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Special Forums Cybersecurity Linux and Windows Configuration Security Post 302377970 by Hanz on Sunday 6th of December 2009 04:49:37 AM
Old 12-06-2009
Wrench Linux and Windows Configuration Security

Hi, I have the following situation and proposed solution:

SITUATION

I have a notebook computer. The manufacturer ships the hardware with a Windows OS (either XP Pro, Vista or Windows 7). They provide support only for a Windows OS.

Also, I am not sure how fuss-free it is to use any Linux distro on this notebook hardware, whether due to switchable graphics, device drivers, or trackball / trackpoint / trackpad issues/complications.

Also, I have software such as MS Office 2007 and Adobe Acrobat which is meant for installation on Windows OS.

But, a Windows OS is vulnerable to virus/spy-ware/mal-ware/trojans/worms and other malicious code. (Is this true for Windows 7 too? I am presuming so). Also, the Windows registry degrades and corrupts over time, and coupled with the need for strong anti-virus software, would mean that the performance I get will deteriorate rapidly.


PROPOSED SOLUTION

Therefore, to get the best of Linux (and Windows), I propose the following solution:

(1) have the Windows OS run as the base/host OS on the notebook hardware. So I don't have to deal with device drivers and other hardware issues, including support from manufacturer.

(2) Install virtualization software. (Not sure if Windows Virtual PC is good enough? Which is the best virtual machine software? (Classify into free and non-free virtualization software))

(3) Install a Linux distro within this virtual environment. (Which is the best Linux distro for installation within a virtual environment? Does Windows Virtual PC support such Linux guest OS installation? If no, which virtualization software should I use to be able to install a Linux guest OS)

(4) Work within the Windows OS ONLY when using MS Office 2007 or Adobe Acrobat (since they have to be installed in a Windows OS environment)

(5) ALWAYS work within the Linux OS when connecting to the Internet.

(6) Work within the Linux OS for other purposes.


QUESTION:

(A) Because I ONLY connect to the Internet from within the virtual environment running the Linux OS distro, does it mean that any malicious code/software (virus/malware/spyware/trojan/worm) coming from the Internet WILL NOT GET TO THE HOST/BASE Windows OS?

That is - is it the case that ALL malicious stuff will be contained within/repelled by the Linux environment, and therefore I will be safe?? =) ==))

(B) Will my Windows OS Registry still degrade, given that I am only using the Windows OS minimally for either Office 2007 or Adobe Acrobat only (Everything else is within the virtual Linux OS)?

=) ==)

You should get the drift of my query from the above. So you can post any other comments relating to getting the best out of the situation I have!!

Thank you!
 

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cupsaddsmb(8)							    Apple Inc.							     cupsaddsmb(8)

