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Turn Ordinary Webcam into a Security Spy Camera on Ubuntu Linux

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 07:53:00 +0000

Do you want to turn your ordinary webcam into a motion-detecting security spy camera? Do you want to automatically upload the captured images or videos from your webcam to a remote server? Do you want to know who has been stealing your chickens? If you answered yes to any of the questions above, then you should read on.

But first, you will need these: a Linux box; a supported webcam; and a few free and open source software packages that I'm going to specify later on.

Now it's time to walk you through the process of installing your very own homemade security spy camera on Ubuntu. Take note that this can be done using other Linux distros as well. But before going on, I'm assuming that your webcam has the right driver and is fully working already.

So let's get down to business:

Step-1: Install the motion detector software that's appropriately called "Motion".

You can install it via Synaptic Package Manager GUI or via the terminal:

sudo apt-get install motion Step-2: After installation, you have officially converted your ordinary webcam into a motion-detecting camera. The only thing that you need to do now is to start tracking movement and capture images by running "Motion" from the terminal:

sudo motion

Saving captured images...

You can stop "Motion" by pressing CTRL+C.

The captured time stamped images are saved at "/tmp/motion" by default. However, you can configure and change the default settings by navigating to "/etc/motion" and editing "motion.conf". Like if you want to change the directory where the captured images are saved, just find and edit this line: "target_dir /tmp/motion"

You can go HERE to know about several “Motion” config file options.

Step-3: Actually we can stop at "Step 2" because we already have a reliable camera that can be used for security purposes. But that may sound boring to some of our adventure seeking advanced users. So let's go on and set-up "Motion" to send and save the captured images to a remote FTP server.

First, let's install "wput". --It's a command line FTP client:

sudo apt-get install wput

After it, edit “motion.conf” with your favorite text editor, and then add the following line at the end section:

on_picture_save wput ftp://username:password@yourserver %f

If you want to start Motion automatically with your server, just add Motion to your "Startup Programs".

Step-4: You will now be able to open the Motion web interface by typing in localhost:8000 from the server itself or XXX.XXX.X.XXX:8000 from a remote computer's web browser. To view a live stream of your webcam type localhost:8001 from the server or XXX.XXX.X.XXX:8001 from a web browser.

Let me add that it's possible to connect and use multiple webcams. You can go HERE for set-up instructions.

That's about it. Enjoy your new motion-detecting spy camera. Now it's your job to put that webcam on the right spot and perhaps apply a camouflage to hide it.

Always remember to be responsible and use that homemade spy camera for good things only. Like maybe catching that fried-chicken-eating thief :-)

Weekly Ten (7-13-2009)

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 14:45:00 +0000

10 Latest News, Blogs, Tips, and Reviews that I find Interesting and Useful:

1. Polish teen derails tram after hacking train network
A Polish teenager allegedly turned the tram system in the city of Lodz into his own personal train set, triggering chaos and derailing four vehicles in the process. Twelve people were injured in one of the incidents.
More @ TheRegister

2. How to use electrical outlets and cheap lasers to steal data
The only thing you need for successful attacks are either the electrical grid or a distant line of sight, no expensive piece of equipment is required,” Barisani and Bianco say in a paper describing the hacks.
More @ NetworkWorld

3. Netbooks Are Little Notebooks, and Linux on Netbooks Rocks
This newfangled netbook phenomenon has brought with it a bit of confusion, which is understandable since it is so new. The EeePC 701 launched the modern netbook craze, a tiny little low-powered thing with a 7" screen, 512MB RAM, WiFi, and 4BG of storage. It ran a stripped-down Linux, and at two pounds and $399, it quickly won many hearts.
More @ LinuxToday

4. Robots learning facial expressions

More @ HackaDay

5. Open Source is Infiltrating the Enterprise
There's a persistent perception that open source software is being ignored in the enterprise, that IT management fears it and it ends up being more costly to deploy than proprietary solutions. That's certainly the perception that some major software vendors would like you to have. But it's Jeffrey Hammond's job to dispel those perceptions, at least when they aren't accurate.
More @ OreillyRadar

6. Windows 7 Forecast to Squash Vista Quickly
Just more than a year after it launches, Windows 7 will account for nearly half of all the client operating systems Microsoft ships to corporate users, according to forecasts by IDC.
More @ PCWorld

7. Apple nears wireless license for iPhone in China
Apple may have finally cleared a hurdle in bringing the iPhone to China as it has reportedly applied for a Network Access License in the Asian country, putting a release just a few months away -- albeit without Wi-Fi.
More @ AppleInsider

8. Video: Life-sized Gundam's back, looking deadlier than ever

More @ Engadget

9. How to Debug PHP Using Firefox with FirePHP
Typically, there are two main ways of debugging server-side code: you can utilize an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) with a built-in debugger or log and perform your debugging processes in a web browser.
More @ SixRevisions

