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Unix Shell Accounts?

Posted by Cliff on from the an-endangered-species dept.

mcovey asks: "Unix shell accounts used to be easy to find, with quality applications installed and free web space. Nowadays the only free ones left are either not accepting new accounts, have limited applications or send you on a wild goose chase to register. Does anyone know any free or low-cost shell accounts that include compilers, IRC, background processes, FTP, a decent editor and an email app (preferably pine, since I have a config file already on my IMAP server)?"

21 of 115 comments (clear)

  1. There are several of them ... by bergeron76 · · Score: 1, Informative

    ... out on the linuxiso website: LinuxISO.org.

    --
    Don't think that a small group of dedicated individuals can't change the world. It's the only thing that ever has.
  2. Get a whole (virtual) server by hoggoth · · Score: 4, Informative

    Get an inexpensive UML (User-Mode-Linux) virtual server and it's just like having a whole server online.
    I use Tektonic. Their cheapest plan is only $15/month. For more money you get larger slices of the CPU and RAM. There are several other good ones as well.

    (oh, and FP).

    --
    - For the complete works of Shakespeare: cat /dev/random (may take some time)
  3. Buy a cheap shell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    The reason there are few free ones is because people abused them. Just go buy a cheap shell somewhere like QuadSpeed Internet. $3 a month. JVDS offers a limited free shell, but as they put in the big print, no IRC.

    1. Re:Buy a cheap shell by bhtooefr · · Score: 3, Informative

      I don't recall if it does EVERYTHING the OP wants, but Freeshell.org is $1 validation, and if you want more (stuff like IRC client, Perl, Python, PHP, etc.), it's $36 one-time (you don't have to pay the $1 if you start out with the $36 plan or better), and they've also got monthly plans that have even more than that (AFAIK, stuff like background processes DOES cost more). Myself, I've gotta shell out $36 (in addition to my $1 that I sent in about a year ago) to get Python, FTP (really pisses me off, because I don't know how to use ZModem over SSH on Linux, so I have to zip up my site, take it over to a Winbox, fire up HyperTerminal, and Telnet in), and SMTP (I hate webmail, and I use my own VERY nice client (Opera M2), thank you very much). Now, if they'd let me JUST add Python, FTP, and SMTP (I don't need Perl, PHP, 240MB more storage (80 in each area - shell, mail, and web), outbound IRC (they have plans for inbound IRC, IIRC, but they're REALLY expensive), outbound Telnet, etc.)

    2. Re:Buy a cheap shell by iMMersE · · Score: 2, Informative

      really pisses me off, because I don't know how to use ZModem over SSH on Linux, so I have to zip up my site, take it over to a Winbox, fire up HyperTerminal, and Telnet in

      You really want to use is "scp". Secure CoPy.

      From "man scp" :

      scp copies files between hosts on a network. It uses ssh(1) for data transfer, and uses the same authentication and provides the same security as ssh(1).

      --
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  4. panix.com by gregh76 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I've been using Panix for over 10 years. They have $10/month shell-only bring-your-own access accounts. CGI, IMAP, et. al. included. I highly recommend them. Highly competent personnel. Well administered. Worth every penny.

  5. Check out hub.org by zhobson · · Score: 5, Informative

    I'm a customer of hub.org.

    They have web accounts with SSH login as a standard feature, and you can even get root access to your own personal VM and install whatever software you want.

    Oh, and they run FreeBSD, which happens to be my favorite unix.

  6. Virtual Servers by DDumitru · · Score: 5, Informative

    Most shell accounts are disappearing because they are very unsafe for the hoster. Also, the prevelence of UML (User Mode Linux) lets hosters run virtual servers in security sandboxes so that the child application is more isolated from the host system.

    UML virtuals behave like complete Linux servers with smaller RAM and disk sizes. You can load full distros and get a direct, public, IP address. Some hosters let you run IRC servers and some don't (many upstream providers hard-filter IRCD). In terms of software and services, you can run just about anything you want. Mail, FTP, ssh, IRC, Apache, Perl, PHP, MySql, etc. Plus you have full editors (vi, emacs) and compilers (gcc, java, etc.).

    You can typically get these starting at about $12/mo. We sell them starting at $15/mo. They are more than shell accounts because the load you can place on a physical server is much smaller. In general, we only put 15-20 on a box to keep the underlying LoadAvg < 1.

    Info on UML is available at:

    http://user-mode-linux.sourceforge.net/

    Have fun.

  7. Cybercomm by bluethundr · · Score: 2, Informative
    My old ISP from the Jersey, called Cybercomm was a great dial-up providor back before the hey-day of broadband. They were recently swallowed up by Telurian Networks so that under the Cybercomm moniker they can offer broadband services.

    On their website, they still appear to be offering their old services which include

    30 days unlimited/interactive usage

    10 MB Web Space for your personal webpage(s).

    1 Internet Email Address

    Full UNIX Shell Included

    Listing in our Users directory

    The Best Technical Support in The Business

    Well that last line about their tech department is of a bit of sales hyperboly. But I do remember their being fairly good.

    Of course you wont want to dial up to their network, but I've never had any trouble at all accessing the Unix Shell account they give you.

