: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc731857(WS.10).aspx
 
Last edited:
RJM62 said:
Maybe it's a firewall issue.
Click to expand...
No, although I did have to open ports. The IPP just doesn't work, port is fine since you can point a browser at the same port for administering CUPS.

I'm struggling with cups-lpd too, but at least windows is talking to the unix box. Unfortunately it screws up the network card and I have to reboot.

Restarting the network gives me an error "Error for wireless request "Set Mode" 8B06 whatever that means.

bluesky74656 said:
Any reason not to just share the printer using Samba?
Click to expand...
No real reason except it's another service on an underpowered system with not enough memory. I might have to though.

Joe
 
Areeda said:
....

Restarting the network gives me an error "Error for wireless request "Set Mode" 8B06 whatever that means.

....

Joe
Click to expand...

That usually means something won't release the wireless adapter, possibly Network Manager. Try disabling the adapter and re-enabling it. That usually lets it be re-set.

Wireless roaming on Linux is not its most stellar feature... If you don't need it, try configuring the wireless card manually and disabling roaming.
 
RJM62 said:
That usually means something won't release the wireless adapter, possibly Network Manager. Try disabling the adapter and re-enabling it. That usually lets it be re-set.

Wireless roaming on Linux is not its most stellar feature... If you don't need it, try configuring the wireless card manually and disabling roaming.
Click to expand...
I think I got this one. After a bit of googling, by changing the "mode" from auto to managed, I can now restart the network with service network restart.

The disable/enable in the networking GUI was where I got the error.

Boy am I having fun.

Joe
 
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