Free Hosting Plan

gegahost.net

1freehosting.com

2freehosting.com

connection to failed the system returned (13) permission denied

Squid Error:

# system-config-securitylevel-tui

you find three chooses of SELinux tool that under Security level change it to be (Permissive) Instead of (Enforcing).

NOW that website is open,,

Why WordPress Asks for Connection Info

One of the great features of WordPress is that it allows you to automatically install and upgrade plugins.

A common problem is that WordPress is unable to access the filesystem directly, which results in a page indicating that “To perform the requested action, connection information is required.“

 



If you feel that your WordPress installation should not be asking you for this information, or you simply do not want WordPress to use this method of plugin management, you may be able to work around it.

What is Causing This?

Whenever you use the WordPress control panel to automatically install, upgrade, or delete plugins, WordPress must make changes to files on the filesystem.

Before making any changes, WordPress first checks to see whether or not it has access to directly manipulate the file system.

If WordPress does not have the necessary permissions to modify the filesystem directly, you will be asked for FTP credentials so that WordPress can try to do what it needs to via FTP.

Why Can’t WordPress Write To The Filesystem?

In order to understand why WordPress can’t write to the filesystem, we need to take a look at some WordPress internals.

The following code is from the get_filesystem_method() method in the wp-admin/includes/file.php file:

if( function_exists('getmyuid') && function_exists('fileowner') ){
    $temp_file = wp_tempnam();
    if ( getmyuid() == fileowner($temp_file) )
        $method = 'direct';
    unlink($temp_file);
}

This code creates a temporary file and confirms that the file just created is owned by the same user that owns the script currently being run. In the case of installing plugins, the script being run is wp-admin/plugin-install.php.

This may seem a little counter-intuitive, since the only thing WordPress really needs to be able to do is write to the wp-content/plugins directory.

What Can I Do About It?

In order to fix this issue, you will need to make sure that the scripts which need to write to the filesystem are owned by the same user that apache is running as.

Many hosting companies will run your apache instance using your user account, and all of your files will be owned by the same account. In those cases, you will probably not have the issue described here.

If your hosting company is running apache as a system user, and your files are owned by your own account, your only option may be to enter your FTP credentials here and allow WordPress to use FTP.

If you are running on a hosting company that gives you root access, or you have installed WordPress on your own development machine at home or at work, you should be able to modify the filesystem permissions to allow WordPress to directly access the filesystem.

The easiest way to do this is to find out what user apache is running as and change ownership of the entire WordPress directory to that user. For example, if apache is running as ‘httpd’, you could use the following commands on your WordPress installation directory:

# chown -R httpd: wordpress

Note that not all versions of chown are equal. If that command does not work, see your local chown man page for usage information.

Tip: In order to find out what user your instance of apache is running as, create a test script with the following content:

<?php echo(exec("whoami")); ?>

Qubes OS: A Linux Distro For Security And Virtualization

We like to think that there is a Linux distribution for everything. There is a distribution for browsing the web, one for playing video games, one for privacy, and there is one for security – Qubes OS.

Based on the virtualization software Xen, Qubes OS composed of several light-weight virtual machines, each is isolated from the admin system and is dedicated to a special task, such as working, Internet browsing, personal activities, etc. The security comes from this virtualization process: each virtual machine comes with its own web browser, file system, etc., making sure that the different parts of your life are separated from each other, and therefore unreachable in case of breach. It is also very easy to create your own VMs, making the experience perfectly suited for your needs.

Installation

First of all, download the official DVD image on the website. The installation itself is very straight-forward. You might figure that for an advanced distribution, the process would be all in command line. However, it is surprisingly very easy and close to an Ubuntu live CD.



Everything is graphical, and the steps are more or less standard for a Linux installation: date and time, user name and password, type of installation, encryption, and reboot.



On the first launch, you will have to accept the license agreement and create the first set of VM. In general, if you have any doubt, I advise you to follow the default choices, which are perfectly appropriate for most cases.

