IRC logs of #tryton for Monday, 2012-12-17

chat.freenode.net #tryton log beginning Mon Dec 17 00:00:01 CET 2012
2012-12-17 08:40 <Demosthenex> so i'm shopping for business software... nothing complex. i run a services business of low volume. bill hours currently in freshbooks, and do my own billable travel expenses in ledger (the most complicated part). i'm seeking an accounting platform to tie those elements in together, and maybe replace the other tools. would tryton be suitable, or is it just a base?
2012-12-17 09:34 <iamnoob> hi good day
2012-12-17 09:35 <iamnoob> can anyone please help me on the "incompatible version of the server" problem? whats the proper version do i need to use?
2012-12-17 09:38 <corro> iamnoob: just use versions from the same release (2.2.x, 2.4.x or 2.6.x) for both server and client
2012-12-17 10:01 <iamnoob> hi corro.. i downloaded ver 2.0.1 server and client and installed it. but when i check the version it saids tryton = 2.6.0 , trytond = 2.0.1 im using ubuntu 11.10 btw. any idea why this is happening? thanks
2012-12-17 10:04 <corro> iamnoob: how did you install the packages? Via apt or pip/easy_install?
2012-12-17 10:09 <iamnoob> i downloaded the .deb files on tryton.org download page.. i got the server now to version 2.2.3. im trying to make the client to 2.2.3 too but got an error.. unistalling then installing it again now..
2012-12-17 10:12 <iamnoob> after unistalling/installng the client and installing th client 2.2.3 (to match up with my 2.2.3 server) when i try to run it. nothing happens =(
2012-12-17 10:13 <corro> iamnoob: tryton.org does not provide .deb packages, only a link to the official ubuntu repository. Anyway, try running the client in the console and look for an error message.
2012-12-17 10:14 <iamnoob> corro: i got the following error when running tryton on a terminal
2012-12-17 10:14 <iamnoob> from tryton.config import CONFIG
2012-12-17 10:14 <iamnoob> File "/home/haw/.local/lib/python2.7/site-packages/tryton/config.py", line 191, in <module>
2012-12-17 10:14 <iamnoob> os.path.join(PIXMAPS_DIR, 'tryton-icon.png').encode('utf-8'))
2012-12-17 10:14 <iamnoob> glib.GError: Failed to open file '/usr/bin/share/pixmaps/tryton/tryton-icon.png': No such file or directory
2012-12-17 10:21 <corro> iamnoob: looks like you have some artifacts of a previous installation under ~/.local. Try renaming ~/.local/lib/python-2.7/site-packages to something else.
2012-12-17 10:22 <rmu> iamnoob: http://code.google.com/p/tryton/wiki/InstallationOnDebian
2012-12-17 10:23 <rmu> iamnoob: also applies for ubuntu
2012-12-17 10:39 <iamnoob> ok ill try it corro,rmu thanks
2012-12-17 14:00 <rmu> somehow i managed end up with a user with number "10" in login_try column
2012-12-17 14:01 <rmu> in res_users
2012-12-17 14:01 <rmu> --> server sleeps 1024s
2012-12-17 14:03 <rmu> i suggest that in a new design that decouples login_try from res_users this value is limited to some "useful" upper maximum and/or replaced with locking of account if there are too many tries.
2012-12-17 14:09 <cedk> rmu: limitation is already done on number of thread/connection
2012-12-17 14:11 <rmu> cedk: not really if i reconnect again from different machine, and try again after restart of server, on next day, etc....
2012-12-17 14:11 <cedk> rmu: and what is the problem?