10. The Healthy and Fit Algorithm
Remember: Getting in shape is about 3 things. Eating right. Exercising. And doing those two things consistently! Of course, that’s easier said than done but it’s the truth. Getting into shape is not rocket science!
More @ ZenHabits

5 Fast and Lightweight Linux Distros that Chrome OS Should Beat

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:21:00 +0000

After Google Chrome OS was announced and with the promises or goal of making it fast and lightweight, I know it will someday be compared with some of the fastest and lightest Linux distributions that are currently available. So I’m thinking I may never be impressed with Chrome OS if it can't beat or at least be at par with any of these distros:

antiX
I once dubbed antiX as "The Fat-free Mepis" because it is indeed the lighter and faster version of SimplyMEPIS. It runs really quick even on my ancient laptop since it is designed to work on computers with as little as 64 MB RAM and Pentium II or equivalent AMD processors. antiX uses IceWM and Fluxbox as its window managers and it is loaded with handy software packages.

SliTaz
SliTaz is considered by many as the world’s smallest 'complete' desktop distro. Despite its miniscule size, it comes with several useful applications out-of-the-box like text editor, audio player, pdf viewer, web browser, image editor, DVD/CD ISO Burner, and a lot more. The latest version now uses Openbox instead of JWM as its window manager. I've used SliTaz GNU/Linux 1.0 before and I must say that its speed is awesome.

Puppy Linux
Puppy Linux is one of the top Linux distros in terms of popularity. Although it has quite a small footprint, it is loaded with great features. You can boot it as a Live-CD needing only a few MB of RAM, install it on a USB Flash drive, and even set it up on a hard drive. You can read some of my reviews of Puppy HERE and HERE.

SLAX
SLAX is another distro to beat in terms of speed. Though it utilizes KDE desktop environment, it's still faster than most distributions with lightweight DE. And don't be fooled by its size because it has good amount of pre-installed software applications making it ideal for day to day desktop use. If you want to know more about SLAX, you can read my review HERE.

Damn Small Linux
Damn Small Linux (DSL) is damn small indeed. Still 50MB in size, it remains one of the most well-known Linux distro. They said that DSL is light enough to power a 486DX with 16MB of RAM so imagine it running on your quad core computer with 2GB of RAM. I've tried and tested DSL before, and view it as a good thing that comes in small package because I'm very happy with its overall features despite its tiny size.

If Chrome OS can't top or equal any of the distributions mentioned above in terms of speed and simplicity, then I have a reason to be disappointed since I don’t see the point of Google creating a whole new Linux distro when they can just improve on what's already available.

What do you think?

BIG NEWS: Google Announced Chrome Operating System

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:57:00 +0000

While the entertainment industry is still talking about Michael Jackson's memorial, the tech world is rocked with the latest announcement made by Google:

"...today, we're announcing a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome — the Google Chrome Operating System. It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be."

Google Chrome OS is aimed at people who spend most of their time on the web and will initially be targeted at netbooks. They said that it will be extremely lightweight and fast just like the Chrome web browser, and it will be very secure.

As expected, Google Chrome OS will utilize the Linux kernel with a new windowing system on top of it. But like probably most you, I was wrong when I anticipated that Google will develop Android into a Linux-based desktop OS.

With Google's plan to release Chrome OS as open source software, should we be happy or sad?

I've got mixed feelings right now especially after I've read this post: No thanks Google, we've got Ubuntu.

However, I'm not yet ready to give a concrete reaction on this one since Google and Ubuntu are both important to me and each has done a lot in promoting FOSSS.

How about you our dear readers? Share with us your thoughts via comment.

By the way, you can read the full release announcement HERE.

5 Reasons Why Microsoft is Afraid of Linux

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:58:00 +0000

Apple (Mac OS X) has a relatively larger number of desktop computer users compared to Linux, and Windows virtually dominated the overall market share. But have you ever wondered why people at Microsoft and even Bill Gates himself are bothered by Linux more than anything else? I think here are the main reasons why:

1. Portability

There's no doubt that Linux is a highly flexible operating system that can be easily modified to run on just about any electronic device. Meanwhile, Apple's Mac OS X is tightly locked on its own hardware so I don't see its growth as long-term. I believe there will come a time that a Linux-powered computer or gadget becomes immensely popular, and Microsoft's dominance will be endangered.

2. Cost

I know it's hard to promote a product that costs nothing. But in these difficult times people have learned to value their money more than ever by spending it wisely. Linux sure is free but its capability is valuable.

3. Security

Windows is still the most insecure OS and it is possible that another devastating virus will strike and harm computers running with it. With Linux getting better like becoming user-friendlier and more secure than ever, people have a savior.

