6 August, 2008 at 10:00 pm
by Phil Wiffen · Filed under Linux, Security
Using CentOS 5.2 or Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, install and run Wireshark (formerly Ethereal) over the command line.
Install Wireshark:
yum install wireshark
Run a capture:
tethereal -i eth1 -w ~/mycapture.pcap
This command will run Wireshark/Ethereal, capture on the eth1 interface and output the data to /yourhomedir/mycapture.pcap
Why would you want to do this? If you want to capture packets from a headless or remote Linux PC and analyse the data elsewhere.
Right now I’m at home, but I have a headless CentOS box at work that’s running ntop from a mirrored port, in order to look at network traffic flowing over the router. To increase the capability of the CentOS box, I want to use it to capture packets using Wireshark, then download the .pcap file over WinSCP and look at the data on my laptop using Wireshark for Windows.
Permalink
19 June, 2008 at 9:34 am
by Phil Wiffen · Filed under General IT, Hardware, Life, Linux
The more I play video content from a USB stick on the Xbox 360, the more I want a TV that can play content directly from a USB Mass Storage Device.
Surely it can’t be that hard? I’m thinking possibly something like a tiny Linux distribution embedded into the TV, something akin to the “Instant Play” feature on many laptops.
Permalink
21 May, 2008 at 4:28 pm
by Phil Wiffen · Filed under General IT, Linux
Seems the OLPC project is going to be revamping their XO laptop. Looks pretty good, and cheaper too!
Permalink
19 March, 2008 at 3:25 pm
by Phil Wiffen · Filed under Linux
Got a shiny new Linux box on your network but don’t want all your users connecting to it via SSH? Control access by editing the SSH configuration file and using the AllowUsers directive like so:
AllowUsers joeuser
To add multiple entries, either separate users with a space, or write an entirely new line:
AllowUsers joeuser philwiffen
AllowUsers joeuser
AllowUsers philwiffen
Permalink
3 September, 2007 at 7:40 pm
by Phil Wiffen · Filed under Business, General IT, Linux, Windows

To get OpenOffice to Save in Microsoft Word .doc format by default, follow these steps:
- Tools > Options
- Load/Save > General
- In the bottom right of the window, look for “Always save as” and pick your poison
I know that saving in a proprietary format over an open standard is bad practice, but sometimes in Business you need to maintain interoperability with the de facto standard; in this case: Microsoft Word.

Permalink