2012-12-17 14:13 <rmu> cedk: it seems this number can become arbitrarily large. sleeping more than 30seconds because of wrong password is not necessary
2012-12-17 14:13 <rmu> and it seems you could possibly DOS the server
2012-12-17 14:15 <rmu> nevermind
2012-12-17 14:22 <cedk> rmu: ha you are talking about the sleep
2012-12-17 14:22 <cedk> rmu: I don't see how it can DDOS the server, sleep cost nothing
2012-12-17 14:22 <cedk> rmu: and it doesn't prevent other connections to work
2012-12-17 14:29 <rmu> cedk: it takes one thread per sleep
2012-12-17 14:30 <rmu> just wanted to try it with proteus and noticed that proteus with trytond doesn't do a login? at least it doesn't check the password
2012-12-17 14:31 <cedk> rmu: yes but the number of thread is limited
2012-12-17 14:31 <cedk> rmu: for proteus no need to login if you use trytond
2012-12-17 14:31 <rmu> cedk: so if the thread-limit is reached, the server is effectively DOSed
2012-12-17 14:32 <cedk> rmu: no, he still serves the existing threads
2012-12-17 14:32 <rmu> i can easily make the "sleeping" thread sleep for days
2012-12-17 14:33 <rmu> i can fill issue if you want
2012-12-17 14:34 <cedk> rmu: and what is the problem?
2012-12-17 14:35 <rmu> the problem is: user tries to login (with wrong password, but doesn't notice), login is unresponsive. user kills client. ad nauseum.
2012-12-17 14:35 <rmu> each try, login_try is incremented, and one server thread sleeps 2^login_try seconds
2012-12-17 14:36 <rmu> problems: the user doesn't get feedback that he entered wrong password, at least not in time (who waits for 15minutes or more for some result that should show in mere seconds)
2012-12-17 14:37 <rmu> and it is possible to DOS the server. even if you say that existing connections continue to work, new ones also should work
2012-12-17 16:00 <cedk> rmu: yes, it could be improved by stopping the thread if the connection is closed by the user
2012-12-17 16:06 <rmu> what use is this sleep anyway
2012-12-17 16:07 <rmu> stopping the thread if the user closes the connection would effectively mean getting rid of the sleep
2012-12-17 16:10 <cedk> rmu: sleep is very important to prevent brute-force attack
2012-12-17 16:12 <rmu> cedk: but it doesn't really prevent brute force attack
2012-12-17 16:12 <rmu> cedk: you can open another connection and try again (modulo maximum thread count)
2012-12-17 16:13 <cedk> rmu: yes so it prevents
2012-12-17 16:13 <rmu> cedk: you prevent legitimate users from logging in/verifying their password if idle too long
2012-12-17 16:14 <cedk> rmu: not if you type your right password
2012-12-17 16:14 <rmu> ok not password verif., this is blocked only when running the production wizard
2012-12-17 16:15 <cedk> rmu: but that's an other issue
2012-12-17 16:15 <rmu> cedk: legitimate users won't wait 2^20 seconds until some "bad login/passwort" dialog pops up, but call support
2012-12-17 16:16 <rmu> cedk: yes thats another issue... but related somehow
2012-12-17 16:19 <cedk> rmu: there is no reason to have to wait so much except if it tries 20 bad password
2012-12-17 16:20 <cedk> rmu: or if someone try to brute-force his password so it is still good to inform the support to find the cracker
2012-12-17 16:21 <rmu> because of missing feedback, seemingly blocking client in case of long sleep, user may think something is strange, kill the client, and try agai
2012-12-17 16:21 <rmu> n
2012-12-17 16:22 <cedk> rmu: missing feedback is the important part of the security
2012-12-17 16:23 <rmu> no, not really, the client could say /something/
2012-12-17 16:23 <rmu> but as it is, the user doesn't really know if the VPN is having trouble or the login is waiting...
2012-12-17 16:24 <rmu> but, as i said, nevermind, i logged a wishlist-issue; if this login_try gets redesigned, perhaps somebody will have a look at it
2012-12-17 16:26 <rmu> and, btw, deactivating an account after 5/10/whatever missed logins, and telling the user "account disabled", would not be a security problem.
2012-12-17 16:27 <cedk> rmu: it is a security issue for me because it will make so easy to disable any login by some malicious people
2012-12-17 16:28 <rmu> cedk: but malicious people can already deactivate any login, they just have to keep 10 connections open
2012-12-17 16:28 <rmu> or whatever is configured
2012-12-17 16:32 <cedk> rmu: it doesn't because if password is right it returns directly without sleep
2012-12-17 16:37 <rmu> cedk: without having looked at the source, you can't have the sleep block the connection and not need a separate thread at the same time
2012-12-17 16:46 <cedk> rmu: don't understand
2012-12-17 16:46 <yangoon> rmu: +1, security by obscurity is never a good choice
2012-12-17 16:48 <cedk> yangoon: what is obscurity ?
