New Google gadget to generate safe passwords

I've created a new google gadget, passwdgen for generating safe passwords. Available from here.

It is not a new stuff, I just "gadgetized" the service found here. The javascript code is reused as is.

I also hate passwords. I would like to use the "same" password everywhere, but it is not that safe method. The service generates a password, by mixing a master password and an optional string (best is the site where the password is submitted). You must not give out the master password, and it must be safe enough. You do not have to remember your passwords, because you can regenerate them any time.

Certainly, if your master password gets compromised, all your password may be revealed, but anyhow, it is much safer way that giving the same password everywhere.

"Symbolic link not allowed or link target not accessible..."

Apache 2 refused to serve pages with that claim in the error_log (Suse 10.1). I had tried everything (permissions, ownership, etc.) - nothing worked. My httpd.conf piece looked really perfect:

<Directory "/srv/www/htdocs">
                Options FollowSymlinks
                AllowOverride None
                Order allow,deny
                Allow from all
</Directory>

and no success. Then, I found the line in the httpd.conf:

Include /etc/apache2/default-server.conf

Yes, yes, that include file contained a configuration for the document root, and certainly overwrote my settings. So, if your settings look really good, and the symlink problem still exists - look for such an include.

The problem seems to be obvious - but search Google for it, and you may be surprised...

Cannot renew ip address xp...

Quite nasty a problem, happened to WinXP time to time. Last time, the VNC client stopped responding with a "socket error". Then everything went down, one after the other. Geez virus, or something similar animal... The always-cure reboot finalized the problem. XP said that the network card had limited connectivity, and tried to renew the IP address when I clicked on repair (had also tried ipconfig /release & renew without results) and it just told me it was unable to renew the IP address (which begun with 169.***.***.***).

The forums and groups did not give any usable tips, then finally I found this article: How to determine and recover from Winsock2 corruption.

The article is from Microsoft. I applied the suggested brutal-looking solution of typing netsh winsock reset at the command prompt. The article suggested that some of the winsock-sensitive apps would require a reinstall, but it looked a good compromise to reinstalling the whole Windows (having been customized for more than a year.)

After the reboot, it came back. Some of the applications looked dizzy a bit, but they recovered finally. Now I am happy again. Ah yes... the root of the problem must have been winsock2 corruption :)

Shared calendar

I fed up with the fact that my calendar content is distributed between several Exchange and web based calendar services, and maintaining the sync between them is quite a time consuming task. So, I set up a centralized calendar service by using WebDAV, iCalendar and Mozilla Calendar. My method was:

1. As I run a private Debian Linux/Apache 1.3 web server, I chose the mod_dav method. Downloaded the mod_dav sources. In order to compile, the apache-dev package must have been present:


apt-get install apache-dev

Then, the


configure --with-apxs

command worked.

2. Followed the info in the INSTALL file. The httpd.conf addition that worked for me was:

LoadModule dav_module /usr/lib/apache/1.3/libdav.so
AddModule mod_dav.c
DAVLockDB /tmp/DAVLock

...

mod_alias.c />.....
Alias /dav /home/httpd/dav

/dav /> AuthType Basic
AuthName "WebDAV"
AuthUserFile /> DAV on
AllowOverride None
Options None
GET HEAD OPTIONS /> Require user /> /> />.....

3. Then, set up the Mozilla Calendar by the info here.

Voila, I have a centrally stored calendar. I will set up "several" clients bound to the stored calendar file, one for my office, and a web interface for remote access when travelling. My calendar integrity is ensured, and I won't not miss a birthday any more :)