diff --git a/TODO b/TODO
index 74389a3b79..93a3ee20ab 100644
--- a/TODO
+++ b/TODO
@@ -23,9 +23,7 @@ Questions
 * Add support for float/double in r_num :?
 * in Visual Debugger mode cursor mode also scrolls O_o
 * distribute 'spp' with 'rarc2' ? imho no
-* r2 -dls HANGS!!1
 * rarc2 allows to compile invalid code like calling puts() out of context
-* Add rabin2 .! calls into r_core api? r_core_rabin_import(core, "rIs") ?
 
 0.6 RELEASE
 ===========
@@ -57,6 +55,7 @@ TODO nibble
 
 TODO edu
 --------
+* remove all uses of alloca()
 * Implement more get_main()
 * typedef all function pointers, like in r_bp
 * Implement /A : search AES
diff --git a/libr/asm/p/asm_bf.c b/libr/asm/p/asm_bf.c
index 7ef158ba42..4e63dfd006 100644
--- a/libr/asm/p/asm_bf.c
+++ b/libr/asm/p/asm_bf.c
@@ -9,55 +9,57 @@
 
 
 static int disassemble(struct r_asm_t *a, struct r_asm_aop_t *aop, ut8 *buf, ut64 len) {
-	int i;
 	char *buf_cp, *b;
+	int i;
 
-	if ((b = buf_cp = alloca(len+1)) == NULL)
+	if ((b = buf_cp = malloc (len+1)) == NULL)
 		return 0;
-	memcpy(buf_cp, buf, len+1);
+	memcpy (buf_cp, buf, len+1);
 
-	for(i=0;b[0] == b[1] && i<len; b=b+1,i++); b[1] = '\0';
+	for (i=0; b[0] == b[1] && i<len; b++, i++);
+	b[1] = '\0';
 
 	switch(buf[0]) {
 	case '[':
-		strcpy(aop->buf_asm, "[ loop {");
+		strcpy (aop->buf_asm, "[ loop {");
 		break;
 	case ']':
-		strcpy(aop->buf_asm, "] }"); // TODO: detect clause and put label name
+		strcpy (aop->buf_asm, "] }"); // TODO: detect clause and put label name
 		break;
 	case '>':
-		if (i>1) strcpy(aop->buf_asm, "> add [ptr]");
-		else strcpy(aop->buf_asm, "> inc [ptr]");
+		if (i>1) strcpy (aop->buf_asm, "> add [ptr]");
+		else strcpy (aop->buf_asm, "> inc [ptr]");
 		break;
 	case '<':
-		if (i>1) strcpy(aop->buf_asm, "< sub [ptr]");
-		else strcpy(aop->buf_asm, "< dec [ptr]");
+		if (i>1) strcpy (aop->buf_asm, "< sub [ptr]");
+		else strcpy (aop->buf_asm, "< dec [ptr]");
 		break;
 	case '+':
-		if (i>1) strcpy(aop->buf_asm, "+ add [ptr]");
-		else strcpy(aop->buf_asm, "+ inc [ptr]");
+		if (i>1) strcpy (aop->buf_asm, "+ add [ptr]");
+		else strcpy (aop->buf_asm, "+ inc [ptr]");
 		break;
 	case '-':
-		if (i>1) strcpy(aop->buf_asm, "- sub [ptr]");
-		else strcpy(aop->buf_asm, "- dec [ptr]");
+		if (i>1) strcpy (aop->buf_asm, "- sub [ptr]");
+		else strcpy (aop->buf_asm, "- dec [ptr]");
 		break;
 	case ',':
-		strcpy(aop->buf_asm, ", [ptr] = getch()");
+		strcpy (aop->buf_asm, ", [ptr] = getch()");
 		break;
 	case '.':
-		strcpy(aop->buf_asm, ". print( [ptr] )");
+		strcpy (aop->buf_asm, ". print( [ptr] )");
 		break;
 	case '\x00':
-		strcpy(aop->buf_asm, "  trap");
+		strcpy (aop->buf_asm, "  trap");
 		break;
 	default:
-		strcpy(aop->buf_asm, "  nop");
+		strcpy (aop->buf_asm, "  nop");
 		break;
 	}
 