4. Firefox

Since Firefox has been rapidly eating Internet Explorer's web browser market share, the free and open source software community is more positive than ever that Linux can be as successful on the desktop. Microsofties are aware of this and are doing everything they can to stop the growth of Firefox and in effect Linux.

5. Applications, applications, applications

The number of great FOSS applications that support Linux are increasing. In terms of quality, they can rival any proprietary software made for Windows. Nowadays, it’s like if you can do it on Windows, you can do it on Linux too.

The year of the Linux desktop is unknown, but the future is bright. Indeed the good people at Microsoft have reasons to be afraid, or shall I say be very afraid of Linux :-)

Weekly Ten (7-06-2009)

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:00:00 +0000

10 Latest News, Blogs, Tips, and Reviews that I find Interesting and Useful:

1. For Firefox, a Challenging Future Awaits
For much of this decade, Mozilla and its Firefox browser were the upstarts, out to beat the big, bad Microsoft and its Internet Explorer browser. Firefox, the descendant of Netscape, the browser that helped jump-start the web revolution, was nimble and it was secure — something Microsoft’s IE wasn’t.
More @ GigaOM

2. Planck achieves ultra-cold state
Europe's Planck observatory has reached its operating temperature, making it the coldest object in space.
More @ BBC.co.uk

3. The evolution of Gmail labels
I love labels in Gmail. Most email programs use folders, which only let me put mail in one place at a time. With labels, I can organize mail in multiple ways. Combined with filters to automatically label incoming messages, Gmail offers powerful ways to organize email.
More @ Googleblog

4. Self-portrait machine

More @ HackaDay

5. Changing the World, One Penguin at a Time
Ken Starks is a testament to the power of single individual, and to the power of the distributed, community Free/Open Source model. He shows that the most effective advocacy is one-on-one, up close and personal. And that one person can multiply himself by inspiring many others. Does the idea of "advocacy" make you nervous?
More @ LinuxToday

6. Why Intel’s Processors Aren’t Big on Cellphones
Under the hood of most netbooks lies a tiny Intel Atom chip. Intel’s low-power processor has fast become the silicon of choice for tiny computers — but not cellphone makers. Until last week’s Nokia-Intel partnership, most handset makers showed almost no interest in the world’s biggest maker of PC processors.
More @ Wired.com

7. CentOS 5.3 Samba Standalone Server With tdbsam Backend
This tutorial explains the installation of a Samba fileserver on CentOS 5.3 and how to configure it to share files over the SMB protocol as well as how to add users. Samba is configured as a standalone server, not as a domain controller. In the resulting setup, every user has his own home directory accessible via the SMB protocol and all users have a shared directory with read-/write access.
More @ HowtoForge

8. Ben Heck's latest portable Xbox 360 adds sleek white finish, Jasper motherboard

More @ Engadget

9. Will Your ID Soon Be a Microchip Under Your Skin?
The VeriChip is the first radio-frequency identification (RFID) microchip that’s been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in humans. The chip is the size of a long grain of rice, and can be implanted pretty much anywhere in the body (most commonly along the tricep).
More @ SingularityHub

10. 10 More Mysteries That Remain Unsolved
The Shag Harbour UFO Incident was the documented impact of an unknown large object into Shag Harbour, Nova Scotia, in October 1967. The crash was investigated by various Canadian government agencies, and at least one underwater search was launched to recover remains of the object.
More @ Listverse

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Simply Awesome

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:54:00 +0000

It has been a long time since I wrote something about a movie so I'm not going to let this day pass without sharing to you the one that I've just watched several hours ago.

Because I'm located at this kind of remote part of Bohol, the nearest cinema is more than a hundred kilometers away. But it was not a hindrance for me to see the sequel of the blockbuster film adaptation of Transformers.

If you have seen the previous Transformers movie and liked it, then wait till you see the second installment. In my opinion, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is one of the most action packed films of all time. --It's two and a half hours of never-ending explosions, fight-scenes, and total chaos.

The storyline is as engaging as the stunning ~~lead actress~~ visual effects that can get you glued to your seats. It has humor, suspense, drama, and romance (between robot and human included).

Talking about visual effects, I think the sequel has significantly improved since Transformers 1. The robots are looking more realistic with plenty of close-up shots and the animated scenes are a lot smoother. This is a fact: while the animation studio ILM needed 15 terabytes to store data for the 2007 film, on Revenge of the Fallen they used about 140 terabytes. Amazing, isn't it? This is not a joke: I also noticed that the robots could now spit and even sweat a little.

The setting or the different locations used for the film are equally impressive. You will see the breathtaking view of Egypt and witness a pyramid being literally crushed; watch a chase scene inside the busy streets of Shanghai, China; and a few more.

I'm not going to give further information about Transformers "Revenge of the Fallen" because I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it yet. One thing is for sure though, the 2-hour drive (4 hours including the drive back home) that I took just to see the film on the big screen was extremely worth it.

