nixCraft

Linux debugfs Hack: Undelete Files

Vivek Gite — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:21:41 +0000

Undeletion means restoring files which have been deleted from Linux ext3 file system using rm command. Deleted files can be recovered on ext3 or ext4 file systems using the debugfs program. This quick tutorial describes how to recover a file that was recently deleted using nothing but standard Linux command line utilities.

Create Custom URL Shortener For WordPress Based Blog In a Five Minutes

Vivek Gite — Thu, 03 May 2012 16:43:14 +0000

You can create URL redirection service for your blog within five minutes using nothing but web server's mod_redirect module. For example, when you type or share a url io9.in/t/5159 you will be automatically redirected to http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/my-10-unix-command-line-mistakes.html. In this quick post I will explain how to create url shortener and integrate your wordpress based blog without installing any new scripts.

FAQ Updates: May/03/2012

Vivek Gite — Thu, 03 May 2012 13:12:15 +0000

Our FAQ section has been updated. Here are latest howtos:

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Linus Torvalds Wins Millennium Technology Prize

Vivek Gite — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 12:43:41 +0000

The Millennium Technology Prize is the largest technology prize in the world and it is awarded once every two years by Technology Academy Finland. The Awarded is given for life-enhancing technological innovation. Linux kernel creator Linus Torvalds and Dr. Shinya Yamanaka won the Millennium Technology Prize, the prominent award for technological innovation for 2012.

20 Examples: Make Sure Unix / Linux Configuration Files Are Free From Syntax Errors

Vivek Gite — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 20:00:45 +0000

In Linux and UNIX in general, services are configured using various text files,in the /etc/ directory trees. A typical server system could have dozens of configuration files. It is important that you check the validity of the configuration file. In some cases it is possible to to check the sanity of the special data (such as keys) or directories (such as /var/lib/cache/). Text files are easier to manage remotely. You can use ssh and a text editor. If there is an error in configuration, server may not start. This may result into a disaster. In this article I will explains howto find out a syntax error for popular servers and test configuration file for syntax errors.

Is My Mac Computer Infected With The Flashback Trojan?

Vivek Gite — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:07:44 +0000

The Flashback Trojan, is a trojan horse affecting personal computer systems running Apple Mac OS X. More than half a million Apple computers have been infected with the Flashback Trojan.

HowTo: Wake Up Computers Using Linux Command [ Wake-on-LAN ( WOL ) ]

Vivek Gite — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 19:53:01 +0000

Wake-on-LAN (WOL) is an Ethernet networking standard that allows a server to be turned on by a network message. You need to send 'magic packets' to wake-on-lan enabled ethernet adapters and motherboards, in order to switch on the called systems. Make sure you connect the NIC (eth0 or eth1) with the motherboard, and enable the WOL function in the BIOS. This is a quick guide to enable WOL under RHEL / Fedora / CentOS / Debian / Ubuntu Linux.

FAQ Updates: April/03/2012

Vivek Gite — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:04:56 +0000

Our FAQ section has been updated. Here are latest howtos:

Make the most of nixCraft FAQ Section

Get intimated about our new howtos / faqs as soon as it is released via RSS feed OR follow us on twitter OR join our 20k+ facebook fans for more tips and news about Linux.

Video: Who Writes Linux Kernel?

Vivek Gite — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:37:45 +0000

Linux kernel is the most prominent examples of free and open source software. The Linux kernel has received contributions from thousands of programmers and companies around the world. This professional video from the Linux foundation provides a quick insight into Linux building procedure. This is a powerful and inspiring story of how Linux has become a volunteer-driven phenomenon.

Adobe Flash v11.2 and Above Will Only Be Available For Chrome Browser on Linux

Vivek Gite — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 14:01:48 +0000

Adobe announced that the Flash player for Linux will only be available for Google Chrome browser on Linux and has announced their plans to abandon future updates of Flash player for Linux. From the blog post:

For Flash Player releases after 11.2, the Flash Player browser plugin for Linux will only be available via the "Pepper" API as part of the Google Chrome browser distribution and will no longer be available as a direct download from Adobe. Adobe will continue to provide security updates to non-Pepper distributions of Flash Player 11.2 on Linux for five years from its release.

One can safely assume that Adobe wants to kill Flash on Linux for all other browsers except Google Chrome.

