This amazing bash linux prompt does more than meets the eye. If you want to know how to become really good with technology, linux is the secret sauce behind the AskApache articles. Open Source is elixir of the web. Thanks to everyone who helped me for the past 20 years. I use linux/bsd because homey don’t play, so this is geared to be as productive a prompt as I can make it.
Don’t have much time.. or just don’t care? Not a problem, here are the 3 lines to copy and paste – you can just paste them right in your shell to test it, or add to a startup script.
export AA_P="export PVE=\"\\033[m\\033[38;5;2m\"\$(( \`sed -n \"s/MemFree:[\\t ]\\+\\([0-9]\\+\\) kB/\\1/p\" /proc/meminfo\` / 1024 ))\"\\033[38;5;22m/\"\$((\`sed -n \"s/MemTotal:[\\t ]\\+\\([0-9]\\+\\) kB/\\1/p\" /proc/meminfo\`/ 1024 ))MB\"\\t\\033[m\\033[38;5;55m\$(< /proc/loadavg)\\033[m\";echo -en \"\""
export PROMPT_COMMAND="history -a;((\$SECONDS % 10==0 ))&&eval \"\$AA_P\";echo -en \"\$PVE\";"
export PS1="\\[\\e[m\\n\\e[1;30m\\][\$\$:\$PPID \\j:\\!\\[\\e[1;30m\\]]\\[\\e[0;36m\\] \\T \\d \\[\\e[1;30m\\][\\[\\e[1;34m\\]\\u@\\H\\[\\e[1;30m\\]:\\[\\e[0;37m\\]\${SSH_TTY} \\[\\e[0;32m\\]+\${SHLVL}\\[\\e[1;30m\\]] \\[\\e[1;37m\\]\\w\\[\\e[0;37m\\] \\n(\$SHLVL:\\!)\\\$ " && eval $AA_P
Tags: .bashrc, 404 Not Found, admin, Advanced, Apache, askapache, bash, bash_profile, CommandLine, Dig, Examples, Forms, GET, grep, HowTo, Kung-Fu, Linux, Login, mysql, Port, Prompt, PROMPT_COMMAND, PS1, Putty, ram, Redirect, server, servers, Shell, Shell History, SPEED, SSH, SSI, stat, trick, Username, Web Hosting
Posted in Apache, DreamHost, Featured, Hacking, Htaccess, Linux Unix BSD, Making Money, Security, Server Administration, Shell Scripting, Web Hosting, Webmaster, WiredTree | Published on 05/25/2010 |7 Comments »
The following is a transcript of a chat I had with a company called tektonic, and at that time I was looking for a cheap linux host to use for some redundancy/failover operations. I generally contact a new hosting company like this every few months.. I like to have options available in case of some kind of failure or network attack, so it’s always a good idea to have a few ace linux servers in your back pocket.
If you’ve read any other articles on AskApache, you can see a certain obsession towards optimization, speed, and security — so that is the purpose of the following questions.
Tags: askapache, DreamHost, Examples, Hosting, Linux, Powweb, server, servers, tutorial, VPS, Web Hosts, WiredTree
Posted in DreamHost, Featured, Linux Unix BSD, Making Money, Review, Security, Server Administration, Web Design, Web Hosting, Webmaster, WiredTree | Published on 04/25/2010 |6 Comments »
NOT a typo.. 30x is measurable, well-documented, and easily tested. This is what open-source is about. I haven’t had time to post much the past year, I’m always working! So I wanted to make up for that by publishing an article on a topic that would blow your mind and be something that you could actually start using and really get some benefit out of it. This is one of those articles that the majority of web hosting companies would love to see in paperback, so they could burn it.