-	if (i>0) sprintf(aop->buf_asm, "%s, %d", aop->buf_asm, i+1);
+	if (i>0) sprintf (aop->buf_asm, "%s, %d", aop->buf_asm, i+1);
 	if (i<1) i=1; else i++;
 
+	free (buf_cp);
 	return i;
 }
 
diff --git a/libr/debug/p/libgdbwrap/gdbwrapper.c b/libr/debug/p/libgdbwrap/gdbwrapper.c
index 7be5c5f621..c8e47c972c 100644
--- a/libr/debug/p/libgdbwrap/gdbwrapper.c
+++ b/libr/debug/p/libgdbwrap/gdbwrapper.c
@@ -756,12 +756,17 @@ static void          *gdbwrap_writememory(gdbwrap_t *desc, la32 linaddr,
 static void          *gdbwrap_writememory2(gdbwrap_t *desc, la32 linaddr,
 					   void *value, unsigned bytes)
 {
-  char               *rec;
-  char               *packet = alloca(2 * bytes + MSG_BUF);
+  char               *rec *packet;
   u_char             *val = value;
   u_short            i;
   u_int              len;
 
+  packet = malloc (2*bytes+MSG_BUF);
+  if (packet == NULL) {
+    eprintf ("Cannot allocate %d bytes\n", 2*bytes+MSG_BUF);
+    return;
+  }
+
   snprintf(packet, MSG_BUF, "%s%x%s%x%s", GDBWRAP_MEMWRITE2,
 	   linaddr, GDBWRAP_SEP_COMMA, bytes, GDBWRAP_SEP_COLON);
 
@@ -773,6 +778,8 @@ static void          *gdbwrap_writememory2(gdbwrap_t *desc, la32 linaddr,
     }
   rec = gdbwrap_send_data(desc, packet);
 
+  free (packet);
+
   return rec;
 }
 
diff --git a/libr/io/io.c b/libr/io/io.c
index ee8ca6676e..2fa590b1d5 100644
--- a/libr/io/io.c
+++ b/libr/io/io.c
@@ -79,7 +79,6 @@ R_API int r_io_open(struct r_io_t *io, const char *file, int flags, int mode) {
 		for (;;) {
 			plugin = r_io_plugin_resolve (io, uri);
 			if (plugin) {
-printf("plugin %s\n", plugin->name);
 				fd = plugin->open (io, uri, flags, mode);
 				if (io->redirect) {
 					free ((void *)uri);
diff --git a/libr/io/p/io_debug.c b/libr/io/p/io_debug.c
index 2c7f31b715..d50e94dc3f 100644
--- a/libr/io/p/io_debug.c
+++ b/libr/io/p/io_debug.c
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
 
 #if __linux__ || __NetBSD__ || __FreeBSD__ || __OpenBSD__ || __APPLE__ || __WINDOWS__
 
-#define MAGIC_EXIT 31337
+#define MAGIC_EXIT 123
 
 #include <signal.h>
 #if __UNIX__
@@ -81,7 +81,8 @@ static int fork_and_ptraceme(const char *cmd) {
         DEBUG_EVENT de;
 	int pid, tid;
 	HANDLE th = INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE;
-
+	if (!*cmd)
+		return -1;
 	setup_tokens ();
         /* TODO: with args */
         if (!CreateProcess (cmd, NULL,
@@ -154,6 +155,7 @@ err_fork:
 }
 #else
 
