securenowbot

Ok, you have to be a masochist (or perhaps merely an incorrigible flinty cheapskate). Windows 98 is insecure, slow and inefficient, and, well, is Windows (I am an unabashed Linux proponent).On the other hand, Windows 98SE is the only Windows OS that can be used without constantly contacting Microsoft (which consumes a huge amount of network time in aggregate). It also does not require registration/activation to run and is not linked to specific hardware, as are other versions of Windows.

• Windows 98 Se

It also allows the modicum of networking required for CPRS.Further, many old computers have a copy lying around (with a license) that can be co-opted for the purposes of using in a virtual machine. Our organization had a closetful of old unused computers with Windows 98 licenses, gathering dust.

Contents.Using Windows 98SE in VirtualBoxVirtualBox doesn't really like Windows 98. The guest additions don't work well (if at all), and there are no intrinsic device drivers in VirtualBox to support the antique Windows 98 drivers.With a few tweaks, however, Windows 98 can be made to run in a VirtualBox virtual machine suitably enough to run CPRS. Install VirtualBox.In my (K)Ubuntu system, I used sudo apt-get install virtualbox-ose virtualbox-ose-source virtualbox-guest-additionsI happen to use Kubuntu, so I use the QT addition: sudo apt-get install sudo apt-get install virtualbox-ose-qt. Start VirtualBox and create a Windows98 virtual machine. I name it Win98SECPRS. I give the virtual machine 1024 RAM and 2 Gb virtual hard drive space. In retrospect, I note that my entire virtual machine (once all the Windows updates and modules are installed) only requires (less than) 400 Mb, so 2 Gb may be overkill.

However, this allows some swap space for the Windows 98 virtual memory manager (Start menu - Settings - Control Panel - System - Performance - Virtual Memory). Nevertheless, a 1 Gb virtual hard disk may be sufficient. It depends on how much RAM is allocated - the more RAM is available, the less virtual memory is needed. With only 1024 Mb RAM, Windows startup is quite slow, but the CPRS clients run fine (since they are very efficient). Jafra app.

After frequent usage, I ended up giving the virtual machine 1536 Mb RAM (my laptop has 3 Gb pre-installed, so this represented 50% of the RAM) and used a 2 Gb virtual hard drive. (This worked out for me because I later placed the virtual machine on a 4 Gb USB flash drive.) The decision on how much RAM to use has to be made in the beginning, though, because once Windows 98 is installed, it doesn't like to have the virtual machine memory changed (unlike later versions of Windows, which can adapt).Install Windows 98SE in the virtual machine.

Place the Win98SE setup disk in the CD-ROM drive and start the virtual machine. Install Windows98 from the CD as usual. (All installation (including disk formatting) occurs completely within the virtual hard drive, so it does not affect the host Linux operating system.) I do a custom install and don't include all the 'extra' programs (Imaging, Paint, Online Services, etc.) to save space. Internet Explorer, VPN, and the networking modules are required, so I leave those alone.

I use a login name and networking name of client9260, without a password. (Later this allows network logins with Astronaut SSH to be a little more streamlined.) I don't use a password so that automatic startups can proceed without user intervention.Make sure Windows bootup does not require a user logon password (so automatic logons can proceed): Start menu - Settings - Control Panel - Network - Primary Network Logon: Windows Logon.

It is probably best to as far as possible. I could not get the VirtualBox guest additions to work properly with Windows 98, so I could not get folder sharing between the Windows guest OS and the Kubuntu host OS to function properly.

I therefore used a CD as a medium to transfer files between the two operating systems. Initially I copied five sets of files onto the CD:.

The CPRS client package for Windows. The web browser (Firefox 3 doesn't work on Win98) or (msimg32.dll required from the C:Windowssystem32 folder of a newer edition of Windows). from. (Windows 98 does not have a native utility to unzip files, so I unzipped the VESA-driver zip file in (K)Ubuntu first, then copied the unzipped 081021 folder onto the CD.). Internet Explorer 6 SP1 (see below). Although it is less secure than Firefox, TMG-CPRS requires it, so I installed it. puttygen.exe and pscp.exe from the.

These are used to create a secure SSH key pair and copy the public key to the OpenSSH server.I copied these files from the CD into the My Documents folder of Windows 98 in the virtual machine. The default driver in Windows 98SE that can be accommodated by VirtualBox is VGA, which is insufficient. I therefore that I copied in the previous step:Start menu - Settings - Control Panel - Display - Settings - Advanced - Adapter - Change - Next - Search for a better driver. Specify a location - Browse - 'C:My Documents081021Vbe9xUni' A restart is required. I found that a 800x600 screen area size (in Windows) works best when using VirtualBox in windowed mode ('Adjust Window Size'), or 1024x768 when using VirtualBox in Fullscreen Mode. YMMV. TMG-CPRS requires a more modern version of Internet Explorer than is supplied with Windows 98.

Windows 98 Se

Internet Explorer 6 SP1 is the latest version of IE compatible with Windows 98. I had previously downloaded a full version of IE6 (onto a Windows machine) using and burned it onto the CD (as above). (It could also be done directly in the Windows 98 virtual machine.) Install IE6 in the virtual machine. I use a minimal custom installation (to avoid installing MediaPlayer and other modules), but that is merely my preference. (I do install Shockwave, since it is hard to find websites on the Internet that don't use flash, anymore.) Be prepared - IE6 installation takes a long time.

It is probably best to IE6 as far as possible. I installed Firefox (or Opera), but this is optional (if you don't mind IE6). (For Opera, I placed the msimg32.dll file in C:Windows). Besides, this is a virtual machine, so I use the browser in the host OS anyway. I really only want to run TMG-CPRS in the virtual machine. The TMG-CPRS integrates a link to Internet Explorer, which is quite convenient, so I guarantee that it will be used.

Therefore it is best to install some sort of virus checker and firewall in your virtual machine. Of course this will slow down Windows 98, so you will have to consider the trade-offs. I personally prefer an (such as 6.5) as a firewall, and as an anti-virus scanner. ClamAV does not include real-time virus scanning, but that is ok by me, since it is the real-time scanning that slows down the system considerably. Install the Astronaut CPRS package. The Astronaut installer is not really made with Windows 98 in mind, so a good deal of tweaking is required, but I want to keep the installation consistent.Environment variables in Windows 98. The Astronaut installer uses environment variables effectively.

Unfortunately, Windows 98 doesn't use environment variables quite the same way as do later versions of Windows. While they can be set (see ), the Astronaut installer does not recognize this method. It is possible to create all the environment variables that Astronaut uses, but I find it easier to ignore the environment variable system and merely, as I would when. (The Astronaut shortcuts are installed to the C:WindowsStart MenuProgramsAstronaut folder in Windows 98). I use a key pair instead of the less secure SSH password authentication that is the default with the Astronaut package.