The original UNIX programmers created a bug in the early UNIX code 40 years ago. This code had the side effect of making files starting with a dot hidden to the normal ls command. This was adopted as a ‘feature’. Nowadays, the dotfile is the standard way of hiding configuration files in the home directories … Read more
Scanning for vulnerable ports is easy with the Kali Linux distribution. Here is a simple port scan of my Windows Server 2012 R2 laptop host OS using Kali Linux. homer@kali:~$ sudo nmap 192.168.1.6 Starting Nmap 6.46 ( http://nmap.org ) at 2014-05-28 20:44 EST Nmap scan report for 192.168.1.6 Host is up (1.0s latency). Not … Read more
The Chinese government is considering a switch to Linux on the desktop to replace the ageing fleet of Windows XP machines currently in use. The ban on Windows 8 has made it necessary to find an alternative to Microsoft software that is currently in use in the country. This is a good thing; Microsoft software … Read more
The new Kali Linux distribution allows installation in a VMware virtual machine. This enables integration with a local area network and scanning of vulnerabilities. One good vulnerability scanner is wpscan. This is a vulnerability scanner that is used to scan websites running WordPress for security vulnerabilities. This makes it very useful for a webmaster. You … Read more
The route PRINT command shows the routing table. This gives some insight into your network connections. C:\Users\Administrator>route PRINT =========================================================================== Interface List 18…1e 0f 6e 5d e1 25 ……Microsoft Wi-Fi Direct Virtual Adapter 13…4c 0f 6e 5d e1 25 ……Qualcomm Atheros AR5B97 Wireless Network Adapter 12…88 ae 1d 6d 09 bc ……Broadcom NetLink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet … Read more
This is a very simple Hello World program that you can write in C. int main (void) { write (1, "Hello World\n", 14); return 0; }int main (void) { write (1, "Hello World\n", 14); return 0; } Just compile the program like this: localhost% cc minimal.c -o small minimal.c: In function ‘main’: minimal.c:2:5: warning: … Read more
Linux Mint 17 is now available. Download this new Linux release from this handy mirror site. http://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/linuxmint.com/testing/. 64 bit ISO 1.3 Gigabytes: http://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/linuxmint.com/testing/linuxmint-17-mate-dvd-64bit-rc.iso. 32 bit ISO 1.3 Gigabytes: http://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/linuxmint.com/testing/linuxmint-17-mate-dvd-32bit-rc.iso. This new Linux distribution has all the same features that Linux Mint 16 had, but with all new software. I am trying out the RC build … Read more
The VoCore is a tiny Linux computer that is only one inch in size. This runs the Linux based OpenWRT operating system and would be an interesting project for a hobbyist that is intending to build a small project using a compact board. This is even smaller than a Rasberry Pi. Full instructions re included … Read more
Entering the product key in server 2012 sometimes is fraught with frustration. You can try to enter it via the CMD command prompt with this command. PS C:\Users\Administrator> slmgr -ipk XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXPS C:\Users\Administrator> slmgr -ipk XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX and you get an error. The best way is to use this command. PS C:\Users\Administrator> sluiPS C:\Users\Administrator> slui This command … Read more
This is how to rerun a previous command with sudo if you forgot the sudo command to elevate privileges. Here I have tried to cat a file and I have forgotten to elevate my privileges with the sudo command. homer@calculate ~ $ cat /etc/shadow cat: /etc/shadow: Permission deniedhomer@calculate ~ $ cat /etc/shadow cat: /etc/shadow: Permission … Read more
This command lists the information about your user. C:\Users\homer>net user Administrator User name Administrator Full Name Comment Built-in account for administering the computer/domain User’s comment Country code 000 (System Default) Account active No Account expires Never Password last set 11/2/2006 11:08:15 PM Password expires Never Password changeable 11/2/2006 11:08:15 PM Password required Yes User … Read more
Did someone tell you that you do not need to install an anti-malware for Linux? You mustn’t listen to that! It’s totally incorrect… Today, there is an increasing popularity of Linux as Desktop. Linux uses Gnome Environment, which is slowly but steadily getting attacked by malware authors. So, the free OS is no way malware … Read more
Change the default Plymouth theme on Ubuntu Changing the default plymouth theme on Ubuntu 14.10 is not very difficult. Just type this at the shell prompt. This will set the new theme. root@homer-eME730:~# update-alternatives –install /lib/plymouth/themes/default.plymouth default.plymouth /lib/plymouth/themes/ubuntustudio-logo/ubuntustudio-logo.plymouth 100root@homer-eME730:~# update-alternatives –install /lib/plymouth/themes/default.plymouth default.plymouth /lib/plymouth/themes/ubuntustudio-logo/ubuntustudio-logo.plymouth 100 Now we need to save our changes. root@homer-eME730:~# update-alternatives –config … Read more
The boxes utility for Linux allows you to render an ascii text box around text. Below is an example. homer@homer-eME730 19:14:21 ~ $ echo `echo "This is a sentence printed to the terminal."` | boxes /***********************************************/ /* This is a sentence printed to the terminal. */ /***********************************************/homer@homer-eME730 19:14:21 ~ $ echo `echo "This is a … Read more
The putty ssh client allows you to access your home computer over the Internet using ssh; but you can also tunnel past a proxy and access websites using putty. This means that you can access your home Internet connection through a proxy easily. You need to use port 443 in your openssh configuration to enable … Read more
Windows XP, the venerable and trusty Windows operating system from Microsoft is still in use around the world. Despite the fact that Munich has switched their computers to the Linux operating system, Windows XP still has a foothold. My local library still runs Windows XP Professional SP3. This is dated 2002 and is obviously quite … Read more
How to read a file and display the contents with Python. This sample code reads and outputs the contents of a file using Python. This is a very simple code sample for reading in a file and displaying it. #!/usr/bin/env python forme = "f.txt"; # Read a file and print the contents to … Read more
Why does Xorg use tty7? This is for the purpose of switching. Switching to that console (Alt-F7 from another text console, Ctrl-Alt-F7 from another instance of X) activates its display and input, switching away deactivates it. You can start other instances of X, and they will use more consoles (8, 9, etc.). Internal details of … Read more
Some very useful Powershell 4.0 cmdlets that are now available. Get-FileHash this gets the SHA256 hash of a file. PS C:\Users\Homer\Desktop> Get-FileHash .\scammers.png Algorithm Hash Path ——— —- —- SHA256 92E09BFBBAD2DF6E3FD329CB4AE5F15231AA12B869327706854F7DF9D106971B C:\Users\Homer\Desktop\scammers.pngPS C:\Users\Homer\Desktop> Get-FileHash .\scammers.png Algorithm Hash Path ——— —- —- SHA256 92E09BFBBAD2DF6E3FD329CB4AE5F15231AA12B869327706854F7DF9D106971B C:\Users\Homer\Desktop\scammers.png Save-Help This will download help content from a remote server … Read more
The virtual consoles are six virtual terminals that allow the Linux user to administer their Linux system in a text-only environment. If you are on your Linux desktop, press Ctrl-Alt-F1 to get to the first virtual terminal. Use the Alt-F2 key combination to get to the next virtual console. Or you may hold Alt and … Read more