Linode AJAX shell and Unicode

The AJAX console should only be used in cases of emergency when it is impossible for you to connect normally to the machine (you're behind a proxy or accidentally firewalled yourself off). Heck, it doesn't even work properly in Chrome.

EDIT: I realize this doesn't answer your question, but the AJAX console is extremely limited and is, as I understand it, intended as a last resort, so it's not intended to meet every possible use case.

I'm frequently behind a proxy, so I need to use ajax console. Unfortunately, I also work on sites that use non-English languages, so I also need to type non-ASCII characters from time to time.

Anyway, I'm starting to get a feeling I'm asking too much at this time?

the ajax console is a software package called ajaxterm, so I'd suggest searching on that, see if you can find some hints.

And if you can't find a way to get LISH's ajaxterm to work with Unicode, check out if there's a way to configure it (or anyterm, or ShellInABox, or one of dozen other more or less well made ajax terminals available out there) to do so at all, and install your own copy inside your Linode.

(I did play with a few those, but always in unibyte encoding, so can't help you much further.)

@rsk:

And if you can't find a way to get LISH's ajaxterm to work with Unicode, check out if there's a way to configure it (or anyterm, or ShellInABox, or one of dozen other more or less well made ajax terminals available out there) to do so at all, and install your own copy inside your Linode.

(I did play with a few those, but always in unibyte encoding, so can't help you much further.)

Hm, you're right. :) Thanks for the tip.

There are other ways to get SSH through a proxy, of course. Simply running sshd on port 443 (HTTPS) is frequently enough. If it's not, there are still other things you can try.

It may get complicated, but the end result should be worth not having to use some godawful Ajax SSH client.

When I'm at work, I am not only behind a proxy, but also not allowed to install any custom software, so I cannot use SSH. A good web-based terminal is probably the best bet. Of course, I could probably write simple admin apps to do specific tasks for me, which would be ideal, but I don't have the time right now.

PuTTy doesn't get installed. You could use it.

PuTTY (keep it on a USB stick if you're not allowed to even copy software to the PC, uninstalled or not?) over port 443 works through any proxy that allows HTTPS, since HTTPS can't currently be proxied ^_^

I used to do that at work a bit before I decided that IT would probably not be thrilled and that I shouldn't risk it.

USB sticks aren't necessarily allowed, nor is just running any application even if it isn't installed.

@Guspaz:

PuTTY (keep it on a USB stick if you're not allowed to even copy software to the PC, uninstalled or not?) over port 443 works through any proxy that allows HTTPS, since HTTPS can't currently be proxied ^_^

I used to do that at work a bit before I decided that IT would probably not be thrilled and that I shouldn't risk it. And then hope your security department isn't savvy enough to detect SSH traffic on non-standard ports via the proxy (many many proxies can do this) and come down on you like a tonne of bricks.

… are you 100% sure you should be doing this from work?

If it's a work-related system, an exemption should be possible in all but the most stick-in-the-mud bureaucracies. Expecting someone to be a sysadmin without an ssh client is like expecting someone to be a surgeon without a chainsaw. On the other hand, if it's not work-related…

As for the original problem, my hunch is that it is related to screen.

@sweh:

@Guspaz:

PuTTY (keep it on a USB stick if you're not allowed to even copy software to the PC, uninstalled or not?) over port 443 works through any proxy that allows HTTPS, since HTTPS can't currently be proxied ^_^

I used to do that at work a bit before I decided that IT would probably not be thrilled and that I shouldn't risk it. And then hope your security department isn't savvy enough to detect SSH traffic on non-standard ports via the proxy (many many proxies can do this) and come down on you like a tonne of bricks.

AFAIK, that's impossible to do with a web proxy, because you can't proxy HTTPS. There are many other ways to monitor port 443, but you're not doing that with a proxy…