On Unix systems, people will sometimes create directories with strange characters in the names. These characters can make it more difficult to access the directories, providing a small amount of “security through obscurity.” This technique is used to try to hide information, most often warez (commercial software) or hacking tools. There are several things you can do to determine what these strange characters are. One is to use the arguments to the `ls` command that cause `ls` to give you more information:     From the man page for `ls`: -F Causes Read More

To change your Unix password, use the `passwd` command.  Unless you are the “root” user, you will need to know your current password to set a new one.  If you have forgotten your current password, you will need to contact the “root” user to have your password reset. Here is an example of the user “will” changing his Unix password: $ passwd Changing local password for will Old Password: New Password: Retype New Password:

A computer process is a computer program that is executing and has a unique process identification or PID. On the Unix Operating System (OS), a process may be running in the background, foreground, or be in a suspended state. On Unix, the OS shell will not return the prompt to the end-user until the current process that is executing finishes. As a result, many processes that take a significant amount of time to run and keep you from using the Unix console until it finishes running. A common task that Read More

Unix stores two times for every file, the last modification time of the file and the last access time of the file. `ls -lT` displays the last modification time of files. bash-2.05a$ ls -lT timestamp.shtml -rw-r–r– 1 will staff 885 Mar 5 01:50:53 2004 timestamp.shtml `ls -lTu` displays the last access time of files. bash-2.05a$ ls -lTu timestamp.shtml -rw-r–r– 1 will staff 885 Mar 5 01:51:57 2004 timestamp.shtml To edit these times, you will need a program like SaintStat or fix.c. These programs are normally packaged with rootkit’s. You can Read More

Whatever operating system you choose, a shell will be an important part of it. A shell is usually defined as software that provides the end user with an interface. In technical terms, the shell is the part of the software that gives you access to the kernel. The term shell is used freely and can mean many things to many people, especially in the computing field. For the most part, however, a shell is regarded as any software that surrounds or is built around any specific component, whether it be Read More

DOS and Unix are both well-seasoned operating software. While they don’t have a graphical user interface, they definitely suffice for those who like barebones, efficient software. For those who still have DOS files on their PC and would like to switch them over to UNIX, here are some tips. Even though DOS and Unix are similar in some respects, there are major differences, especially if you are transferring over files or a directory of files. Most DOS files are usually saved on older computers with diskettes (remember those?). In order Read More

Most Unix systems come with several basic backup software options, including dd, cpio, tar, and dump. If the basic backup software included with Unix does not meet your needs, you may want to look at some of the more comprehensive software packages designed to backup Unix and Windows systems. Built-in Unix Backup Software tar tar stands for "tape archive." tar was originally written to backup data to tape, but is in fact a general purpose library program. A library program is a program which copies a large number of files Read More

.login is a Unix shell script which is executed for a user every time that user logs in. A standard .login file will set important environment variables such as $PATH and may also run commands, such as `fortune`. The .login file will be stored in the users home directory. .login is used by the C and TCSH shells. The Bourne, Korn, and Bash shells use a startup file called .profile instead. The C and TCSH shells also use a startup file called .cshrc. Also, the /etc/.login shared startup file will Read More

Linux Web Hosting Linux is not only an operating system but also has capability to provide the web hosting by installing this operating system as web server. Linux is widely used in website business for hosting purpose as a solution of different types of business and domestic hosting solutions. The reason why Linux is widely used as hosting server is that Linux operating system is considered as most reliable, dependable and has extended features for hosting. Linux web hosting permits a company to construct their web sites on the basis Read More

CAD programs can be an exciting and helpful tool when designing blueprints for a house, vehicle, or electrical circuit. One of these programs is the popular LinuxCAD software that allows you to edit and create a number of blueprints and schematics under the Linux operating system. LinuxCAD comes with many features that other CAD programs do not, such as the ability to add your schematics and designs to MS Word documents. In this article, we will talk about what CAD is, types of CAD software, and how the LinuxCAD software Read More