Programs rarely reveal what they are doing in the background, but a few clever tools, of interest to both programmers and administrators, monitor this activity and log system functions.

Hdparm is the tool to use when it comes to tuning your hard disk or DVD drive, but it can also measure read speed, deliver valuable information about the device, change important drive settings, and even erase SSDs securely.

Beyond flashing web emoticons, animated gif images can present trends that catch your eye in system monitoring.

The PowerTOP tool developed by Intel helps you save power. In version 2.0, it can also handle GPUs and offers advanced tracking features.

The Byobu session manager extends the shell, adding a range of useful functions, such as splitting the screen, running programs in the background, or organizing programs in tabs. In particular, administrators who rely on SSH will appreciate Byobu.

The graphical tool QPS frees admins from Kafkaesque ambiguities about the cause, history, and side effects of running processes. Depending on the view, either clarity or detailed information dominate the scene.

Secure your enterprise, monitor system performance, and more by harnessing the power of Splunk to search, monitor, report, and analyze events and data from any source.

For its size, fail2ban, a utility that scans logfiles and bans suspicious IP addresses, punches well above its weight.