Why Every Windows User Needs a Linux Live CD. Enough said. I’ve used Live CD’s on many occasions to fix Windows problems and to perform simple tasks like cloning drives and repartitioning.
If you use SSH to remotely manage a server, you’ll want to check out Eleven SSH Tricks at the Linux Journal.
Here is a nice how-to on setting up and running a Linux Mail Server. The server includes
Have you been wanting to try a desktop version of Linux but haven’t been quite sure where to start? Unofficial Ubuntu Starter Guide is an extensive list of tips and tricks for getting the most user friendly version of Linux up and running in no time at all!
Don’t want to shell out your hard earned cash on Norton Ghost or Partition Magic? You can learn how to nixCraft: Resize windows Partition with Open Source Software using a Linux Live CD called Knoppix. Of course before you resize your partition using commmercial or open-source software, make sure you have a good backup!
System Rescue CD is a linux system on a bootable cdrom for repairing your system and your data after a crash. It also aims to provide an easy way to carry out admin tasks on your computer, such as creating and editing the partitions of the hard disk.
Flickrfs is a virtual filesystem for Linux that can be mounted on your computer and then be accessed using the standard commands.
When you mount the filesystem, it will create 2 directories automatically: ‘tags’ and ’sets’. ’sets’ will automatically retrieve your photos (only metadata information, hence fast) and will show you all the photos available in your sets. You can then easily copy images to your hdd. And here comes the nicer part, If you want to add some more photos to these sets, just copy them to the folder, and they will be uploaded to the respective set.
It’s tools like these that make me want to fire up my Linux box a little more than I usually do!
McAfee and Symantec released a virus alert on Monday about a new worm that targetings PHP and CGI scripts stored on vulnerable Web servers. The Linux/Lupper.worm looks to be real nasty, with the only fix being reinstalling the OS. The reason for this drastic fix is that worm could do things that would be difficult to detect.
So what does this have to do with Microsoft and the media? Well, consider if this worm targetted the Windows OS, and the only fix was reinstalling the entire OS. The media would have a field day! But, with this being on the Linux platform, the media probably won’t even pick up on this one.
Now Microsoft certainly has security issues. There’s no hiding that, and certainly they should be held accountable by the media, but in the same breath, so should any other OS. We keep alot of personal data stored on our personal computers, so security should be a priority in any desktop OS. We also keep alot of personal data stored (sometimes unknowingly) by web servers running Linux, so we should expect the same commitment to security on those servers that are storing our data on the Internet. Linux has a good track record in this area. Security holes are found regularly, and Linux sysadmins are diligent at patching and upgrading their systems.
However, having said that, I think the media needs to do a more balanced job with reporting security holes on all operating systems. Windows flaws affect alot of people and so do Linux flaws. As users of the Internet, we need to be aware when our network-stored personal data may potentially be at risk.