Tags: Advanced, Apache, askapache, Backups, Bandwidth, Boot, Cache, chmod, console, devshm, DreamHost, File System, filesystem, grep, Hard Drive, HowTo, HTTPS SSL, ionice, Linux, memory bandwidth, mysql, Private Server, ram, rsync, Scripts, Security, server, servers, Shell, shell script, SLRAM, SPEED, speed improvements, SSI, stat, SymLinks, tmpfs, trick, Vulnerability, Web Hosting, webhosts, WordPress, WP-Super Cache
Posted in Apache, Cache, DNS, DreamHost, Featured, Hacking, Htaccess, Linux Unix BSD, Mod_Rewrite, PHP, Security, Server Administration, Shell Scripting, Web Design, Web Hosting, Web Tools, Webmaster, WiredTree, WordPress, WordPress Plugins | Published on 03/18/2010 |7 Comments »
Ok I just came back up to write the intro.. I’m trying to keep it short to avoid getting bogged down by the coolness of each step. Here is what goes on. When I logon to my XP machine at work, I bring my usb key and plug it in first. On logging a window pops up first and it’s a password prompt to mount my encrypted drive leonardo. It also checks a keyfile that is located on my usb key, but all I do now is type in my password. That causes my encrypted folder to be accessible to me like a normal drive, and it autoruns a startup batch file.
The batch file causes Portable versions of Firefox (all my bookmarks, my settings) to load, and launches Portable Mozilla Thunderbird (IMAP makes this work well), which is my favorite program (great GPG features and open-source!). Also Some Adobe CS4 software is loaded from the hard drive, like DreamWeaver. In the background, a service we created executes a PortaPuttY plink command to create forwarded tunnels from various remote servers and accounts, all using key-based encryption. These tunnels are automatically reconnected if they are disconnected, meaning you can use a socks 5 if you want or even better!
Part 1 of 5
Tags: 401, Apache, askapache, ASP, Backups, Bandwidth, bash, bash_profile, Boot, compression, curl, Defrag, Email, encryption, filesystem, Firefox, Flash, GET, Google, GPG, Hard Drive, ionice, Linux, Login, Nice, PageDefrag, password, Performance, Pipelining, Plink, Port, post, Prompt, Putty, ram, rsync, Security, server, servers, Shell, SOCKS, SPEED, SSH, SSH Tunnels, SSI, stat, trick, TrueCrupt, tutorial, USB Drives
Posted in Apache, Cache, Featured, Hacking, Htaccess, Linux Unix BSD, Making Money, Security, Web Design, Web Hosting, Web Tools, Webmaster, WiredTree | Published on 02/23/2010 |7 Comments »
Learn how to setup, configure, secure, optimize, and create a low-maintenance website the AskApache way. I’m piecing together all the hacks, tricks, methods, and ideas discussed throughout this blog and all across Netdom and glueing them all together to show you how to have the most optimized, crazy fastest, and best website setup I can think of.
Tags: 301 Redirect, admin, Advanced, Ajax, Apache, apache server, askapache, Backups, Bandwidth, bleeding edge, blog, Cache, Cache-Control, caching, ColdFusion, compression, CSS, Dig, DNS, errordocument, Etags, Examples, expires header, feed, File Permissions, Flash, GET, Hacking, hacks, Htaccess, htaccess files, Htpasswd, HTTP Error, HTTP Headers, HTTP Status Codes, HTTPS SSL, Javascript, Linux, Login, Logs, Mod_Rewrite, Optimization, optimizations, optimized website, password, password protection, PDF, Performance, PHP, php.ini, Port, post, ram, real deal, Redirect, Redirection, Rewrite Tricks, Robot, robots, robots.txt, Scripts, search and replace, Security, server, server config, servers, SPEED, SSI, stat, SymLinks, trial and error, trick, Web Development, Web Hosting, web server, WordPress, WordPress Plugins
Posted in Apache, Cache, DreamHost, Featured, Hacking, Htaccess, Linux Unix BSD, PHP, SEO, Security, Shell Scripting, Web Design, Web Hosting, Webmaster, WordPress | Published on 02/18/2010 |9 Comments »
You’ve probably seen this.. one of THE coolest video games I’ve ever seen (though I haven’t played).. Its tempting me back to MLG.. Games are games today, but in the future Gaming Skill will be highly sought after.. So I check in with the gaming world occasionally, I’d hate to miss something like a new Duke-Nukem (cancelled after 10 years in development and no releases).