Download + Convert YouTube Videos the Easiest Way Possible

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:31:00 +0000

A few months ago, I posted here a tutorial on downloading or saving Flash/YouTube Videos on Linux the easy way. If the previous instruction is really difficult for you to grasp, then you should read this latest entry very carefully :-) Because now I'm going to show you how in the simplest way possible you can download a YouTube video plus convert it at the same time. --So easy that the only requirement is a web browser (no need for add-ons) and probably .01% of your brain.

So let's get down to business:

Step 1: Visit YouTube and select a video to watch.

Step 2: In the URL address box, type pwn before "youtube", and press enter:

Step 3: You will then be redirected to deturl.com where you will be presented with two download links. One is an FLV file and the other one is an MP4 file for the happy iPod/iPhone owners.

Step 4: Click on the link of your choice and save the file.

Step 5: There's no more step five. Enjoy! :-)

5 Top of the Line Twitter Desktop Clients for Linux

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:38:00 +0000

If you've been using Twitter through its website, I recommend that you use a desktop client instead to further enhance your tweeting experience. Since Twitter has become immensely popular, there are tons and tons of available desktop applications that support this great micro-blogging service. So I'm here to assist you on narrowing down the choices, and hope to somehow give you an idea on picking the one that suits you best.

For Linux users, here's my list of top of the line Twitter desktop clients that can surely help you better organize your friends, followers, and tweets, and overall make tweeting a lot more fun:

TweetDeck
TweetDeck is my preferred Twitter desktop client right now because of its rich features and well thought out interface. It is ideal for those who have lots of friends and followers (I don't have much so follow me HERE :-) since you can split the application into columns making it possible for you to group things up. TweetDeck can be easily installed using Adobe Air.

twirl
I used twirl for quite some time before, and until now I can still say that it's one of the best Twitter clients out there. It has a great number of features like image posting, tweet search, changeable theme, spell-checker, ability to record videos on Seesmic, and plenty more. Like TweetDeck, twirl also runs on Adobe Air.

Gwibber
Gwibber is an open source Twitter client for GNOME desktop environment. It is developed with Python and GTK and supports other social networking services like Jaiku, Identi.ca, Facebook, Flickr, and Digg. To Ubuntu or other GNOME-based distro user who wants a lightweight Twitter client with basic functionality, then Gwibber is for you.

Choqok
For KDE users, Choqok is the one Twitter client I can highly recommend. I know the name is hard to pronounce, but don't get discouraged as it has good amount of features like Twitpic.com integration, ability to notify user about new statuses via KNotification or Libnotify, KWallet integration, and more.

Spaz
Spaz is an open source Twitter client with cool looks and features. What I like most about Spaz is its support for user-created themes and it's built-in global search function. Spaz is also dependent on Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR).

I hope you have made your choice already. If you have time for a little adventure, why not also try tweeting via the Linux command line (terminal).

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that you can also use Twitter via Pidgin.

The Art and Science Behind Michael Jackson's Moonwalk

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:16:00 +0000

The moonwalk is considered by many as one of the most popular dance moves ever. It was popularized or shall I say perfected by the late King of Pop Michael Jackson. After Jackson's Billy Jean performance on Motown's 25th Anniversary celebration in 1983, everybody wanted to imitate that out-of-this-world dance step.

I though I knew everything about the moonwalk, until I did a little research.

Contrary to what others believe, the moonwalk was not invented by Michael Jackson. The famous French mime artist named Marcel Marceau was one of first person to do the move and used it as part of the drama of his mime routines. It later on served as MJ's inspiration. Tap dancer Bill Bailey was also known to have performed the moonwalk long before Jackson did.

From Wikipedia, ordinary moonwalk is defined as the following series of moves:

1. place right foot behind left foot, then raise right foot to toe, in an "L" position
2. slide left foot back to finish at right foot, slowly moving upward onto its toes
3. while moving left foot onto the toes, right foot simultaneously moves down to be flat
4. process repeats on each foot
5. leg that is moving backwards bends kneecap slightly forward to create illusion of walking forward

Here’s a good video tutorial on doing the moonwalk:

Pretty easy, right? But if you are interested about the scientific aspects of a perfect moonwalk, then let physics professor Rhett Allain explain them to you.

"The key concept here is friction. Friction is actually uber-complicated, but a simple model works for many cases. Static friction is a force exerted on an object when it is in contact with some surface but those two surfaces do not move relative to each other. Kinetic friction is a force exerted on an object when the two surfaces are moving. Suppose I have a block at rest on a table and I pull it with a slowly increasing force. This is what it would look like:"

Here's a sample of the formula Mr. Allain has written:

"If his center of mass is in the middle, then r2 - r1 = r1 and the two normal forces would be equal (as you would expect). If the center of mass is more towards the foot on the right, then r2 - r1 is less than r1 and N1 will be larger than N2. This will make the frictional force on the foot to the right greater and the other foot slide.

