Spell Check for XChat
On Dapper Drake repositories the most recent version of XChat is 2.6.6. Version 2.8 already has spell check built-in.
I’m a big fan of spell check. I use a plugin for Wordpress and Evolution takes care of it when it comes to eMail.
After spending some time looking for a good solution to IRC spell checking, I found XSpell script for XChat.
Here’s how it will look like: Screenshot 1 | Screenshot 2
Start by downloading the script to your ~/.xchat folder. This will make it load automatically.
Start XChat. You should have information about whether the script was loaded or not.
By default XSpell will check every phrase you type. You are free to change this by following the instructions provided by the script.
After the script has been loaded you have to define which application will pop-up so you can proceed to the spell checking. I chose xterm.
To choose which application you want just type: /spellterm terminal (xterm, gnome-terminal, etc).
Don’t forget to save (/xspellsave) after you’re done.
Unclutter - DPOTD
I learned about this great little piece of software through Debian Package of the Day (DPOTD).
Their post explains all you need to know about it.
Unlike the last package, this one can be pretty useful.
I’m currently using it like this:
unclutter -idle 1 -visible &
OpenArena
OpenArena is an open-source content package for Quake III Arena licensed under the GPL, effectively creating a free stand-alone game. You do not need Quake III Arena to play this game.
I first heard about this game on Digg.com; I tried GetDeb.org and I was surprised that someone has already packaged it.
I’m not a fan of FPS, but for a time killer, running natively on GNU/Linux and free, this is as good as it gets.
OpenArena site can be found here, as well some screenshots of in-game play.
This game requires libopenal0a, however, if you install the .DEB, an apt-get install -f will download the dependencies for you (just one, actually).
Fail2Ban - Keep logs clean
This software is simple, but works great. It monitors the logs of SSH (can be configured to do allot more) and when it sees failed attempts, it will use iptables to block the person trying to login. Now the number of failed attempts, as well as the ban time, can be configured.
I successfully configured it to monitor HTTP login attempts for Monit, which I had running a couple of months ago, but since the current use of that computer is limited (lighttpd and irssi), I’ll leave it monitoring the only access to the outside world, SSH.
I really encourage everyone who needs SSH access to a remote server connected to the Internet to try this out.
This is not a security application, since most brute-force crackers have no problem waiting 10 minutes to continue it’s progress. Think of Fail2Ban as a way of keeping your logs clean.
I recommend the ban time to 30 minutes and the number of allowed failed attempts to 1; you better remember that password!
Conky - light-weight system monitor
Conky is not necessarily new software, but it’s certainly good software. As the titles describes it, it’s a light-weight system monitor, capable of doing pretty much all the monitoring you need, sometimes with a little bit of hacking required.
I installed Conky and immediately started polishing an existing conkyrc file located on it’s homepage. The final result can be seen on the screenshot below:
I wanted to make something easy on the eye (!= eye candy) and with only the monitoring necessary (general system, HDDs, network). My conkyrc can be found after the jump:
GLEST - 3D Real Time Strategy
I was watching Lone Gunman yesterday when Langly started playing a strategy game on his uber leet systems. I thought it would be a good idea to have a game of that genre to spend some time, so I started looking. I found UbuntuGames.org, which is a pt_BR Wiki dedicated to games on Ubuntu GNU/Linux.
GLEST was one of many on the strategy group, and now I’m sure, the best.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to install it on my laptop (my main computer, ATM) because it required a more recent version of the ATI proprietary drivers and I didn’t want to go to all that trouble just to play a game - maybe now that I see the game is worth it I’ll upgrade. So, I finishied installing this on my girlfriend computer laptop (Windows Profisional XP SP2) and we just had our first fight over it … I can’t stop playing!
If you’re looking for a time-killer, you will be more than satisfied with GLEST.
Just one minor thing: There is no Save option, so, if you decide to start on a new map, be ready to lose a couple of hours (’P’ - Pause works)
TrueCrypt - Must have!
I feel like people who like to post news that were on the front-page of Digg. However, for what it’s worth, I’ll take about TrueCrypt.
Recently on Security-Basics list from SecurityFocus, someone asked for opinions on what software to use to encrypt the whole HDD on a GNU/Linux system. Approximately 85% of the people who mailed the list recommended TrueCrypt, all with great reviews of why to use it - which is wrong, since TrueCrypt is not a FDE application.
With so many compliments to the software, I decided to try it out.
The team from TrueCrypt already had pre-compiled binaries for Ubuntu Dapper Drake (6.06LTS), so it was just a matter of downloading and dpkg -i.
I decided to try something simple. I used the Volume Creation Wizard (truecrypt -c) and went for a 500MBs file, which was saved on my flash pen drive (Sony MicroVault 1GB) (media/usbdisk/new_volume). I choose the encryption algorithm and filesystem. Ignored the key file (just press enter) and chose my passphrase.
After it was done I just had to mount it - truecrypt /media/usbdisk/new_volume /mnt/ - this will mount the virtual volume we just created with TrueCrypt to the folder /mnt/.
After copying all files I wanted to /mnt/ I just umounted the virtual volume - truecrypt -d. Now all my sensitive information is saved inside that ‘file’ (new_volume) on my flash pen drive (/media/usbdisk).
I seriously recommended this software. And contrarily to what other people are saying about not having a GUI: PERFECT! It would just be a peace of unnecessary bloat!
rTorrent - Text-based BitTorrent client
Today I found this great peace of software and I had to share it. In my quest for text-based applications, BitTorrent was a must-have!
Located on Ubuntu and Debian repositories.
Usage: rtorrent torrent_file
The -h switch and man page will give you more information, but for a quick start up:
Select the file you’re downloading using the arrows (up and down). See more information about a specific file by pressing right.
Upload connections can be managed by using ‘1′ and ‘2′. ‘t’ will query tracker for more peers and backspace will let you input a location to a torrent (either local or remote).
I’m trying to find text-based alternatives for all my needs. So far I have compiled a reasonable list, which I’ll post later on.
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