Let's Geek

Set layout for entire controller in CakePHP

Rambash — Thu, 10 May 2012 21:12:47 +0000

Setting the layout for a specific action is easy. However you need bake that cake a bit more if you need it to apply for the entire controller. This is how you set the layout for the entire controller.
public function beforeFilter() { parent::beforeFilter(); $this->layout = 'layout_name'; }

Access vsftpd from WAN

Rambash — Sun, 06 May 2012 13:57:02 +0000

Server generated a passive answer with an untracable address

If you are behind a NAT router you might recieve an error message when trying to list a catalogue (server generated a passive answer with an untracable address). This error is caused by your server returning a local ip addresss. By setting your server in passive mode, your server will return the correct address.

Add these lines to the vsftpd config file.

#constrain pasv ports
pasv_enable=YES
#start of pasv port range
pasv_min_port=xxxx
#end of pasv port range
pasv_max_port=xxxx
#enables DNS lookup of pasv_address
pasv_addr_resolve=YES
#your address
pasv_address=[external domain name or ip]

Accessing phpMyAdmin after installation

Rambash — Sun, 06 May 2012 12:55:22 +0000

When installing phpMyAdmin on your new server you might encounter an 404 error when you try to access http://localhost/phpmyadmin. The short explanation to this error is that it is caused by a misconfigured apache2.conf and often happens if you miss to check apache2 as your server during the phpMyAdmin configuration.

The long answer is that phpmyadmin is not located in the www folder. Instead it is usually located in /usr/share/phpmyadmin. Therefore an alias has to be set up between /user/share/phpmyadmin and /var/www/phpmyadmin. If you miss this during the configuration then you obviously wont be able to access the phpmyadmin folder.

Solution 1

Reconfigure phpMyAdmin with it’s own configuration tool.
sudo dpkg-reconfigure phpmyadmin

Solution 2

Open apache2.conf: sudo vim /etc/apache2/apache2.conf
Add the line Include /etc/phpmyadmin/apache.conf
Restart apache2 (sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart)

After having restarted apache2, try to access http://localhost/phpmyadmin again.

iPad – Connect USB to iTunes

Rambash — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 15:24:46 +0000

Upon starting your iPad for the first time you’ll find yourself being greeted by a pictures showing the iPad usb connecting to iTunes. All fine and dandy, you think, while plugging in the USB into the computer.

After doing so, some of you might have proceeded to registering your apple-id and authorizing your computer. I on the other hand – not so lucky.

Connecting the USB to iTunes yielded no results and I could not really fathom why. After some quick reorganization of the USB setup I connected the USB directly into the computer instead of the USB hub. The iPad made a noise, Success! (apparently USB hubs cannot supply enough power to the iPad)

Unfortunately the picture of the damned usb and itunes icon was still on the iPad display. Seeing as I was on one in my familys computers, my family really isnt tech savvy, I could only explain things with a faulty iTunes installation.

And voila! The iPad was now finally working. I forgot to check what version of iTunes the computer had installed before reinstalling the latest version but it’s safe to say that you should get the latest version.

So do the following if you’re stuck on the picture with the USB connecting to iTunes:

Connect the iPad straight to the computer, without any hubs
Install the latest version of iTunes

10 Youtube Proxy Sites

Rambash — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:22:26 +0000

Heres a set of very basic youtube proxies. As I’ve previously explained, using normal proxies instead of VPN solutions might not be the most appropriate solution for you if you want anonymized surfing. However if you want to bypass simple network filters and blocks then you might manage with a basic internet proxy.

If you find that these are not working, go get a real vpn!

Chatroulette and Omegle Proxy sites

Rambash — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:11:54 +0000

As I’ve previously explained, using normal proxies instead of VPN solutions might not be the most appropriate solution. You’ll most likely want a real VPN if you want to bypass an ip ban or say anonymous. However the demand for proxies is so high that I’ve decided to include them here as well. Here are a set of very basic internet proxies.

If you find that these are not working, go get a real vpn!

Screenshots as evidence

Rambash — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 20:16:49 +0000

The fundamental problem with screenshots as evidence lies in their reliability. Questions about reliability arises both because the process of creating screenshots is governed by the user and the user being able to alter the image post production. As a consequence, all methods in which the user has control of the process are afflicted by the fundamental problem.