I have around 10 really nice articles I’ve been working on for awhile now, my problem is that I am a perfectionist, so I keep finding improvements.. worth it.
Tags: Gaming, Music, Video, YouTube
Posted in Featured, Music | Published on 02/11/2010 |2 Comments »
To prepare for several upcoming articles on AskApache that are focused on optimizing Servers and Sites from a server admin level, here is an article to introduce the main tools that we will be using. These tools are used to optimize CPU time for each process using nice and renice, and other tools like ionice are used to optimize the Disk IO, or Disk speed / Disk traffic for each process. Then you can make sure your mysqld and httpd processes are always fast and prioritized.
Tags: 503, Advanced, Apache, askapache, Backups, Bandwidth, bash, Blocking, Boot, Bottleneck, caching, compression, CPU, CSS, curl, Disk IO, DNS, Examples, feed, fifo, GET, httpd, ionice, iostat, Javascript, Linux, mysql, Nice, Optimization, pagefile, Performance, Perl, PHP, Port, ram, Renice, Round Robin, rsync, Scripts, Security, server, servers, Shell, shell script, Shell Scripting, Socket, SPEED, SSH, SSI, stat, taskset, trick, Ulimit, Web Hosting, WordPress, wp-config.php
Posted in Apache, Cache, Featured, Linux Unix BSD, Review, Security, Server Administration, Shell Scripting, Web Hosting, Webmaster | Published on 10/10/2009 |3 Comments »
If you ever wanted to know the best way to defragment and speed up your Windows-Based PC, I mean you really wanted to know, here is the 2nd part to my article on Windows Speed Optimizing that details the process I have found works really well. Definately not a quick process, and certainly not the best ever, just my best ever and one that you only have to do once to get the benefits.
This article has a lot of incredibly useful (and FREE) tools I recommend, which you can grab and use without reading the article..
Tags: 301 Redirect, admin, Advanced, Apache, askapache, ASP, Backups, Boot, Cache, CommandLine, compression, console, Defrag, Defragmentation, Deframenting, Disk IO, File System, Firefox, Forms, GET, Google, Hard Drive, Linux, Login, MyDefrag, nsa, Optimization, PageDefrag, pagefile, PDF, Performance, PHP, Port, ram, Registry Optimization, Scanners, Scripts, Shell, SPEED, SpinRite, SSI, stat, trick, tutorial, UltraDefrag, Windows XP, Windows XP Optimization
Posted in Cache, Featured, Firefox, Hacking, Linux Unix BSD, Review, Webmaster, Windows | Published on 10/05/2009 |6 Comments »
Here is the basic process that I use to speed up Windows. A lot of good tips and tricks I’ve picked up over the past 15+ years of crashing and burning Windows that can transform your PC to be much faster than its ever been. The process focuses on freeing up RAM/Memory, freeing up your CPU/Processor, and optimizing your Hard Drive for a permanent solution.
Make sure to check out the free software I recommend at the end, installing them after this optimization process will keep your machine fast for a long time.