Usage

Once you finish the installation, you will be surprised (or maybe not) to find a very traditional Fedora system with KDE.



The only thing that differentiates it from a Kubuntu is the little cubes applet at the bottom left: this is where the fun begins.



By clicking on the applet, you open a window that will let you run, stop, create, and update the virtual machines. It will also help you keep track of the memory usage, which is especially useful when you know how CPU-intensive virtual machines are.



So, you can go and launch your first VM. You will notice that each one has a specific color, as well as a set of software, which is by default composed of an Internet browser, an email client, a file manager, and a terminal.



If you create a new VM, you will choose a new color for it, and it will be derived from a Fedora template. The different colors make it easy to differentiate in which environment you are working. For example, the red Firefox is for “untrusted” activities such as random Internet browsing.



Meanwhile, the yellow is for the personal domain.



That way, if your computer is powerful enough, you will be able to simultaneously run multiple virtual machines, and yet keep track of what you are doing. With a little more configuration, it is possible to add new programs to the different environment from the launch menu (an Office Suite would be welcome). And since this is KDE, everything else is also easily configurable. Finally, it is also possible to update the Fedora template previously evoked, from which the virtual machines are derived, and keep them up to date.

Conclusion

Qubes OS is a very interesting distribution. I have to admit that I was seduced by the intention and the result. However, besides all the advantages, we can still question if such a system could one day replace the more common distributions. Right now, I don’t feel ready to switch completely to Qubes OS. As a last notice, if you consider trying Qubes OS in a virtual machine, give it at least 2 GB of RAM for creating the light-weight virtual machines inside of your main one (Inception?). We can guess that security has its price then.

What do you think about the concept/realization of Qubes OS? Are you seduced? Could you make it your main system? Please let us know in the comments.

How To Control Your PC Remotely Using Gmail Account [Windows]

Going on holidays where there is limited Internet access is a tough decision especially for those who are always connected to the Internet. If you are an Internet geek and never turn off your computer, it will be a hard work to go anywhere without your computer. But if it is necessary to go without your computer, you should setup your computer such that you can control it from a remote location if needed.

There are several utilities which can serve as a remote control for your computer. If you are in a hurry and want basic remote control over your computer with minimal configuration, you can do this by using a Gmail account. sRemote is a tiny portable application which is made for the exact purpose of controlling a computer remotely using a Gmail account. It allows some basic commands to be executed on the computer remotely through Gmail.

1. Download sRemote. It will come as a zipped file. You should unzip it in a folder so that it may be able to save settings (which will not be possible while residing inside the zip file itself). When you start sRemote for the first time, it will ask you to define a master password which will be used to access the computer on which sRemote is running.



Please note that you should never give this master password to anyone because anyone who has this password will be able to take control of your computer remotely.

2. The next step involves setting up your Gmail credentials for sRemote. Just click on Gmail settings and enter your Gmail email address, password and a reply to address which must also be a Gmail account.



One thing to note here is that if you have enabled two step authentication in your Gmail account, you will need to configure a new application password for sRemote. The original Gmail account password will not work.

3. After configuring the Gmail account settings, click on the Start monitoring button. This will trigger sRemote to check your Gmail account for new email. The default monitoring interval is 5 seconds. You can configure it according to your needs.



Now comes the exciting part where you will actually issue commands to your computer remotely. For this, you can use any email address and any device. Basically you will have to send an email with specific command syntax to the Gmail account configured before (in sRemote). For example, if I have configured mycomputer@gmail.com in sRemote, you can send an email from anyone@hotmail.com to mycomputer@gmail.com with the following syntax:

password();command();

Where “password();” is the master password we had configured when starting sRemote and “command();” is any command supported by sRemote. These commands have to be in the subject line of the email. Please note that the password needs to be specified before any command in the subject line. If the password is not found by sRemote, it will simply ignore the command email.



