New Technology Reviews!.: command

CommandLineFu: Amazing Collection Of Command Line Gems [Linux & Mac]

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<img alt="linux command line" class="aligncenter" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/b8d8f47276u-icon.png.png" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/b8d8f47276u-icon.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" />Browse an assortment of amazingly useful commands. Whether you’re an veteran system admin or a command-line neophyte striving to discover more, CommandLineFu is a vote-driven collection of commands that serves up thousands of ideas you should have thought of but didn’t.</div>
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Some see the command line as Linux’s weak point, the ultimate symbol of a system lacking ease of use. Others know the command line as one of Linux’s best features, giving learned users quick access to features most computer users don’t even know exist. There’s a reason even Mac OS X comes with a full-featured terminal. CommandLineFu is an encyclopedia of exactly those features. A database featuring over 8,000 unique commands, this site can seem overwhelming at first – just like the command line itself. Dig in though, and you will wonder just how you used a computer without the command line.</div>
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Sorry, Windows users – the majority of these commands only work on Linux. Some work on Mac OS X as well.</div>
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Browsing</h2>
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Head over to CommandLineFu to get started. You will immediately see the commands submitted most recently.</div>
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You can “grep” (read: search) the archive, if you want, or simply click “<em>All Time Greats</em>” to see the most popular commands. Or if you prefer, simply browse the massive tag cloud that makes up this sites right sidebar.</div>
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A Few Highlight Commands</h2>
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Experienced command line users will immediately find things they are interested in, but what about everyone else? Here is a quick list of my discoveries from this site.</div>
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Quick, Temporary Web Server</h3>
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Want to quickly share a file with someone? Set up your own web server in a few keystrokes with this handy command:</div>
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<code>python -m SimpleHTTPServer</code></div>
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Just like that, your current directory will be shared. Here’s what it looks like in a web browser:</div>
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<img alt="linux command line" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/745ccafae1mphost.png.png" height="176" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/745ccafae1mphost.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="408" /></div>
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Naturally, you’re going to need to set up your router properly if you want to share with someone outside your current network. A dedicated IP or a service like DynDNS will also be needed. Still, for local file sharing, it’s hard to beat the above command: it’s quick and easy. It worked for me on Ubuntu and OS X.</div>
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Run Preview Command As Sudo</h3>
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This one’s probably only useful for users of Ubuntu, or other systems utilizing sudo. It allows you to re-run the last command you executed as sudo, perfect if you forgot to add that vital preface.</div>
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<img alt="linux command line tools" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/8d7c94faeau-sudo.png.png" height="178" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/8d7c94faeau-sudo.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="580" /></div>
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See Your Unread Emails</h3>
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Want a quick rundown of your unread emails? this simple command can do the trick, provided your email client of choice is Gmail.</div>
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<img alt="linux command line tools" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/d9f5af2884gmail.png.png" height="233" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/d9f5af2884gmail.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="580" /></div>
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It worked for me on Ubuntu and OS X; Linux users should make sure “curl” is installed.</div>
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See Your Mounted Devices</h3>
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A mounted device is any storage drive plugged into your system and working. Need to see a full list of them? Simple.</div>
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<img alt="linux command line tools" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/09c9da951founted.png.png" height="188" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/09c9da951founted.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="580" /></div>
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Watch A Text Version of StarWars</h3>
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Okay, this one’s not useful. It is, however, awesome. Watch a text-only version of Star Wars, complete with ASCII animated characters:</div>
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The code for this is simple:</div>
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<code>telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl</code></div>
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3 Different Feeds</h2>
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Do you want to know every time a new awesome command is discovered? CommandLineFu offers three different Twitter and RSS feeds for just that purpose. Which one you use depends on how frequently you want updates; check them all out here.</div>
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Conclusion</h2>
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This site is awesome. Exploring it can teach you a great deal about not only the command line but also about computers in general.</div>
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Did you learn anything cool? Share links to your favorite commands in the comments below, or just list them yourself.</div>
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CommandLineFu: Amazing Collection Of Command Line Gems [Linux & Mac]

Browse an assortment of amazingly useful commands. Whether you’re an veteran system admin or a command-line neophyte striving to discover...

