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Since 2008, OpenSSH now has a feature that allows Linux system administrators to keep web hosting clients and other users out of system directories like /etc /bin /var, and others. In the past, admins had to rely on other packages, such as rssh. The process is called chroot, which essentially …

Question: I get an error on my server with apt-get, and it will not let me install any new packages. What should I do? Answer: Depending on the error, there are a number of solutions you can try. The first is to tell APT to resolve any unfinished transactions or …

Speed Tracer is a new extension released by Google for its Chrome web browser that can identify and help fix website performance issues. It’s easy-to-use and best of all, free. If you ever experience poor performance at your web host, take advantage of this tool. It and others can give …

Frontpage is a WYSIWYG editor created by Microsoft. Though it is now legacy software, having been replaced by the company’s new Expression Web, there is still significant demand for Frontpage web hosting. The good news is most hosts still provide Frontpage extensions, the technology needed for the software to sync …

Only one user should have the root password to a server, but since virtual private servers (VPS) can exist within a server, those users also have root passwords. Generally speaking, it is a bad practice to login to the server directly as root (administrator). Although SSH connections are encrypted, it …

In our continuing series on SSH security practices, today I would like to focus on the dreaded idle user. It might seem like nothing more than an annoyance, but an unattended ssh session can turn into a security risk. The best way to avoid this is to set an timeout …

SSH is a great tool to have when you need remote access to a server, and it is naturally more secure than other methods, such as Telnet. Nevertheless, you should still take care to make sure your OpenSSH server is as secure as possible. Here are two tips to get …

Question: How can I find and replace text in multiple files? Answer: If you have perl installed on your server, you can easily use it to perform the function you need. Even if you do not have root access to the server, basic user SSH access will be enough. Let’s …

Using “apt-get install” works perfectly well as long as you know the name of an application, but if you do not, it becomes a guessing game. Fortunately, APT has a search tool you can use to find the applications or types of applications you need for your Linux server. APT …

In a previous post, I explained how to install APT on a Linux server that does not have it. In this post, you learn how to use APT on any server that has it installed. Debian and Debian-based distributions, such as Ubuntu, use APT by default. The basic command for …