+#if 0
 static int __waitpid(int pid) {
 	int st = 0;
 	if (waitpid (pid, &st, 0) == -1)
@@ -166,6 +168,7 @@ static int __waitpid(int pid) {
 	}
 	return R_TRUE;
 }
+#endif
 
 static int fork_and_ptraceme(const char *cmd) {
 	char **argv;
@@ -202,17 +205,18 @@ static int fork_and_ptraceme(const char *cmd) {
                 wait (&status);
                 if (WIFSTOPPED (status))
                         eprintf ("Process with PID %d started...\n", (int)pid);
-		// XXX
-		//kill (pid, SIGSTOP);
+		if (WEXITSTATUS (status))
+			pid = -1;
+		// XXX kill (pid, SIGSTOP);
 		break;
 	}
-	printf ("PID = %d\n", pid);
+	eprintf ("PID = %d\n", pid);
 	return pid;
 }
 #endif
 
 static int __plugin_open(struct r_io_t *io, const char *file) {
-	if (!memcmp (file, "dbg://", 6))
+	if (!memcmp (file, "dbg://", 6) && file[6])
 		return R_TRUE;
 	return R_FALSE;
 }
diff --git a/libr/vm/op.c b/libr/vm/op.c
index ddfd67a430..4df0a9795b 100644
--- a/libr/vm/op.c
+++ b/libr/vm/op.c
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ R_API int r_vm_op_eval(struct r_vm_t *vm, const char *str) {
 
 	p = alloca(len);
 	s = alloca(len);
-	memcpy(p, str, len);
-	memcpy(s, str, len);
+	memcpy (p, str, len);
+	memcpy (s, str, len);
 	r_str_subchr (s, ',', 0);
 	r_str_subchr (s, '\t', 0);
 	r_str_subchr (s, '#', 0);
diff --git a/libr/vm/reg.c b/libr/vm/reg.c
index 59ab0f293f..0d62a0581c 100644
--- a/libr/vm/reg.c
+++ b/libr/vm/reg.c
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ R_API int r_vm_reg_type_i(const char *str) {
 	return -1;
 }
 
-R_API int r_vm_reg_del(struct r_vm_t *vm, const char *name) {
+R_API int r_vm_reg_del(RVm *vm, const char *name) {
 	struct list_head *pos;
 
 	list_for_each(pos, &vm->regs) {
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ R_API int r_vm_reg_del(struct r_vm_t *vm, const char *name) {
 	return R_TRUE;
 }
 
-R_API int r_vm_reg_set(struct r_vm_t *vm, const char *name, ut64 value) {
+R_API int r_vm_reg_set(RVm *vm, const char *name, ut64 value) {
 	struct list_head *pos;
 	if (name)
 	list_for_each(pos, &vm->regs) {
@@ -78,7 +78,7 @@ R_API int r_vm_reg_set(struct r_vm_t *vm, const char *name, ut64 value) {
 	return R_FALSE;
 }
 
-R_API int r_vm_reg_alias_list(struct r_vm_t *vm) {
+R_API int r_vm_reg_alias_list(RVm *vm) {
 	struct r_vm_reg_t *reg;
 	struct list_head *pos;
 	int len,space;
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ R_API int r_vm_reg_alias_list(struct r_vm_t *vm) {
 	return 0;
 }
 
-R_API int r_vm_reg_alias(struct r_vm_t *vm, const char *name, const char *get, const char *set) {
+R_API int r_vm_reg_alias(RVm *vm, const char *name, const char *get, const char *set) {
 	struct r_vm_reg_t *reg;
 	struct list_head *pos;
 
@@ -129,20 +129,17 @@ R_API int r_vm_cmd_eval(RVm *vm, const char *cmd) {
 			*next=0;
 			next++;
 		}
-		if (strlen(cmd)>2 && !memcmp (cmd, "av", 2))
+		if (strlen (cmd)>2 && !memcmp (cmd, "av", 2))
 			r_vm_cmd_reg (vm, cmd+2);
 		cmd = next;
 	} while (next);
 	return R_TRUE;
 }
 
