Web servers

Hopefully, it has not been a year since you have given your server a good checkup, but just in case you need a reminder, here are a few things to check at the start of 2010: 1. Log rotation. Normally, Linux will rotate logs for the kernel, web server, and …

When you lease a remote managed or even unmanaged server, you do not typically have to concern yourself with formatting hard drives. Still, it is a good skill to learn, and if you find yourself in a situation where you are building your own web hosting server, it is a …

BIND (also called NameD) is the DNS system for most Unix-like and Linux networked servers. It controls all of the DNS functionality on those servers and thus needs to be secure. Dynamic updates allow remote servers to add, delete, or modify zone entries in DNS records. While there may be …

When people think of data centers, they often envision large rooms full of loud servers. This YouTube video shows the data center in a much more innovative way– its construction from start to finish, all with Lego bricks. With high-speed connections and millions of pages to visit, I think too …

Sometimes you just need quick information about your server without having to click through numerous control panel screens or logging via SSH. A small PHP software application, called phpSysInfo, allows you to do just that. Installed like a normal PHP script, you can access a plethora of information about your …

Question: I was thinking of making my entire website HTTPS instead of just the shopping cart. Is this a good idea? Answer: There are both pros and cons to securing an entire site with SSL, but most seem to agree that the cons outweigh the pros. The advantage is that …

Question: How do I disable the viewing of hidden files in ProFTPD so that my clients can’t see them? Answer: It is fairly easy to conceal hidden files in ProFTPD, but before you do, you should be aware of the consequences. Users will not be able to see their own …

Vsftpd stands for “Very Secure FTP Daemon”, and is a an ftp server for Linux and other UNIX-like operating system. As the name implies, it claims to be more secure than the typical FTP server and boasts a number of useful features, including: Virtual IP configurations Virtual users Standalone or …

Question: Is it safe to setup anonymous FTP services for my website visitors? Answer: Anonymous FTP can be a useful feature when used correctly. If you are moving a lot of files, especially if you have some type of software or game repository, anonymous FTP may be a practical and …

In a previous post, we covered some of the basics of using apt-get to download and install packages for your Linux server. There are several commands that you can append to “apt-get” in order to perform various tasks. Here are a few: 1. “apt-get clean” By default, APT saves a …