SYSC 4810: Introduction to Network and Software Security

Module 1 Assignment
Fall 2021
Dr. J. Jaskolka Posted: September 9, 2021
Carleton University
Department of Systems and Computer Engineering Due: September 26, 2021

Due on Sunday, September 26, 2021 by 11:59PM

This assignment contains 11 pages (including this cover page) and 0 problems. You are responsible for
ensuring that your copy of the assignment is complete. Bring any discrepancy to the attention of your
instructor.

This assignment will not be graded. However, you should make reasonable progress towards completing
activity and individually submitting the final result of your work on Brightspace.

Special Instructions:

1. Do as many problems as you can.

2. Start early as this assignment is much more time consuming than you might initially think!
3. The burden of communication is upon you. Solutions not properly explained will not be considered
correct. Part of proper communication is the appearance and layout. If we cannot “decode” what you
wrote, we cannot grade it as a correct solution.
4. You may consult outside sources, such as textbooks, but any use of any source must be documented
in the assignment solutions.
5. You are permitted to discuss general aspects of the problem sets with other students in the class, but
you must hand in your own copy of the solutions.
6. Your assignment solutions are due by 11:59PM on the due date and must be submitted on Brightspace.
• If you do not complete this assignment, the instructor and the TAs may not be able to provide
technical support related to the Virtual Machine in subsequent assignments.

7. You are responsible for ensuring that your assignment is submitted correctly and without corruption.

THIS ASSIGNMENT WILL NOT BE GRADED

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SYSC 4810 — Module 1 Assignment Due Date: September 26, 2021

The assignments for SYSC 4810 will be conducted using a pre-built virtual machine (VM) image. All of the
necessary tools, software, and libraries that are needed for the assignment have been installed on the virtual
machine image. In this ungraded assignment, we will walk-through the setup of this virtual machine image.
The purpose of this ungraded assignment is to prepare you to complete the upcoming graded assignments
in Modules 2-5 and to address any potential issues with setting up the virtual machine early in the course.

Submission Requirements
Please read the following instructions very carefully and follow them precisely when submitting your assignment!

The following items are required for a complete assignment submission:

1. Screenshot of Running VM: Submit a screenshot of the VM running on your computer to confirm
that you have successfully setup the virtual machine environment for the assignments.

Grading Notes
This assignment is not graded.

*Important Note* It is essential that you set up the virtual machine as early as possible to ensure that
you have time to address any technical difficulties that you may face. The instructor and the TAs will not
be able to provide adequate technical support close to the assignment due date of this activity.

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SYSC 4810 — Module 1 Assignment Due Date: September 26, 2021

Part I Environment Setup

Please follow the instructions below to set up the pre-built virtual machine (VM) image. This will allow you
to complete the rest of the assignment problems and tasks for SYSC 4810.

1 Obtaining the Virtual Machine Image and Software

To set up the necessary virtual machine environment for this assignment you will need the following resources:
1. Download the pre-built Ubuntu Virtual Machine Image from Google Drive or DigitalOcean.
• This will be a .zip file. When unzipped, it will give you a .vdi. This file contains the pre-built
Ubuntu 20.04 Virtual Machine image.
2. Download and install the free VirtualBox software.
• We recommend Version 6.1.16. Newer versions are known to have some issues with the pre-built
Ubuntu Virtual Machine Image.

*Important Note* You may choose to use other virtualization software such as VMWare, Parallels, etc.
However, the instructor and the TAs will not be able to provide technical support for these platforms.

2 Setting Up the Virtual Machine Image in VirtualBox

To set up the pre-built virtual machine image in Virtual Box, please follow the steps below. Note that the
screenshots may look different depending on the version of VirtualBox and the host operating system.

1. Create a New Virtual Machine in VirtualBox: Use New to create a new virtual machine.

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2. Provide a Name and Select the OS Type and Version: The pre-built virtual machine is a 64-bit
Ubuntu 20.04 VM, so select Linux and Ubuntu (64-bit).

3. Set the Memory Size: We need to allocate dedicated memory for the VM. 1024 MB should be
sufficient, but we recommend 2GB (2048 MB). If your computer has more RAM, you can increase
accordingly. The more memory you give to the VM, the better the performance you will get.