Tags: 301 Redirect, 500, Advanced, Apache, askapache, ASP, Backups, Boot, Bottleneck, Cache, console, Defrag, File System, Forms, GET, Hard Drive, Linux, Login, Logs, Nice, Optimization, pagefile, Performance, PHP, Port, ram, Security, SPEED, SSI, trick, Windows XP, Windows XP Optimization
Posted in Featured, Windows | Published on 06/27/2009 |14 Comments »
What is most surprising is how easy the police and authorities were able to break the law and flip the bird to the U.S. Constitution. A lot of people worry about government groups like the NSA having illegal access to data, but I don’t mind that.. I don’t care about the Chinese Government doing similar activity that much either.. The thing that I DO care about is this could happen to anyone.. It’s happened to me before but never to this extent with the courts.. This is NOT cool. The police used inapplicable criminal laws as a basis for a…
Tags: Apache, askapache, Backups, Dig, EFF, Email, GET, Linux, nsa, PDF, Plink, Prompt, ram, Security, SSI, stat
Posted in Hacking, Review, Security | Published on 04/17/2009 |No Comments »
Skip this – still under edit
I discovered these tips and tricks mostly while working as a network security penetration specialist hired to find security holes in web hosting environments. Shared hosting is the most common and cheapest form of web-hosting where multiple customers are placed on a single machine and “share” the resources (CPU/RAM/SPACE). The machines are configured to basically ONLY do HTTP and FTP. No shells or any interactive logins, no ssh, just FTP access. That is when I started examining htaccess files in great detail and learned about the incredible untapped power of htaccess. For 99% of the worlds best Apache admins, they don’t use .htaccess much, if AT ALL. It’s much easier, safer, and faster to configure Apache using the httpd.conf file instead. However, this file is almost never readable on shared-hosts, and I’ve never seen it writable. So the only avenue left for those on shared-hosting was and is the .htaccess file, and holy freaking fiber-optics.. it’s almost as powerful as httpd.conf itself!
Most all .htaccess code works in the httpd.conf file, but not all httpd.conf code works in .htaccess files, around 50%. So all the best Apache admins and programmers never used .htaccess files. There was no incentive for those with access to httpd.conf to use htaccess, and the gap grew. It’s common to see “computer gurus” on forums and mailing lists rail against all uses and users of .htaccess files, smugly announcing the well known problems with .htaccess files compared with httpd.conf – I wonder if these “gurus” know the history of the htaccess file, like it’s use in the earliest versions of the HTTP Server- NCSA’s HTTPd, which BTW, became known as Apache HTTP. So you could easily say that htaccess files predates Apache itself.
Once I discovered what .htaccess files could do towards helping me enumerate and exploit security vulnerabilities even on big shared-hosts I focused all my research into .htaccess files, meaning I was reading the venerable Apache HTTP Source code 24/7! I compiled every released version of the Apache Web Server, ever, even NCSA’s, and focused on enumerating the most powerful htaccess directives. Good times! Because my focus was on protocol/file/network vulnerabilites instead of web dev I built up a nice toolbox of htaccess tricks to do unusual things. When I switched over to webdev in 2005 I started using htaccess for websites, not research. I documented most of my favorites and rewrote the htaccess guide for webdevelopers. After some great encouragement on various forums and nets I decided to start a blog to share my work with everyone, AskApache.com was registered, I published my guide, and it was quickly plagiarized and scraped all over the net. Information is freedom, and freedom is information, so this blog has the least restrictive copyright for you. Feel free to modify, copy, republish, sell, or use anything on this site ;)
