GitHub Desktop
Zachary Reese, Development, Training

Desktop GitHub client for Windows and Mac. Handles all git functions without having to touch the command line.


Gas Mask
Zachary Reese, Design, Development

A simple hosts file manager for macOS. Gas Mask facilitates editing of multiple host files and switching between them.


Dash
Zachary Reese, Design, Development

Offline API documentation browser. Collect documentation for everything in one app and have it searchable. An absolutely essential utility for anyone who uses tech documentation.


How to check a server’s response time
Zachary Reese, Uncategorized

This terminal command will show the response time for a server in seconds. Useful for testing things like WP-Rocket, which has a timeout of two seconds.

curl -o /dev/null -s -w %{time_total}\\n https://origin.factcheck.org


How to Install the VPN
Alex White, Uncategorized
1. Go to http://www.forticlient.com/downloads and click the “Download” button for your OS.

2. Once the file is downloaded, open it. The install process will begin. Be sure to accept the license agreement so you can continue.

3. Make sure the setup type ONLY has “Security Fabric Agent” and “Secure Remote Access” checked off.

4. Click “Next” until the program finishes installing.

5. Open FortiClient by double-clicking the icon that appeared on your desktop.

6. When the FortiClient window opens, click on the “Remote Access” tab on the left-hand side of the window.

7. Click “Configure VPN”

8. Fill out the text fields with the following information, then click “Apply”.

Connection Name: appcvpn
Description: APPC VPN (optional)
Remote Gateway: vpn.appc.upenn.edu

9. To connect to the VPN, use your Windows login credentials, then click “Connect”.


How to send email as your @appc.upenn.edu address from Gmail
Timothy Duff, Uncategorized

In Gmail:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Got to Accounts and Import.
  3. On the Send mail as: row, click Add another email address you own
  4. In the pop-up window, add your @appc.upenn.edu email address, and click Next Step
  5. Change SMTP Server to outlook.office365.com
  6. For Username, enter your entire @appc.upenn.edu email address
  7. Enter your email password used to access appc.upenn.edu email
  8. Click Add Account
  9. Google will send a verification code to your @appc.upenn.edu email address. Type that code to finish.

How To Edit Your Hosts File
APPC Support, Uncategorized

Windows

Step 1 – Search for Notepad, then right-click on Notepad in the search results list, and choose Run as administrator. If you’re using Windows 10, a shortcut to Notepad is in the Start Menu.

Step 2 – Once NotePad is open, Go to File -> Open… and copy/paste the following file path:
c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
Click open to start editing the hosts file.

Step 3 – Make your desired additions or alterations. Most likely you’ll be pasting something at the bottom of the document.

Tip: Adding a hashtag to the start of a line will disable it. For example, the line
# 128.91.58.195 origin.factcheck.org
won’t have any effect, but it will retain the host assignment for later use.

Step 4 – Go to File -> Save to commit the change that we just made.


macOS

Step 1 – Go to and Open Terminal either by searching for it or by locating it under the Applications folder

Step 2 – Once Terminal is open, copy/paste or type the following command:
sudo nano /etc/hosts
and press enter to execute the command. You’ll be prompted to enter your password to proceed.

Tip: Not seeing anything when you type your password? Don’t panic! That’s intentional. When entering your password through terminal the text is invisible for security purposes.

Step 3 – Make your desired additions or alterations. Most likely you’ll be pasting something at the bottom of the document.

Tip: Adding a hashtag to the start of a line will disable it. For example, the line
# 128.91.58.195 origin.factcheck.org
won’t have any effect, but it will retain the host assignment for later use.

Step 4 – Press ^X (hold the control key and press the X key) to save and exit. You’ll see a prompt at the bottom of the text editor asking you to confirm your changes (press the Y key) as well as the file to save to (just press Enter). You can now safely quit Terminal.


How to share your screen (macOS)
Timothy Duff, Uncategorized

If you are attempting to connect from off our network, please connect to the VPN first. Make sure wireless is turned off and ethernet is the main network connection.

Click on System Preferences and choose Networking.

Screen Shot 2016-07-26 at 2.12.31 PM

Click on the Ethernet Adapter on the left to view the IP Address.

Screen Shot 2016-07-26 at 2.12.38 PM

In the Menu Bar, click Go then Connect to server.

Screen Shot 2016-07-26 at 2.06.20 PM
Type in vnc://your ip address. (This should be in the form of 10.30.8.xx)

Screen Shot 2016-07-26 at 2.07.32 PM

Enter your credentials in the next window. Click Connect.

Screen Shot 2016-07-26 at 3.29.01 PM

The screen share will open in a new window.


How To Map a Network Drive (OSX)
Zachary Reese, Uncategorized

In Finder, select Go > Connect to Server (⌘+K). In the field labeled Server Address, type the IP address or local name of the drive you’d like to connect to.

 

Click Connect. You may see a prompt for credentials. Select Registered User and enter your username and password.

 

Click Connect again.

To make the mapping persistent (meaning you don’t have to do it every time you restart), go to System Preferences > Users & Groups.

OSX Login Items

Select your account from the sidebar list, then choose the Login Items tab.

OSX Login Items

Click the + icon below the list of login items, then use Finder to navigate to the network drive.

Finder Mount Volume

Click Add. Find the network drive in the list of login items and toggle the checkbox to active to enable mounting at login.