8 favorite Unix admin tricks and time-savers
Some of my favorite time-savers are here for sharing. Add a comment and tell me about some of your favorite Unix commands.read more
View ArticleSamba swings both ways
Samba, the tool that makes it possible to mount Unix directories on Windows systems also works the other way -- allowing you to mount Windows shares on Unix. With an extra package and a few changes in...
View Article13 Things that a Unix sysadmin will never do
As we find ourselves hurtling toward 2013, it's a good time to think about all the things that we Unix admins would never do ... and how that keeps us out of trouble.read more
View ArticleFind the next big prime number, win cash and glory
By participating in GIMPS, a distributed computing project to find Mersenne prime numbers, you could win $3,000 or more, not to mention mathematics immortalityread more
View ArticleUnix: Looking at files this way and that
Don't throw up your hands if your boss won't buy you Tripwire and a modern debugger. There are a lot of things that your Unix system -- right out of the box -- can tell you about files and...
View ArticleUnix: Under the spell of magic numbers
If you've ever wondered how Unix systems identify files, you might be surprised to learn that file names really aren't an important factor. Unix systems reach into files looking for special codes...
View ArticleUnix: Rootkits -- Still scary after all these years
If you haven't worried about rootkits in a while, what are you waiting for? Rootkits remain one of the stealthiest and most worrisome forms of malware compromising systems today.read more
View ArticleUnix: When pipes don't make sense
While pipes are one of the things that make Unix such a powerful and versatile operating system, they don't always make sense. Many people still fall into the "useless use of a pipe" habit while still...
View ArticleUnix commands and tools you just can't live without
Are you someone who never met a Unix command you didn't like? OK, maybe not. But are there commands you just can't imagine living without? Let's look at some that have made a big difference on my...
View ArticleHistory of the O'Reilly cover animals
O’Reilly’s cover designer tells the story of how they came to use animals on the covers of their popular booksread more
View ArticleSo you want to be a Unix sysadmin?
A number of people have asked recently what it takes to be a Unix systems administrator, what “core competencies” are required, and what are the best and worst aspects of the job. Here are some answers...
View ArticleNo, programmers don't code all day
A new survey finds out what software developers already know: writing code is only one part of the jobread more
View ArticleUnix tip: Using Bash's regular expressions
Bash has quietly made scripting on Unix systems a lot easier with its own regular expressions. If you're still leaning on grep and sed commands to get your scripts to do what you need from them, maybe...
View ArticleBringing Unix commands to a Windows world
You can make your life a little easier and more productive by adding some Unix power to your Windows system.read more
View ArticleUnix & Security: 243 Days
If someone told you that, on average, an advanced attacker was on a system for 243 days before he was detected, would you fall off your seat? If so, then, fall off your seat.read more
View ArticleUnix: Grappling with big data
Hindsight is 20/20, but foresight doesn't have to be 20/500. Even with big data, you can find ways to discover things you don't expect to see.read more
View ArticleWhy your next computer will run...Unix?
The next time you buy a computer, you'll likely get one tied to the ancient computing past --- Unix. Yes, you heard that right, Unix. Here's why.read more
View ArticleUnix: The art of being lazy
One of the most endearing qualities of Unix devotees is how determined they are to be as efficient as possible. Why type three characters if you can do the same thing with two? And one of the best ways...
View ArticleUnix: Sending signals to processes
The kill command provides a lot more functionality than just terminating processes. You can use it to send any of more than 60 signals to processes and what happens next depends on the signal, the...
View ArticleUnix: Sorting information that isn't quite numeric
Sorting data numerically and alphanumerically isn't generally much of a challenge on Unix systems, but sometimes .5 is smaller than .11.read more
View Article