Well, what if r1 is greater than r2? One of two things would happen. Either he would fall over, or there would have to be a force pulling the foot on the left down. This is similar to Michael Jackson's trick in "Smooth Criminal"."

To understand it more, read his blog post HERE.

R.I.P. MJ

Weekly Ten (6-29-2009)

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:54:00 +0000

10 Latest News, Blogs, Tips, and Reviews that I find Interesting and Useful:

1. Spooky computers closer to reality
The computers of tomorrow could be quantum not classical, using the quantum world's strange properties to vastly increase memory and speed up information processing. But making quantum computing parts from standard kit has proved difficult so far.
More @ NatureNews

2. Outpouring of searches for the late Michael Jackson
At Google, we are moved by the life and untimely passing of Michael Jackson. As word spread of his death, millions and millions of people from all over the world began searching for information about the pop icon. The following chart shows the meteoric rise in related searches around 3:00pm PDT:
More @ Googleblog

3. The iPhone Software Revolution
The original iPhone was for suckers hard-core gadget enthusiasts only. But as I predicted, 12 months later, the iPhone 3G rectified all the shortcomings of the first version. And now, with the iPhone 3GS, we've reached the mythical third version:
More @ CodingHorror

4. Blu-Ray laser keychain

More @ HackaDay

5. Bing and Google Agree: Slow Pages Lose Users
To know how to improve their sites both Bing and Google need to know what tweaks to page load perceptions and realities help or hurt the user experience. This is one of the first performance tests that has actual data (and is not strictly anecdotal). The numbers may seem small, but they if you are dealing in millions/billions they add up quickly.
More @ OreillyRadar

6. The Kernel Newbie Corner: Your First Loadable Kernel Module
This is the first in a series of articles aimed at the beginning kernel programmer, designed to lead the kernel newbie through the basics of writing and compiling their first kernel module, and getting increasingly sophisticated from there. Everything that will happen in this space is meant to be fully hands-on, and you're all welcome to play along.
More @ Linux.com

7. How to Automate Any House with Twitter
The advantages of an automated home are many. Access to real time monitoring and data mining promote more efficient living. Phantom power losses can be minimized simply by watching the power baseline and reducing any contributions to that base of wasted power. Actual power and water use for different activities can be seen -- and what gets measured, gets action. With a little data mining, your entire environmental footprint can be seen.
More @ Treehugger.com

8. Nikkei Reports Sony Is Working On Famed PlayStation Phone

More @ Gizmodo

9. Palm Pre App Catalog Hits 1 Million Downloads
The Palm Pre, the world's first webOS device, went on sale in the United States on June 6. With it Palm launched a corresponding mobile software channel, the Pre App Catalog, which already boasts a number of great applications.
More @ PCWorld

10. Top 10 Fascinating And Notable Lobotomies
The first documented case of psychosurgery was in 1888 by Swiss psychiatrist Gottlieb Burckhardt. He claimed success in 50% of patients (3 of 6) Burckhardt was met with overt criticism from his contemporary medical colleagues. The next attempt at this type of surgery did not occur until the mid 1930s which produced many documented success stories and soon became an accepted surgery procedure in many countries. From the late 1930s to the 1970s approximately 100,000 psychosurgeries / lobotomies were performed world-wide.

More @ Listverse

5 Free and Open Source Web Browsers That You May Have Never Heard Of

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:32:00 +0000

For web browsing, most of us would prefer Firefox or Opera because of their speed, security, stability, and overall features. While a handful of people may like surfing the web with some of those terminal-based browsers.

For a change, why not try some web browsers that would perhaps cater to a few of your specific needs and would serve as an alternative to your existing browser. Why not try some of these Free and Open Source web browsers that you may have never heard of:

Kazehakase

Named after a Japanese short story, Kazehakase supports Unix-like operating systems that use GTK+ libraries. Kazehakase embeds the Gecko layout engine as well as GTK+ WebKit with plans to add the ability to switch between additional different rendering engines (e.g. GtkHTML, Dillo, w3m). Some of its main features are:

* Tabbed browsing
* Remote bookmark (e.g. RSS) in menu or sidebar
* Variable UI (menus, toolbar etc.) on user level
* Customizable mouse gestures
* Customizable key accelerator

NetSurf

NetSurf is a light-weight and easy-to-use web browser that is capable of handling most of your basic online tasks. Originally written for low-end computer hardware, it can run on ARM 6 computer with just 16MB of RAM. NetSurf is written primarily in ANSI C, and implements most of the HTML 4 and CSS 2.1 specifications using a bespoke layout engine. Aside from rendering GIF, JPEG, PNG and BMP images, the browser also supports formats native to RISC OS, including Sprite, Draw and ArtWorks files. Unfortunately, NetSurf still has no support for JavaScript.

