FOSSPicks
OpenSnitch
Even though it's poorly implemented, Windows 10's dynamic firewall feature is theoretically a worthwhile addition. It notifies you when an application it doesn't know about, or an application without adequate permissions, attempts to make an outside network connection. You can then choose to enable it or block its attempts to communicate. Much like Android, this would be great if you could trust that nothing else was getting through without notifying you, but that sadly isn't the case. However, Mac OS users have a better option with a third-party tool called Little Snitch, which does basically the same thing, but because Little Snitch registers kernel extensions on a Unix-alike system, it seems a little more trustworthy.
What would be even better than all of these, of course, is a Linux application that tries to do the same thing – enter OpenSnitch. OpenSnitch is a firewall tool that notifies you when an unknown process attempts to make a connection and lets you decide whether to whitelist the app, block the app from making the connection, or deny or allow the connection for this time only. You might wonder why you'd need something like this when Linux network security is already very high, but it's because we often install and run so much that it can be difficult keeping abreast of what permissions are needed by everything. OpenSnitch does exactly this. It will automatically detect an outgoing connection regardless of the source, allowing you to create your firewall configuration as you need it. It's also a great way to see what even trusted applications are doing over the network. Of course, if you suffer some kind of vulnerability, the first thing it will try to do is talk to a server, which can be stopped with OpenSnitch before any communication takes place.
Project Website
https://github.com/evilsocket/opensnitch
IRC client
Irc it (ii)
The IRC protocol is supremely hackable and relatively easy to implement, mostly thanks to the protocol being basic and universal – it's almost as simple as sending character codes to a port and reading character codes from a port. It's perhaps for this reason that there are so many different IRC clients and implementations, from the all-powerful, like Irssi or WeeChat, to the experimental. Irc it (ii) definitely falls into the experimental category, because instead of presenting IRC as an interactive text parser, it turns IRC into a minimalist FIFO filesystem. This means that your IRC server connection appears as a directory tree, populated by server, channel, and nickname directories. At the end of every path is an in file and an out file. The out file is where you'll find the messages for that channel, whereas text placed within the in file will be delivered to the channel. For example, typing
echo "/j #linuxvoice"> irc.freenide.net/in
will join the Linux Voice channel and create a new directory.
It's a unique take on IRC that could even have practical uses, especially if you use IRC for sharing files. But this filesystem layout may be equally useful for automation tasks or for processing input and output, such as through a natural language parser or speech synthesizer. The project site includes several example bots, as well as enhancements that help you use the client from within Vim or as a PHP web front end. And while you're unlikely to find a pre-built package for your distribution, this project's tiny pocket of 500 lines of C code will build in less than a second and makes for a great template if you want to write you own IRC client.
Project Website
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.
-
ZorinOS 17.1 Released, Includes Improved Windows App Support
If you need or desire to run Windows applications on Linux, there's one distribution intent on making that easier for you and its new release further improves that feature.
-
Linux Market Share Surpasses 4% for the First Time
Look out Windows and macOS, Linux is on the rise and has even topped ChromeOS to become the fourth most widely used OS around the globe.
-
KDE’s Plasma 6 Officially Available
KDE’s Plasma 6.0 "Megarelease" has happened, and it's brimming with new features, polish, and performance.
-
Latest Version of Tails Unleashed
Tails 6.0 is based on Debian 12 and includes GNOME 43.
-
KDE Announces New Slimbook V with Plenty of Power and KDE’s Plasma 6
If you're a fan of KDE Plasma, you'll be thrilled to hear they've announced a new Slimbook with an AMD CPU and the latest version of KDE Plasma desktop.
-
Monthly Sponsorship Includes Early Access to elementary OS 8
If you want to get a glimpse of what's in the pipeline for elementary OS 8, just set up a monthly sponsorship to help fund its continued existence.