Mandrake Linux Community Newsletter

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               Mandrake Linux Community Newsletter

                  Issue #76  Friday, 7 March 2003

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Welcome to the Mandrake Linux Community Newsletter -- dedicated to
keeping you up-to-date with the latest Mandrake-related news & info.

In this issue:

 * Top Story: Mandrake Linux 9.1 'RC2' is available
 * Product News: "The Definitive Guide to Using Mandrake Linux"; Spring
   Cleaning at MandrakeStore
 * Mandrake in the News: DistroWatch.com
 * MandrakeClub: An avalanche of discounts!; 'Premier' download mirrors
   for 9.1
 * BizCase: French Gov't uses MDK for samba, e-mail, web, mysql, ldap
 * Spotlight on the 'Multi Network Firewall'
 * Software Updates: sendmail, tcpdump, webmin, more


Top Story
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Mandrake Linux 9.1 'RC2' is available.
The second release candidate of the upcoming Mandrake Linux 9.1 was
released on Tuesday, March 4th. Lead developer 'Warly' reports that 9.1
Final should be completed by the 14th of March, and the official
announcement should be made between the 15th and the 20th.

One of the most visible improvements in RC2 is the new 'MandrakeGalaxy'
theme which is now provided by default in KDE & GNOME. This theme is
the result of cooperation between Everaldo Coelho, the designer of the
famous KDE Crystal theme, and several MandrakeSoft employees.

This is the last chance to help squash bugs before the final is
released. We need clear, detailed descriptions of any problems reported
to the Mandrake bugzilla system, or to the Mandrake Cooker mailing
list. Everyone is invited to join the fun.
https://qa.mandrakesoft.com/

Read all the details including the list of packages and changelog.
http://www.mandrakelinux.com/en/91beta.php3


Product News
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MandrakeSoft recently released "The Definitive Guide to Using Mandrake
Linux" -- a comprehensive new book that provides in-depth
coverage of the latest version of Mandrake Linux 9.0.

This 646-page manual is packed with valuable information for all levels
of Linux users. Learn about installing, configuring, and administering
your system; step-by-step installation and troubleshooting
instructions; configuring file and Web servers; and much more.

"The Definitive guide to Using Mandrake Linux" is available at
MandrakeStore for only $39 USD or 39 euros:
http://www.mandrakestore.com

MandrakeClub members receive an immediate 15% discount. An HTML version
of the book is now available online for MandrakeClub members.
http://www.mandrakeclub.com/docs

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Spring cleaning at MandrakeStore.
The MandrakeStore folks are clearing out the remaining (limited) stock
of Mandrake Linux 9.0 boxes, so this is a great chance to pick up a
complete PowerPack at half price. Available products are the German,
Italian and Spanish versions of "Power Pack 9.0", and the German
version of "Standard Edition 9.0". This special price is good for all
Mandrake Linux users, but it even gets even better for MandrakeClub
members: On top of the 50% discount, Club members receive free
shipping, and everyone else gets a free one month trial membership in
MandrakeClub.

This special promotion does not apply to English and French versions of
the PowerPack (we are almost out of stock), and the remaining supply of
German, Spanish, and Italian Power Packs is quite limited too, so get
'em while they last!
http://www.mandrakeclub.com/article.php?sid=512


Mandrake in the News
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DistroWatch.com -- Mandrake 9.1 RC 1 - Desktop, Laptop, Small Server.
Andrew D. Balsa releases Part 6 of his excellent series of reviews of
the Mandrake Linux Beta process. In his newest article, he reviews
Mandrake Linux 9.1 RC1:

"This time around, I tested Mandrake 9.1 RC1 on three different
platforms: a home use mid-range desktop workstation, my trusty
old-and-battered Dell laptop, and last but not least a dual Celeron
homebuilt SMP box nowadays used as a file server and test rig. On to
the reports..."
http://www.distrowatch.com/dwres.php?resource=review-mandrake


MandrakeClub
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An avalanche of discounts!
MandrakeClub is offering a number of attractive discounts right now,
including:

 * 15% off MandrakeSoft enterprise products (expires soon)
 * 50% off 9.0 packs (German, Spanish, Italian) with free shipping for
   Club members
 * 33% off MandrakeExpert support
 * $20 off Win4Lin
 * $5 off the Opera browser
 * 10% off Hancom Office

Visit the MandrakeClub website for all the details:
http://www.mandrakeclub.com/article.php?sid=525

And remember, as soon as Mandrake Linux 9.1 is released Club members
will be given access to a large list of 'premier' download mirrors so
you can avoid seeing the dreaded "mirrors are busy" message when
downloading the new 9.1 ISO images. It's a perfect time to be a Club
member!

Not yet a MandrakeClub member? To learn more, please visit:
http://mandrakelinux.com/en/club/


Business Case of the Week
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Government: MDK for samba, e-mail, web, mysql, ldap.
The French government agency "Agence Française Pour les Investissements
Internationaux" is a public institution responsible for facilitating
the arrival of foreign groups into France. They use Mandrake for:
 * Mail server with Postfix/imap
 * Intranet server (php/MySQL/Apache) with forum and webmail
 * Domain server for MS-Windows with Samba
 * OpenLDAP for authentication
 * Plus a backup server, one firewall and several workstations

They add:
"We have been able to create the whole server infrastructure starting
from nothing. We also wanted to avoid the problems involved with
managing licenses. [...] And all of this with only 3 cdroms..."
http://www.mandrakebizcases.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=497

For many examples of Mandrake in the workplace, please see:
http://www.MandrakeBizcases.com.


Spotlight on the 'Multi Network Firewall'
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This week's "Product in the Spotlight" is MandrakeSoft's Multi-Network
Firewall -- a specialized Linux product that provides hardened
security, multi-VPN (Virtual Private Network), and multi-DMZ
(de-militarized zone) features. Here are the answers to a few of the
most commonly asked questions:

Q: What is covered by the MNF documentation?
A: The documentation provides general security information, explains
the concept of a firewall, and details the features provided by MNF.
On-line help also provides information on each screen of the web
interface.

Q: Is it possible to connect the MNF to another firewall?
A: Yes, no problem.

Q: What kind of VPN does the MNF support?
A: The MNF supports VPN based on 'pptp' and 'ipsec'.

Q: Is it possible to use the proxy and filter features while the
firewall is off?
A: Yes. You can choose the features independently.


Software Updates
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9.0 software updates have been released for:

sendmail --fixes remotely exploitable buffer overflow vulnerability
tcpdump -- fixes denial of service vulnerabilities
shadow-utils -- fixes improper mailspool ownership
webmin packages -- fixes session ID spoofing vulnerability
lynx packages -- fixes CRLF injection vulnerability
vnc packages -- fixes cookie vulnerability
krb5 packages -- fixes vulnerability in FTP client
openssl packages -- fixes timing-based attack vulnerability

View the complete list at:
http://www.mandrakesecure.net

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