Don't Hurt Your Head!

Why would you need a SSH Tunnel? You may want to get around a firewall or just encrypt your communications so prying eyes can not see what you are doing online.  On Linux/Unix system you can tunnel all of the traffic from your local box to a remote box that you have a shell account on. You can do the same with Android, and here is how:

First you will need to download some software from the Android Market. The following are FREE apps.

SSH Tunnel This will build the tunnel for your browser to use.

Firefox, a good browser with an easy tunneling add on.

Proxy Mobile Add On

Install all three.

Then you will need a SSH account somewhere. There are a lot of free SSH services out there. Send me an email at brad@crackednoodle.com if you want to hear my favorite, or run a google search and I am sure you will find a couple. Make sure they support SSH Tunneling. Sign up and get a user name and password. You can also use your own SSH server if you have one.

Now open up your  SSH Tunnel program on your Android device. and put in your credentials. Hostname, Username, Passowrd, click on the Use SOCKS Proxy click box and make  note  of the port. It was 1984 for me. Activate the SSH Tunnel by clicking on the Tunnel Switch Check box  (tunnel has to be activated every time you use it).

Next open the Firefox browser and go to the Add Ons in options. Open the options for Proxy Mobile. Set Use Proxy, set SOCKS proxy to 127.0.0.1 and SOCKS port to 1984 (or the port you used on SSH Tunnel).

Your Tunnel should now be working! Enjoy and use wisely.

How to Video:

There are a couple of things you need to set up to control your servers with your Android phone. Here are the tools I use. First it helps to have a good broadband connection to you server. I prefer to use SSH to to communicate with my servers.

The fist tool I am going to talk about is Connect Bot. ConnectBot is a powerful open-source Secure Shell (SSH) client. It can manage simultaneous SSH sessions, create secure tunnels, and copy/paste between other applications. This client allows you to connect to Secure Shell servers that typically run on UNIX-based servers.

The next one is the Hackers Keyboard. A full 5-row keyboard including arrow and Esc/Ctrl keys, intended for tablets. Are you missing the key layout you’re used to from your computer? This keyboard has separate number keys, punctuation in the usual places, and arrow keys. It is based on the AOSP Gingerbread soft keyboard, so it supports multitouch for the modifier keys. This keyboard is especially useful if you use ConnectBot for SSH access. It provides working Tab/Ctrl/Esc keys, and the arrow keys are essential for devices such as the Xoom tablet or Nexus S that don’t have a trackball or D-Pad.

Last tool is BotSync.

BotSync periodically synchronizes files with a remote SSH SFTP server, over the wifi or cell network. As new files/directories are created, BotSync will recursively download them to the phone, or upload them to the server (like rsync). Use it to transfer new content securely, wirelessly, and automatically. Why pay for Dropbox (although there is a free option) when you can run your own private cloud? BotSync works with opensshd – no inefficient, expensive, or potentially-insecure server SW required. BotSync transfers about 4X faster than AndFTP SFTP.

These are the 3 tools I use the most. You will need to know the IP of your server and have the SSh port 22 forward from your router. You can use the Connect Bot to connect to the server and run your scripts and Control your server. The Hacker’s Keyboard allows you to easier type on your server during your session.

Bot Sync you use to keep all your files up to date and sync via SSH.

I would recommend setting up your servers security to only connect to your cell phone. I will cover SSH security in my next article.

Here is the next installment of  Tips and Tricks, this time for the new Fedora 16. The new Auto Plus from dnmouse.org makes adding all the things that the developers left out of Fedora 16.  The team at dnmouse.org has done a great job for all of us fedora users. For everything else I will show you how to add the software you need.

Get up to date

First I like to make sure I have all my packages up to date.

su -c 'yum update'

This will make sure you are up to date and ready to install all the other software.

Add some new Repos.

su -c 'rpm -Uvh http://rpm.livna.org/livna-release.rpm'

Install Auto Plus

(If you wish to use autoplus on rawahide/f16 then you must install the rpmfusion rawhide repo first, also vbox and dropbox wont work as there is no f16 repo’s yet)

su -c 'yum -y --nogpgcheck install http://dnmouse.org/autoplus-1.2-5.noarch.rpm'

Now just open Auto Plus which should be listed under System Tools and start installing your software.

