terminal

'Purge' command not working in OS X 10.8.1

Memory management in OS X is done primarily by the operating system's virtual memory system; however, there are a few approaches you can take to force the system to clear some aspects of its memory structure and free it up either for troubleshooting purposes or to perhaps help performance.

Part of the memory system in OS X is a cache, where recently used program information is stored so the system can more swiftly launch the program if needed. If you open the Activity Monitor utility in OS X and view the System Memory section, you will see this cache … Read more

Options for changing folders in the OS X Terminal

The OS X Terminal is a very useful and powerful tool for troubleshooting Mac systems, and in doing so, one of the more common steps in getting a task done is to change directories to target files in it. The contemporary method of doing this is to use the "cd" (change directory) command and then specify a filesystem path; however, this can be a bit frustrating to deal with, especially if you are relatively new to the Terminal and are not too familiar with text-based filesystem browsing.

Given that Apple provides a fairly easy to use filesystem browser … Read more

Save remote server connections in the OS X Terminal

If you are familiar with the Unix command line, then the OS X Terminal is a great resource for accessing systems remotely. This can be done with several different protocols, including SSH and Telnet, FTP, and SFTP, as well as several others. Often people who use the Terminal for remote access will have several servers they regularly access, which makes typing the commands and URLs to establish the connection rather redundant.

To make this easier, you have several approaches you can take. The first is to set up a script or shell function that will store the connection information for … Read more

Can I ditch Sprint without paying an early termination fee?

What happens when you sign a two-year contract with a carrier and you soon discover that network is painfully slow?

Unfortunately, you may be stuck with that service. In this edition of Ask Maggie, I offer some advice on what one Sprint customer can do to get out of his contract without paying a hefty early termination fee. I also offer some information on the new Sprint 4G LTE deployment in Atlanta.

Breaking up with Sprint

Dear Maggie, I have a family plan with Sprint. I have an iPhone 4S and three iPhone 4's on Sprint. We love the … Read more

How to use SSH host names for tabs in the OS X Terminal

While the OS X Terminal is not a familiar operating environment for most Mac users, those who have had experience with Unix-based systems will find it to be an invaluable tool for managing their systems. One of the most common uses of the Terminal is to establish a remote log-in session on a system using the secure shell (SSH) command, and sometimes invoke multiple connections to the same system and different systems at the same time.

As a result of this, you might find you have many windows open at once to manage these connections in, though starting with Snow … Read more

Terminal fun: Deleting repetitive files in OS X

To manage various settings, both OS X and Windows will often place small files within folders that help the system manage their contents. A common file of this type in OS X is the .DS_Store file, and a common type in Windows is the Thumbs.db file. While these files are usually hidden, in some cases (especially those where multiple operating systems share the same storage spaces), you may see these files show up and contribute to window clutter.

If you want to remove them and tidy up your filesystem, there are several utilities that can do this for you, … Read more

Using the OS X Terminal instead of the Finder to copy files

While in OS X people often copy individual files or small groups of files between locations using the Finder, there are times when you might copy hundreds if not thousands of files at a time, especially for the purposes of backing up or migrating data from one drive to another. For the most part, the Finder's copying process is perfectly adequate for moving these files; unfortunately it does have some drawbacks that can hinder the copying process.

When the Finder copies files, it first catalogs all files to be copied and then treats the copy process as one all-or-nothing … Read more

How to repeat commands in OS X Terminal

The OS X Terminal is a commonly used utility for troubleshooting OS X, because it allows you to run custom commands and scripts for looking up information and adjusting system settings. While useful, the Terminal is intended primarily for power users who have an understanding of the UNIX underpinnings in OS X.

Often when running commands in the Terminal, various iterations of the command will be executed to try different settings or perform slightly different tasks, which in the Terminal can be frustrating as it can require you type out sometimes extensively long commands over and over again.

For instance, … Read more

Flame virus spread through rogue Microsoft security certificates

Microsoft revealed yesterday that the infamous Flame virus gained a foothold by spoofing one of its own security certificates.

Specifically, the virus tapped into rogue certificates for Microsoft's Terminal Server that appeared to be signed by the company and were therefore seen as legitimate. In response, Microsoft has taken several measures, including the release of a Windows patch to fix the security hole in Terminal Server, a feature that allows for remote desktop connections. The company detailed the discovery in a blog posted yesterday.

We have discovered through our analysis that some components of the malware have been signed … Read more