NAME
cupsaddsmb - export printers to samba for windows clients SYNOPSIS
cupsaddsmb [ -H samba-server ] [ -U samba-user[%samba-password] ] [ -h cups-server[:port] ] [ -v ] -a cupsaddsmb [ -H samba-server ] [ -U samba-user[%samba-password] ] [ -h cups-server[:port] ] [ -v ] printer [ ... printer ] DESCRIPTION
cupsaddsmb exports printers to the SAMBA software (version 2.2.0 or higher) for use with Windows clients. Depending on the SAMBA configura- tion, you may need to provide a password to export the printers. This program requires the Windows printer driver files described below. OPTIONS
cupsaddsmb supports the following options: -H samba-server Specifies the SAMBA server which defaults to the CUPS server. -U samba-user[%samba-password] Specifies the SAMBA print admin username which defaults to your current username. If the username contains a percent (%) character, then the text following the percent is treated as the SAMBA password to use. -a Exports all known printers. Otherwise only the named printers are exported. -h cups-server[:port] Specifies a different CUPS server to use. -v Specifies that verbose information should be shown. This is useful for debugging SAMBA configuration problems. SAMBA CONFIGURATION
cupsaddsmb uses the new RPC-based printing support in SAMBA 2.2.x to provide printer drivers and PPD files to Windows client machines. In order to use this functionality, you must first configure the SAMBA smb.conf(5) file to support printing through CUPS and provide a printer driver download share, as follows: [global] load printers = yes printing = cups printcap name = cups [printers] comment = All Printers path = /var/spool/samba browseable = no public = yes guest ok = yes writable = no printable = yes [print$] comment = Printer Drivers path = /etc/samba/drivers browseable = yes guest ok = no read only = yes write list = root This configuration assumes a FHS-compliant installation of SAMBA; adjust the [printers] and [print$] share paths accordingly on your system as needed. MICROSOFT POSTSCRIPT DRIVERS FOR WINDOWS
The base driver for Windows 2000 and higher is the Microsoft PostScript driver, which is available on any system running Windows 2000 or higher in the %WINDIR%SYSTEM32SPOOLDRIVERSW32X863 folder for 32-bit drivers and %WINDIR%SYSTEM32SPOOLDRIVERSX643 folder for 64-bit drivers. The CUPS printer driver is preferred over the Microsoft driver since it supports the page-label, job-billing, and job-hold-until options fully on all printers. However, currently only Windows 2000 and higher is supported by the Microsoft driver, so you will also need to get the Adobe driver to support Windows 95, 98, and Me clients. The Adobe and Microsoft drivers for Windows 2000 are identical. Once you have extracted the driver files, copy the 32-bit drivers to the /usr/share/cups/drivers directory and the 64-bit drivers to the /usr/share/cups/drivers/x64 directory exactly as named below: [Windows 2000 and higher] ps5ui.dll pscript.hlp pscript.ntf pscript5.dll Note: Unlike Windows, case is significant - make sure that you use the lowercase filenames shown above, otherwise cupsaddsmb will fail to export the drivers. CUPS POSTSCRIPT DRIVERS FOR WINDOWS
cupsaddsmb can use the CUPS v6 PostScript printer driver for Windows, which is available for download from the CUPS web site. The CUPS printer driver is preferred over the Adobe and Microsoft drivers since it supports the page-label, job-billing, and job-hold-until options fully on all printers. However, currently only Windows 2000 and higher is supported by the CUPS driver, so you will also need to get the Adobe driver to support Windows 95, 98, and Me clients. Once you have extracted the driver files, copy the 32-bit drivers to the /usr/share/cups/drivers directory and the 64-bit drivers to the /usr/share/cups/drivers/x64 directory exactly as named below: [Windows 2000 and higher] cups6.inf (from www.cups.org) cups6.ini (from www.cups.org) cupsps6.dll (from www.cups.org) cupsui6.dll (from www.cups.org) ps5ui.dll (from your Windows system) pscript.hlp (from your Windows system) pscript.ntf (from your Windows system) pscript5.dll (from your Windows system) Note: Unlike Windows, case is significant - make sure that you use the lowercase filenames shown above, otherwise cupsaddsmb will fail to export the drivers. ADOBE POSTSCRIPT DRIVERS FOR WINDOWS 95, 98, AND ME cupsaddsmb can use the Adobe PostScript printer driver for Windows 95, 98, and ME, which are available for download from the Adobe web site (http://www.adobe.com). The Adobe driver does not support the page-label, job-billing, or job-hold-until options. Once you have installed the driver on a Windows system, copy the following files to the /usr/share/cups/drivers directory exactly as named below: [Windows 95, 98, and Me] ADFONTS.MFM ADOBEPS4.DRV ADOBEPS4.HLP ICONLIB.DLL PSMON.DLL Note: Unlike Windows, case is significant - make sure that you use the UPPERCASE filenames shown above, otherwise cupsaddsmb will fail to export the drivers. KNOWN ISSUES
Getting the full set of Windows driver files should be easier. SEE ALSO
smbd(8), smb.conf(5), http://localhost:631/help http://www.cups.org/windows/ COPYRIGHT
Copyright 2007-2013 by Apple Inc. 25 July 2007 CUPS cupsaddsmb(8)
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