2012-12-17 16:48 <yangoon> cedk: missing feedback as part of security
2012-12-17 16:49 <cedk> yangoon: I don't understand what you mean, it is not usefull to say such mantra that doesn't apply at all to the subject
2012-12-17 16:51 <yangoon> cedk: where do you not understand, that this mantra doesn't apply to the subject?
2012-12-17 16:53 <cedk> yangoon: there is no obscurity
2012-12-17 16:54 <yangoon> not giving feedback lets the user in obscurity
2012-12-17 16:54 <bechamel> yangoon: I think that when cedk said "it is a security issue for me because it will make so easy to disable any login by some malicious people" he wasn't talking about the user feedback, but about the account desactivation (am I right cedk ?)
2012-12-17 16:56 <yangoon> bechamel: I am just referring to (16:22:35) cedk: rmu: missing feedback is the important part of the security as answer to (16:21:54) rmu: because of missing feedback, seemingly blocking client in case of long sleep, user may think something is strange, kill the client, and try again
2012-12-17 16:56 <cedk> bechamel: yes
2012-12-17 16:56 <cedk> yangoon: ok it is not missing feedback but delay feedback for exponential time
2012-12-17 16:58 <yangoon> cedk: which results indeed in being missing feedback for a long time in certain circumstances
2012-12-17 16:59 <rmu> in ideal software, behaviour like this would be configureable, because requirements and habits regarding passwords and login depend on the organization
2012-12-17 17:00 <rmu> i'm just writing a test to DOS my own server ;)
2012-12-17 17:01 <bechamel> IMO DOS is really hard to avoid, even without login timeout, example: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial-of-service_attack#SYN_flood
2012-12-17 17:02 <cedk> rmu: I never said that trytond could not be DOS, indeed I think there are no software fully secure on this topic
2012-12-17 17:02 <cedk> rmu: all you can do is trying to stay alive
2012-12-17 17:03 <rmu> i know
2012-12-17 17:08 <cedk> rmu: also the firewall should take a good part in the protection
2012-12-17 17:09 <rmu> all i'm arguing for is that endlessly doubling the time in sleep is nonsense... there should be an upper limit of about 15 to 30 seconds, like e.g. in the windows ctl-alt-del login dialog
2012-12-17 17:10 <rmu> that is enough to prevent brute forcing the password
2012-12-17 17:11 <rmu> and it would be easier on the resources, as this sleep-call binds one database connection
2012-12-17 17:11 <cedk> rmu: I don't agree with a limit you just delay the brute-force
2012-12-17 17:13 <rmu> i didn't test what happens when the client closes the connection and the server-thread is sleeping
2012-12-17 17:13 <rmu> if this does abort the sleep, then brute-forcing is possible at near "full speed"
2012-12-17 17:13 <cedk> rmu: agree that we could improve to close the DB connection before sleeping
2012-12-17 17:14 <rmu> cedk: but then nothing prevents the brute-forcer to open as much connections as he likes
2012-12-17 17:14 <cedk> rmu: don't understand
2012-12-17 17:14 <cedk> rmu: yes of course but each one will sleep more and more
2012-12-17 17:14 <rmu> wait for 1s, see if positive answer arrives, if not, try next password
2012-12-17 17:15 <rmu> i think the thing that probably limits first is the number of db-connections
2012-12-17 17:17 <rmu> the client can assume that the server answers with "login ok" if he tries the correct password... if this answer doesn't arrive within (short) timeout, try again
2012-12-17 17:18 <rmu> so if you keep db-connection while sleeping, this amounts to complete DOS in no time (after about 100 tries 64 threads will sleep for days each)
2012-12-17 17:19 <cedk> rmu: yes but there is nothing to do against that, at least not at trytond level
2012-12-17 17:19 <rmu> if you don't keep db-connection while sleeping, the client can try as much parallel logins as threads are available (doesn't seem to be limited in python, so some os-limit will define this)