Tags: .htaccess examples, 301 Redirect, 302 Redirect, 401, 403 Forbidden, 404 Not Found, 500, 503, admin, Advanced, Apache, Apache Htaccess, apache ssl, askapache, ASP, authorization, Backups, Bandwidth, bash, Blocking, Boot, Cache, Cache-Control, caching, cheatsheet, chmod, code snippets, compression, Cookies, CSS, debugging, DreamHost, Email, error log, errordocument, Etags, Examples, experiments, feed, FeedBurner, File System, FilesMatch, filesystem, Firefox, Flash, Forms, GET, Google, Hacking, hotlinking, HowTo, Htaccess, htaccess files, htaccess guide, htaccess rewrite, htaccess tricks, htaccess tutorial, Htpasswd, HTTP Error, HTTP Headers, HTTP-EQUIV, httpd, httpd.conf, HTTPS SSL, hyper text transfer protocol, If-Modified-Since, Javascript, Last-Modified, Linux, Login, Logs, mad skills, mod_include, mod_python, Mod_Rewrite, Mod_Rewrite examples, Mod_Security, Mod_Setenvif, mysql, Nice, nsa, password, password protection, PDF, Performance, Perl, PHP, php.ini, phpinfo, Port, post, Powweb, Prompt, Python, ram, Redirect, Redirection, Request Method, Rewrite Tricks, rewritecond, rewriterule, Robot, robots, Sample .htaccess, Scripts, Security, SEO, seo secrets, server, server config, servers, SetEnvIf, Shell, Socket, Source Code, SPEED, SSH, SSI, stat, SymLinks, trick, tutorial, ultimate htaccess, Username, Web Hosting, WordPress
Posted in Apache, Apache Modules, Cache, DreamHost, Featured, Google, Hacking, Htaccess, Linux Unix BSD, Mod_Rewrite, SEO, Security, Web Design, Web Hosting, Web Tools, Webmaster, WordPress | Published on 01/10/2009 |66 Comments »
This is all new, experimental, and very very cool. It literally uses .htaccess techniques to create several virtual “locked gates” that require a specific key to unlock, in a specific order that cannot be bypassed. It uses whitelisting .htaccess tricks to specify exactly what is allowed, instead of trying to specify everything that isn’t allowed. Also, by setting specific cookies/tokens after successfully passing through a gate, we can then require the exact cookie/token from the previous gate, which stops an attacker from skipping or bypassing gates.
Tags: 302 Redirect, 401, 403 Forbidden, 404 Not Found, 500, 503, Advanced, Apache, askapache, Cookies, Dig, errordocument, GET, Google, Hacking, Htaccess, htaccess tricks, Htpasswd, httpd, HTTPS SSL, Linux, Login, Mod_Rewrite, password, PHP, phpBB, post, Prompt, ram, Redirect, Rewrite Tricks, rewritecond, rewriterule, Security, server, SetEnvIf, Sniffing, SSI, stat, trick, WordPress
Posted in Apache, Featured, Hacking, Htaccess, Mod_Rewrite, Security | Published on 12/19/2008 |7 Comments »
Unix file permissions are one of the more difficult subjects to grasp.. Well, ok maybe “grasp” isn’t the word.. Master is the right word.. Unix file permissions is a hard topic to fully master, mainly I think because there aren’t many instances when a computer user encounters them. I’ve done a lot of research on it the past couple weeks… and now here’s everything I’ve learned so far.. cuz you guys AskApache Regs Rock!
Tags: 301 Redirect, 302 Redirect, 401, 403 Forbidden, 404 Not Found, 500, 503, Apache, askapache, ASP, Backups, bash, bash_profile, Cache, chmod, Dig, DreamHost, fifo, File Permissions, File System, filesystem, Fsockopen, GET, Hacking, Htaccess, httpd, Linux, Login, password, Perl, PHP, php.ini, Port, Python, ram, Scripts, Security, server, servers, Sessions, Shell, Socket, Source Code, SSH, SSI, stat, trick, umask, Web Hosting
Posted in Apache, Featured, Hacking, Linux Unix BSD, PHP, Security, Server Administration, Shell Scripting, Web Hosting, Webmaster | Published on 11/19/2008 |5 Comments »
List of mainly obscure security software geared more for the master pentester. These are mostly for unix, bsd, and mac and many are difficult to install and setup (require custom servers, inside access points, obscure libraries). Only programs that output data are included, so no actual exploits or anything. Most of these output extremely useful albeit extremely technical information.
