Technical Zone

With Windows 7 coming out soon it’s an excellent reminder that, when new releases of operating systems come out, it’s always nice to have the ability to test them.

A virtual environment, created by a piece of software, such as VirtualBox. The major benefit is that the operating system reacts as if it is installed natively, so you get full function from your operating system and the subsequent applications you will install.

I’ll show you how to install VirtualBox on an Ubuntu 9.04 host followed by a Windows 7 guest installation. Once the Windows 7 installation is complete, I’ll go over some configuration tweaks that will make Windows 7 run in a proper resolution and allow you to run the virtual machine remotely.

Installing VirtualBox

To install VirtualBox on Ubuntu you will first have to add the proper repositories for apt. To do this, open up a terminal window and enter the following command:

Go to the Synaptic Manager, search VMware, you will get Vmware server to install. click and install it.

sudo gpasswd -a USERNAME vboxusers

Where USERNAME is the actual name of the user you want to add.

Before you start the Virtual Box do some configuration like USB.

grep vboxusers /etc/group

The above command will report something like:

vboxusers:x:XXX:

Where XXX is the ID of your vboxusers group. Now you need to add a new line to the /etc/fstab file. This line will look like:

none /proc/bus/usb usbfs devgid=XXX,devmode=664 0 0

Where XXX is the ID number of your vboxusers group.

Running VirtualBox

You will find this version of VirtualBox in GNOME’s System Tools submenu of the Application menu see Figure A).


Figure A

To create a new Virtual Machine click on the New button to start the Virtual Machine Wizard. From the greeting screen, click Next. The first screen which will require any action is the “VM Name and OS Type” screen (see Figure B).

Figure B

Once you have filled out this information click the Next button. In the next step (Figure C) you must configure the base memory that will allocated to this virtual machine. Now since we are going to install Windows 7 for this VM, it will require at least 1 GB of RAM to function properly

Figure C

Configure your RAM and click Next. In this new window (Figure D), a hard disk will have to be created. If you have not yet created a hard disk, the hard disk wizard will automatically pop up. If you have an existing hard disk created, you will have to either select “Create new hard disk” (recommended) or “Use existing hard disk.

Figure D

In the next screen (Figure E) you have to configure the location and size of the disk. The size is configured by sliding the the slider to the right or the left depending upon how large or small you want your disk. Select the size and click Next.

Figure E

At final windows all that is left is to click the Finish button. Now you’ll see the VirtualBox Main Window where your new Virtual Machine is listed (Figure F).

Figure F

Installing Windows 7

The beauty of installing Windows 7 within a Virtual Machine is that the installation will be identical to a standard installation. At this point you just insert the CD into your CD/DVD drive, select your new Virtual Machine, and click the Start button on the VirtualBox main window.

You must install the Guest Additions for VirtualBox. This is simple. While the Virtual Machine is running, go to the Devices menu and select Install Guest Additions .
(Figure G)

• Better resolution.
• No need to grab the mouse or release it by clicking the right Ctrl button.
• Running Windows in seamless mode (not inside of an isolated window).
• Copying and pasting between guest and host.

Set up Windows 7 to run remotely

A very nice feature of VirtualBox is the ability to run the Virtual Machine remotely. Normally, all that needs to be done is to set the Virtual Machine for remote access within VirtualBox itself. Windows 7 (and Vista as well) is a different case.

When the VM is powered down, go to the VirtualBox main window, select your Virtual Machine, and click the Settings button. Within the settings window, click on the Remote Display tab and then click the checkbox for “Enable the VRDP Server” (Figure H).