-R_API int r_vm_cmd_reg(struct r_vm_t *vm, const char *_str) {
-	char *str, *ptr;
-	int len;
-
-	len = strlen (_str)+1;
-	str = alloca (len);
-	memcpy (str, _str, len); // XXX: suboptimal
+R_API int r_vm_cmd_reg(RVm *vm, const char *_str) {
+	char *str, ostr[128], *ptr;
+	str = ostr;
+	strncpy (str, _str, sizeof (ostr)-1);
 
 	switch(*str) {
 	case '*':
@@ -175,31 +172,31 @@ R_API int r_vm_cmd_reg(struct r_vm_t *vm, const char *_str) {
 	case 'a':
 		if (str[1]==' ') {
 			char *get,*set;
-			get = strchr(str+2, ' ');
+			get = strchr (str+2, ' ');
 			if (get) {
 				get[0]='\0';
 				get = get+1;
-				set = strchr(get, ' ');
+				set = strchr (get, ' ');
 				if (set) {
-					set[0]='\0';
-					set = set +1;
-					r_vm_reg_alias(vm, str+2, get, set);
+					*set = '\0';
+					set++;
+					r_vm_reg_alias (vm, str+2, get, set);
 				}
 			}
-		} else r_vm_reg_alias_list(vm);
+		} else r_vm_reg_alias_list (vm);
 		break;
 	case 't':
-		r_vm_reg_type_list(vm);
+		r_vm_reg_type_list (vm);
 		break;
 	case '+':
 		// add register
 		// avr+ eax int32
-		for(str=str+1;str&&*str==' ';str=str+1);
+		for (str=str+1;str&&*str==' ';str=str+1);
 		ptr = strchr(str, ' ');
 		if (ptr) {
 			ptr[0]='\0';
-			r_vm_reg_add(vm, str, r_vm_reg_type_i(ptr+1), 0);
-		} else r_vm_reg_add(vm, str, R_VMREG_INT32, 0);
+			r_vm_reg_add (vm, str, r_vm_reg_type_i(ptr+1), 0);
+		} else r_vm_reg_add (vm, str, R_VMREG_INT32, 0);
 		break;
 	case '-':
 		// rm register
@@ -214,11 +211,11 @@ R_API int r_vm_cmd_reg(struct r_vm_t *vm, const char *_str) {
 		r_vm_setup_flags (vm, str+2);
 		break;
 	default:
-		for(;str&&*str==' ';str=str+1);
-		ptr = strchr(str, '=');
+		for (;str && *str==' '; str++);
+		ptr = strchr (str, '=');
 		if (ptr) {
 			//vm_eval(str);
-			r_vm_op_eval(vm, str);
+			r_vm_op_eval (vm, str);
 #if 0
 			/* set register value */
 			ptr[0]='\0';
@@ -226,18 +223,14 @@ R_API int r_vm_cmd_reg(struct r_vm_t *vm, const char *_str) {
 			ptr[0]='=';
 #endif
 		} else {
-			if (*str=='.') {
-				r_vm_print(vm, r_vm_reg_type_i(str+1));
-			} else {
-				/* show single registers */
-				eprintf("%s = 0x%08"PFMT64x"\n", str, r_vm_reg_get(vm, str));
-			}
+			if (*str=='.') r_vm_print (vm, r_vm_reg_type_i(str+1));
+			else eprintf ("%s = 0x%08"PFMT64x"\n", str, r_vm_reg_get(vm, str));
 		}
 	}
 	return 0;
 }
 
-R_API ut64 r_vm_reg_get(struct r_vm_t *vm, const char *name) {
+R_API ut64 r_vm_reg_get(RVm *vm, const char *name) {
 	struct list_head *pos;
 	int len;
 	if (!name)
diff --git a/libr/vm/vm.c b/libr/vm/vm.c
index a196b78ee8..f86c06c672 100644
--- a/libr/vm/vm.c
+++ b/libr/vm/vm.c
@@ -3,9 +3,6 @@
 #include "r_vm.h"
 #include "p/plugins.h"
 
-/* TODO: move into r_vm_t */
-int vm_arch = -1;
-
 static ut64 r_vm_get_value(RVm *vm, const char *str) {
 	ut64 ret = 0LL;
 	for (;*str&&*str==' ';str=str+1);
@@ -193,10 +190,6 @@ R_API int r_vm_set_arch(RVm *vm, const char *name, int bits) {
 
 // This is conceptually rotten
 R_API int r_vm_init(RVm *vm, int init) {
-#if 0
-	if (config.arch != vm_arch)
-		init = 1;
-#endif
 	if (init) {
 		vm->log = 0;
 		vm->use_mmu_cache = 0;