Show Off Your Linux Skillz

Execute any of these open source tricks and no one will have the slightest inkling that you actually failed comp-sci in junior college.

Bypass the corporate firewall

You're sitting at work when you notice a bootleg of Tropic Thunder on BitTorrent. No problem: Run the BitTorrent through your home PC and stream into your work rig. Enter this code into the terminal: ssh -R 7654:127.0.0.1:7654 username@yourothermachine -N -D 7777. Where it says "username," plug in the username of your home machine. And swap "yourothermachine" for the IP address or hostname of that box. "-N -D" is the SOCKS proxy. Remember to set it as 127.0.0.1 at port 7777. And "7654" is the default port you want your Torrent program to run on. (Check it: You can also use this trick to run Firefox, AIM, and other apps that "hamper productivity.")

Create a file-sharing network

Your bud across the hall wants to see Tropic Thunder, too. If you and he are on networked machines, you can easily send him the file. Type: scp localfile username@yourfriendsmachine :remotefile. In place of "remotefile," enter the name of the file you want to send. Don't have the username and IP addy or host name of "yourfriends machine"? Set up an impromptu instant message client to get it.

DIY IM

If your Linux box can't load an IM client (or you want to converse off the grid), there's another way to become ping pals. You both need to be remotely logged into the same machine. Enter: write username. Sub your friend's handle for "username" and start chatting away about how funny it was in Tropic Thunder when Ben Stiller had both of his hands blown off.

-Abhiz