I was amused by this whole discussion, since the trick of using 'tail -f <filename>' is fairly universal amongst the various UNIX implementations. I used it for years on Tru64 UNIX and its antecedants while monitoring my testing (I did TruCluster software QC for several years before my retirement).
It is a very, simple, straightforward way to do it. I submit that firing up an entire editor (e.g. emacs, as suggested by Kevin Clark) is an unworthy consumption of valuable system resources, however fun it might be. Be that as it may, it then becomes an interesting problem of what to do about the information as it rolls in. In my case, I do a 'tail -f /var/log/messages' as part of my ppp startup, and I can monitor "real time" any attempts to hit my system. But, realistically, that particular window is "buried" below (er, behind) my Netscape Navigator browser window, my Netscape e-mail window, and a couple of others, sometimes for hours, so I frequently don't notice when someone overseas decides to telnet or ftp my dial-up node. So, I'd love to have an audible beep and/or (*gasp*) a pop-up window telling me when I'm being, er, groped over the network. Any ideas? Thanks, Bayard _______________________________________________ gnhlug-discuss mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://mail.gnhlug.org/mailman/listinfo/gnhlug-discuss