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4. Select the Pre-built Virtual Machine File Downloaded Earlier: Click the folder image. On
the popup window, use the Add button to select the .vdi file downloaded earlier. When done, your
virtual machine will be created, and you will see it on VirtualBox’s VM panel.

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5. Configure the Virtual Machine: We need to do some further configuration. Use Settings to see
the Settings window.

• Enable Copy and Paste: Go to the General category, and select the Advanced tab. Select
Bidirectional for both items. The first item allows users to copy and paste between the VM
and the host computer. The second item allows users to transfer files between the VM and the
host computer using Drag’n Drop (Note that this feature is not always reliable!).

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• CPUs: Go to the System category, and select the Processor tab. Assign number of CPUs to
this VM if you prefer. Although 1 should be sufficient, if the performance seems to be an issue,
increase the number.

• Display: Go to the Display category, and select the Screen tab. Make sure to select VMSVGA, as
choosing other graphic controllers may lead to the crash of the VM. If the display does not seem
to work properly, try to increase the amount of video memory.
NOTE: If your computer’s screen resolution is too high, the VM may not be able to match the
high resolution. As a result, your VM will be very small on your screen. To make it bigger, adjust
the Scale Factor in this setting.

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6. Start the Virtual Machine: After completing the initial setup, use Start to start the virtual
machine.

3 User Accounts
The virtual machine has two user accounts. The usernames and passwords are listed below:
1. User ID: root, Password: seedubuntu.
• Ubuntu does not allow root to login directly from the login window. You have to login as a normal
user, and then use the command su to login to the root account.

2. User ID: seed, Password: dees.

• This account is already given the root privilege, but to use the privilege, you need to use the sudo
command.

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4 Optional: Creating a Shared Folder

Sometimes, we need to copy files between the host machine and the VM. You can create a shared folder
between your computer and the VM for this purpose. Please follow the instructions below to create a shared
folder. First you need to create a folder on your local computer (or using an existing folder). We will let the
VirtualBox know that this folder should be shared with the VM. Go to the following menus:

1. In the Settings, go to the Shared Folders category. Select Add Share and once you see the popup
window, select the folder that you want to share (you can create a new folder on your local computer
or using an existing folder), and click OK.

Once done, you will see that the folder is now made available for sharing. In this case, the shared
folder is called VM_Shared. This name will be used in Step 2.

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2. Inside the VM, we need to mount the shared folder somewhere. In this example, we will mount it to
the home directory as a folder called Share. We will create a folder called Share in the home directory,
and then mount the shared folder VM_Shared to this Share folder using the following command. After
that, you can access the shared folder from /Share.
NOTE: You will need to rerun the mount command each time your restart the VM.
$ mkdir -p ~/Share
$ sudo mount -t vboxsf VM_Shared ~/Share

*Important Note* Please only use the shared folder to copy files between the VM and the host machine,
and never use it as your working folder. Working from the shared folder can cause many problems, especially
on the permissions of the files created inside the shared folder. Some of the setup files that are used in
subsequent assignments are very sensitive to these permissions.

5 Known Issues and Common Errors

Please pay close attention to the following known issues that have sometimes resulted in a corrupted virtual
machine and the subsequent loss of assignment progress for some students in the past.

Do Not Move the VirtualBox VM Files: Once you have created and set up your virtual machine, do
not move the VM files from the “Machine Folder” defined in Step 2 of Section 2. In the past, doing so has
resulted in a virtual machine that will no longer boot.

Do Not Rely on Saving the State of the Virtual Machine: When you are done with your virtual
machine, it is strongly recommended that you shut it down (from inside Ubuntu). Avoid “freezing/unfreezing”
the virtual machine using the “Save State” option. In the past, doing so has sometimes resulted in a corrupted
virtual machine that will no longer boot.

Ensure Virtualization is Enabled in the BIOS: Sometimes when starting the VM for the first time,
students are met with a blank screen with a blinking cursor similar to what is shown below.

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To resolve this issue, enter into the BIOS of your system and make sure that Virtualization is enabled. The
precise keystroke to enter the BIOS when you system is booting (usually ESC, F12, or F1) and the menu
items once you are there may differ based on your specific setup, but it should look something like the photo
below (which is from a past student who was facing this problem).

END OF ASSIGNMENT

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