Arora

Arora is a minimalist QtWebKit-based web browser whose feature list includes things like tab management, simple history, a bookmarks system and global user CSS. The original codebase was written for Trolltech by Benjamin C Meyer ("icefox"), a Qt developer. It was released as the Qt Demo Browser as part of Qt 4.4.0, demonstrating the capabilities of the then-new Qt-WebKit integration. After the release, Meyer forked the code and continued working on it independently, under the name Arora.

SRWare Iron

SRWare Iron is based on the Chromium-source but eliminates usage tracking and other privacy violating functionality that Chrome includes. In contrast to Chrome, it implements the latest version of the WebKit rendering engine, and includes a built-in ad blocker. SRWare Iron is fast and with an interface similar to that of Google Chrome.

Midori

Midori web browser is known for its lightning speed. It uses the WebKit rendering engine and the GTK+ 2 interface, and is part of the Xfce desktop environment's Goodies component. Some of Midori's main features are:

* Tabs, windows and session management
* Supports Netscape Extensions
* Flexibly configurable Web Search
* User scripts and user styles support
* Straightforward bookmark management
* toggle full image zoom
* Speed Dial

Microsoft Uses Google AdWords to Promote IE 8

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:41:00 +0000

Now I can say that Microsoft is getting really desperate at promoting Internet Explorer 8. First there's the partnership with Feeding America on which they will donate 8 meals for every download of IE 8 HERE.

Then there's this game that is available only for IE 8 users. The lucky winner will get to keep $10,000.

Next up is Microsoft's own version of MythBusters, which most people think is questionable and somewhat ~~crappy~~ ridiculous.

If you think that Microsoft will stop from there, then perhaps you should see this...

And this...

Yep, those are Windows Internet Explorer 8 banners that were seen on a couple of AdSense ad spots at my blogger templates site. That means Microsoft is buying Google AdWords to promote the latest version of their web browser. Microsoft and Google are supposed to be competitors in the advertising market, right? Not to mention the browser market.

Those series of bizarre events made me wonder what's going to be Microsoft's next big move to boost the popularity of IE 8. Any guesses?

10 (More) Hacking and Security Software Tools for Linux

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:51:00 +0000

I noticed that our list of hacking and security software tools for Linux was not enough so I figured out that I should add some more. But before anything else, thank you to those who commented the last time and shared their favorite hacking programs. --I've included some of those that you've mentioned on this new list for others to know about.

Now without any more delay, here's our latest compilation of hacking and security tools for Linux:

* Ettercap

Ettercap is a console-based network sniffer/interceptor/logger that is capable of intercepting traffic on a network segment, capturing passwords, and conducting active eavesdropping against a number of common protocols. Ettercap supports active and passive dissection of many protocols (including ciphered ones) and provides many features for network and host analysis. Ettercap also has the ability to actively or passively find other poisoners on the LAN.

* Nikto

Nikto is a web server scanner that is known to perform comprehensive tests against web servers for multiple items, including over 3500 potentially dangerous files/CGIs, versions on over 900 servers, and version specific problems on over 250 servers. It performs generic and server type specific checks. It also captures and prints any cookies received.

* OpenSSH

OpenSSH is a Free and Open Source version of the SSH connectivity tools providing encrypted communication sessions over a computer network. It encrypts all traffic (including passwords) to effectively eliminate eavesdropping, connection hijacking, and other attacks. Additionally, OpenSSH provides secure tunneling capabilities and several authentication methods, and supports all SSH protocol versions.

* Aircrack-ng

Aircrack-ng is a wireless tool and password cracker. It is a network software suite consisting of a detector, packet sniffer, WEP and WPA/WPA2-PSK cracker and analysis tool for 802.11 wireless LANs.

* Tripwire

Tripwire is a security and data integrity tool that is useful for monitoring and alerting on specific file change(s) on a range of systems. Used with system files on a regular basis, Tripwire can notify system administrators of corrupted or tampered files, so damage control measures can be taken in a timely manner.

* Metasploit Framework

Metasploit Framework is an advanced open-source platform for developing, testing, and using exploit code. The extensible model through which payloads, encoders, no-op generators, and exploits can be integrated has made it possible to use the Metasploit Framework as an outlet for cutting-edge exploitation research. It ships with hundreds of exploits, as you can see in their online exploit-building demo.

* THC Hydra

THC (The Hacker's Choice) Hydra uses a dictionary attack to test for weak or simple passwords on one or many remote hosts running a variety of different services. It was designed as a proof-of-concept utility to demonstrate the ease of cracking poorly chosen passwords. It can perform rapid dictionary attacks against more then 30 protocols, including telnet, ftp, http, https, smb, several databases, and much more.

