System log error when running Firestarter configuration program

Running latest Ubuntu ver. 11.04. Using Firestarter firewall configuration (ver.1.0.3). When Firestarter is run, an error message is returned, "Failed to open the system log. No event information will be available". Also same error msg. is returned in the "Events" tab within Firestater, "Error reading system log (null), file does not exist."

How is the system log opened/created/started to prevent this error msg??

2 Answers

Ubuntu 11.04 installs rsylogd rather than syslogd which Firestarter was expecting.

rsyslogd is configured using the file /etc/rsyslog.d/50-default.conf.

You can edit this file

gksu gedit /etc/rsyslog.d/50-default.conf

and change the lines commented out that create the relevant logfile

#*.=info;*.=notice;*.=warn;\
# auth,authpriv.none;\
# cron,daemon.none;\
# mail,news.none -/var/log/messages

to

*.=info;*.=notice;*.=warn;\ auth,authpriv.none;\ cron,daemon.none;\ mail,news.none -/var/log/messages

and then restart rsyslog:

sudo service rsyslog restart

source

As an alternative to the other methdods posted about here, you can just put a symbolic link in /var/log that points messages to syslog:

cd /var/log
sudo ln -s syslog messages