2012-12-17 17:20 <rmu> cedk: i agree there is not that much you can do against malicious users DOSsing the server, if they really want
2012-12-17 17:21 <rmu> cedk: but usually, you don't have malicious users on the network where tryton is accessible (hopefully), and user-error is your main problem
2012-12-17 17:22 <cedk> rmu: before we got a thread limit that was removed because SocketServer.ThreadingMixIn did not have such option but it could be re-added
2012-12-17 17:22 <rmu> and a typical tryton users are half-computer-illiterate folks that CAPS-LOCK without noticing, entering the password a few times, and then think the computer is dead
2012-12-17 17:23 <cedk> rmu: we can not do anything against such people
2012-12-17 17:23 <rmu> cedk: you shouldn't do anything against your users ;-) you should make their life easier
2012-12-17 17:24 <cedk> rmu: life easier == no password
2012-12-17 17:25 <rmu> that would be "too big" easy
2012-12-17 17:25 <Pilou> life easier == SSO ;)
2012-12-17 17:26 <rmu> what would you do if SSHing to a machine doesn't react for 1000s of seconds? assume that someone tried to brute force the password?
2012-12-17 17:26 <rmu> i would assume the network had a problem ;)
2012-12-17 17:27 <cedk> rmu: after I type the password, no I will not assume that
2012-12-17 17:28 <rmu> but typical MTU-related problems especially prevalent with certain kinds of VPN manifest just that way
2012-12-17 17:30 <cedk> rmu: the first time you use it but not on daily usage
2012-12-17 17:37 <Demosthenex> so i'm shopping for business software... nothing complex. i run a services business of low volume. bill hours currently in freshbooks, and do my own billable travel expenses in ledger (the most complicated part). i'm seeking an accounting platform to tie those elements in together, and maybe replace the other tools. would tryton be suitable, or is it just a base?
2012-12-17 17:39 <cedk> Demosthenex: difficult to say, it could but you should test it
2012-12-17 17:42 <rmu> cedk: I would not bet on it - in reality, these things are in permanent flux, expecially in large organizations, and only ever really tested/deployed for windows clients.
2012-12-17 17:44 <Demosthenex> cedk: i figure the expenses piece i'm going to have to reimplement...
2012-12-17 17:46 <cedk> Demosthenex: you said that you do it directly in ledger?
2012-12-17 17:50 <Demosthenex> cedk: currently, i'm one of the more prolific ledger (cli, text files) users
2012-12-17 17:50 <Demosthenex> a combination of frequent splits, heavy metadata, scanned images, etc.
2012-12-17 17:51 <Demosthenex> and all custom logic on top in shell scripts and perl (pdf generation)
2012-12-17 17:52 <Demosthenex> i'm trialing Xero and Kashoo, because i need something with business accounting structures already built in to reconcile my bank accounts against
2012-12-17 17:54 <cedk> Demosthenex: expense are like supplier invoice
2012-12-17 17:55 <Demosthenex> travel expenses, billed at actual to client
2012-12-17 17:55 <Demosthenex> lots of little items, subject to rules by client
2012-12-17 17:56 <Demosthenex> let's not forget importing from csv/ofxc
2012-12-17 17:57 <Demosthenex> i'm outgrowing text, and moving to a DB my choices are: a scratch reimplementation or use an existing product to build on
2012-12-17 17:57 <cedk> Demosthenex: with Tryton you will be able to customize the generic workflow to yours
2012-12-17 18:00 <Demosthenex> cedk: i'm certain, in fact, i rather like what i've read so far for building the expenses workflow
2012-12-17 18:00 <Demosthenex> what i'm concerned about is whether the accounting backend has what's needed.
2012-12-17 18:03 <cedk> Demosthenex: what do you need?
2012-12-17 18:08 <Demosthenex> i guess my question is, is tryton more of a toolkit or does it have working components already?
