"Command died with status 2: "/opt/local/libexec/mailman/mail/mailman post mailman". Command output: Group mismatch error. Mailman expected the mail wrapper script to be executed as group "mailman", but the system's mail server executed the mail script as group "nobody". Try tweaking the mail server to run the script as group "mailman", or re-run configure, providing the command line option `--with-mail-gid=nobody'."

Lovely error message. It says exactly what it means. The effect though is that you can't use DarwinPorts to manage your Mailman package as DarwinPorts always sets the '--with-mail-gid' configuration variable to 'mailman' which will NEVER work!

(Except of course if your recompiled your MTA, in my case Postfix, to run with the group as 'mailman'.)

Also, don't forget to include in your Postfix main.cf (usually in /etc/postfix/) the following line:

alias_maps = hash:/opt/local/var/mailman/data/aliases

(Assuming that that you installed mailman to /opt/local/)

Another point is to remember to check the permissions on mailman's files using the command

sudo /opt/local/share/mailman/bin/check_perms

(Again assuming that that you installed mailman to /opt/local/)

Got this weird error message the other day.

This message can be caused by a couple of things but in my case it was someone typing in "ALL: PARANOID" in the /etc/hosts.deny file. Commenting the line out will prevent the SSH daemon from rejecting a connection for the IP address not matching the IP address the host had previously.

Basically, "ALL: PARANOID" should never be used when clients have dynamic IP addresses.

Fed up with cookies tracking you everywhere you go?

If like me, you find cookies kinda creepy, or even if you are just a little paranoid (remember: it is not paranoia if they really are after you!), try Permit Cookies, a great Firefox extension that makes cookie white-listing a peace of cake.

Update to OS X Tiger 10.4.5 and suddenly lose the ability to access your shares from your Windows PCs. Don't worry, you are not alone!

The fix is quite simple when you know it (and a pain in the ass if you don't).

1) On your Windows PC, set the Domain (or Local) Security Policy setting "Network security: LAN manager authentication level" to "Send LM & NTLM - use NTLMv2 session security if negotiated"
On Windows XP Professional on a stand-alone machine, this setting is in Start -> Run -> secpol.msc -> Security Settings -> Local Policies -> Security Options.

2) Run gpupdate.exe or restart your PC. This refreshes the group policy settings to take into account the change we just made in step one to the Security Policy.

3) On your Mac, open Terminal and type:

sudo nano /etc/smb.conf

4) Under [global], make sure you have the following settings set:

auth methods = guest opendirectory 
passdb backend = opendirectorysam guest 
client ntlvm2 auth = yes

5) Save the file by pressing the "Ctrl" and "O" keys at the same time. Close Terminal.

6) In System Preferences, Stop "Windows Sharing" in "Sharing". Then Start it. This restarts Samba.

That's it! Hopefully (!), you should now be able to access your shares!

Ran into a strange little error message today in Microsoft Exchange 2000 when I was trying to add an email alias to a mailbox.

Anyway, the result is that if you are getting error C0070035, then you need to check that the Remote Registry isn't disabled. Starting the service will get rid of the message.