Make sure to install all the codecs! The Skype installed failed for me.

Skype

You need to install some x86 libraries for skype to work on X64 (catch up skype!)

su -c 'yum install libXScrnSaver.i?86 libX11.i?86 libv4l.i?86 alsa-plugins-pulseaudio.i?86 qt-x11.i?86 libXv.i?86'

Now go to the Skype site and download Skype RPM and install it.

http://www.skype.com/intl/en-us/get-skype/on-your-computer/linux/downloading.fedora

Yumex

Of course install Yumex one of my favorites.

yum install yumex

Open Terminal for Nautilus

This allows you to open a terminal window, with a right button click, in a directory in  the Nautilus file browser.

su -c 'yum install nautilus-open-terminal nautilus-extensions'

Shutdown from the Desktop

I like to do a shutdown right from the desktop. Here is how to add this to Gnome.

su -c 'yum install gnome-shell-extensions-alternative-status-menu'

Then just log out and log back in, then you have the menu below.

Add the Date to your Clock

Really simple. Type this in a command line:

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.clock show-date true

MakeMKV

MakeMKV is your one-click solution to convert video that you own into free and patents-unencumbered format that can be played everywhere. MakeMKV is a format converter, otherwise called “transcoder”. It converts the video clips from proprietary (and usually encrypted) disc into a set of MKV files, preserving most information but not changing it in any way.

Here is the install process for Fedora. Then do your MP4s with Handbrake.

Handbrake

There is no Fedora 16 version of Handbrake on their site yet but the Fedora 15 seems to work.

http://handbrake.fr/rotation.php?file=HandBrake-0.9.5-1-Fedora15_GUI_i686.rpm (32-bit version)

http://handbrake.fr/rotation.php?file=HandBrake-0.9.5-1-Fedora15_GUI_x86_64.rpm (64-bit version)

Then you have it!

Enjoy,

First I would like to start by saying all of the below systems offer data encryption and redundant servers to make sure your data is safe. They offer good pricing and have comparable up-time guarantees. I have tried these systems out either by using them in my businesses or by playing with them to find out which one is the right one for me.  All pricing was at the time of writing this article.

JungleDisk - I have used this service with a few of my customers. JungleDisk sets up easily on a Gnome or KDE desktop. I have run multiple installs on Cent OS systems. The system supports Amazon S3 and Rackspace Cloud Files storage. JungleDisk supports full encryption and will restart running processes if shutdown during backup or if a crash occurs. JungleDisk archives old and deleted files for later retrieval, and relies on multiple data centers to keep your files safe.  After the initial set up costs  which was around $50 the service is costing about $8.50 a month for one of my customers to back up about 50 gigs of data. Really a pretty good deal. Since I set the system up 2 years ago I have never had to make changes to the backup. I did have to restore about 100meg of files and that was very easy to do through the desktop application.

Memopal is based out of Rome, but they offer a cross platform software client for Windows, Mac, Linux and IPhone. You can install the software on more than one computer. They offer web and mobile access to your data and have a search feature so it is easy to find the file you are looking for. Selecting files for backup is easy and they even offer the option to backup your entire system. Personal plans start at $49.00 / year for 200GB. They do use a GUI and the Linux system is still listed as a Beta. The support is email based and they promise a response in 24 hours. Good value but a little vague in the Linux support.

DataStorageUnit is a relatively new player in the online storage world but they have a lot to offer the Linux world.  DataStorageUnit is an offsite backup service that allows for lots of flexibility.  It supports open protocols such as SFTP, RSYNC, & SSHFS … so you can choose to use our included partner software, or any other apps that support those protocols.  Because you can use SSH and RSYNC DataStorageUnit is a very flexible solution. With a little script writing you can customize any backup scheme you wish. Great for command line only systems and headless servers.