Every country has its own legal framework and their ways of handling evidence differs from each other. Rules of admissability can therefore play more or less a big part in the question whether to accept the screenshot as evidence. However question of a screenshots reliability and authenticity is of fundamental importance and is therefore the focus of this article.

Then how can we effectively prove that something was on a certain website? Giving up control over the process to a third party would be the first step in remedying the fundamental problem. A third party does not in general share the same interests as the parties in a dispute. Therefore the reliability of screenshots taken through third parties should in general be higher than that of own screenshots.

A notable service that offers screenshots from the past is the Wayback Machine. It has independently been archiving webpages since 1996 and it is generally considered reliable. Screenshots from the service has previously figured in civil litigations such as Telewizja Polska SA v. Echostar Satellite (US Law) with some success. There’s been a debate in Sweden about the reliability of screenshots since the music and movie industry presented evidence in the form of screenshots of ip-adresses in Direct Connect hubs to the court. The court found the evidence lacking with arguments of its reliability. The screenshot presented in the case was produced by using the function Print Screen in windows. The screenshot had therefore been under the plaintiffs control and could not be relied on considering the risk of it being altered.

The reliability of the third party still needs to be assessed, even if the screenshot is taken by a third party, if it is to be presented in court. The reliability assessment merely shifts its focus to another subject. The pro’s in using a third party is therefore not that the plaintiff won’t have to prove that a certain condition was or was not but rather that it’s easier to prove that the screenshot is depicting the past reality in a objectively reliable way by referencing to a non biased party.

4 Mouse Accuracy Games

Rambash — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:31:59 +0000

Mouse accuracy can be everything in modern games. I found myself wanting to improve my mouse accuracy when trying to make it into masters league in starcraft 2. An essential part of becoming efficient in the game is by being able to micromanage your battles. So I set out to find some accuracy games to improve myself. Here’s the four best games I could find!

Reflex

Reflex is a set of games hosted on missionred. The games test your accuracy in kind of different but similiar ways. I find the Reflexte game, shown in the image, to be the best of the alternatives. Blobs start appearing on the screen and its your job to click on them as fast as possible. The blobs expand until they reach their peak and then they contract and eventually disappears. You score by clicking on them as fast as possible while avoiding missing them!

http://www.missionred.com/games/reflexte.html

Osu!

Osu! is probably the most developed amongst these ten games. You load up beatmaps which basically is levels with a music beat to them. The game is played by following the mouse in pre set tracks and clicking on a set of points. If you cant keep up with the pace you lose. It has this kind of asian nische to it so if you are a anime/manga freak or whatever you’ll proably enjoy it!

http://osu.ppy.sh/

Lessquick

Lessquick relies more on visual perception than pure mouse accuracy. You still have to be pretty fast with your mouse movements though. The levels are built as such: a selection of geometry objects are shown as well as an order in which you need to click them in. Too slow and you’re out!

http://www.notdoppler.com/lessquick.php

Floats

I – love – Ferry Halim, the creator of WinterBells. He makes incredible zen like games! I love playing them. This kind of is a mix of mouse accuracy and visual perception but it’s mostly just fun to play! I just had to include it.

http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g3/floats.htm

Default loop when installing windows 7 with Unetbootin

Rambash — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 23:13:07 +0000

Unetbootin is a handy tool for those who wish to install windows 7 through a memory stick. However instead of listing the win7 Unetbootin fails to recognize it on the disk. I ran into this problem the other day but found a neat solution.

The problem seems to lie in what file system the memory stick is formated with. You need to use NTFS, and not FAT32, for windows 7 to work through Unetbootin.

GOMTV.NET leaked plaintext passwords after security breach

Rambash — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 01:35:02 +0000

Just now I received an e-mail from GOMTV.net confirming that the site has been hacked and information has been compromised.

We regretfully inform you that approximately at 2 AM KST yesterday, there has been an attack against our web site, GOMTV.net.

We have found that some of the user information from GOMTV.net has been compromised from the attack. We suspect that the following information might have been exposed: name, location (country), e-mail address, GOMTV.net nickname and password.

Now, I normally dont get all excited when hearing about these kinds of information leaks. They happen. However, in this case GOMTV.net actually stored the passwords in paintext. Really, GomTV?

No amount of funny characters and randomness in your password will save you from an hacking attempt. Nor will you have a few days before they have bruteforced the password hashes.