What have I done with my shell??

coded c/c++, perl and python apps.
written shell scripts to do OS Detection based on Ofir Arkin's ICMP Fingerprinting Methods
Written shell scripts to be used with ebay.com, myip.org and others.
played games (console games kick ass)
ran a webpage.
Used it to get on different chat programs when in remote locations (IRC, Yahoo!, MSN, AIM)
Another email account
and to play around with *nix..

It sounded like you were expecting to hear illegal activities... sorry to disappoint you. If i'm doing anything questionable... even if it is legal and the line is just fuzzy... I use my own box, Usually a VMWare Test machine. Please becareful to avoid the philosophy "I have a shell.. I'm a 31337 hacker now," because most script kiddies tend to develop that idea and even some good people end up going bad because they feel that that statement is true...

A shell is nothing more than a console on a remote system that you have access to. You can do the same things from your own system in console mode. Hell with everything that's out there today you could do most things from your command prompt in windows. A shell is going to be restricted, so you won't get a good chance to learn the inner workings of the comp.. just the basics of *nix. So if you just want to learn.. get the commands down and then install it on your own machine and start to really learn, but if you want it for illegal purposes...... save yourself the headaches and leave it alone now.