With the new release of Fedora 15 I thought I should update the Tips and Tricks. The new Fedora Plus from dnmouse.org makes adding all the things that the developers left out of Fedora 15.  The team at dnmouse.org has done a great job for all of us fedora users. For everything else I will show you how to add the software you need.

Install Fedora Plus

su -c 'yum -y --nogpgcheck install http://dnmouse.org/autoplus-1.1-8.noarch.rpm'

Now just open Fedora Plus which should be listed under System Tools and start installing your software.

Make sure to install all the codecs! The Skype installed failed for me.

Skype

You need to install some x86 libraries for skype to work on X64 (catch up skype!)

su -c 'yum install libXScrnSaver.i?86 libX11.i?86 libv4l.i?86 alsa-plugins-pulseaudio.i?86 qt-x11.i?86 libXv.i?86'

Now go to the Skype site and download Skype RPM and install it.

Yumex

Of course install Yumex one of my favorites.

yum install yumex

Open Terminal for Nautilus

This allows you to open a terminal window, with a right button click, in a directory in  the Nautilus file browser.

su -c 'yum install nautilus-open-terminal nautilus-extensions'

Shutdown from the Desktop

I like to do a shutdown right from the desktop. Here is how to add this to Gnome.

su -c 'yum install gnome-shell-extensions-alternative-status-menu'

Then just log out and log back in, then you have the menu below.

Add the Date to your Clock

Really simple. Type this in a command line:

gsettings set org.gnome.shell.clock show-date true

MakeMKV

MakeMKV is your one-click solution to convert video that you own into free and patents-unencumbered format that can be played everywhere. MakeMKV is a format converter, otherwise called “transcoder”. It converts the video clips from proprietary (and usually encrypted) disc into a set of MKV files, preserving most information but not changing it in any way.

Here is the install process for Fedora. Then do your MP4s with Handbrake.

Handbrake

Handbrake is now available for Fedora 15. Thanks to apostolos for the update.

There is a Fedora 15 version of Handbrake on their site

http://handbrake.fr/rotation.php?file=HandBrake-0.9.5-1-Fedora15_GUI_i686.rpm (32-bit version)

http://handbrake.fr/rotation.php?file=HandBrake-0.9.5-1-Fedora15_GUI_x86_64.rpm (64-bit version)

Then you have it!

Enjoy,

After doing so searching on Blu Ray ripping on Linux I found that no one seemed to have a good how to for Fedora. I also was not finding a method that worked consistently for free, or close to free. I found a great piece of software called MakeMKV. With MakeMKV and our other favortie tool Handbrake. I was able to get Blu Ray ripping working fast and easy.

MakeMKV is free to try for 30 days, after that the ask for 50$ for the purchase. I really think this is a good buy. It was one of the better programs I have found for Blu Ray ripping and they support Linux.

Here are the easy staps to get MakeMKV set up and running on Fedora 14, Fedora 15 and Fedora 16. First I would go through the Fedora 14 tips and tricks , Fedora 15 tips and tricks or  Fedora 16 tips and tricks and get all your codecs installed. Now follow this how to:

1. Install all the software that is required to build this program.

Become SuperUser

su

yum update

yum groupinstall "Development Tools"

yum install openssl-devel qt4-devel

2. Dowload the Makemkv programs which comes in 2 parts.

http://www.makemkv.com/download/makemkv_v1.7.0_bin.tar.gz

http://www.makemkv.com/download/makemkv_v1.7.0_oss.tar.gz

3. Unpack the downloads.

tar -zxvf makemkv_v1.7.0_bin.tar.gz

tar -zxvf makemkv_v1.7.0_oss.tar.gz

4. Build the software.

cd makemkv_v1.7.0_bin

make -f makefile.linux

su -c 'make -f makefile.linux install'

Repeat for the other directory.

cd makemkv_v1.7.0_oss

make -f makefile.linux

su -c 'make -f makefile.linux install'

5. Start the program by typing:

makemkv

There you go. MakeMKV should be up and running.

Tip: Only rip the  main movie it is usually  the largest file.