5 Ways To Clean Up Your Computer With An Automated Script [Windows]

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<img alt="automate computer cleanup" class="aligncenter" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ace81bb0c1omated.png.png" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/ace81bb0c1omated.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" />Computer maintenance isn’t exactly something that most people remember to do. For the general user that isn’t exactly tech savvy, when a computer doesn’t work, they either call for help or simply buy a new computer.<br />
If you have family members or friends that are always calling you for help with a slow computer, I’m going to offer you a solution that you can use to stop those phone calls right now. This solution incorporates six tools into a Windows script. That script is going to perform all of the PC cleanup work that you would do if you were sitting right in front of the computer yourself.<br />
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What This Script Will Accomplish</h2>
This Windows script is going to run the required tools in command line mode. Many of these tools that you’ve been using for years, you may not have even realized that there <em>is</em> a command-line mode available.<br />
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Clean Up Registry & Temp Folders</h3>
The first step is probably the most important. We’re going to launch CCleaner in command line mode to clean up temp files and the registry.<br />
One catch. In order to make this script work without constant notifications about the apps making computer changes, you’ll have to disable the User Account Control windows feature in Windows 7.<br />
<img alt="" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/02575440bbclean1.png.png" height="406" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/02575440bbclean1.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="571" /><br />
Now you’re ready to roll. Create a file called <em>CleanComputer.wsf</em> and start it off with the following script.<br />
<code></code><br /><code></code><br />
<code>Option Explicit</code><br /><code>On Error Resume Next</code><br />
<code>Dim WshShell</code><br /><code>Dim retVal</code><br />
<code>set WshShell=CreateObject("WScript.Shell")</code><br /><code>WshShell.run "CCleaner.exe /AUTO"</code><br />
Danny covered CCleaner recently, so you can see just what it is capable of and how much it can optimize your system. When you launch it in the script as shown above with the /AUTO flag, it’ll run invisible and it’ll use the settings you used when you last ran the application. You’ll see CCleaner.exe running in the Task Manager.<br />
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If you configure CCleaner beforehand, in auto mode it’ll automatically clean up temporary files, log files and your registry as well.<br />
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Clean Up Spyware</h3>
Next up is to take care of any spyware that might be running on the PC. My favorite tool for that is Spybot, and luckily Spybot also offers a command line feature. The one problem here is that the path to Spybot is full of spaces, which is hard to handle in a Windows Script shell command.<br />
So, create a .bat file with the following:<br />
<code>C:Program Files (x86)Spybot - Search & DestroySpybotSD.exe" /taskbarhide /autocheck /autofix /autoclose</code><br /><code>Exit</code><br />
Save it as <em>SpyBot.bat</em> in the same directory as your Windows script. Then in the next line of your WSF file, add the following:<br />
<code>WshShell.run "spybot.bat"</code><br />
Your Windows Script will launch your batch job that will launch Spybot in command-line mode. You will know it’s running when the Exe appears in the task manager.<br />
<img alt="script to clean temp files" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/8476248428clean3.png.png" height="410" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/8476248428clean3.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="549" /><br />
Those four parameters after the spybotsd.exe file  will run Spybot in silent mode, automatically remove any spyware found, and then automatically close.<br />
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Remove Malicious Software</h3>
In addition to anything Spybot catches, I also like to run the Microsoft Malicious Software removal tool. Download the executable from the “Microsoft Download Center” section, save it in your script directory as “<em>malremove.exe</em>” and then add the following line to your growing Windows Script.<br />
