Tag Archives: Software Sagacity

Using Wget with Cookies

October 30, 2014 Andrew Palczewski 6 Comments

One of the powerful tools available in most Linux distributions is the Wget command line utility. With a simply one-line command, the tool can download files from the web and save them to the local disk. While this capability might initially seem only moderately useful (Why not just use Chrome or Firefox to download the file?) – most Linux servers are managed remotely through a tool called SSH. SSH normally offers only a command line interface without any graphical components, so all the server maintenance needs to be done through the command line. Wget is used constantly throughout the installation process to download files from the Internet and install new programs on the system.
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Multiple SSL Certificates on One IP Address

October 21, 2014 Andrew Palczewski 1 Comment

Whether due to network configuration requirements or load-balancing, configuring multiple SSL sites on a single IP address can often provide more flexibility and ease of maintenance. The challenge with the implementation is that older browsers can only interact with one SSL site per IP address on port 443. Addressing this problem are two primary solutions: port redirects and virtual directories.
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Could Windows Servers Be More Secure than Linux?

October 18, 2014 Andrew Palczewski Leave a comment

Over the past fifteen years, Linux has built its brand around security and flexibility. The open source community and many technology aficionados berate Windows for its security flaws, and hail Linux and Apple as the platforms for serious, reliable computing. Few serious studies have rigorously compared the platforms in the wild, and those that do are often accused of bias. Temporarily setting aside the prejudice that most have regarding the issue, could it be possible that in certain instances, Windows Servers are indeed more secure than Linux?
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PHP, Be Not Proud

October 9, 2014 Andrew Palczewski 1 Comment

Over the years, PHP has been instrumental to progress in the field of web development. As one of the early pioneers of server-side web scripting, the PHP language grew to become the dominant programming language of open-source web applications. Its free and open-source codebase made it the default programming language on Apache and Linux, and the large number of excellent web applications built on PHP will secure its existence for at least the next fifteen years.
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Clearing all SVN folders in Windows or Linux

October 7, 2014 Andrew Palczewski Leave a comment

Subversion, despite its many competitors with more modern distributed version control technology, is still going strong today due to its robust architecture and large user base. Although more modern subversion instances use only one “.svn” folder in the root of the checked-out repository, older versions may have a separate “.svn” folder in each individual subfolder in the project.
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Linux vs Windows File Permissions

June 14, 2014 Andrew Palczewski 1 Comment

One of the interesting differences between Linux and Windows is in the file permission structure and management. While both operating systems are able to conceptually handle the same set of file management scenarios, they implement those permissions in different ways.
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The Open Source Experiment – OpenOffice Writer Review & Tips

June 6, 2014 Andrew Palczewski Leave a comment

After a long hiatus from open source productivity software, I am again giving OpenOffice a shot. My home laptop started with an old vanilla install of XP, and out of installation convenience, I have been using open source software as opposed to the usual higher-end commercial packages. Below are a few of my thoughts and suggestions for others undertaking the same experiment.
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