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Trash Talk - Remotely controlling a Linux system.

Animate Dreams - Thu Aug 17, 2006 12:52 pm
Post subject: Remotely controlling a Linux system.

Okay, so I know you can run Linux machines without ever physically logging on to the machine. But what's the best way to do this? I've been using WinSCP and PuTTY for everything on my computer, but that doesn't seem to let me do everything. For example, my copy of AS3... I've never shut it off through any way but Ctrl+C, or by ?shutdown. So how do I access that screen through PuTTY? Also, is there a better(easier, at least) way to interface with my Linux system? Possibly with a GUI?

I'm using Fedora Core 5, if it matters. I'm the only user of the system. I feel like I should give more info but I don't know anything else to say about it.

Mine GO BOOM - Thu Aug 17, 2006 1:15 pm
Post subject:

You should be able to do everything you want through SSH. As for accessing that screen that ASSS is running? Give screen a try. Learn the commands, and you'll love it.

Quick start guide. For all internal screen commands, ^ before a letter means you hit CTRL a. This will tigger the 'screen' command mode. Example: ^n means you hit CTRL a then n by itself. Case matters.
To start a screen session, use screen -R as this will either attempt to restore a previous session or start a new one.
To create a new window inside of screen, ^c. Then play around and do what you want.
To go to another window, use ^n for next, ^p for previous, or ^" to see a listing of all windows.
To give a window a title, use ^A (CASE MATTERS!). Type in a name, and now when you use ^" you'll see that description.

Bonus for you if you'd like. In your home folder, paste this into a new file called .screen

Code: Show/Hide

# Send extra data to console so that you can use local console's
# scroll-back features
termcapinfo xterm ti@:te@
term xterm

# fancy buttom line tells information
#hardstatus alwayslastline "%l | %D %M %d %c | %-w %{+r} %n %t %{-} %+w"

# Make sure programs are still running if we leave
autodetach on

# Colored status line on the bottom of the screen
#sorendition 04 43
#hardstatus alwayslastline "%h | %-w %{+r} %n %t %{-} %+w"

# Remove startup message and make status messages shorter timeout
startup_message off
msgwait 1

# Increase scrollback buffer from 100 lines
defscrollback 1024

# Remove real bell sound and replace with virtual bell instead
vbell on

# F5/F6 to scroll through windows, F7 to rename, F8 to create new
bindkey -k k5 prev
bindkey -k k6 next
bindkey -k k7 title
bindkey -k k8 screen

# If a window goes unresponsive, don't block the whole session waiting for it.
nonblock on

Animate Dreams - Thu Aug 17, 2006 1:45 pm
Post subject:

I have screen, at the time I was only using it so I could watch other people who were logging in through PuTTY(helping me with fixing broken things, I was watching so I could learn from it), and I knew it could be used to do things like that, but I still don't understand how. For example, if I want to access a terminal session with screen later, do I have to first set that up while I have direct access to the terminal? Or can I access any terminal session that's running right now?

Also, I'd still like to know of an easier way to manage things like this(like something with a GUI) if anyone knows of one, because even though I'd like to learn how to use screen since it seems to be a standard, there are some people who would have a hard time learning it(my dad, for example) and would just want an easy solution, even if it didn't let him do as much.

And why was this moved? Personally, I assumed general server questions should go in the General Questions board.

(Deactived B l a h e r) - Thu Aug 17, 2006 1:59 pm
Post subject:

I like using VNC Server and viewer along with KDE.
I always used Debian, so I don't know the exact commands for your case.
If you want to do the same:
you can get the viewer at http://www.realvnc.com
On your linux root-
install xserver-xfree86
install xfonts-base xfonts-75dpi
install kdebase
install konsole
install vncserver

To start your VNC server, use:
"vncserver -geometry 1024x768 -depth 32" (16, if you want to have lower res)
and if you want to set up a password, mostly if your going to have this work outside you LAN, then use:
"vncpasswd [yourpass]"

Then open the viewer up, and type in the internal IP, or host, if your using it outside you LAN and have port forwarding (I havn't tried this). and after the IP, you should have :1 (or what ever ther server number is).

This should supply you with a nice KDE GUI, and it's VMWare to your Linux machine.

Also, I've had problems with my text, so I:
install msttcorefonts

If you need help with your network, then I'll explain how to set it up, but other wise, I have things to do.

Quan Chi2 - Thu Aug 17, 2006 2:03 pm
Post subject:

Hey, speaking of VNC, to scan for some IPs vulnerable through VNC, use the VNC hack.

windows: http://www.milw0rm.com/sploits/05172006-VNC_bypauth-win32.rar
linux: http://www.milw0rm.com/sploits/05172006-VNC_bypauth-linux.tar.gz

Its pretty cool.

Animate Dreams - Thu Aug 17, 2006 2:14 pm
Post subject:

So I've heard of VNC, and I've been meaning to look into it, but I keep forgetting the name which has made it kind of hard in the past. You'd think I'd learn, but not so far....
Anyway, I'm pretty sure I'm running Gnome(not sure, I am NOT a Linux guy, if you can't tell) with Fedora Core 5 right now, so would just installing KDE like that give me any problems? Would Gnome get overwritten, or would there be conflictions? I'm not sure how stuff like this works, so if someone could educate me, that would be awesome.

Doc Flabby - Thu Aug 17, 2006 3:13 pm
Post subject:

u can use vnc with gnome too

(Deactived B l a h e r) - Thu Aug 17, 2006 3:15 pm
Post subject:

The distribution, think it as the main box (think of it as what everything runs on). KDE is just a GUI environment (like IDE), that runs on your Linux. But not just installing KDE will work, you need to install a bunch of other dependencies (like windows needs 200 things, to not crash). All you do is install those (using the install/update command, which for Debian is "apt-get install", but I don't know what it is for gnome) dependencies that I listed, and it will do everything on it's own, it's very simple.