<code>WshShell.run "malremove.exe /Q /F:Y"</code><br />
The /Q command tells the malware removal tool to run in quiet mode (no interface) and /F:Y tells it to forcibly remove any malware that it finds without any intervention required. The first time you run it during your initial testing, you’ll have to select the option for no warning the next time it runs.<br />
<img alt="script to clean temp files" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/38c6748fbaclean4.png.png" height="305" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/38c6748fbaclean4.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="404" /><br />
Here it is running in the background.<br />
<img alt="script to clean temp files" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/396b946e39lean31.png.png" height="410" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/396b946e39lean31.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="549" /><br />
So, we’ve covered most of what you’d probably do if you were there in person – run CCleaner to get rid of temporary Internet files and other temp files, remove spyware and malware, so what’s left?<br />
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Automate Disk Cleanup</h3>
Another common tool that can help computer performance is the Windows Disk Cleanup tool.  First you have to set it up. Go to <em>Start -> Run</em> and type: “<em>cleanmgr /sageset:1</em>“. The following window will appear.<br />
<img alt="computer clean up script" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/08501cc170clean6.png.png" height="472" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/08501cc170clean6.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="385" /><br />
Set up the items that you’d like your command line to automatically clean, and then click OK. This tells it that whenever you choose <em>/sageset:1</em>, to utilize the settings you’ve just created. Now, in your Windows Script, add the following line.<br />
<code>WshShell.run "Cleanmgr /sagerun:1"</code><br />
This will run the Windows disk cleanup silently, using the settings you’ve just created. You can also install the latest Windows updates by first installing WuInstall.exe and adding this line.<br />
<code>WshShell.run "wuinstall.exe /install /reboot_if_needed"</code><br />
And don’t forget to do a quick defrag of the hard drive by adding the following lines to the script.<br />
<em>WshShell.run “Defrag volume c:”</em><br />
<code>WshShell.run "Defrag volume d:"</code><br />
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Automate Virus Scan After Cleanup</h3>
Last, but definitely not least, you’ll also want to end your script by firing off a full virus scan. For example, I use Kaspersky, which offers its own set of command line parameters.<br />
In my case, I just add the following final line to my script.<br />
<code>WshShell.run "AVP.exe SCAN /ALL /i4"</code><br />
And that kicks off the command window and runs through a full scan (which can take several hours).<br />
<img alt="automate computer cleanup" data-mce-src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/471039b09dirus51.png.png" height="293" src="http://www.new-technology-news.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/471039b09dirus51.png.png" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="580" /><br />
Most other anti-virus providers out there offer similar command-line options.<br />
So, once you’ve added all of these lines, close out your Windows Script.<br />
<code>WScript.Quit</code><br /><code></code><br /><code></code><br />
Once you’ve finished the procedure above and saved your file on the PC, just schedule the job to run on a regular basis (<em>/Accessories/System Tools/Task Scheduler</em>). Give the procedure above a try and see how well it works for you.<br />
Did it work well, and can you think of any other useful command line tasks that could also be added? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.<br />
<small>Image Credit: Shutterstock</small><br />
<img alt="" data-mce-src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Makeuseof/~4/WyK5kjJoTyg" height="1" src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/Makeuseof/~4/WyK5kjJoTyg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px;" width="1" /><br />
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5 Ways To Clean Up Your Computer With An Automated Script [Windows]

