Programming Bullets

Staying safe from MacDefender, MacProtector or MacSecurity malwares

2012-01-15T07:49:00.000-08:00

According to the Apple KnowledgeBase article (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4650),

This “anti-virus” software is malware (i.e. malicious software). Its ultimate goal is to get the user's credit card information which may be used for fraudulent purposes.

The most common names for this malware are MacDefender, MacProtector and MacSecurity.

A recent phishing scam has targeted Mac users by redirecting them from legitimate websites to fake websites which tell them that their computer is infected with a virus. The user is then offered Mac Defender "anti-virus" software to solve the issue.

Apple released a free software update (Security Update 2011-003) that will automatically find and remove Mac Defender malware and its known variants.

The Resolution section below also provides step-by-step instructions on how to avoid or manually remove this malware.

For details visit:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4650

Trying out MAMP!

2011-12-28T01:14:00.001-08:00

As this year comes to an end and 2012 is just lurking around the corner, I feel the sudden urge to try something new and write about it.

So here goes, over the next few days, I will be trying out the MAMP server environment and writing about it.

What exactly is MAMP?

MAMP stands for Macintosh, Apache, MySQL and PHP and for years has offered the perfect solution for a local developing environment under Mac OS X. The MAMP is also available free of charge for smaller projects.*

MAMP is a development I have heard a lot about and so far, I did not feel the need to migrate as my own (stock) configured Apache, MySQL and PHP works wonders, not saying that they still don't work wonders. But one thing that I read about MAMP PRO got my ears up:

With MAMP PRO, you can easily connect your local server with an existing Dynamic DNS provider, as for example dyndns.com. Making it very simple to quickly make the results of your work accessible externally for superiors and prospective customers. And because you can set up many virtual hosts, you can easily offer alternative configurations or suggestions.*

So keep checking back as I delve into this subject and write back what I find.

[* = quotes from MAMP's website: http://www.mamp.info/en/mamp-pro/]

Important message regarding Preeti-Unicode Utility

2011-11-08T00:03:00.000-08:00

Important message regarding Preeti-Unicode Utility for Non-Profit or Social Organizations

If you or your organization is involved in non-profit, social or other kind of work that aims for the good of the entire society, or you are a researcher or scholar, and need to use this software, please contact me through email regarding the nature of your work.

For such work, no amount would be charged for the system.

My contact details can be found on my website at http://www.vibhumishra.com or http://www.vibhumishra.com/contact.php

Thank you,

100 day campaign against caste discrimination and untouchability

2011-11-08T00:01:00.000-08:00

Despite national legal standards and international obligations, caste discrimination and untouchability practices are still prevalent in Nepal, particularly in rural parts of the country.

To widely disseminate the content of the recently promulgated Caste-based Discrimination and Untouchability (Offence and Punishment) Act 2068 to ensure its effective implementation, the United Nations Human Rights Office in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) and the National Dalit Commission have jointly launched this campaign.

On 16th September, the President of Nepal officially inaugurated the launch of the campaign and over a 100 participants, including Government representatives, Human Rights Defenders and media personalities, took part in the campaign's first National Consultation programme organized later in the day.

The ultimate goal is to ensure that victims as well as their family members are able to invoke the rule of law in order to access justice. A culture of accountability must replace the present culture of impunity in Nepal.

To pledge your commitment to end practices of caste discrimination and untouchability, visit the campaign website: http://www.100daysagainstcastediscrimination.com and make your mark today!

Flash - XML - MySQL - PHP integration project

2011-10-12T22:09:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since my last post, though I did not do much or did do a lot... strange that I can't remember, I did infact finish one project.

The project involves Flash - XML - MySQL and PHP integration. Primarily using Action Script, this is a campaign web presence and I urge to visit the website http://www.100daysagainstcastediscrimination.com/

On a side note, I will also encourage everyone, even if you who are not in Nepal or do not do any work related to human rights or social inclusion, to pledge your commitment to end caste discrimination and untouchability practicies. By getting people to know about these ghastly practicies in which people of "certain" communities are treated as "untouchables", and are subjected to inhumane acts and at times even killed for "violating" these so called norms.

