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Making the best of Google Authenticator for One Time Passwords
You can't reorder tokens on Google Authenticator nor edit the associated description? Read on.
I use one time passwords everywhere I can. It's a little hassle but increases security by a whole lot. And the good thing is that more and more providers offer this:
- GMail
- Google Apps
- Dropbox
- Amazon Web Services
- Your company if they are not too dinosaur-y
Go use one time passwords aka two factor authentication, you will thank me later.
I looked around on iOS and the most well known soft token application that supports both time based and event based tokens is Google Authenticator. Except that Google Authenticator's UI is really crap and buggy.
The edit button does not seem to function properly and nothing happens most of the time. The trick is to go to Legal information then back. You can now press the edit button and voilà! Things work. You can now:
- reorder the list properly
- edit the name under each token
That made my life much easier.
Google Drive - the good and the ugly
Google Drive is a bit confusing at first but the Dropbox like feature works reasonably well. They have a desktop client that works pretty much like the Dropbox client and syncs your local directory with the cloud.
This is quite handy when your friends have maxed out their Dropbox quota: Google Drive gives you 5 GB free. Images you store on Google Plus and files you store on Google Drive count against your quota. The Google Drive documents do not though.
Not everything is rosy in the Google Drive land though.
Trash or no trash
Data in your trash is counted as used space. It took me a while to figure that out and I could not get why my free space was lower that it should have. I don't think other services do that.
Bugs
When you delete a non empty directory and then try to remove it from the trash, well nothing happens. Someone has forgotten to write the recursive part of the algorithm :) You have to go in each subdirectory and remove files and empty directories.
Simplistic client and speed
It seems to me that Dropbox syncs faster than Google Drive but I have not properly benched them so that might be subjective.
What is for sure is that the sync up cues on Google Drive are too simplistic. It tells you synchronization happens and that's it. Dropbox tells you how many files are uploaded and downloaded, what is the speed rate for each as well as the estimated time it will take. It's not gimmicky, it shows progress to the user.
Overall, I tend to stick with Dropbox despite the fact that it is twice as expensive per GB.
Installing po2xml and xml2pot on Mac OS X
Hibernate documentation system uses po2xml and xml2pot to build translations. Unfortunately, Homebrew does not have a formula for it and I don't think I have the knowledge to work on such thing.
The solution is to install Macport. There is a nice UI installer. Make sure to chose the one specific to your Max OS X version.
MacPort does change your .bash_profile. Because I want to give
Homebrew's executable priority, I make sure to put Macport
changes after homebrew in the PATH variables.
Update Macport
sudo port -v selfupdate
Then install po2xml. Unfortunately, po2xml does not come as standalone package, you have to install all of KDE
sudo port install kdesdk4
Then wait for freaking ever for everything to compile. By the way, source packaging is not eco-friendly. Think about the amount of CPU needed every time you update some package...
Once that is done, add po2xml and xml2pot to your path
PATH=$PATH:/Applications/MacPorts/KDE4/po2xml.app/Contents/MacOS
PATH=$PATH:/Applications/MacPorts/KDE4/xml2pot.app/Contents/MacOS
And you are good to go!
Unable to update git from homebrew
I have had problems on one machine to upgrade Git from Homebrew. Let me first tell you how to fix the problem and then what homebrew is about.
The problem
The problem appeared when I tried to upgrade git
brew upgrade git
It turned out to be much more complicated than I anticipated to find the problem. The exact error message was:
Error: Failed executing: make prefix=/usr/local/Cellar/git/1.7.11.3 CC=/usr/bin/clang CFLAGS=-Os\ -w\ -pipe\ -march=native\ -Qunused-arguments\ -mmacosx-version-min=10.7 LDFLAGS=-L/usr/local/lib install (git.rb:49)
These existing issues may help you:
https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/issues/8643
https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/issues/10544
https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/issues/11481
https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/issues/12344
https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/issues/12814
https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/issues/13850
Otherwise, this may help you fix or report the issue:
https://github.com/mxcl/homebrew/wiki/bug-fixing-checklist
My environment was listed as:
==> Build Environment
HOMEBREW_VERSION: 0.9.2
HEAD: 53d5bfb44e8644eff1693b2a734f079d10b53043
CPU: dual-core 64-bit penryn