* Dsniff

Dsniff is suite of powerful network auditing and penetration-testing tools and utilities that includes code to parse many different application protocols and extract interesting information. The information that can be obtained from this sniff application are: usernames and passwords, web pages being visited, contents of email, etc.

* RainbowCrack

RainbowCrack is a password hash cracker that makes use of a large-scale time-memory trade-off. It differs from "conventional" brute force crackers in that it uses large pre-computed tables called rainbow tables to reduce the length of time needed to crack a password drastically.

* rkhunter

rkhunter scans for rootkits, backdoors and possible local exploits. It does this by comparing SHA-1 hashes of important files with known good ones in online database, searching for default directories (of rootkits), wrong permissions, hidden files, suspicious strings in kernel modules, and special tests for Linux and FreeBSD.

Weekly Ten (6-22-2009)

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:18:00 +0000

10 Latest News, Blogs, Tips, and Reviews that I find Interesting and Useful:

1. Who rules real-time search? A look at 11 contenders
Real-time search engines have proliferated over the last month, with a series of launches from start-ups like Topsy, almost.at and Scoopler. The companies are hoping to edge in on a space that Google co-founder Larry Page has admitted is a weakness for the search giant. And they’re using microblogging and social bookmarking sites as tools to figure out what content is relevant up to the second.
More @ VentureBeat

2. Does the Linux Desktop Innovate Too Much?
For the last eighteen months, the GNU/Linux desktop has been in a period of radical innovation. KDE 4 introduced new features and workflows. Mark Shuttleworth launched Ubuntu on a unilateral redesign campaign, starting with notifications. GNOME announced a new desktop that, so far as anyone can tell, will profoundly change the user-experience.
More @ Datamation

3. Why is the NY Times so Dumb About Linux and Windows?
The New York Times seems hard-wired to rarely identify any Windows malware as Windows malware, but rather as "computer malware." They seem to share this illness with other people too, such as researchers and professors. Can it be that all these educated people who make their livings knowing things and uncovering new knowledge really don't know that there are other computer operating systems besides Microsoft Windows?
More @ LinuxToday

4. Meat thermometer using predictive filtering

More @ HackaDay

5. The Commodore 64 vs. the iPhone 3G S: The Ultimate Showdown
Sad news: Apple has rejected a Commodore 64 emulator for the iPhone. It’s not surprising, and arguably not an utter outrage given that the iPhone developer agreement expressly forbids emulators, and the C64 app’s creator knew that when he began work on his brainchild. I’m still unclear on how a Commodore 64 emulator–one fully licensed by the relevant copyright holders–hurts the iPhone, iPhone owners, or Apple, though.
More @ Technologizer

6. The beginner's guide to Slackware Linux
Give a man Ubuntu, and he'll learn Ubuntu. Give a man SUSE, and he'll learn SUSE. But give a man Slackware, and he'll learn Linux. Well, so the old internet maxim goes, but while it's normally used with a touch of humour, there's a great deal of truth in it too.
More @ TechRadar

7. T-Mobile's Second Android Phone Won't Come With Keyboard
Just like T-Mobile USA's first Android phone, the new myTouch will feature Google applications and is made by HTC. But unlike the original G1 phone, it won't have a physical keyboard.
More @ PCWorld

8. Keepin' it real fake, part CCXVIII: iPhome 3G for the wim!

More @ Engadget

9. Dramatic Increase in Number of Tor Clients from Iran: Interview with Tor Project and the EFF
Anonymous proxies are in the news this week as Iranians are using proxies outside of Iran to communicate information about ongoing protests to others within the country. I've received several queries this week from non-technical colleagues about proxy servers. Is it legal to run a proxy server? Does running a proxy server violate my agreement with my broadband provider?
More @ OreillyRadar

10. The Simple Fitness Rules
You’re told that eggs, butter and meat are bad for you. Then another crowd will tell you those same things are actually good. Then you’ll hear running is good for you, and the bodybuilding and primal crowds will scoff at longer-distance running. You’ll hear that lifting weights is the best way to get into shape, and others will laugh at that. You’ll hear a million variations of the best workouts, of when to time your nutrition, of how to periodize your workouts, of how to measure fitness, of what supplements you need to take … ad naseum.
More @ Zenhabits

iPhone Review + Jailbreaking/Unlocking iPhone 3G/3G S + iPhone Linux

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 06:09:00 +0000

Since it's all over the news, you probably have read about the latest iPhone hardware and software upgrades namely iPhone 3G S and the iPhone OS version 3.0. As an iPhone (3G) owner, I would like to share a few things about the most recent software update and generally my experiences of using this so-called innovative smartphone. I will also talk about my thoughts on jailbreaking and unlocking, as well as the idea of installing Linux on the iPhone.