Cheeeeeeeerrrrrrrss Enjoy

	Requirement no.1: Assemble Hardware Assemble your hardware..Harddrive an approx 250 GB, CD/DVD writer, MB board, processor and all stuff needs to build up a machine.
	Requirement no. 2: Install Linux ( I will go with Ubuntu) Get ubuntu from Ubuntu.com and download server edition of Ubuntu, create a bootable cd and install it.
	Requirement no. 3: Uninstall some programs. Remote some buildup programs like open office, pidgin, gimp, thunderbird, games, Graphics Go to Application–> Application–> Add/Remove Programs
	Requirement no. 4: Setup Samba (File sharing). Open synaptic Manager ( Application–> system) Search for samba and mark it for installation. After installation of Samba. Open smb file in terminal. nano /etc/samba/smb.conf Now time to configure some basic configuration in smb.conf file. Replace name and server name. workgroup = “Name” netbios name = “Server name” invalid users = root security = user wins support = no encrypt passwords = true passdb backend = smbpasswd passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u passwd chat =*Enter\snew\sUNIX\spassword:* %n\n *Retype\snew\sUNIX\spassword:* %n\n . #Share Definitions [homes] comment = Home Directories browseable = yes writable = yes security mask = 0700 create mask = 0700 And then restart the samba server. /etc/init.d/smb restart Set the password for samba #smbpasswd -a username
	Requirement no. 5: Install FTP Server (vsftpd) Again open Synaptic from Application–>system. search vsftpd and click to install it. Some basic configuration to edit in ftp server, do follow #nano /etc/vsftpd/vsftpd.conf User ftp Group nogroup UserAlias anonymous ftp MaxClients 10 AccessGrantMsg “Anonymous access granted for user %u connecting.” MaxClientsPerHost 1 #DenyAll TransferRate RETR 50 DenyAll
	Requirement no. 6: Install openSSH (for Shell Access)

Your Server is up and ready.

Access your server via putty and enjoy.

Cheeeerssss

Disabling unnecessary services can improve system performance and overall system security, as the system’s attack surface is reduced. In this article, you’ll learn about 10 critical Windows XP services you shouldn’t disable.

1. DNS Client: This service resolves and caches DNS names, allowing the system to communicate with canonical names rather than strictly by IP address. DNS is the reason that you can, in a Web browser, type http://www.pankajdangi.com rather than having to remember that http://127.0.0.1  is the site’s IP address.
2. Network Connection: The Network Connections service is the element responsible for making sure that your computer can communicate with other computers and with the Internet.
3. Plug and Play: The Plug and Play service (formerly known as the “Plug and Pray” service, due to its past unreliability), is kicked off whenever new hardware is added to the computer. This service detects the new hardware and attempts to automatically configure it for use with the computer. If you disable Plug and Play, your computer will be unstable and incapable of detecting hardware changes.
4. Print Spooler: Just about every computer out there needs to print at some point. If you want your computer to be able to print, don’t plan on disabling the Print Spooler service. It manages all printing activities for your system.
5. Remote Procedure Call (RPC): RPC allows processes to communicate with one another and across the network with each other. A ton of other critical services, including the Print Spooler and the Network Connections service, depend on the RPC service to function. Bad news. The system will not boot. Don’t disable this service.
6. DHCP Client: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a critical service that makes the task of getting computers on the network nearly effortless. Before the days of DHCP, poor network administrators had to manually assign network addresses to every computer.
7. Cryptographic Services: Every month, Microsoft provides new fixes and updates on what has become known as “Patch Tuesday” because the updates are released on the first Tuesday of the month. Why do I bring this up? Well, one service supported by Cryptographic Services happens to be Automatic Updates.
8. Automatic Updates: Keeping your machine current with patches is pretty darn important, and that’s where Automatic Updates comes into play. When Automatic Updates is enabled, your computer stays current with new updates from Microsoft.
9. Workstation: As is the case for many services, the Workstation service is responsible for handling connections to remote network resources. Specifically, this service provides network connections and communications capability for resources found using Microsoft Network services.
10. Network Location Awareness (NLA): Your computer will not be able to fully connect to and use wireless networks. With today’s WiFi-everywhere culture, mobility has become a primary driver. The Network Location Awareness service is responsible for collecting and storing network configuration and location information and notifying applications when this information changes.