OS X: 10.7.4-x86_64
Xcode: 4.3.3
CLT: 4.3.0.0.1.1249367152
X11: 2.6.4 @ /usr/X11
CC: /usr/bin/clang
CXX: /usr/bin/clang++ => /usr/bin/clang
LD: /usr/bin/clang
CFLAGS: -Os -w -pipe -march=native -Qunused-arguments -mmacosx-version-min=10.7
CXXFLAGS: -Os -w -pipe -march=native -Qunused-arguments -mmacosx-version-min=10.7
CPPFLAGS: -isystem /usr/local/include
LDFLAGS: -L/usr/local/lib
MACOSX_DEPLOYMENT_TARGET: 10.7
MAKEFLAGS: -j2
And the last line before the error outputs were
/usr/bin/clang -isystem /usr/local/include -Os -w -pipe -march=native -Qunused-arguments -mmacosx-version-min=10.7 -I. -DUSE_ST_TIMESPEC -DNO_GETTEXT -DHAVE_DEV_TTY -DXDL_FAST_HASH -DSHA1_HEADER='<openssl/sha.h>' -DNO_MEMMEM -DSHELL_PATH='"/bin/sh"' -o git-daemon -L/usr/local/lib daemon.o libgit.a xdiff/lib.a -lz -liconv -lcrypto -lssl
Undefined symbols for architecture x86_64:
"_iconv_open", referenced from:
Undefined symbols for architecture x86_64:
"_iconv_open", referenced from:
_reencode_string in libgit.a(utf8.o)
_reencode_string in libgit.a(utf8.o)
"_iconv", referenced from:
"_iconv", referenced from:
_reencode_string in libgit.a(utf8.o)
_reencode_string in libgit.a(utf8.o)
"_iconv_close", referenced from:
"_iconv_close", referenced from:
_reencode_string in libgit.a(utf8.o)
_reencode_string in libgit.a(utf8.o)
ld: symbol(s) not found for architecture x86_64
ld: symbol(s) not found for architecture x86_64
clang: error: linker command failed with exit code 1 (use -v to see invocation)
clang: error: linker command failed with exit code 1 (use -v to see invocation)
make: *** [git-daemon] Error 1
make: *** Waiting for unfinished jobs....
make: *** [git-credential-store] Error 1
It turned out that libiconv was the culprit. Simply uninstall it:
brew remove libiconv
brew prune
brew cleanup
Then run brew upgrade git again and things should work now.
I found the inspiration here.
What is homebrew anyways
Homebrew is a very easy to use and maintain package manager for Mac OS X environments. Anytime you want to install one of those unix-y tools, Homebrew is your friend.
Passed the initial installation, Homebrew is as simple to use as
brew install *something*
and you are good to go. Keeping versions up-to-date are very easy too
# update brew itself
brew update
# update tools installed with brew
brew upgrade
For example here are a few things I have installed and maintain with Homebrew (aka brew for the friends).
- git
- keychain
- mvim
- mongodb
- postgresql
- rsync
- unison
- wget
That also includes some Java tools:
- gradle
- maven
- jboss-as
- ceylon
Homebrew does not install as a privileged user - it is actually discouraged. That makes it a bit picky when permissions are not right.
I have been using this trick quite regularly with success.
ruby -e "$(curl -fsSL https://gist.github.com/raw/768518/fix_homebrew.rb)"
Enjoy
I succumbed to the Cult of vi
I think I am seriously regressing as I grow older.
I mentioned in the past moving from the popular, dynamic and UI based blog system Wordpress to the Ruby based static generator Awestruct. I also mentioned moving to Git and enjoying my command line more and more. On a tangential note, I do enjoy writing my verb in a pure textual form thanks to Markdown and use Git as my backup and memory system if you will.
I think the natural evolution for me was to move to one of those archaic editors like vi or emacs... And I tried vi... and I can't say I liked it at first.
Why oh why move to vi?
Emacs never attracted me, I have only ten fingers after all and
there is only so much flexibility in my hands.
vi has the immense benefit of literally be available everywhere
you ssh in. I have always been acquainted with vi: use i to type
and ESC :q! if things go crazy.
Long time vimers keep claiming that once you get it, it's awesome. Since I have been proved wrong on Git - I thought Mercurial was better at that Git UX was an abomination for bearded people - I was rather curious.
A recent discussion with my friends of Les Cast Codeurs fame convinced me to try once again to jump on the bandwagon.
So far not so bad
In the beginning I felt that I was slow and that every line of text was draining a third of my energy for the day. And that was more than a feeling.
But it's really growing on me and this blog post is an attempt to understand why really. Yes reader, you're my private therapist.
I love good UIs but to be honest, for text documents, you don't really need it. I use MacVim with a decent set of coloring and syntax highlighting and I am happy with it. The key is that vi is extremely powerful to fine-edit text and that even if hard to learn, you feel that there is something you can gain.
What's bad about vi
For beginners or casual users, vi the most horrible piece of user experience ever built. There is no visual or otherwise cue in case you don't know how to do something, no way to navigate menus to figure what can be done. You even need to be an accomplished vi user and sort of already know what you do to begin to make sense of the help system.