2012-12-17 18:08 <cedk> Demosthenex: it is both
2012-12-17 18:08 <cedk> Demosthenex: it is a toolkit because we try to make it flexible and customizable as much as possible
2012-12-17 18:09 <cedk> Demosthenex: but it is also a working components for basis
2012-12-17 18:11 <Demosthenex> interesting
2012-12-17 18:12 <cedk> Demosthenex: indeed it was the subject of a talk at the TUL, that's Tryton is somehow both and that is difficult to communicate on it
2012-12-17 18:12 <Demosthenex> know anyone doind postgres binary blobs for scanned images with tryton?
2012-12-17 18:14 <cedk> Demosthenex: I will suggest to use the same storage as we do for attachment
2012-12-17 18:14 <cedk> Demosthenex: store the data on the filesystem
2012-12-17 18:15 <cedk> Demosthenex: even if postgresql manage blobs quite well, it is still better to have it on the filesystem
2012-12-17 18:15 <cedk> Demosthenex: as it is data that don't change, you can backup only the diff
2012-12-17 18:15 <cedk> Demosthenex: but in DB, you have to dump everything each time
2012-12-17 18:15 <Demosthenex> why? i've read some folks argue this back and forth in internet threads... my only argument is sync issues
2012-12-17 18:15 <Demosthenex> we're talking static scanned images.
2012-12-17 18:16 <cedk> Demosthenex: we store attachment based on their hash in 2 levels directories
2012-12-17 18:16 <Demosthenex> i've seen that before, that's not too bad.
2012-12-17 18:17 <cedk> Demosthenex: and we never remove files
2012-12-17 18:17 <cedk> Demosthenex: just delete reference in the DB
2012-12-17 18:17 <cedk> Demosthenex: the main advandage for me is the backup system
2012-12-17 18:18 <Demosthenex> diff on FS, vs dumping blobs.
2012-12-17 18:18 <Demosthenex> i can see that
2012-12-17 18:18 <Demosthenex> so i hear on the site there's companies and indivduals providing commercial support...
2012-12-17 18:18 <Demosthenex> perhaps i should check them out
2012-12-17 18:19 <cedk> Demosthenex: I'm from B2CK
2012-12-17 18:25 <Demosthenex> ah!
2012-12-17 18:26 <Demosthenex> well i do run a successful business, and i'm not shy about paying reasonable amounts to get things done.
2012-12-17 18:26 <Demosthenex> i'm just sick of accounting ;]
2012-12-17 19:02 <Demosthenex> cedk: so how about quoting me on customizing tryton to a use case?
2012-12-17 19:08 <cedk> Demosthenex: B2CK provides such services
2012-12-17 19:10 <Demosthenex> cedk: i'
2012-12-17 19:10 <Demosthenex> cedk: i'm all ears
2012-12-17 19:10 <Demosthenex> i can describe my workflow pretty easily
2012-12-17 19:10 <Demosthenex> at this point i write it myself or pay someone to customize an existing system.
2012-12-17 19:11 <cedk> Demosthenex: send us your use case
2012-12-17 19:11 <Demosthenex> cedk: have an email?
2012-12-17 19:11 <Demosthenex> or contact data
2012-12-17 19:11 <cedk> Demosthenex: http://www.b2ck.com/tryton_services.html
2012-12-17 19:14 <cedk> Demosthenex: I will also suggest you to try the demo server to have some idea about how Tryton works etc.
2012-12-17 19:16 <Demosthenex> *nod* i'm having a peek and writing up a use case ;]
2012-12-17 19:16 <Demosthenex> i'd rather put my money toward OSS solutions...
2012-12-17 19:16 <Demosthenex> my business isn't unique
2012-12-17 19:32 <Pilou> Demosthenex: Would you want distribute these custom modules ?
2012-12-17 19:35 <Demosthenex> Pilou: they can remain oss
2012-12-17 19:51 <Demosthenex> cedk: sent one off
2012-12-17 20:04 -!- Demosthenex(~Demosthen@206.180.155.43.adsl.hal-pc.org) has left #tryton

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