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Debian Utilities

safecat

safecat - safely copy stdin to a file

safecat is a program which implements Professor Daniel Bernstein's maildir algorithm to copy stdin safely to a file in a specified directory. It can be used to write mail messages to a qmail-style maildir, or to write data to a "spool" directory reliably.

Install safecat in Debian

#apt-get install safecat

For more options and how to use check safecat man page

scponly

scponly - Restricts the commands available to scp- and sftp-users

"scponly" is an alternative 'shell' (of sorts) for system administrators who would like to provide access to remote users to both read and write local files without providing any remote execution priviledges. Functionally, it is best described as a wrapper to the mostly trusted suite of ssh applications

Install scponly in Debian

#apt-get install scponly

For more options and how to use check scponly man page

scsitools

scsitools - Collection of tools for SCSI hardware management

This package is a collection of tools for manipulating SCSI hardware:

scsiinfo: displays SCSI drive low-level information and modifies SCSI
drive settings,
scsidev: makes permanent SCSI LUN -> devicename connections,
scsifmt: low-level SCSI formatter,
sraw: benchmarks raw SCSI I/O rates bypassing the buffer cache,
scsistop: low-level SCSI drive start/stop program,
scsi-spin: program to manually spin up and down a SCSI device.

Be aware that these tools require some knowledge of what are they doing to be used properly, not causing damage to your system.

Install scsitools in Debian

#apt-get install scsitools

sdd

sdd - File duplication and conversion tool, similar to 'dd'

sdd is a replacement for the dd program the has a number of useful changes and features, including:

* Better statistics and timing
* Can seek on input and output
* Fast null input and output
* Better NFS data integrity
* Does not reblock on pipes

Install sdd in Debian

#apt-get install sdd

For more options and how to use check sdd man page

sformat

sformat - SCSI disk format and repair tool

Sformat will let you low-level format and repair bad blocks on SCSI disks. It can help you get data off a failing disk and often resurrect an apparently-broken drive.

Users of SunOS will recognise the features from Sun's format command.

Install sformat in Debian

#apt-get install sformat

For more options and how to use check sformat man page

sharutils

sharutils - shar, unshar, uuencode, uudecode

'shar' makes so-called shell archives out of many files, preparing them for transmission by electronic mail services. `unshar' helps unpacking shell archives after reception. Other related utility programs help with other tasks.

`uuencode' prepares a file for transmission over an electronic channel which ignores or otherwise mangles the eight bit (high order bit) of bytes. `uudecode' does the converse transformation.

Install sharutils in Debian

#apt-get install sharutils

shc

shc - Shell script compiler

shc creates a stripped binary executable version of the shell script specified with -f on the command line.

There is no speed increase from using shc. Its main purpose is to prevent your shell scripts from being easily modified or inspected. shc can wrap scripts written for any shell.

Install shc in Debian

#apt-get install shc

For more options and how to use check shc man page

tripwire

tripwire - file and directory integrity checker

Tripwire is a tool that aids system administrators and users in monitoring a designated set of files for any changes. Used with system files on a regular (e.g., daily) basis, Tripwire can notify system administrators of corrupted or tampered files, so damage control measures can be taken in a timely manner.

Install tripwire in Debian

#apt-get install tripwire

For more options and how to use check tripwire man page

uptimed

uptimed - Utility to track your highest uptimes

Uptimed allows you to track your highest uptimes via boot IDs. It uses the system boot time to keep sessions apart from each other.

Features:

- Console program to display statistics
- Can send mail if a milestone or a new record is reached

Install uptimed in Debian

#apt-get install uptimed

Installation time it will ask you some basic question just answer them after installation you need to check the program output using the following

#uptime

output looks like this

14:32:10 up 2 days, 3:43, 2 users, load average: 0.37, 0.16, 0.06

For more options and how to use check uptimed man page

vcheck

vcheck - Utility to check and download the most recent program version

This is a tool for checking for latest versions of programs at HTTP and FTP locations given a list of URLs and (Perl-style) regular expressions to match, and to optionally download them automatically.

Install vcheck in Debian

#apt-get install vcheck

For more options and how to use check vcheck man page

vobcopy

vobcopy - A tool to copy DvD VOBs to hard disk

vobcopy copies DVD .vob files to harddisk and merges them into file(s) with the name extracted from the DVD. It checks for enough free space on the destination drive and compares the copied size to the size on DVD (in case something went wrong during the copying).

You can also mirror the dvd movie content and copy single
files you specify.

Install vobcopy in Debian

#apt-get install vobcopy

For more options and how to use check vobcopy man page

w-bassman

w-bassman - an alternative "w" command

This is a version of the "w" command that might be familiar to old Slackware users. It formats the output differently, in a way some consider clearer and easier to read.

