I’ve worked as a remote Linux System Administrator for quite a while, and one thing that I’ve noticed is that many “administrators” out there don’t know how to configure or secure a server properly. This article is a quick reference on some of the more important (and easy) security or configuration tweaks that any administrator should do for their server. These six steps can dramatically increase the security and stability of any Linux server. The best part about these tips, is that they are all quick and easy to do as well, with each step taking less than 15 minutes!

1.) Security Updates Not Installed
Nearly every server that I work on is not running the latest (and most secure) software. Yes, Linux is a great Operating System- but all software has security problems. Enabling the installation of automatic updates via a cron script or similar is the easiest and most foolproof way to ensure that your server isn’t compromised. There really isn’t any excuse not to install the latest security updates- older packages are saved in the package archives in case there is a stability or compatibility issue, and the updated packages are logged as they are updated.

2.) Disable root login via SSH, and password authentication
Admittedly, I’ve been guilty of this myself sometimes. Let’s face it, everyone likes being able to quickly and easily log into their servers, and change settings. However, if you’re using password authentication, what’s to keep someone else from logging into your server? In addition, you should not use password authentication on your Linux server, to prevent others from logging into your Linux server. Instead, enable RSA signed authorization keys. This is more secure, since an attacker will not be able to guess or brute force a login session with your server.

3.) Disable or filter extra services
This is the second biggest issue that I see working with new client’s servers. Often, the system administrator who setup their Linux server did not perform a necessary final step- filter incoming connections that aren’t necessary. I’ve seen everything from the daytime service running, to MySQL listening for connections on a remote IP. If a Linux administrator is not familiar with iptables, there are several tutorials out there that will show someone how to create even a basic firewall ruleset. In addition, disabling unnecessary services is a basic step in server optimization as well- why run extra services that tie up resources if they aren’t needed?

4.) Test accounts or guest accounts still active
Another glaring security issue (and an often exploited one) is that a client will still have test user accounts running (often with extremely easy passwords, such as test) once a software solution is deployed to a production server. I don’t need to go into the security ramifications with this one- make sure that you get rid of those guest or test accounts!

5.) Advertising banners left on
We all love advertising, don’t we? However, advertising to the world that the version of Apache or Sendmail that you run on your Linux server is 3 years old is not the type of attention that you want. Simply disabling the server banners will help hide your server from the basic script-dependent attackers. Besides, why help the bad guys determine what software your server is running?

6.) PHP errors or application errors
I’m pretty confident that we have all seen an error or two displayed on a website. Some errors that are displayed are not a security issue at all, for instance Javascript errors. However, some errors are security issues (PHP is particularly bad with this), because they disclose sensitive information. The easiest way around this is to disable displaying errors in PHP (or your web applications). Otherwise, an attacker may be given information about your website’s database details, or file locations.

These issues are the top 6 security issues that I see on a daily basis in my work. You can all check your server or servers for these quick issues (these tips take almost no time at all), and dramatically increase the security of your server. However, if you have any problems implementing these security steps, please feel free to contact me.

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Are you one of those ultra gamers looking for a tutorial on how to install Linux on PS3? Well, you don’t have to look any further. I’m going to reveal where you can get everything from the install file to a full step-by-step guide to install Linux on PS3. Aren’t I sweet?

If you want to make your PS3 a media center powerhouse, you need to install Linux on PS3. Why? Well, if you check out the list below I’m sure you won’t be asking yourself that anymore.

What can you do with a PS3 Linux install?

Play Downloaded Music Play Downlaoded Movies Play Downloaded Videos Play Downloaded Games Use Web Browsing Play NES Games Play Sega Games And so much more!

With all that you can only begin to imagine why it would be such a great feat to get Linux on the PS3. The hard part is getting the operating system on the PS3 safely. If you do just one thing wrong you could fry your system and it will be useless to you. Once you do that you can’t even send it in for repair because the warranty will be void. Don’t worry, though. There are ways of putting Linux on PS3 without trouble and without voiding your warranty. And I’m going to show you where to get a guide to install Linux on PS3.

The PS3 Magic software helps you do this. PS3 Magic will show you step-by-step how to put Linux on PS3, put Windows on PS3, play anything downloaded, and tons more.

The guide is short and simple. The process will take you no more than an hour and you’ll have your PS3 converted into a powerful media center with capabilites that much a high end desktop PC!

The guide shows you how to easily do a PS3 Linux install so you don’t have to worry about destroying your expensive hardware in the process.

