* * * * *
Descent into Hell
It was not a good day today.
First, Mark [1] shutdown sendmail [2] on tower because of a small bug (An
exploit large enough to shove a Cray YM-P through) [3] that was recently
found. The patches to sendmail only cover versions back to 8.9.3.
I was running 8.8.7.
And it's not like it was an easy patch to look at and apply to the version
running.
No, that would be too easy.
So I'm looking at either sendmail 8.12.8 or finally installing Postfix [4],
which Mark and Kelly [5] use and swear by. I only stuck with sendmail because
I generally dislike changing software if I can avoid doing so (I like when
computers run themselves smoothly).
I also don't handle stress that well, and email for me (well, me, Spring [6],
Mark and about half a dozen other people) is critical. A fundamental right.
Something that I (and the others mentioned) can't do without. So I needed to
get back online. And that's bad enough.
Throw in two kids who were just a tad too loud; I ended up fleeing the area.
In talking it over, Spring decided to take the kids on a few errands, which
included getting the dog a dog house since it seems less skittish when
outside (the less I talk about the dog, the better). During the time they
were away, the dog managed to escape from the Facility in the Middle of
Nowhere.
That's all I needed.
Did I mention that I don't handle stress well?
Much wailing and knashing of teeth later, the dog it back, postfix is running
(remember: if you include virtual hosting, make sure the virtual hosting file
actually exists) and the kids are (supposedly) asleep.
And to think, it's only been four days [7].
[1]
http://www.conman.org/people/myg/
[2]
http://www.sendmail.org/
[3]
http://www.iss.net/issEn/delivery/xforce/alertdetail.jsp?oid=21950
[4]
http://www.postfix.org/
[5]
http://www.asperwood.net/
[6]
http://www.springdew.com/
[7]
gopher://gopher.conman.org/0Phlog:2003/02/28.1
Email author at
[email protected]