Nepal has recently enacted a new law that outlaws such practicies and discrimination based on caste. This campaign aims to raise public awareness about the law and to advocate for its effective implementation.

Jointly undertaken by the United Nations Human Rights Office in Nepal (OHCHR-Nepal) and the country's National Dalit Commission, the campaign was started on 16 September and will continue until 24 December.

Make your mark - pledge your commitment - spread the word!
http://www.100daysagainstcastediscrimination.com/

Unicode to Preeti Conversion - Mac OS X 10.7 "Lion" compatibility

2011-08-07T23:48:00.000-07:00

Regarding compatibility for the Macintosh OS X version of this utility, the last release of the project, 0.8.4b (for Mac OS X 10.6.6) should work on Lion.

People who tried this version on OS X 10.7 have reported no issues, if you are using an earlier version of the Converter and encounter problems in Lion, please upgrade to version 0.8.4b.

Meanwhile, I continue to work on a release for a full "Lion" version. Support will be gradually added for converting Unicode to other fonts (including Hindi fonts) continues.

The last stable version, 0.8 already has support for converting following fonts:

Preeti, to and from, Unicode
Kantipur, to and from, Unicode
Fontasy Himal, to, Unicode

For regular updates, please visit: http://www.vibhumishra.com/unicode-preeti.php

Discrimination kills - Maternal mortality and human rights

2010-07-22T23:33:00.000-07:00

Though this is not on a programme subject, it is something very important - the importance of which cannot be expressed even if all lines of code written in the world so far or will be written is raised to the power of nth degree where n is all lines of code written in the world so far and be written...
Please share this documentary as widely as you can in your blogs, on Facebook, through emails etc...

Discrimination kills - Maternal mortality and human rights

Discrimination against women leads to preventable deaths and injuries during pregnancy and child birth. Each year hundred of thousands of women and girls die and millions more become disabled as a result of complications during pregnancy and child birth.

A study by United Nations Human Rights office (OHCHR) finds a clear relationship between maternal mortality and morbidity and violations of human rights.

------
http://www.youtube.com/unohchr

The study by the UN Human Rights office is produced under the request of the Human Rights Council.

The short documentary is the story of a widower whose wife died during childbirth. He speaks of how his wife's death could have been prevented. The UN human rights office says discrimination against women is causing unnecessary deaths and injuries during pregnancy and childbirth.

For more details on this and other works of OHCHR, visit their global website: www.ohchr.org or the website of its Nepal office: nepal.ohchr.org

PHP/MySQL based Content Management System (CMS)

2010-07-18T08:07:00.000-07:00

I have just finished the development of a PHP/MySQL based Content Management System (CMS). Below is a low-resolution screen-shot of the system.

Details about this system can be viewed on my website at http://www.vibhumishra.com/index.php?projects&cms_1

There are two versions of this system, one with an ordering component which will let one do business online and the other without this component, some of the other features (common to both versions) include:

Display web-based advertisements such as Google AdSense ads.
Ability to publish pages straight away, save drafts and archive pages.
Flash and other multimedia integrated.
Tracking individual page hits, user browsing trends and other information.
Full-featured password-protected administrator side, including with Secured HTTP (https://) support (server feature).
3-customizable colour themes (customizable by site visitors).
Multiple font support (not restricted to standard web fonts).

A screen shot of the CMS, (populated with dummy data):

Enabling PHP on stock Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

2010-07-16T02:35:00.000-07:00

A quick way of enabling the stock installation of PHP on Mac OS X 10.6 "Snow Leopard". You may use either the Terminal or the user interface of the Finder.

1. Go to "/etc/apache2"

2. Use either of the options:

2.a. If using Finder: Give yourself access privileges (read-write access) to file "httpd.conf" and open the file using your favourite text editor

2.b. If using Terminal: Using your favourite text editor (vi, pico etc), using sudo open the "httpd.conf" file.