The following commands are supported by sRemote:

1. screenshot();


2. shutdown();


3. logoff();


4. restart();


5. abort();


6. run(program,parameters);


7. play(path);


8. msg(text);


9. log(text);


10. exit();


11. beep();


12. forceshut();


13. mail(sender,password,receiver,body,subject);


14. processes();


15. ping(address);


16. getfile(path);


17. delfile(path);


18. deldir(path);


19. uptime();


20. copy(oldpath,newpath);


21. move(oldpath,newpath);


22. help();

Overall sRemote is a handy program which becomes more useful when the person is in a hurry and wants to configure remote control settings in a few minutes. There are two areas that need to be improved in sRemote. One, sRemote does not support Google Apps addresses which also use the Gmail technology. Secondly, there is no confirmation if the command has been executed on the remote computer or not. In my opinion, one should get an email reply that the command has been successfully executed on the remote computer.

What are your thoughts about this nifty program? Will you be using it for your computer when you go remote?

10 Online Invoicing Softwares For Your Billing Needs

Be it a freelancer or an enterprise, every service provider has requirements for billing. And billing is not just restricted to recording and claiming the transaction, but also includes tracking invoices, late payments, estimates and time, as well as generating reports. Considering billing being not much of a leisurely task, here we have compiled a list of 10 online software that can help you manage and ease up your invoicing.

1. Invoicera

Invoicera is a clean online invoicing and billing app with a spartan time tracking ability which enables you to share your project from its different evolution stages to your clients in a diligent manner. It offers an array of added functionality like multi-language and currency support, data safety, multiple payment gateways, expense tracking and also synchronises with Google apps. With all these offerings, it’s not heavy on your wallet either (starts from $0 to $99 max). It’s truly worthy to use Invoicera to experience something more than invoicing.

2. FreshBooks

FreshBooks provides a nifty way to manage your clients with an automated payment reminder. With support for almost all popular currencies, it offers speedy online cash transactions and Google Chrome users also get some great FreshBooks apps/extensions. Though it offers a free account, the paid packages are a mere $19.95/month away.

3. CurdBee

If you consider your hectic business billing process a necessary evil, then CurdBee can be a breather with its intuitive and simple invoicing process. (Personally, I use this for all my billing tasks.) It offers users with some essential invoicing features like estimation, one-click recurring profile handling, time tracking all gathered within a clean interface. Convert your approved estimates within an invoice with a single click and it will slice down expensive hours breakdown by projects. An user can avail all these without spending a single buck by signing up for regular account or pro packages that are available for $5 to $20 per month.

4. Siwapp

Siwapp is an open source web app to create and manage invoicing online in a hassle free manner gratis. It’s easy to edit, search and list invoices on dashboard in a slap-up style. The best part is that it can automate generating invoices on a periodic basis with a unique serial number every time. With a printable PDF invoice feature, it wraps up a professional perspective. A growing community of developers are continuously contributing to uplift the functionality of Siwapp to make it a better tool.

5. Harvest

Are your business clients a bit low on financial standing or late on sending payments? If “yes”, then Harvest can help you with a unique feature of automating recurring pending invoice reminders. If you are a project manager and using Harvest, you are surely going to love the two most newly added features Team Status & Recent Tasks. They help you quit the hassle of asking your team. Pricing is flexible from $12 to $90 per month and a 10% discount is offered if you upgrade to a yearly plan. This might not be the best bang for your bucks, still it’s worth a try.

6. Sage Billing Boss

If the cluttered interface of your online invoicing tool is draining the last bit of your energy, then Sage Billing Boss might just be the comfort you are seeking for a long time. A normal user can create and send his first invoice with a couple of clicks using Sage Billing Boss. It integrates with popular payment gateways with features like recurring invoicing, quotes, online payment tracking and also collaborates with your accountants for better and faster business operations. With an existing 256 bit AES encrypted data transmission process, it can earn you a carefree sleep.

7. PHP Invoice

If you possess one of these professional identities – webmaster, freelancer or developer – and are looking for a versatile online invoicing software, then PHP Invoice is the right door to knock. With an unique integrated online shopping cart from where you can sell your product directly and immediately. It also offers HTACCESS and HTPASSWD for advanced page protection, automated advanced notifications, ticket support for better communication, announcements for your organisation and more. It’s free and easy to download, while professional versions are available with added benefits.

