If you run any sort of server that is accessible by the public, you know the importance of certificate authorities (CAs). These certificates give your users a bit of insurance that your site is actually what it claims to be and not a spoofed version of your site waiting to either snag some data or [...]

Every PC needs protection. Even though the Linux operating system has a reputation for being nearly crack-proof, it is irresponsible to assume this true. Any operating system connected to a network is vulnerable in some way or other and having as much protection as you can is the only way to use a computer intelligently. [...]

You have your Ubuntu Server up and running (with the help of “Installing Ubuntu Server 9.04“) but you’re afraid you’ll run out of room on your drive. To solve this problem you have installed a new hard drive, but because this is a GUI-less server you do not have access to the user-friendly GUI tools [...]

In my recent Ubuntu Server articles I have covered the following topics: Installing Ubuntu Server 9.04 Set up your new Ubuntu Server as a Samba server Add FTP service to your Ubuntu Server Now it’s time to get a bit deeper in the trenches by configuring that same Ubuntu server to serve up DHCP addresses. [...]

So you now have your Ubuntu Server up and running with the help of “Installing Ubuntu Server 9.04” and you now have Samba working with the help of “Set up your new Ubuntu Server as a Samba Server“. Now it’s time to add ftp to the mix. Of course many people are of the mind [...]

I recently did an illustrated guide to installing Ubuntu Server 9.04 (“Installing Ubuntu Server 9.04“). I did that for two reasons: 1) It was requested and 2) It will serve as a base for future articles that will cover many different topics. Having that foundation will be key to getting other services up and running. [...]

Recently a friend requested I help him with an installation of Ubuntu Server. Since he was completely new to the process of installing Linux (and the topic is a winner anyway) I thought it would be smart to walk through the process of installing a Ubuntu Server, step by step, here on Ghacks. Ubuntu Server [...]

VirtualBox is an incredibly useful tool. You can run different OSes for testing purposes, you can set up servers on machine that wouldn’t normal act as servers, the sky seems to be the limit. And VirtualBox is an easy tool to use. One of the really cool aspects of VirtualBox is that it can also [...]

Nmap is one of the most useful network discovery tools you will ever use. Nmap allows you to explore networks of any size to determine the following information: Port details Host details State Service Devices Addresses and much, much more Nmap is one of those applications you will need to open anytime you see issues [...]

Any time I need network analysis I turn to Wireshark. Wireshark is, in my opinion, the defacto standard for network protocol analyzers. Not only is it incredibly powerful, useful, and user-friendly it is also FREE! But what exactly is Wireshark? Simple: Wireshark is a network protocol analyzer that watches and logs all incoming and outgoing [...]

Whenever I need to use the ftp protocol to transfer files in Linux I always turn to one application: Gftp. Gftp is a GTK+ application that makes ftp as simple as it gets. Released under the GPL, Gftp has a lot of features (for an ftp client) and installs on most *NIX machines. The only [...]

Active Directory is one of those Microsoft tools that so many have no choice but to use. Although I much prefer LDAP because it is so much easier to set up and manage. But for much of the enterprise world Active Directory is the tool used. Does this mean you are locked into managing Active [...]

If you have ever had a need for an on-line shopping cart, and have ever tried to install a shopping cart, you know that making a choice can be a challenge, and getting the shop up and running can be a challenge. Not so much with Zen Cart. Zen Cart is an open source e-commerce [...]

If you’ve read enough of my Ghacks tutorials you have most likely come across mention of a LAMP server. If you are not sure what a LAMP server is: Linux Apache MySQL P (can mean PHP or PERL – depends upon your needs) LAMP servers are very popular, cheap, effective, flexible, and reliable servers. But [...]

Ghacks has been running on the same server for more than a year now. The server it is running on is provided by German company Hetzner who offer a fantastic deal for the money (€49 for a 4 Gigabyte server with everything that is needed to run websites that have a lot of traffic). A [...]

Recently I wrote an article to help you secure your Linux Apache Installation (see “Five ways to help secure Apache on Linux”). In that article I mentioned using Apache’s mod_security, but didn’t have the room for a tutorial on its installation. Well, here’s the how to on installing this outstanding helper for Apache security. What [...]

Apache is one of the most popular web servers available. And most Apache installations are running on Linux servers. Anyone running Linux will tell you that the operating system (be it on a server or desktop) enjoys a level of security many operating systems do not enjoy. But does that mean you can just install [...]

Webmasters have to make sure that their websites and files are getting backed up regularly to be prepared when something unforeseen happens. This unforeseen event can be a hacker attack, a database crash, a fire in the data center of the hoster or human error. Whatever the cause is it can have a severe impact [...]