    You get all that for a low low low $20 'merican dollars per month or for $200 a year in one lumpy sum.

    Also interesting is that they appear to still have their Muds section open (as of a couple of months ago)and are STILL operating a BBS that you can chat with local yokal Jerseyans. Not that you'd want to do either of the latter, but it is still interesting to find that stuff still around!

    --
    Quod scripsi, scripsi.
  8. Eskimo.com by vjl · · Score: 3, Informative

    Though I no longer use them, I was very happy with Eskimo.com. They give discounts if you're only using ssh/telnet to access the shell account, and they have great support. They use Linux and SunOS, though their news server, when I was last there, crashed a lot.

    Check out their home page, but I do believe you get full IMAP access as well as compiler access. I remember compiling my own version of Pine as they were a version behind, and all worked just fine.

    They're not free, but I think you'll find their rates ok. /vjl/

    --
    My Daily photo website.
  9. HP Test Drive by RupertJ · · Score: 5, Informative

    HP Test Drive

    You sign up for a free account and get NetBSD, Linux, Tru64 and HP-UX accounts on a variety of hardware.

    The account itself is not mail enabled, but compilers, ftp, editors - it's all there and anything else you need you could compile and run yourself...

    HP-UX software ports and archives here.

    Enjoy!

    RJ

  10. SDF by nmnilsson · · Score: 5, Informative

    SDF (a.k.a. freeshell.org) is good. Large userbase; running since -87. Several access levels are available.
    As a serious user, you appreciate some degree of user validation - it means the server won't be full of spammers and script kiddies.

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    No sig to see here. Move along.
    1. Re:SDF by consolidatedbord · · Score: 2, Informative

      I agree, I started using this before I had my first linux box on the internet around 99. Last I checked (about a year or so ago) they had everything that you had requested, though I can't verify the availability of any compilers.

      --
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    2. Re:SDF by Moderator · · Score: 1, Informative

      Yep. You get email (with IMAP access), usenet, irc, AIM, lynx, and a shell. Something like $37 gives you 100Megs of space to work with. They don't ask for much and I think it's more than worth it.

      --
      The World is Yours.
    3. Re:SDF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      I can verify the availability of compilers. It's gcc, on a BSD system. Very nice, I know someone who has been experimenting with some cgi programs there using Thomas Boutell's cgic library.

  11. CSoft! by LocoBurger · · Score: 2, Informative

    I use CSoft for just this. From their website:

    CubeSoft Communications is a company from Quebec which produces open-source software, funded by a quality UNIX hosting service, and a dedicated server/co-location service.

    They're not free, but their cheapest setup is $5/month for a real shell login, web server access (including tons of interpreters, databases access, etc.), compiler access (they ask you to be reasonable), and just about full reign as a user on a shared UNIX system. They're also quick on service requests and have a great administration tool. From their website:

    Look them up at csoft.net.

  12. Spammers and phishers by gtrubetskoy · · Score: 4, Informative
    Nowadays the only free ones left are either not accepting new accounts, have limited applications

    This is only because of spammers and phishers. They have absolutely no shame and will immediately abuse any open access shell acount, and even those that are not free are still not immune.

    We have had a hell of a time with people signing up for our service with stolen credit cards, and we ended up just blacklisting big parts of the world and subjecting every new order to a pretty meticulous investigative process prior to turn up.

  13. Re:Check out their network stats page by cpeterso · · Score: 2, Informative


    In case anyone is too lazy, here is a direct link to Tektonic's network stats page: http://www.tektonic.net/network.htm

    --
    cpeterso
  14. Free shell with IRC, web hosting, etc. by pilot1 · · Score: 2, Informative

    www.metawire.org
    Just saw them the other day, run on OpenBSD boxes.

    1. Re:Free shell with IRC, web hosting, etc. by RogL · · Score: 2, Informative

      The metawire "sponsored by Microsoft" note was an April Fool's joke. The AC who posted it *hopefully* knew that and just wanted to rile folks up.

      I signed up for a metawire account myself - so far, all I've used it for is scanning my home connection from a remote site. From home, I can SSH to metawire, check my firewall config by nmap-ing back to my site, etc.

  15. Dedicated servers? by Nonesuch · · Score: 2, Informative
    Not everybody wants to be a sysadmin, one major advantage of just buying shell access is that somebody else does the heavy lifting, the patching, the dealing with DoS and compromise, etc.

    With dedicated servers starting at $49/mth US (I haven't seen any cheaper yet), considering the benefits they have over shell accounts, it's not surprising that unix shell accounts are losing popularity.

    Most dedicated servers these days have over 1TB of bandwidth to boot, even at the 49$ level.

    One terabyte of "bandwidth"?

    I'll assume you actually meant 1000 gigabytes per month "transfer limit"?, A bit of back of the envelope calculation suggests that to actual reach that limit would require a sustained bandwidth of 3 megabits.

    Do any of the "$49 per month dedicated server" providers actually state any sort of guarantee on how much "bandwidth" (to the "Internet", not just local facility) a customer will have access to?

    How many of these hosting companies have more than just a couple of DS3 shared across all of their customers?

    --

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