3. Uncomment (remove the #) in front of line:

LoadModule php5_module libexec/apache2/libphp5.so

4. Add the following lines (preferably at the end of the document so that it is easier to debug later if required):#IfModule php5_module$

AddType application/x-httpd-php .php
AddType application/x-httpd-php-source .phps
<IfModule dir_module>
DirectoryIndex index.html index.php
</IfModule>
</IfModule>

In the above, replace # with an "<" and the $ with an ">"

5. Try by running a test php page.

<?php phpinfo(); ?>

In the above, replace # with an "<" and the $ with an ">"

Object Oriented Programming and Polymorphism in PHP

2010-02-23T21:55:00.000-08:00

Introduction:

One of the greatest strengths of any programming language is its Object Orientation and from this comes Polymorphism, way back when I was in college, I studied this section of programming with immense interest and while at first, avenues for its implementation were very limited this is growing day by day.

Following are some examples and implementation of these concepts.

Example:

All Object Oriented Programming languages (OOP languages) offer some form of polymorphism. Following is an example of implementation of polymorphism using PHP:

    interface vehicle{
        function getType();
        function getCapacity();
    }
    
    abstract class baseVehicle implements vehicle{
        protected type = $type;
       }

       function getType(){
           return ($this->type);
       }
   }

   class motorbike extends baseVehicle{
       function getCapacity(){
           return ("2 people");
       }
   }

   class car extends baseVehicle{
       function getCapacity(){
           return ("5 people and 400 litres of boot space");
       }
   }

   class truck extends baseVehicle{
       function getCapacity(){
           return ("3 people and 10 tonnes of cargo space");
       }
   }
 
   $vehicleArray = array(
       new motorbike("Enfiled Bullet Motorcycle"),
       new car("Tata Indigo Station-wagon"),
       new truck("Leyland Flatbed Truck")
   );

   foreach ($vehicleArray as $vehicleData) {
       echo $vehicleData->getType() . " - " . $vehicleData->getCapacity() . "\n";
   }

Output:

Enfiled Bullet Motorcycle - 2 people
Tata Indigo Station-wagon - 5 people and 400 litres of boot space
Leyland Flatbed Truck - 3 people and 10 tonnes of cargo space

If there are any questions or feedback regarding this, please post in the comments box!

Examples of Flash Charts and Graphs soon

2009-11-23T06:42:00.000-08:00

I will try to upload some examples and screen-shots of some graphs and charts generated through Flash which gets in the data from databases or XML files.

Check in soon!

Implementation of PHP-Flash-XML - Realtime Graphs!

2009-10-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

One great implementation I have of PHP-Flash-XML project is for generating real time graphs. I already have this working for Pie Charts, Bar Graphs and Line Graphs. Now I am working on Line Graphs with 2 or more variables and scatter plots.

For more details about this project, see my website, http://www.vibhumishra.com/index.php?php-flash-xml.

More updates soon...

PHP - XML - Flash Integration

2009-08-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

Since the past few months, I have been working on projects involving a great deal of PHP, XML and Flash integration.

Some common example of such integration are dynamic Flash websites, XML-based Flash applications, components for PHP-based websites, the list is endless.

Examples and sample of this work can be seen on my website: www.vibhumishra.com. Over the next few days, I will be putting some samples of the ActionScript involved on this blog as well.

Updates & Examples of Python coming soon

2009-06-12T06:28:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I haven't been able to update this blog all that often but I will do so very soon.

Just a few quick updates:

1. Along with this blog, do visit my website too, it has a comprehensive list and details of many projects I have been working on - including the Unicode to Preeti converter. The address of my website is http://www.vibhumishra.com

2. I will be putting a number of great example code for those of you starting to learn Python as well as some higher end examples for the more experienced programmers, do check back in soon.

All for now - Please send in your comments - I would love to hear from you!

C / C++ Compilers for Mac OS X

2009-04-09T02:17:00.000-07:00

A new post after a long time...

Getting straight to the point, there are loads of C/C++ compilers around.

I used to use one back in the old days of System 9.1... I am forgetting what it was called but it was a pretty good one, a few functions were quirky and sometimes the debug mode didn't work all that well.

Now we have MacOS X, and there are also quite a few compilers around. I will soon put a list of them as well as installing them on the Mac...

Till next time...