But let's pretend you used Google and know enough to play around. Let's face it auto completion is very important in Java. Most of the time Java developers don't need doc, the API and auto completion are here to guide them. I often resort to Google for an API in Ruby or JavaScript, never in Java.
Now what's interesting is that IntelliJ IDEA (my Java editor) has a vi plugin, so does Eclipse. So you can use your vi way of editing but still benefit from auto completion and code navigation.
The vi plugin for IntelliJ is not perfect. It sometimes stops working and you need to close and reopen your file, and it has the tendency to override some common shortcuts (Command click for code navigation for example). But for the most part it works. I think in 2 weeks of use, I gave up the vi mode twice. Not bad!
The other thing that's bad with vi is that there is no native project
view to navigate from one file to another in a project. I'm used to
Command-N in IntelliJ IDEA to open a Java class with a few camel case
friendly keystrokes.
Vi has plugins to mimic that - vi has plugins for everything by the way including ASCII diagram drawing tools. I have installed NERDTree and Command-T so far but I don't feel it's sufficient. The visual reminder of the file hierarchy is quite useful in an IDE.
Likewise, copy / pasting especially between non vi apps is not entirely fluid to me but I suspect it's a matter of training.
What made me click
There is no magic trick, you need to train your brain and your fingers to vi. But there are two things that were key to make me understand how to use vi:
- stay in insert mode (sort of the normal mode of any other editor) for the shortest period of time. Text manipulation is mostly done in command mode. So always come back to command mode.
- vi is very regular, operations are made of an action and a move. The action describes what you want to do, and the move is about what the action will influence. On top of that, you can add a multiplier to repeat the operation several times.
So when you learn a new move or a new action, you can compound them to the ones you know already and create new operations for free.
After a while you like the game. Plus it's very easy to Google a given action and find how to do it efficiently.
The arrow vs hjkl for navigation was essentially a non problem. I use what
I am comfortable with: I started with arrows but I use almost exclusively
hjkl to move now as it makes my hand move less on the keyboard.
Likewise, I use the mouse when I feel like moving around a lot. That might
change down the road.
It has been roughly two weeks of coding and writing in vi mode and I am now feeling that when I move back to a classic editor, I don't feel as efficient as I thought I was. I'm even tempted to say that I feel a bit more efficient now in vi.
A lot of the efficiency comes from the powerful search tools. It turns out to be very efficient to navigate around text or code using small searches.
Resources and conclusion
- a stackoverflow question on the philosophy of vi commands
- the thought process of someone moving back to vi
- everything you need to know on tabulation and indenting in vi
- graphical cheat sheet
If you want to make the jump, I recommend you:
- print the cheat sheets and keep them in front of you
- read a few blogs on the philosophy of vi
- take the time to configure your (graphical) vi(m) environment
- jump and stick to it for most of your work
- use a vi plugin for your IDE: it is good to force you to use vi without losing auto completion and co you need
That's all I have, it's not a tutorial on vi, more my thoughts on the process. I'll keep you posted if I have more interesting things to say on the subject. Oh and of course this blog entry has been written in vi :)
Instacast - Podcast App for iOS
Executive summary: I went for Instacast and so far I'm happy about it.
In its grandiose lack of thinking, Apple has decided that when syncing an iOS with iCloud it no longer copies podcast episodes from your iTunes library when you sync up.
They sort of know that a podcast is refreshed regularly so they added a get new episode button
that brings you to the iTunes Store on your iOS. You then have to manually remember which episode
you have read and which one you want to listen to. On top of that the default is to stream them.
To download, you have to press the arrow button for long enough but not too long.
In short, horrible experience!
So I looked around to find an actual podcast application that would fill these needs:
- maintain my list of podcast subscriptions
- import my old list from the iOS Music app
- share my subscriptions via iCloud and allow for export
- download new episodes when available automatically
- can be played in the background
Two seem to be considered better than the others, Instacast and Downcast which are $2 each. I went for Instacast as it is considered the more Apple-ish one in design - I mean the good one. Downcast is more feature rich from what I have read.
So far I like it, most podcasts could be imported, though one by one by clicking the Music icon and selecting the podcasts. 3 or 4 had some URL import error but I could easily find them from their search engine. Podcasts made by yours truly are also listed. That's a decent clue of a deep catalog.
All in all, don't hesitate to switch, you won't regret it. The only sad part is that I now need two different apps to listen to my music, audiobooks and podcasts.
How to control VirtualBox instances from the command line
I got tired of using the graphical interface of VirtualBox to start and stop my VM. After a little googling, I have found a very neat script that lets you control everything from the command line.
The script is detailed on Carlos Acosta's blog and you can download it directly here. One neat thing is that the VM is run headless. One less visual pollution floating around.
Pro tip on git rebase -i
Here is a small tip to improve your efficiency when using dynamic rebasing in Git.