8. Zoho Invoice

Zoho Invoice is a simple yet elegant online invoicing service where users can choose and customise invoicing templates to their liking. If time saving is your foremost priority, then it has the ability to top the list as you can create new estimates and invoices by cloning similar ones; you don’t have to start from scratch every time. Create new invoices by a single click from estimates, brand it with your company logo, track and follow up your expenses. It offers easier currency conversions. You can import customer’s information from standard formats like Outlook Express and Zoho CRM. The tool has plenty more to offer. The pro version is valued at $30 a month, but you can opt for a free account as well.

9. Invoice Bubble

Invoicebubble is a free online invoicing software perfect for small businesses and freelancers. The invoicing application integrates with Paypal and offers most basic features for online invoicing with a professional hint. Sign up for a free account and start invoicing.

10. Greenerbilling

Greenerbilling lets you create and manage invoices and estimates in a fairly simple manner with a nifty user interface. It accepts PayPal payments, automates the scheduling of your invoices, clones invoice from similar ones, creates downloadable PDFs for datasheets, estimates, manages client profiles and also provides a round the clock effective customer support. The branding perspective is also not neglected in this simple yet robust billing tool.

There are notable names like Simple Invoice, Invoice Machine or Paypal’s inbuilt invoicing tool and a dozen more that can possibly handle the task like the ones mentioned here. However, to the best of my knowledge, these (ones included in the list) are the ones I can assure of being worthy of making the billing process an easy task for you.

How To Remove Gmail Ads in FireFox

Most free web services rely on ads to support their sites, and email is not an exception. As much as we love free email service, sometimes ads can be a minor nuisance. If you’re always distracted with advertisements in Gmail, or just want to get rid of the visual noise, this handy Firefox add-on can help with that.

Gmelius is a FireFox extension that enables you to strip the Gmail interface of distractions, including ads. The result is a clean, customized email experience that lets you focus more on your Inbox. Gmelius is free to use and is compatible with FireFox versions 10 to 14.

Downloading and enabling the extension should automatically remove ads from your Gmail account. If you don’t see the changes, you may have to restart FireFox and try again. You can also go to the browser settings and check if the extension is enabled. The Options screen of Gmelius not only shows ad-removing features, but other elements you can hide such as headers and footers.

Below is a comparison of an email before and after installing the add-on:

Before:

After:

As shown above, the ads to the right disappear after enabling Gmelius. Aside from a cleaner look, the page also loads faster than usual. The screen looks less cluttered and gets a more appealing, zen-like user interface.

To ensure that ads are removed, simply go to the Options page of the add-on and see that ”Remove Ads from Gmail” is checked. Other options are also available from this page and you only need to tick the boxes according to your preference. There are lots of options, so you’ll have to take time reading through and making sure you understand what gets changed or removed.



You can also remove the Chat sidebar (located to the left of the screen), footer and the pop-up that says “No new mail message”. Before installing this extension, the Chat window usually takes longer to load after everything else – which was a bit of a hassle if I’m in a hurry. However, disabling these elements should make loading times quicker.

For easier navigation, you can click on the black top bar to scroll up to the top of the page, just like Google +. Simply click on the top bar and watch as your Inbox scrolls to the first item on the list. This may not matter for most who rely on their mouse’s scrolling wheel, but clicking once on a bar sure beats scrolling up several times.



Other options include:

• Make the Google logo clickable to link to main view


• Change icons for email attachments


• Change highlight color


• Remove contacts and their status in the Chat box


• Move labels to the right side

With these added features, Gmelius is not only an ad-remover, but a complete Gmail makeover tool for more advanced users. At the same time, this extension allows for user-friendly controls even less savvy users can execute.

Sometimes less is more, and with Gmelius, this holds very true. For a more detailed overview of its features, visit their official website.