Then run that file through HandBrake.

The Social Network (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition) [Blu-ray]

I rip my Blu Rays with MakeMKV which generates a large .mkv file, 15gig to 30gig and takes about 40 mins  to 2 hours, depending on your computer, for a 2 hour movie. I then run that file through Handbrake to generate a .mp4 or m4v file. This takes about 1.5 hours to 4 hours depending on your computer. Try this, make about 5 mkv files. Then build a queue in Handbrake for all 5 of the files to convert. Start the queue right before you go to bed for the night. Saves a lot of time and electric is usually cheaper at night.

Blu Ray Ripping on Linux Part 1

Blu Ray Ripping on Linux Part 2

Enjoy,

After having some issues with Ubuntu 10.10 (blackscreen after an update) I decided to try Fedora 14. I was not real happy with Fedora 12 but thought I would give this disto another try. Like always Fedora leaves out some stuff your really need, like CODECS! The codec search tool that comes with Fedora has never worked, never. So here is how to load all the stuff you need or want in your Fedora 14 Distro. You need to get some other repositories that have the codecs and programs that Fedora does not supply. I like RPM Fusion and try to stay to the stable releases.

rpm -Uvh http://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-stable.noarch.rpm http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-stable.noarch.rpm

Installing Google Chrome Browser:

To add the google repository edit the file.

gedit /etc /yum.repos.d/google.repo (remove space after etc)

for 32 bit OS Version

[google]

name=Google - i386ff

baseurl=http://dl.google.com/linux/rpm/stable/i386

enabled=1

gpgcheck=1

gpgkey=https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub

for 64-bit OS Version

[google64]

name=Google - x86_64

baseurl=http://dl.google.com/linux/rpm/stable/x86_64

enabled=1

gpgcheck=1

gpgkey=https://dl-ssl.google.com/linux/linux_signing_key.pub

Install Google Chrome Stable Version on Fedora 14

Just type this line on the root terminal

yum install google-chrome-stable

Pidgin Chat Client

yum install pidgin

Autoten installer for all kinds of stuff! Including your Codecs, thanks to dnmmouse.org for this nice little installer.

su -c 'yum -y --nogpgcheck install http://dnmouse.org/autoplus-1.2-4.noarch.rpm'

su -c 'rpm --import http://dnmouse.org/RPM-GPG-KEY-dnmouse'

This should have put an Autoten icon on your desktop use that to install all the other codecs you need!

Skype

You need to install some x86 libraries for skype to work on X64 (catch up skype!)

yum install libXScrnSaver.i?86 libX11.i?86 libv4l.i?86 alsa-plugins-pulseaudio.i?86 qt-x11.i?86

Of course install Yumex one of my favorites.

yum install yumex

Flash-plugin 64bit

Download it from here: http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/flashplayer10.html

Then select the 64 bit tar.

Unpack it then move the .so file to

/usr/lib64/mozilla/plugins/ or ~/.mozilla/plugins/

Restart your browser and you got it. This also causes the Chrome browser to flash to work.

Handbrake is a great DVD ripper. Unfortunately the version on the Handbrake website is not working. Here is a ubuntu how to  for installing Handbrake on Ubuntu 10.10. This is almost the same how to for Ubuntu 10.04.

First we need to get DVD playback enabled:

Then do and update of the Apt repos lists:

sudo apt-get update

Next you need to install the software. Use the Ubuntu Software Center to install Handbrake. Do a search for Handbrake and install the GTK GUI.

After it installs you should have Handbrake working in Ubuntu 10.10.

Now Start Ripping!

There are a lot of tools I carry in my bag. They help me do a lot of tasks from rescuing data off of a crashed computer to getting into that server that you forgot the password to. Here is a list of them and what they can be used for.

Get yourself a good bootable Linux distro. First get yourself a 4 gig USB drive, then download a good disto like Backtrack 4 and install in on your USB drive (here is an easy how to). With this you can boot to Backtrack 4 and have a fully functional computer with all the tools you need to repair or crack a system. You will also be able to mount the drives on the system and look around as needed, or recover lost data.