Install w-bassman in Debian

#apt-get install w-bassman

This will install w-bassman program now if you want to replace w command with one of these new commands you need to run the following command

#update-alternatives --config w

then it will ask you two options like below and you need to select which one you need to use as default one

There are 2 alternatives which provide `w'.

Selection Alternative
-----------------------------------------------
*+ 1 /usr/bin/w.procps
    2 /usr/bin/w.bassman

Press enter to keep the default[*], or type selection number: 2

i have chosen 2 option and from now on i ca use w.bassman command for w command alternative

For more options and how to use check w.bassman man page

wcd

wcd - saves time typing when you want to change directories

Wcd (Wherever Change Directory) is a program to quickly change directories. It saves time typing at the keyboard. One needs to type only a part of a directory name and wcd will jump to it. By default, wcd searches for a directory with a name that begins with what has been typed, but the use of wildcards is also fully supported.

Install wcd in Debian

#apt-get install wcd

For more options and how to use check wcd man page

wiggle

wiggle - a program for applying patches with conflicting changes

Wiggle is a program for applying patches that 'patch' cannot apply due to conflicting changes in the original.

Wiggle will always apply all changes in the patch to the original. If it cannot find a way to cleanly apply a patch, it inserts it in the original in a manner similar to 'merge', and report an unresolvable conflict

Install wiggle in Debian

#apt-get install wiggle

For more options and how to use check wiggle man page

wipe

wipe - Secure file deletion

Recovery of supposedly erased data from magnetic media is easier than what many people would like to believe. A technique called Magnetic Force Microscopy (MFM) allows any moderately funded opponent to recover the last two or three layers of data written to disk. Wipe repeatedly writes special patterns to the files to be destroyed, using the fsync() call and/or the O_SYNC bit to force disk access.

Install wipe in Debian

#apt-get install wipe

For more options and how to use check wipe man page

wmmount

wmmount - miniature mount utility and free space monitoring tool

wmmount runs in a 64x64 window, displaying the amount of free space on file systems. Simply by clicking on it you can mount and unmount file systems. This is especially suitable for removable disks such as floppies, CD-ROMs, ZIP drives etc.

There's nothing in the program that makes it *require* Window Maker, i.e. it works great with other window managers. But if you are looking for seamless integration on your desktop, wmmount in the Window Maker dock may very well suit your needs.

Install wmmount in Debian

#apt-get install wmmount

For more options and how to use check wmmount man page

yard

yard - Perl scripts to build rescue disk(s) to revive a system

Yard is a suite of Perl scripts for creating custom boot/rescue disks. Using a compressed filesystem, it can put a standard kernel image plus about 2.4 meg of utilities on a single floppy. Yard is also useful for creating self-contained Linux-on-a-floppy systems. You specify a basic set of files and utilities for inclusion and Yard handles many of the details. Features:

- File specs allow absolute and relative filenames, symbolic links,
file replacements and full shell-style globbing.
- Automatically determines necessary libraries and loaders.
- Allows stripping of binaries and libraries during copying.
- Automatically regenerates ld.so.cache
- Checks for broken symlinks
- Checks /etc/{fstab,inittab,termcap,pam.conf} for common errors and
inconsistencies.
- Checks user directories and files mentioned in /etc/passwd
- Checks command files (eg, rc.local and .login) and scripts for
missing binaries and command interpreters.
- Automatically performs filesystem compression and copying.
- Can be used with or without LILO.
- Can make single or double disk sets.
- Extensive checking of user choices and execution errors.

Install yard in Debian

#apt-get install yard

For more options and how to use check yard man page

zsafe

zsafe - Password manager with encryption

ZSafe is a password manager. Passwords can be stored into user defined categories. The password file will be encrypted by using a secure RC2 mechanism.

ZSafe makes a fine standalone application with features such as import and export, encrypted storage, etc.

But one of the added benefits is that it is built from the same source code as the ZSafe program for the Sharp Zaurus line of PDAs. Thus, you can use the same program and work with the same files on your desktop as you can on your PDA. This program uses the same on-disk format as the Zaurus version.

Install zsafe in Debian

#apt-get install zsafe

For more options and how to use check zsafe man page

zoo

zoo - manipulate zoo archives

Zoo is used to create and maintain collections of files in compressed form. It uses a Lempel-Ziv compression algorithm that gives space savings in the range of 20% to 80% depending on the type of file data. Zoo can store and selectively extract multiple generations of the same file.

This package exists for its historical value. If you are looking for a compression tool for serious use, check tar and gzip.

Install zoo in Debian

#apt-get install zoo

For more options and how to use check zoo man page