Tags: admin, Advanced, Apache, askapache, ASP, Bandwidth, Boot, Cache, CommandLine, console, Cookies, debugging, Dig, DNS, Email, encryption, Ethernet, feed, File Permissions, filesystem, Forms, GET, Google, Hacking, HTTPS SSL, Linux, Login, Logs, Networking, Nice, nsa, password, PDF, Performance, Perl, PHP, Port, post, Prompt, Putty, ram, Redirect, Scanners, Scripts, Security, server, servers, Sessions, Shell, shell script, Sniffing, Socket, SOCKS, Source Code, SPEED, SSH, SSH Tunnels, SSI, stat, Vulnerability, Vulnerability Scanners, Windows XP, Wireshark
Posted in Security | Published on 09/26/2008 |3 Comments »
The goal of AskApache.com is simple – To provide free access to knowledge and data with the goal of empowering people.. or more melodramatically: “Power to the People!” Why the name AskApache? AskApache was chosen to show and pay respect to the contributors of the Apache Web Server. Literally it means to ask Apache when facing a problem, by searching the Open-Source, contacting a board/list, or browsing the documentation. The Author I work for a multimedia production / brand development & marketing company here in Indianapolis, the greatest city in the world! I started this blog in Dec., ’06 to…
Tags: admin, Advanced, Ajax, Analytics, Apache, askapache, ASP, Backups, Boot, CSS, curl, Dig, Email, Flash, Flash Actionscript, GET, Google, Hacking, Htaccess, httpd, Javascript, Linux, Logs, Mod_Rewrite, Networking, Nice, nsa, Perl, PHP, phpBB, Port, post, Python, ram, Rewrite Tricks, Scanners, Security, SEO, server, servers, Shell, Source Code, SSH, SSI, stat, Web Development, Wireshark, WordPress, WordPress Plugins
Posted in | Published on 09/15/2008 |6 Comments »
Scrolls the latest log entries for multiple log files to the current screen or to any other monitor or TTY in color using syntax highlighting, making debugging easier and saving a lot of time for multi-monitor workstations.
Tags: Apache, askapache, bash, CCZE, debugging, Elite, error log, Examples, fifo, GET, Htaccess, htaccess files, httpd, Linux, Logs, Mod_Security, Nice, Perl, PHP, php.ini, post, ram, Redirect, Redirection, Renice, Security, server, Shell, Shell History, shell script, SPEED, SSH, SSI, stat, SymLinks, trick, Web Hosting
Posted in Apache, DreamHost, Featured, Hacking, Linux Unix BSD, PHP, Security, Server Administration, Shell Scripting, Web Hosting, Web Tools, Webmaster | Published on 08/09/2008 |3 Comments »
PHP’s fsockopen function lets you open an Internet or Unix domain socket connection for connecting to a resource, and is one of the most powerful functions available in the php language.
Tags: 500, Advanced, Apache, askapache, AskApache Crazy Cache, ASP, Bandwidth, Blocking, Cache, Cookies, CSS, curl, debugging, DNS, Examples, feed, File System, Forms, Fsockopen, GET, Google, Hacking, Htaccess, HTTP Headers, httpd, HTTPS SSL, Linux, Login, Networking, PDF, Performance, PHP, Pipelining, Port, post, ram, server, servers, Snoopy, Socket, SPEED, SSI, stat, trick, WordPress
Posted in Cache, Featured, Hacking, Linux Unix BSD, PHP, Security, Webmaster | Published on 07/02/2008 |4 Comments »
This simple unix shell script automatically creates backups of a specific folder at regular hourly, nightly, weekly, and monthly intervals. Instead of the usual method for copying directory trees using tar with fifo, pipes, rsync, or NFS methods this script uses cpio which is much much faster and has cool options like saving m/a/c times, symlinks, relative paths, and weird file names.
Tags: Apache, askapache, Backups, bash, chmod, DreamHost, fifo, GET, Hacking, Linux, Nice, Perl, Port, post, Private Server, Renice, rsync, Scripts, Security, server, servers, Shell, shell script, SymLinks, tutorial, Web Hosting
Posted in DreamHost, Linux Unix BSD, Shell Scripting, Web Hosting | Published on 06/12/2008 |1 Comment »