Installing Python on Mac OS X (10.3, 10.4 or 10.5) from scratch

2009-02-24T07:46:00.000-08:00

Installing Python on a Macintosh running Mac OS X 10.3 "Panther", 10.4 "Tiger" or 10.5 "Leopard" is quite simple and straight forward, the steps are very similar to the ones for

Download the installer from http://pythonmac.org/packages/py25-fat/dmg/python-2.5-macosx.dmg (approximately 18MB)
Mount the disk image.
Backup your .bash_profile before you install.
Double click MacPython.mpkg to start the install process. This would install the Python Frameworks along with the extras including IDLE. They would be installed in the Applications/MacPython 2.5 folder.

Once installed, you may try the installation with the simple "hello world" trial.

Open TextEdit or your favourite text editor, in a blank text only file, type
print "hello world"
Save the file with the extension .py and close the text editor.
Open this file with IDLE and from the Run menu, select Run Module.
You should see hello world in the Python Shell.

All done, Python is now installed! Have fun!

If you have any questions or problems, just post back!

Installing Python on Mac OS X (Leopard)

2009-02-12T06:18:00.000-08:00

Mac OS X 10.5.x (Leopard) comes with Python 2.5.1 pre-installed. However this installation is without the IDLE.app, the need for IDLE.app comes in if you are interested in a light-weight Python development (Leopard's Xcode 3.0 allows working with Python though...)

To install IDLE.app and other Python 2.5 extras,

Download the installer from http://pythonmac.org/packages/py25-fat/dmg/python-2.5-macosx.dmg (approximately 18MB)
Mount the disk image.
Do a "Show Package Contents" on the MacPython.mpkg (context-click / control-click the package)
Backup your .bash_profile before you install.
Navigate to Contents > Packages > PythonApplications-2.5.pkg, double click to install. This would install the extras including IDLE.app. They would be installed in the Applications/MacPython 2.5 folder.
Using Terminal, create a symbolic link for the system's Python.framework in the location expected by the pythonmac.org tools:
cd /Library/Frameworks
sudo ln -s /System/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/ Python.framework

It is recommended that you delete the newly installed Python Launcher.app, because it is already present inside the system Python.framework.
If you have installed Apple's developer tools (Xcode et al), it is recommended that you delete the newly installed Build Applet.app, because it is already present in /Developer/Applications/Utilities/MacPython 2.5.

For more information:
• http://wiki.python.org/moin/MacPython/Leopard
• http://python.org/download/mac/

Unicode to Preeti Converter...

2009-02-10T21:30:00.000-08:00

Over the past few months, I have been working on a robust Unicode to Preeti and Preeti to Unicode Conversion Software, the "Unicode to Preeti Converter Project", there are three versions of the software - (a) Web Based, (b) Windows Based and (c) Macintosh Based. Currently, the supported fonts include Preeti and Kantipur. Support for the fonts will be added in due course of time.

The prototype for the Macintosh (OS X) and the Web-based versions are ready and currently in the Beta Testing phase. Once the Macintosh version has finished this phase, work would commence on the Windows version.

This software can be used to convert text in legacy fonts like Preeti, Kantipur or other Nepali or Hindi (Devanagari Script) Fonts into UTF-8 encoded (unicode) text.

For more details and updates or to know more about other projects visit my website, www.vibhumishra.com.

You might want to look at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-8

http://www.vibhumishra.com/?unicode-preeti

Setting up Tomcat on Mac OS X

2009-02-03T20:29:00.000-08:00

from http://wiki.apache.org/tomcat/TomcatOnMacOS - many thanks!

Found this link after a long search for trying to setup Apache Tomcat on my Mac OS X:

Many thanks again to Basil Bourque and Michael Valentiner - for the 2008 update,

Steps:

1. Upgrade to Mac OS X 10.4.6

- I do not know if 10.4.6 is required, but it sure made an easy Tomcat install.
- Apply all of Apple's Software Updates, especially the Java 5 update.

2. Download apache-tomcat-5.5.16

- Unzip.
- Move it to your home folder.

3. Fix the Unix file permissions

- Download the freeware BatChmod, a GUI wrapper around the Unix "chmod" command.[http://macchampion.com/arbysoft/]
- Drag and drop the entire Tomcat folder onto the BatChmod icon.
- Check *all* the checkboxes.
- Click "Apply" and give your Administrator password.