If you use Linux (especially on a server) it is important to be able to have plenty of information at the tips of your fingers. This includes all types of information. One of the first places to look for for information is /var/log, however that can be cumbersome and doesn’t always give you the specific [...]

It is inevitable that IPv6 addresses are going to eventually take over. When that happens you will need to know just how to assign an IPv6 address in your Linux operating system. Of course this will only be necessary on a system that uses a static IP address, but when you’re using Linux that can [...]

ATutor is an open source Content Managment System (CMS) focused on education and the class room.  If you think about it, a CMS is the perfect springboard for the creation of a tool designed to manage a class. With a CMS you get: Communication, Content management, file storage, feedback, FAQ, forums, news and announcements, and [...]

If you are an administrator then you know what a hostname is. If you are not an administrator then you should know the hostname of a computer is the name which a network attached device is known. Unless you have manually changed your hostname, or set it up during installation, your hostname will most likely [...]

This morning I needed a visual representation of my local Lan in order to find out what machines were associated with what IP addresses. For this task I used a tool that has come in handy on a number of occasions. That tool? Lanmap. Lanmap is a command-line only tool available for Ubuntu that will [...]

Are you one of those special geeks that think there is never TMI (too much information)? If that describes you then Nagios is the monitor for you. Once installed, Nagios will keep you busy with more information about your system than you ever thought possible. But it’s not just a matter of running apt-get install [...]

When you’re setting up servers the last thing you want to have to do is put in an all nighter in order to get Sendmail accepting email from outside of your local network. If you’re new to Linux this can be a real nightmare. The good news is once this is configured, it’ll just keep [...]

Network Access Control is a crucial aspect of medium to large scale networking. There are many tools to help you control who has access to your network; Some of these tools are quite pricey and some of them do not do what you need them to do. There is one NAC tool that is open [...]

If you don’t know, the Bubba 2 is a piece of hardware, driven by the Linux operating system, created by ecXito. The Bubba 2 can stream media, serve files, share printers, and more. How? The Bubba 2 uses Samba to share out services and files. Because it uses Samba, connecting to the Bubba 2 is [...]

The Linux operating system is typically immune to viruses attached to email. But it is not immune to SPAM. Left unfiltered your inbox would quickly fill up with more SPAM than you care to delete. What is worse is owning a mail server and not protecting your users from a barrage of SPAM. By employing [...]

Security means everything when it comes to your data. And for many, doing everything that is possible is still not enough. For most the checking ends at viruses, malware, and portscans. To think this is enough is a mistake. Rootkits are some of the most dangerous security threats around. No matter what your server OS, [...]

If you have a need for an ftp server, and you have a Linux machine on your network, then you need look no further than proftpd. The proftpd project came about to fill the need for a secure and reliable ftp server for the Linux operating system. Proftpd uses a single configuration file, so it’s [...]

So you have that Samba server up and running and you can connect to it from Windows and Mac with ease. But when you turn to another Linux box that doesn’t have Konqueror, Nautilus, or Dolphin you can’t figure out the riddle of connecting. Or maybe you want to have this share mounted at boot [...]

I know, the first thing you are asking is “Why would I want to have to connect to a wireless network from the command line?” To that question I can give you a simple answer…What if you want to create a script to run that will bring up your wireless network as soon as your [...]

I have to copy files from machine to machine all the time. Most of the time this copying is done over a network connection. When using that transport method I always like to ensure my copying is being done securely. Fortunately Linux has an app for that (sorry, couldn’t resist). That app is scp. Scp [...]

Are you looking for a simple backup solution that will work cross platform, with a user-friendly interface, that’s open source, and free? If so, you’ve found it. The fwbackups backup solution is all of that and more. I have tried many other backup solutions on Linux. Some of them are either command-line only, require a [...]

Back when I first started using Linux nearly all Linux systems were truly multi-user systems. Because of this the finger command was an important tool to keep handy. What finger does is report information on a user. So if you wanted to know the phone number, office number, if the user had mail, etc you [...]

If you’re like me you like to have as much information as you can about whatever it is you are doing. Wireless access is no exception. When using wireless so many things can go wrong. You can have a weak signal, too much noise, strange frequency variations, and many other issues. Without the tools to [...]

If you have a need for a server OS that is robust, reliable, and as flexible as any other server available, then Ubuntu 8.10 should be in serious consideration. There is only one drawback to this server – no GUI. Oh sure you could install a GUI (you’d be doing it from the command line [...]

I’m currently evaluating the possibility to switch providers. The dedicated server that ghacks is currently running on is totally self managed which can be a real burden if it happens to go down at 4 in the morning. There are basically two types of dedicated servers for customers with lots of subtypes in between. Managed [...]