I do my work on topic branches that are forked of master. Before I push my work for review
via a GitHub pull request, I like to clean it up a bit by:
- reordering some commits
- squashing some commits together
- rewriting commit messages
Nothing fancy but it helps improve history readability.
You can of course do that by using git rebase -i and most examples show
how you can go back in time a couple of commits.
git rebase -i HEAD^4 #go back 4 commits ago
There is a nicer and more efficient to do that when you work on topic branches
git rebase -i master
That's it. Pretty stupid but, since you can put any Git object reference, why not use the object where you started to fork off? The rebase will show you all commits between master and your branch.
If you are on a Mac, I highly recommend using GitX or one of his forks. In particular, you can amend the last commit and graphically select what should be staged and unstaged.
Setting global environment variables in IntelliJ IDEA and other test config goodies
When you run a test from IntelliJ idea, you can customize some of
the settings by selecting the list of tests and click Edit Configurations.
From there you can change things like:
- under which module classpath the test is run
- the working directory the test should run from
- virtual machine parameters
- specific environment variables to use
In Hibernate OGM, we use the same test site for all NoSQL solutions. Changing the module classpath is useful in this situation. We also let you refine via an environment variable which hostname runs say MongoDB.
Unfortunately in Mac OS X, graphic applications do not inherit your .bash_profile config. I know, stupid,
but what can you do against the Empire? Workaround!
You can set environment variables from each test but it gets tedious quickly. Alternatively, you can set
an environment variable globally in IntelliJ - what they call parent environment variables.
Go to Preferences and search for Path Variables.
Set your global environment variables here and you are good to go. Note that you can ask a test not to
inherit these global variables if you want to - in the test configuration.
Update:
It turns out I was wrong. Paths Variables is not where global environment variables can be set. If you
know where, please let me know.
Update 2:
To set an environment variable visible by applications in Mac OS X, use
launchctl setenv MYPATH myvar
then restart your IDE (you might need to log out and back in as well).
Thanks @aagahi for the info. This is not great as it's remote from my IDE but at least that works.
BTW, launchctl is supposed to set the data in /etc/lanuchd.conf or $HOME/.launchd.conf. Not on my
system. If anyone knows where the data is put, I'm interested.
Notes to JetBrains:
- your environment variable UI is plain counter productive: either give us a text free area or make tabs and co working
- an option to inherit the
.bash_profileconfiguration would be awesome :)
Bash script to expand file templates
I am working on pushing all my "dotfiles" into a Git repo. Some contains passwords or other private data. It took me longer than expected to write an expander script in bash. So here it is.
Properties are stored as Java properties.
gittoken=123456789012345ab3bc
backup_destination=emmanuel@devnull.com:./backup
The template uses the $placeholder syntax.
# .gitconfig file
[user]
name = Emmanuel Bernard
[github]
user = emmanuelbernard
token = $gittoken
[alias]
co = checkout
undo = reset --hard
cb = checkout -b
br = branch
cp = cherry-pick
[random]
complex-backup-link = $backup_destination
The script is used like
./properties-expander.sh <properties file> <template> <destination>
# For example
./properties-expander.sh ~/secret.properties ~/templates/gitconfig ~/.gitconfig
The script itself is fairly compact though some parts were fairly tricky - thanks stackoverflow :) :
#!/bin/bash
#
# Released under the WTFPL license version 2 http://sam.zoy.org/wtfpl/
# Copyright (c) 2012 Emmanuel Bernard
# -----
# Usage: properties-expander.sh <properties file> <template> <destination>
#
# Properties file:
# PROPERTY1=value1
# PROPERTY2=value2
#help
if [[ $# -ne 3 ]]; then
echo "properties-expander.sh <properties file> <template> <destination>"
exit 0;
fi
echo Expanding $2 to $3 with properties from $1
#read each line including the last one
while IFS=$'\n' read -r line || [[ -n "$line" ]]; do
#get the property name before the first =
property=${line%%=*}
#get the value after the first =
value=${line#*=}
#find a suitable separation character as the value might contain /
candidates='/:.|@#%^&;,!~abcABC' # candidates for separation character
char=$(echo "$candidates" | tr -d "$line")
char=${char:0:1} # choose the first candidate that doesn't appear in the user input
if [ -z "$char" ] # this test checks for exhaustion of the candidate character set
then
echo "Unusable user input: $line"
exit 1
fi
#add regexp rule
SEDEXEC="s${char}\$$property${char}$value${char}g;$SEDEXEC"
done < $1
SEDEXEC="sed -e '$SEDEXEC' $2 > $3"
eval $SEDEXEC
For simplicity, I have put the script in a GitHub gist. Please fork, improve and give me feedback :)