4. Start Tomcat

- Launch /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.
- Navigate to the Tomcat folder (apache-tomcat-5.5.16):

  cd ~/apache-tomcat-5.5.16

- Run the startup script:

  ./bin/startup.sh

- You should see something like this:

  Using CATALINA_BASE:   /Users/basilbourque/apache-tomcat-5.5.16
 Using CATALINA_HOME:   /Users/basilbourque/apache-tomcat-5.5.16
 Using CATALINA_TMPDIR: /Users/basilbourque/apache-tomcat-5.5.16/temp
 Using JRE_HOME:        /System/Library/Frameworks/JavaVM.framework/Versions/1.5/Home

- Notice that somehow the startup script(s) have used Java 5 on Mac OS X even though it is not the default Java runtime at the command line. I hope to parse that script later to discover how they did this.

5. Test Tomcat

- Launch a web browser such as Safari.
- Goto http://127.0.0.1:8080/
- You should see the cute Tomcat logo on the welcome page.

You are technically done at this point. But as a good pratice, I also did the following additional steps.

6. Start the Firewall

- System Preferences > Sharing > Firewall > Start
- Also, click the Advanced button on that panel, to (a) block UDP, and (b) start logging. It is fascinating to see how quickly a computer directly on the Internet starts to get queried/tested/attacked. Open /Applications/Utilities/Console to see the log.

7. Enable Port-Forwarding

- Add a rule to do port-forwarding from port 80 to Tomcat's default port 8080. Type this in the Terminal:

  sudo ipfw add 100 fwd 127.0.0.1,8080 tcp from any to any 80 in

This would not be necessary if you are already using another server for example Apache (web server) which uses port 80 by default.

8. Test Tomcat

- Launch a web browser such as Safari.
- Goto: http://127.0.0.1/ [note: no port 8080 at the end]
- You should see the cute Tomcat logo on the welcome page.
- To be sure it is working, and not cached by the browser:
• Try another browser.
• Click the Reload button in the toolbar of the browser.
• Choose the Reload command, such as View > Reload Page in Safari.

Updated for 2008 (by Michael Valentiner)

Verified running Tomcat 6.0.14 on Mac OS X 10.5.1.
Did not need to set up JAVA_HOME and did need to fix Unix file permissions.
The System Preferences > Sharing > Firewall has moved to System Preferences > Security > Firewall. Able to enable logging, but haven't figured out how to block UDP.

You might want to look at:

http://wiki.apache.org/tomcat/TomcatOnMacOS

http://tomcat.apache.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apache_Tomcat

Fixing MySQL Problem - Unable to connect via socket

2008-07-10T07:32:00.000-07:00

A common problem I saw with MySQL, after a system update (10.4.4) or on later systems (Leopard on PPC computers) there are problems connecting via the MySQL Socket, it says the socket file not found.

Apparently is it because the socket file got moved during the update [http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=20060111113313511]. To repair this problem, open the Terminal and enter the following commands:

$ sudo mkdir /var/mysql

$ sudo ln -s /tmp/mysql.sock /var/mysql/mysql.sock

The first line is creating a folder called "mysql" inside the "var" folder at the root level, the second line is making a link called "mysql.sock" to the actual "mysql.sock" file (at the changed location) inside the invisible "tmp" folder.

Do this and you should be fine again.

You might want to look at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ln_(Unix)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mkdir

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudo

The first shot!

2008-07-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

Java, .Net, C#...

We have been hearing this everyday... I come from a different time... a time when alphabets were easy... when we were at A-B-C, with a few increments...

Well this is not place for philosophy... if you are interested in philosophy and my take on what is all around this is clearly not the place for you... instead try out http://himalayanbullet.blogspot.com

I think you must have gotten the clue... I am a C Programmer period!

But one thing that C has taught us is to adapt... adapt to the changing environment around us... and at times create an environment ourself...

As they say - enough said... lets get down to coding... lets get it all started!!! Oh and before I forget, all that I write here would be mainly centered around the Macintosh - both pre OS X era and the OS X era...

In the next few days, I hope to put indepth information about Ruby on Rails, PHP and the trusty MySQL... which I believe to be the are back-bone of today's and tomorrow's web - be sure to check it out...