I've been using my iPhone for more than 2 months now and I must say that I'm beginning to enjoy it, and made it my primary mobile gadget. Though at first I'm mostly impressed with its multi-touch screen, clear/huge display, and its sleek and compact design, there's more to like about the iPhone like its intuitive user-interface, its out-of-the-box applications (Safari, iPod, Mail, Calendar), and the tons of third-party programs that you can get via App Store.

Sure the iPhone has plenty of exciting features that the Apple fanboys would love to talk about all day, but just like any other electronic devices, it's not perfect.

One of the things that I'm disappointed about the iPhone is the battery. The lack of physical access to easily replace the battery is just stupid. I know Apple did this to make the device more solid and to minimize moving parts, but I think a simple design tweak won't hurt. The importance or shall I say the convenience and peace of mind that a user can get from having an easily-replaceable cell phone battery should be considered first and foremost.

Another major letdown of the iPhone is its Bluetooth device. When I was thinking of buying an iPhone, I expected it to sync flawlessly with other Apple/Mac devices like my Macbook Pro so I never really bothered to research further before I bought it. To my disappointment, the iPhone can't even pair with my Mac. Hell my old Nokia phones can sync without a hitch with my Macbook. So this is another foolish mistake made by Apple.

Let's talk about iPhone's software features. There's no doubt that the mobile version of Mac OS X is amazing and it is integrated really well with the device. The applications work smooth and fast and the user interface is outstanding. I'm already used to typing from its multi-touch screen keys. I also didn't expect that the iPhone gaming experience can be a lot fun. But overall, the best software feature of the iPhone is its support for thousands (and still growing) of 3rd-party apps.

What do I think about iPhone OS 3.0? I've been using version 3.0 for two days now and I still can't fully appreciate some of its most recent features. However, I do find the “cut, copy, & paste”, "search" and "landscape keyboard" as handy improvements.

Aside from a slight decrease in speed, there’s a noticeable drop off in battery performance after updating to 3.0. You can read a thread HERE, which should support my claim. I hope Apple will do something about this issue because I'm already thinking of just reverting to the previous software version, and then jailbreak my iPhone to get similar features of 3.0 and probably more. Read this post to know what I mean.

For those of you who are also interested in jailbreaking and unlocking the iPhone, I suggest you visit The Dev-Team Blog. I will probably be posting a jailbreaking/unlocking tutorial here soon. But for now, Google is your friend.

Lastly, I want to talk about the idea of installing Linux on the iPhone. I know the mobile version of Mac OS X is already great but I want other features like the multi-tasking power of Palm Pre's Linux-based webOS. Some people are already working to get Linux on iPhone working so I'm looking forward to their success. Who knows this could be the complex solution to the battery and speed performance problem of my current iPhone since Linux is a resource-efficient beast of an OS.

That's about it. I hope this will somehow help you decide whether to buy an iPhone or not. Now go and convince grandpa to change his phone already.

Hello moto! :-)

15 Cool and Unique GDM Themes

noreply@blogger.com (jun auza) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 15:52:00 +0000

Not long ago, we've featured here some of the most beautiful KDM themes available for all the KDE users out there. So it's only appropriate to give GNOME lovers a little treat by presenting several good looking GDM themes this time around.

Without further ado, here's our fresh collection of 15 cool and unique GDM themes to further enhance your GNOME login screen:

Wooden

TECH SOURCE FROM BOHOL

Turn Ordinary Webcam into a Security Spy Camera on Ubuntu Linux

Weekly Ten (7-13-2009)

5 Fast and Lightweight Linux Distros that Chrome OS Should Beat

BIG NEWS: Google Announced Chrome Operating System

5 Reasons Why Microsoft is Afraid of Linux

Weekly Ten (7-06-2009)

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Simply Awesome

Download + Convert YouTube Videos the Easiest Way Possible

5 Top of the Line Twitter Desktop Clients for Linux

The Art and Science Behind Michael Jackson's Moonwalk

Weekly Ten (6-29-2009)

5 Free and Open Source Web Browsers That You May Have Never Heard Of

Microsoft Uses Google AdWords to Promote IE 8

10 (More) Hacking and Security Software Tools for Linux

Weekly Ten (6-22-2009)

iPhone Review + Jailbreaking/Unlocking iPhone 3G/3G S + iPhone Linux

15 Cool and Unique GDM Themes

Newbie Guide: How to Install LimeWire on Ubuntu Linux

Weekly Ten (6-15-2009)

15 Mythical and Humorous Facts About Richard Stallman

Android Scripting Environment Adds More Power to Google Phone

CenterIM: A Geeky IM/Chat Client + RSS Reader for Linux

15 Cool Google Chrome Wallpapers

Weekly Ten (6-08-2009)

Google Chrome on Linux First Impressions and Screenshots