Be sure to check out PS3 Magic. It’s worth every penny and makes your PS3 so much more.

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Choosing a Linux host provider can be one of the biggest decisions that you make with an online business or website. Given the current rate of unreliable hosting operations, it is difficult to find a reputable, professional Linux host that doesn’t charge an arm and a leg. Finding a reliable host should be at the top of your priority list whether starting a new website, or growing an existing online presence. If your Linux hosting provider has even minutes of downtime, it can seriously affect your business. Because this is such an important decision, I have written this short tutorial on how to properly choose a Linux host provider, based on my years of experience as a freelance Linux server consultant.

The first and utmost consideration needs to be the reliability of a potential Linux hosting provider. Don’t be tricked into buying a Linux hosting account that is cheap, if the Linux hosting provider doesn’t have a stable network. Fortunately, the research on hosting reliability has already been done for you. Netcraft is the premier voice in network reliability surveys. Every month, Netcraft publishes a list of the top 50 Linux host providers with the best network reliability based on their tests. In addition, Netcraft also ranks the top hosting providers based on their network performance, which brings us to our next consideration.

Network performance is just as important as network reliability when selecting a hosting provider. If your hosting provider has a slow network, or intermittent network performance issues, you are going to lose customers and visitors to your website. There is nothing more frustrating than trying to browse a slow website, when you have high speed Internet access. Before you choose your Linux host provider, be sure and run a few network performance benchmarks at some of the Linux provider’s websites. The biggest tool to use for this is to search for the provider on Netcraft’s website- they’ve done all of the benchmarks for you!

Third, you need to consider the support available through your potential hosting provider. Some Linux hosts are overly expensive for what they are, and some Linux host providers (for instance, Rackspace) are worth the cost. What this all boils down to is support- how available is the hosting provider if there is an issue? Is their support phone number clearly posted on their website? Do they have a support ticket system that works? What are their guaranteed response times? All of these questions must be answered before you select a Linux host provider.

Finally, you can now look at what most people look at when selecting a Linux host- the final cost. Everything else being equal, feel free to browse around for the best bargain. This is the easiest step of choosing a Linux host provider, and perhaps the most fun as well (no one enjoys staring at uptime reports, network response time charts, and bandwidth speeds). Most of the time, you can also save some money by prepaying for several months to a year at a time.

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thanks a lot yahoo answers family!!

Could Ubuntu Linux rule the future over Mac OS X or even Windows?

Ok. I must admit I just created a computer box with Ubuntu 9. I have been so impressed with this operating system, I started to wonder what was the future of Mac OS X or Windows. I don’t mean question them, but it seems there is lots of excitement behind Ubuntu. There are so many futuristic innovative features I have yet to find in the other mainstream operating systems like Windows or OS X.

Ubuntu is open source. Programmers and general techies love it. It is a very friendly geek operating system which is free due to its open source philosophy. There is lots of open source tools and network features. The interface is completely awesome to work with. I was also shocked how intelligent it was as I plugged in third party devices like my printer. Best of all, they worked with no hitches.

Going back to the feature set, the graphic user interface is friendly. Any monkey brain should be able to figure it out. If you are used to working with OS X or Windows, you should feel pretty comfortable with this. This includes running out of the box applications like Open Office. Open Office is free and open source. It is not quite as intelligent as Microsoft Office, but it does the basic jobs you would expect of Word, Powerpoint, or Excel.

If you need databases installed, you would obviously go with the stellar enterprise level MY SQL. You can install through a “Get program’ option. Since I am a geek head, I love using the session terminal with the ‘sudo apt-get’ command. It is so powerful but yet easy to install the required tools any tech head would need. This includes a developer like me.

I was able to set up a developers environment so fast. This includes the popular integrated development environment (IDE) like Eclipse, and programming languages like Ruby On Rails, PHP, Python, and Java. Also, you get the old dinosaur of C++.

As Linux becomes a standard, it seem Ubuntu is easily becoming a standard as well. Everyone talks about Red Hat (or Fedora) being a very popular flavor of Linux. But why? If you look at the Alexa ranking, Ubuntu exceeds Red Hat in traffic. It shows Ubuntu is gaining steam among the geeks. And remember, it is the geeks who makes the future of technology become mainstream. Also, remember that masses of them are moving away from Microsoft lock down product and moving to open source projects and operating systems. It has been obvious over the years that Linux could be the future and Ubuntu leading it down the road Let’s hope the enterprise corporations will recognize this too.

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