Now in the event the computer has totally died, you still need to access the hard drive inside of the computer. I found a handy little tool to connect to the drive no matter the condition of the machine. This connects right to the drive and uses its own power source. then you just plug the USB into your laptop andcopy the data you want.

Once you have access to the system or hard drive you may need somewhere to copy data for storage during repair or just to take the data with you. For this you may want to use a removable or external  hard drive. These can be had cheap and are nice to have in your bag if you need to grab some data and go. I would try to get a Hard drive at least 500gig, the smaller the better.

More than once I have found a server with no keyboard or mouse. So I always carry those with me. I carry a flexible keyboard, they suck to type on but will save your butt in a pinch. I also carry a cheap USB mouse. Make it a cheap one that you don’t mind forgetting

Tool List with Prices:

• Hard drive to USB adapter $8.99
• 4 gig USB jump drive $7.65
• Bootable linux Distro FREE
• USB mouse $11.43
• USB flexible keyboard $15.72
• 500 gig USB External 2.5 hard drive  $73.99

For Just over $100 you could have all the tools you need to have access to most of the systems you come in contact with.

Enjoy,

Here is how I installed the system:

You need to go to the http://Amahi.org site and create an account then you are all set to install.

• Boot the installation machine from the Fedora 12 installation DVD
• Follow the instructions to install Fedora
• Use the defaults to install Fedora in graphical mode (click the paper clips for screenshots).Use DHCP for the install process, unless you know you really need a static IP for install.
• When asked for a “root” password note the password you create
• Stop when you reach the “repositories” page. Unselect Office and Productivity, unless you really want it (e.g. to simultaneously use your HDA as a desktop)
• Click on the “Add additional software repositories” button and add the Amahi repository with the following information:

Repository name: Amahi
Repository URL: http://f12.amahi.org

• If asked to, enable your network interface
• Once the network is up, click “Next” to complete the install
• When installation is done, it will ask you to reboot. Reboot
• After reboot, continue with the install and configuration, as you normally would
• Fedora will ask you Create a User. Go ahead. Remember the credentials
• NOTE: The first time you login in Amahi you will be asked to reset this user’s password
• In the “Date and Time” screen, we recommend that you enable “Synchronize date and time over the network”
• At the login screen, login as the user you created earlier on in the install
• Once at the desktop, locate the Amahi Installer icon.
• Launch the Amahi Installer by double-clicking in the desktop icon. Firefox should launch, with locationhttp://localhost:2000. Check the installation troubleshooting wiki page if this is not working for you.
• Enter the install code for your HDA in the box and press Submit
• Use your our HDA’s install code.
• After the install completes, your HDA should be working, however, it’s required that you reboot to get everything working
• After the reboot, your HDA should be fully functional. Login using the username/password you created in Fedora. Enjoy!
• If your HDA has network connectivity and you are satisfied, you can then optionally turn off your router/gateway’s DHCP server and reboot all the systems in your network (so that they all get their DHCP lease from your HDA). This is the recommended configuration, where you enjoy all the features of your Amahi HDA.
• If you prefer to NOT use your HDA’s built-in DHCP server, turn it off because it’s on by default and it could cause conflicts
• Log in and look around.

When your Amahi HDA comes up, you should be able to find the various areas of your HDA:

The Dashboard: http://hda – This page is meant to be your “Home Page” at home

Rest of the setup pages at http://setup where you can:

Setup the Users and Shares

Install new apps, like AmahiTunes, the DLNA server, Wikis, CMSs, Blogs …

… and more

Login Screen

Control Panel

Storage tab on Control Panel

Large list of installable apps

Here are some tips!

• Short URLs: on most operating systems, simply typing hda or setup in the URL box of your web browser will take you to the dashboard and the setup pages! Same with the Apps installed!
• Install Amahi DLNA server, works great with the PS3 or Xbox.
• Browse through the apps and install apps that you like!
• Back up your system onto the shares in your HDA periodically and stay safe