I suggest you try out coLinux, which will run on your windows system, and it'll give you a nice feel of how to use Debian Linux. Once you learn that, then you should go on to just taking Debian (not coLinux) on it's own system, updating it like you did with coLinux, and you should already have the knowledge of using Linux, and the KDE environment.

As for the network for when you get out of coLinux:

1. Instead of using TAP, I suggest just using it to connect to your LAN.
2. Set your internal IP, just as you did with coLinux.
3. Go to DynDNS.com and register a dynamic Domain.
4. Set that domain to point to your WAN IP (which would be your NAT)
5. Port forward 5900 to the computer that has the Linux on it. (if you using VNC)
6. Start your VNC server.
7. For you connection, use the domain you registered along with :1. (this is the case when you are outside of you LAN)
If you are inside of your LAN, then just use your internal IP (of the Linux computer), along with :1.

Cerium - Thu Aug 17, 2006 3:15 pm
Post subject:

Now, Im not a linux guy so I could be completly off base here, but doesnt x-windows let you connect to a remote machine and view its GUI?

(Deactived B l a h e r) - Thu Aug 17, 2006 3:20 pm
Post subject:

Cerium wrote:

Now, I'm not a Linux guy so I could be completely off base here, but doesn't x-windows let you connect to a remote machine and view its GUI?

No, I think it it's a GUI it's self, like KDE is... But I've only heard of it.

EDIT: yea, I think your right, it has it's own server/client, but I've only seen it being used with people that use Red hat (something I will never use, along with Solaris), which I don't see as a good starter environment. KDE is the best thing to start out with, as far as I know.
But maybe I'm wrong, I didn't have time to really read it, but a few things I caught, was that it was the basic frame work for a GUI. So maybe KDE, is a X windows system, but I'm not the expert, so I wouldn't really know.

EDIT2: I was looking at the wiki of X windows system, and I noticed Gnome has it's own GUI, but it seemed a little dull.

k0zy - Thu Aug 17, 2006 3:57 pm
Post subject:

blah-er wrote:

I suggest you try out coLinux...

Quote:

Dedicated to the study of Lau Gar Kung Fu as taught by Master Jeremy Yau

I knew it, linux runs kung fu masters!

btw: It's XDMCP you're talking about.
And the Gnome Display Manager supports it.

i88gerbils - Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:54 pm
Post subject:

I would suggest not using VNC directly. I would instead use a SSH tunnel so nobody starts snooping around for your password.

I'm not sure if kill <run_asss_pid> will cleanly shutdown the server or not, but it will definetely shut it down. You could just start it back again by running it as a daemon process with &.

Doc Flabby - Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:29 pm
Post subject:

blah-er wrote:

The distribution, which I think Gnome is, think it as the main box (think of it as what everything runs on). KDE is just a GUI environment (like IDE), that runs on your Linux.

Thats just totally wrong.

Gnome is also a GUI.

you dont even need KDE or Gnome to use VNC

you can use and Xwindows GUI even ones such as fluxbox

Doc Flabby - Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:32 pm
Post subject:

on fedora you appently should use yum to install programs

http://www.fedorafaq.org/#installsoftware

Code: Show/Hide

yum install vnc-server

should do the trick, then u just gotta set it up

u will need root privialages to do this.....

Elnino - Thu Aug 17, 2006 6:28 pm
Post subject:

SSH is YOUR friend!

And your only friend ! MAhwah

Quan Chi2 - Thu Aug 17, 2006 8:58 pm
Post subject:

I bet you don't know what SSH means.

Animate Dreams - Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:21 pm
Post subject:

>_>

Yum sucks. Period.
I had a problem with getting Python things to run on Fedora Core 5 because the version of Python, while current, used a different character set, I believe. Something weird like that. Anyway, the only way to fix it was to install a new version of Python with the correct stuff. So everything else works now, but Yum is broken. So there goes that.

And i88, I'm honestly not too worried if someone gets my password. I have everything backed up and the only stuff that could be stolen would be settings for one of the zones on my computer, and I'm really not too worried about that. Maybe in the future I'll need it, but I think a lot of times people worry too much about security. My dad always tells me I should use a firewall, but against what? I have backups, and they can take all the files on my computer they want.

Contempt+ - Fri Aug 18, 2006 6:51 pm
Post subject:

blah-er wrote:

like windows needs 200 things, to not crash

I'd have to say that's incorrect. I've been using Windows XP Professional for the past 3 or 4 years, and I haven't had to install any anti-virus, anti-spyware software, at all. The only software that I install on my computer are my compilers, a few games, and that's it. I do do a seasonal reformat, just because I get bored at times, and I get too many icons on the desktop and the Start Menu, so I start off fresh.

(Deactived B l a h e r) - Fri Aug 18, 2006 11:00 pm
Post subject:

what does anit-virus and spyware, have anything to do with windows crashing? I think you don't understand, there's a lot of things running that windows needs, I'm not talking about it crashing because of a virus, if one of those things has a failure (mostly explorer.exe crashes for me), then the whole thing rather hangs or is unusable.
Not saying windows is the worst, and I like XP and the upcoming Vista, but I wasn't saying exactly that, I was pointing more towards the 9x windows. I hate Macintrash with everything I have, but I still put it above 9x...

Doc Flabby - Sat Aug 19, 2006 8:49 am
Post subject:

windows 98 only crashes because mircosoft broke it with a "security update"
http://www.frankprovo.com/win98ie6filesproblem.htm

I used this fix on my machine at work (i have a windows 98 machine)
windows 98 hasnt crashed on me once since.