DC LoCo

Tips for Administering/Maintaining a Thin-Client Lab

Quick Instructions to Ban a Website

  1. Log in as the administrator
  2. Click Applications > Accessories > Terminal
  3. In the terminal, type sudo gedit /etc/dangsuardian/bannedsitelist
  4. In gedit, go to the bottom of the file and add a line such as naughty.com
  5. In gedit, click File > Save, then File > Quit
  6. While still in the terminal window, type sudo /etc/init.d/dansguardian restart
  7. Finally, type exit to close the terminal window.

Quick Instructions to Allow a Website

  1. Log in as the administrator
  2. Click Applications > Accessories > Terminal
  3. In the terminal, type sudo gedit /etc/dangsuardian/exceptionsitelist
  4. In gedit, go to the bottom of the file and add a line such as legitimate.com
  5. In gedit, click File > Save, then File > Quit
  6. While still in the terminal window, type sudo /etc/init.d/dansguardian restart
  7. Finally, type exit to close the terminal window.

How to turn off the web filter on an individual computer

In Firefox, the Edit pull-down menu has a Preferences option. Select Preferences. Look for the Connections Settings button near the bottom of the window that opens and click it.

A new window opens, which should have the Manual proxy configuration selected, and an HTTP Proxy of localhost, Port 8080.

Change the port number of the HTTP Proxy from 8080 to 3128. Then click OK. This will remove all content filtering. Repeat the above procedure, changing the port back to 8080 to re-enable content filtering.

How to shut down the server

  1. Login as the administrator
  2. Click Applications > Accessories > Terminal
  3. In the terminal, type sudo poweroff

How to use floppy disks on the server

  1. First, the floppy disk has to be inserted into the server's drive. It will not work if it is inserted into one of the thin-client computers, only in the server.
  2. Click Places > Computer.
  3. Right-click on the Floppy Drive icon, and click Mount Volume in the pull-down menu.
  4. If the disk does not mount, you may need to format the floppy. This will erase all data on the floppy disk. To format the floppy, click Applications > System Tools > Floppy Formatter. All of the default choices should be fine.
  5. If the disk mounts successfully, it should appear on your desktop. To open or save files on the floppy, you need to navigate to it properly. In many applications, under the File menu, you will have New, Open and Save As... as choices. After choosing one of these, you should see a window open with a list of files.
  6. Click Up One Level repeatedly, until you see no change.
  7. Double-click the media folder icon, then double-click the floppy folder icon.
  8. Now you should be able to open old files or save files to the floppy.
  9. When finished with the floppy disk, DO NOT remove it immediately. Instead, first click Places > Computer from the main menu. Then right-click on the Floppy Drive icon, and click Unmount Volume in the pull-down menu. Now it is safe to remove the floppy from the drive.

It is very important that floppies are not left inserted into the server's drive for long periods of time. If the server needs to be restarted, and the floppy is in the drive, the restart will fail.

How to backup files to a flash memory drive

  1. Insert the memory stick into the USB port on the front or back of your computer.
  2. Once the computer has recognized the memory stick, you can use it like a regular drive. It will appear in My Computer.
  3. Click on Start > My Computer.
  4. Double-click on the icon for new drive representing your memory stick. A window displaying the contents of the stick will open.
  5. Right-click on the empty white space in the window, and select New > Folder from the pop-up menu.
  6. Rename the folder to the current date. Avoid using slashes in the date, and use a consistent format for all your dates. (I personally favor a four-digit year, a two-digit month, and a two-digit day all separated by periods. For example I'd use the name 2007.08.31 for a folder created today.)
  7. Click Start > My Documents.
  8. From the My Documents window, click Edit > Select All. If there are folders or documents within My Documents that you don't wish to backup, you can deselect them by holding down the CTRL key and clicking on the unwanted folder or file. The remaining items should remain highlighted (i.e. selected).
  9. Drag the highlighted items in My Documents to the new folder (e.g. 2007.08.31) in the memory stick window.
  10. Wait until all the files have finished copying. (If there is insufficent space on the memory stick, delete one of the older backup folders from the stick.)
  11. Once you are finished, DO NOT simply remove the memory stick. First move your mouse slowly over the icons in the far lower right corner of your screen. As you hover over them, they should pop-up a small tip. You're looking for the one which says Safely Remove Hardware. Click that icon, and then click Stop in the window which opens. At that point, it is safe to remove your memory stick.