Computer maintenance isn’t exactly something that most people remember to do. For the general user that isn’t exactly tech savvy, when a c...

Tutorial: 10 Windows command line tips and tricks

<img src="http://cdn.mos.techradar.com//Review%20images/PC%20Plus/PCP%20300/PCP300.feat1command.commandprompt-200-200.jpg"> <br /><P>Despite rumours you may have heard to the contrary, the Windows command prompt is far from dead. It's just gone a bit quiet lately, that's all. </P><br /><P><br /><P>The command prompt – or DOS prompt, if you refuse to let go of the past – still underpins Windows 7, and offers a quick and technical way of moving files about, listing directories and performing a wide range of back-end tasks that might not have a graphical interface. </P><br /><P>There's a lot to learn about the humble prompt, and you can get more out of it with these helpful command line tips. </P><br /><P><STRONG>1. Customise it </STRONG></P><br /><P>The console's default colour scheme of white text on a black screen not doing it for you? It's surprisingly straightforward to alter the look of the command prompt. </P><br /><P>Bring up a window by typing cmd into the Windows 7 search box, or the 'Run' dialog if you're using an older version of the OS. Right-click the title bar and select 'Properties', then go to the Font tab to choose from a few different typefaces. </P><br /><P>The Colours tab lets you determine the hue of both selected and unselected text; if the standard shades don't take your fancy, you can use the 'Selected colour values' boxes to choose custom colours. </P><br /><P><STRONG>2. Make it better </STRONG></P><br /><P>By default, the command prompt is quite restricted in its scope. It's therefore worth tweaking a few of the values in the Properties dialog to make it bigger and improve its memory. </P><br /><P>Select the Options tab and set the buffer size to 500 to increase the number of previous commands to be stored by the prompt, then toggle 'Discard old duplicates' to stop it remembering your every use of the 'dir' command. </P><br /><P>Now go to the Layout tab and make the screen buffer height somewhere around 1,000, and increase the window height to a more reasonable 50 lines. </P><br /><P><STRONG>3. Add functions </STRONG></P><br /><P>Quite why Quick Edit, which is accessible from the Options tab, is switched off by default is quite beyond us. Switch it on and you'll be able to copy text by dragging it and then right-clicking the mouse in the command prompt. You can then paste text into the prompt by right-clicking without dragging. Intuitive. </P><br /><P><STRONG>4. Quick command prompts </STRONG></P><br /><P>Opening up a command prompt is usually a pretty long-winded exercise that involves a lot of tedious typing, followed by the hassle of having to navigate to the specific folder that you want to work in. But there's an easier way to go about it. </P><br /><P>In Windows Explorer, hold the [Shift] key and right-click the folder in which you want to open a new prompt, then simply select 'Open command window here'. </P><br /><P>You can also open a command prompt with elevated administration privileges with a minimum of fuss by right-clicking the folder while holding down the [Shift]+[Control] keys. </P><br /><P><STRONG>5. Try an alternative </STRONG></P><br /><P>While it's not possible to replace the Windows command line, there are plenty of shells that give it a more advanced interface. Try out <a href="http://www.powercmd.com/">PowerCmd</A> for a multi-pane interface that enables you to do a lot more, or search for 'GlassCmd' to give the console a Windows 7-style look. </P><br /><P><a href="http://sourceforge.net/projects/console/">Console</A> will give you a tabbed interface, but for a more powerful take, try Take Command from <a href="http://www.jpsoft.com/">www.jpsoft.com</A>. </P><br /><P><STRONG>6. Use the keys </STRONG></P><br /><P>Can't be bothered typing that super-long string again? Use the [Up] key to bring up the most recently used command. Keep pressing it to browse through your history, or use the [Down] arrow to move forward in time. You can also hit [F7] to bring up a formatted list. </P><br /><P><STRONG>7. Tab Completion </STRONG></P><br /><P>If you're interacting with a file or folder, start typing the filename and hit [Tab]. Provided it's in the folder you're working in, the name will be auto-completed. If there are other files with the same start string, hit [Tab] again to skip through them. </P><br /><P><STRONG>8. Drag and drop </STRONG></P><br /><P>There's a second way to fill in filenames and folders, and it's arguably even easier than the previous method. Just click and hold an item in an Explorer window, then drag it to the command prompt and drop it there, and Windows fills in the filename and path automatically. </P><br /><P><STRONG>9. Change some names </STRONG></P><br /><P>The command title enables you to, rather pointlessly, alter the title bar of the command window from the current directory to whatever you affix to the end of it. The command prompt does the same for the C:\> part of the shell itself. </P><br /><P><STRONG>10. Use the history keys </STRONG></P><br /><P>Did you know that you can type the previous command one letter at a time by hitting [F1] repeatedly? This is a handy way of getting to the part you got wrong if you're retyping the last entry. Try using [F2] and [F3] as well – we'll let you discover exactly what they do.</P>

Tutorial: 10 Windows command line tips and tricks

Despite rumours you may have heard to the contrary, the Windows command prompt is far from dead. It's just gone a bit quiet lately, tha...