Archive for the ‘software’ Category

Google Pack Alternatives

Monday, April 10th, 2006

Google Pack, “a free collection of essential software” contains some questionable software choices. I’ve listed a few preferable alternatives.

RealPlayer
Real Alternative (free RealMedia player)

Norton Antivirus 2005 Special Edition
AVG (free antivirus protection for home users on a single PC)

Adobe Reader
Foxit (free pdf reader)

Trillian
Gaim (free multi-protocol instant messaging client)

Google Pack requires Windows XP with Administrator privileges and Firefox 1.0+ or Internet Explorer 6.0+.

Boot Camp Turns Mac to PC

Thursday, April 6th, 2006

Boot Camp Turns Your Mac Into a Reliable Windows PC

Yesterday, Apple took a historic, and potentially huge, step to remove that obstacle to switching. It introduced free software that makes it easy to install and run Windows on the latest Mac models as a complement to the Mac operating system. With this new software, called Boot Camp, you can turn your Mac into a fast, full-fledged Windows computer for those occasions when you must run a Windows program. That makes the iMac, the Mac Mini and the MacBook Pro laptop the only computers in the world that allow mainstream users to run both operating systems at full speed.



Boot Camp Beta Setup Guide

free shipping

Linux CLI Cheat Sheet

Monday, April 3rd, 2006

This Linux command line interface “cheat sheet” and other tips and shortcuts can be found at tuXfiles. Good to have for when you need to telnet or ssh into your server.

Moving around in the file system
Command Action
pwd “Print working directory” – show what dir you’re in.
ls List the contents of a dir.
ls -l List the contents of a dir and show additional info of the files.
ls -a List all files, including hidden files.
cd Change directory.
cd .. Go to the parent directory.
Examining files
Command Action
file Determine the type of a file.
cat Concatenate a file.
less View text files and paginate them if needed.
Manipulating files and directories
Command Action
cp Copy a file.
cp -i Copy a file and ask before overwriting.
cp -r Copy a directory with its contents.
mv Move or rename a file.
mv -i Move or rename a file and ask before overwriting.
rm Remove a file.
rm -r Remove a directory with its contents.
rm -i Ask before removing a file. Good to use with the -r option.
mkdir Make a directory.
rmdir Remove an empty directory.

Your Clipboard Contents Revealed

Monday, March 20th, 2006

Project IP lists just about everything a webserver can find out about your computer. Your clipboard contents may be vulnerable.

Only works in Internet Explorer on the Windows platform. It reportedly works with varied success when IE is running in an emulator such as VMWare on another OS. If you have to use Windows, at least dump IE and use Firefox.

Rogue, evil websites can use this to steal potentially sensitive data from your Windows clipboard.

Fix it now!

Go to Tools – Internet Options – Security – Select a security zone – Custom Level – Scripting – Allow paste operations via script and set it to Disabled or Prompt.

Fast FTP

Monday, March 13th, 2006

What if you wanted to quickly move 1,000 local files to your webhost?

My suggestion is to compress all of those files into one large file. FTP that one large file to your server. Then Telnet/SSH to the specific directory where that file lives and uncompress it.

FTP clients such as CuteFTP Professional have a Compressed Transfers feature that allows for streaming compression for faster transfers as well as manual compress/deflate to/from ZIP, CAB or GZIP/Tarball archives. This feature compresses the files into one file, and then FTPs them across much more quickly than moving them individually.

If your FTP client doesn’t have a similar feature, then you can simply compress the files using your favorite compression program.

Then you will need to use a Telnet/SSH connection to your webhost, log in and uncompress your files using the following commands:

All of the below commands assume that you are within the same directory that the compressed file is in. To be sure type:

ls {enter}
If the file is there, you’re ready to go. If not type:
cd /big/dom/xdomain/www/directory/ {enter}
replacing the path with the correct path to your file.

If a file ends in .zip (for example, file.zip) type:
unzip file.zip

If a file ends in .tar (e.g., file.tar) type:
tar -xvf file.tar

If a file ends in .gz (for example, file.gz) type:
gzip -d file.gz

If a file ends in .tar.gz (e.g. file.tar.gz) type:
gzip -d file.tar.gz
and then
tar -xvf file.tar

If a file ends in .tgz (e.g. file.tgz) type:
tar -xvzf file.tgz

A Gentle Introduction to PHP

Friday, March 3rd, 2006

PHP started out as a (relatively) simple server-side scripting language called Personal Home Page, developed by Rasmus Lerdorf. It has grown to a full-fledged programming language supported by scores of open-source developers.

A Gentle Introduction to PHP

How to Secure Your Web Browser

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006

Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Computer Safari and other Browsers.

This paper will help you configure your web browser for safer internet surfing. It is written for home computer users, students, small business workers, and any other person who works with limited information technology (IT) support and broadband (cable modem, DSL) or dial-up connectivity. Although the information in this document may be applicable to users with formal IT support as well, organizational IT policies should supersede these recommendations.

Firefox Cookies Security Settings