ANT the network utility

I came across a really nice network utility the other day. Well it's more of a collection of network utilities. Most everything in ANT can be done via regular command line but it's just nice having access to them via a click of a button. ANT includes these tools:

# Network Port Scanner
# Share Scanner
# TraceRoute
# Ping Utility
# NetStats
# Advanced DNS Utility
# ARP
# Route Configuration
# Adapter Configuration
# IP Configuration
# IP Availability
# Command Test
# Whois Client

And best of all it's FREE! After you install it on a computer you can run ANT from the .exe file alone, so you could keep it on a USB stick or out on your network for quick access.

http://www.dreamsyssoft.com/advanced-net-tools/

It's about TIME

Linux/Debian:
To view the current Date/Time type "Date". If you time is wrong and you want it to set automatically use NTP. NTP is the time protocol that computers use to synchronize their clocks with others on the network/internet.

The main package is ntpdate, and the server that ntpdate looks at for syncing is "/etc/default/ntpdate".

After making changes to "/etc/default/ntpdate" don't forget to restart the service by typing "/etc/init.d/ntpdate restart".

If you want to change the current time right away using a time server type "ntpdate [time server]", make sure to turn off ntpdate service first "/etc/init.d/ntpdate stop".

If your timezone is wrong use tzconfig to change the timezone.

LINKS
NTP:
http://www.debian-administration.org/articles/25

More Advanced info on NTP:
http://www.crazysquirrel.com/computing/debian/ntp.jspx

Remote Desktop Hack for Windows Vista

Microsoft Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate:

I just found a hack that will enable Multiple sessions on Remote Desktop for Windows Vista! Just like the Windows XP hack it will allow more then one person to be logged into the computer at once (Through Remote Desktop). That in itself is great but here is the REAL kicker (If you own Windows Vista Home Premium anyway), this hack will also enable Remote Desktop for Windows Home Premium (Which is sorely lacking thank you!)

Thanks to everyone that made this Hack Possible (None of whom are me!)

Side Note:
If you are using the Windows Home Premium link (By the way it should work for all of the versions) when running the batch files the syntax is:
batchfile.bat [Multi] [Blank]

Add Multi if you want the Multiple session hack and use Blank if you want to also enable the use of Blank passwords (I don't recommend this unless you know what your doing).

http://www.missingremote.com/index.php?Itemid=152&id=1220&option=com_content&task=view

HTTP Tunneling

If you are forced through a web proxy at work or school you know that many of your applications that connect to the internet may not work. The reason is because there is something that is blocking all non HTTP or port 80 traffic. So how do you get around this? Well you could "Tunnel" all of your non port 80 traffic through port 80, thus HTTP Tunneling. The quick and dirty is that you have a program on your computer that redirects all non port 80 traffic through port 80 out to a box that you have setup in the outside world (like at home). The box in the outside world then redirects that traffic back to it's original port and sends it on, thus allowing you to use things like Remote Desktop, Telnet, and P2P through a web proxy connection. There are a couple of programs I ran into that will help you with this.

HTTPORT is a free program that will allow HTTP Tunneling along with HTTHost (The other end of the tunnel)
http://www.htthost.com/

Also HTTP2IPJ is a personal gateway that will also allow you to do HTTP Tunneling but is free only for personal use.
http://www.totalrc.net/main_ref.jsp?menu=19

Linux FTP Client How To

Linux:
Found a great mini How To on using the standard Linux FTP client.
http://www.faqs.org/docs/Linux-mini/FTP.html

Forget slide shows!

Have you ever had several photos you wanted/needed to put together in a slide show? Maybe you wanted to add some music put in a few transitions? It can quickly become overwhelming and take way longer then you planned (and still turn out pretty sad looking). Along comes Animoto. Animoto is an online service that allows you to upload your photos, choose music to accompany, and blends them all together automatically to create a really nice looking video. All of the transitions are automatic and synced to the music making for a really interesting and fun video. It's still in Beta so it might be a little rough around the edges. The little playing I have done it looks spot on.

http://animoto.com/

Free Linux Ebooks

Linux:
Here is a really great site full of free ebooks about Linux.

http://freebooks.homelinux.org/