30 Best Sources For Linux / *BSD / Unix Documentation On the Web

Vivek Gite — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:11:40 +0000

Man pages are written by sys-admin and developers for IT techs, and are intended more as a reference than as a how to. Man pages are very useful for people who are already familiar with Linux, Unix, and BSD operating systems. Use man pages when you just need to know the syntax for particular commands or configuration file, but they are not helpful for new Linux users. Man pages are not good for learning something new for the first time. Here are thirty best documentation sites on the web for learning Linux and Unix like operating systems.

FAQ Updates: Dec/22/2011

Vivek Gite — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:03:50 +0000

Our FAQ section is updated in last few days with new howto:

Make the most of nixCraft FAQ Section

Get intimated about our new howtos / faqs as soon as it is released via RSS feed OR follow us on twitter OR join our 16k+ facebook fans for more tips and news about Linux.

Linux / UNIX Desktop Fun: Let it Snow On Your Desktop

Vivek Gite — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 13:22:19 +0000

Feeling lonely this holiday season? Try Xsnow. This little app will let is snow on the desktop. Santa and his reindeer will complete your festive season feeling with moving snowflakes on your desktop, with Santa Claus running all over the screen.

Linux: 20 Iptables Examples For New SysAdmins

Vivek Gite — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:29:41 +0000

Linux comes with a host based firewall called Netfilter. According to the official project site:

netfilter is a set of hooks inside the Linux kernel that allows kernel modules to register callback functions with the network stack. A registered callback function is then called back for every packet that traverses the respective hook within the network stack.

This Linux based firewall is controlled by the program called iptables to handles filtering for IPv4, and ip6tables handles filtering for IPv6. I strongly recommend that you first read our quick tutorial that explains how to configure a host-based firewall called Netfilter (iptables) under CentOS / RHEL / Fedora / Redhat Enterprise Linux. This post list most common iptables solutions required by a new Linux user to secure his or her Linux operating system from intruders.

Download CentOS 6.1 CD / DVD ISO

Vivek Gite — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 21:46:15 +0000

CentOS Linux version 6.1 has been released and available for the download. It is a community-supported operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) version 6.1. CentOS Linux is considered as the most popular Linux distribution for web servers and general purposes usage.

Quick Tip: Find Hidden Processes and Ports [ Linux / Unix / Windows ]

Vivek Gite — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 10:49:51 +0000

Unhide is a little handy forensic tool to find hidden processes and TCP/UDP ports by rootkits / LKMs or by another hidden technique. This tools works under both Linux / Unix, and MS-Windows operating systems. From the man page:

It detects hidden processes using three techniques:
The proc technique consists of comparing /proc with the output of /bin/ps.
The sys technique consists of comparing information gathered from /bin/ps with information gathered from system calls.
The brute technique consists of bruteforcing the all process IDs. This technique is only available on Linux 2.6 kernels.

HowTo: Linux Update the Adobe Flash Player [ Firefox and Chrome Plugin ]

Vivek Gite — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 08:17:01 +0000

The Adobe Flash Player plugin is use for viewing multimedia, and streaming video and audio, on a Firefox web browser. The same plugin is used by Google chrome and other browsers. Keeping your third-party plugins such as flash player up to date helps Firefox run safely and smoothly.

Linux: 25 PHP Security Best Practices For Sys Admins

Vivek Gite — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:48:07 +0000

PHP is an open-source server-side scripting language and it is a widely used. The Apache web server provides access to files and content via the HTTP OR HTTPS protocol. A misconfigured server-side scripting language can create all sorts of problems. So, PHP should be used with caution. Here are twenty-five php security best practices for sysadmins for configuring PHP securely.

Download Fedora 16 CD / DVD ISO

Vivek Gite — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 09:04:44 +0000

Fedora Linux version 16 (code name "Verne") has been released and available for download ( jump to download link ). Fedora Linux is a community-based Linux distribution which is sponsored by Red Hat, Inc. This release is dedicated to Dennis Ritchie, who co-invented Unix and the C language. Fedora is considered as the third most popular cutting edge distro, behind Ubuntu and Mint Linux for desktop and laptop usage.

Download Ubuntu 11.10 (Oneiric Ocelot) CD ISO / DVD Images

Vivek Gite — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:14:32 +0000

Ubuntu Linux (a GNU/Linux-based computer operating system) version 11.10 has been released and available for download. The new release includes some enhancements to make your experience even more enjoyable. The Default user interface is set to unity shell on top of GNOME 3.x. However, you will get a 2D version of Unity as a fallback for systems that lack the hardware resources for the 3D version. The good news is you will be able to install the entire GNOME 3 desktop along with GNOME Shell directly from the Ubuntu repos.