Top 10 Linux Tools

Top 10 Linux Tools
1. nmap - Nmap ("Network Mapper") is a free open source utility for network exploration or security auditing. It was designed to rapidly scan large networks, although it works fine against single hosts. Nmap uses raw IP packets in novel ways to determine what hosts are available on the network, what services (application name and version) those hosts are offering, what operating systems (and OS versions) they are running, what type of packet filters/firewalls are in use, and dozens of other characteristics. Nmap runs on most types of computers and both console and graphical versions are available.

2. Nikto - Nikto is an Open Source (GPL) web server scanner which performs comprehensive tests against web servers for multiple items, including over 3200 potentially dangerous files/CGIs, versions on over 625 servers, and version specific problems on over 230 servers. Scan items and plugins are frequently updated and can be automatically updated (if desired).

3. THC-Amap - Amap is a next-generation tool for assistingnetwork penetration testing. It performs fast and reliable application protocol detection, independant on the TCP/UDP port they are being bound to.

4. Ethereal - Ethereal is used by network professionals around the world for troubleshooting, analysis, software and protocol development, and education. It has all of the standard features you would expect in a protocol analyzer, and several features not seen in any other product.

5. THC-Hydra - Number one of the biggest security holes are passwords, as every password security study shows. Hydra is a parallized login cracker which supports numerous protocols to attack. New modules are easy to add, beside that, it is flexible and very fast.

6. Metasploit Framework - The Metasploit Framework is an advanced open-source platform for developing, testing, and using exploit code. This project initially started off as a portable network game and has evolved into a powerful tool for penetration testing, exploit development, and vulnerability research.

7. John the Ripper - John the Ripper is a fast password cracker, currently available for many flavors of Unix (11 are officially supported, not counting different architectures), DOS, Win32, BeOS, and OpenVMS. Its primary purpose is to detect weak Unix passwords. Besides several crypt(3) password hash types most commonly found on various Unix flavors, supported out of the box are Kerberos AFS and Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 LM hashes, plus several more with contributed patches.

8. Nessus - Nessus is the world's most popular vulnerability scanner used in over 75,000 organisations world-wide. Many of the world's largest organisations are realising significant cost savings by using Nessus to audit business-critical enterprise devices and applications.

9. IRPAS - Internetwork Routing Protocol Attack Suite - Routing protocols are by definition protocols, which are used by routers to communicate with each other about ways to deliver routed protocols, such as IP. While many improvements have been done to the host security since the early days of the Internet, the core of this network still uses unauthenticated services for critical communication.

10. Rainbowcrack - RainbowCrack is a general propose implementation of Philippe Oechslin's faster time-memory trade-off technique. In short, the RainbowCrack tool is a hash cracker. A traditional brute force cracker try all possible plaintexts one by one in cracking time. It is time consuming to break complex password in this way. The idea of time-memory trade-off is to do all cracking time computation in advance and store the result in files so called "rainbow table".

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Basic Linux Commands

All of the following commands should work from your terminal, regardless what shell you are using.

If you need help understanding the command more thoroughly, or it's options, try adding --help to the end of your command. Example: Say you need help with the command "date," you would do "date --help"

Here are some basic linux commands:

cd. You use cd to change directories. Type cd followed by the name of a directory to access that directory. Keep in mind that you are always in a directory and allowed access to any directories hierarchically above or below. Example: cd games
If you directory games is not located hierarchically below the current directory, then you may use either of the following examples:
cd /usr/games
cd ../games

clear. Use clear to clear the terminal. Type clear to clean up your terminal window. This is especially helpful when you are typing lots of commands and need a clean window to help you focus. Example: clear
This is also useful when you are getting ready to type a rather long command or a command with a rather long output and do not wish to become confused or distracted by other details on the screen.

date. Use date to set your server's date and time. Type date followed by the two digit month, the two digit date, the two digit time, and two digit minutes. The syntax is easy enough and resembles this: MMDDhhmm
This command is helpful but must be used when superuser or logged in as root. Otherwise you will get an "Operation not permitted" output. As root or superuser, you can execute the command such as:
date 04231839
The above command will set the server date and time to the fourth month (April), the eighth day, at 5:39 PM.

df. Use df to check disk space. Typing df provides a very quick check of your file system disk space. Type df -h to get a more easily readable version of the output. Notice that this command will include all application storage such as your hard disk/s (hda, hdb, etc.) and your server SWAP file (shm). To list disk space including file system type, execute the following command: df -h -T
You could also combine -h -T by using df -hT

finger. Use finger to see who is on the system. Typing finger allows you to see who else is on the system or get detailed information about a person who has access to the system. Type finger followed by the name of a user's account to get information about that user. Or, type finger and press enter to see who is currently on the system and what they are currently doing. Example: finger johndoe

logout. Yep, you guessed it, typing logout will log your account out of the system. Type logout at the prompt to disconnect from your linux machine or to logout a particular user session from the system. Keep in mind that although rudimentary, leaving your critical account logged on may be a security concern. I always recommend promptly using logout when you are finished using your root account. Example: logout

ls. Use ls to list files and directories. Type ls to see a list of the files and directories located in the current directory. If you are in the directory named games and you execute ls, a list will apear that contains files in the games directory and sub-directories that are in the games directory. Examples:
ls Mail
ls /usr/bin
Type ls -alt to see a list of all files (including .rc files) and all directories located in the current directory. The listing will include detailed, and often useful information. Examples:
ls -alt
ls -alt /usr/bin
If the screen flies by and you miss seeing a number of files, try using the |more at the end like:
ls -alt |more
* In bash, (linux shell) often the abbreviated command "L" is available. To get a verbose listing of files and directories, you could therefore simply type: l

man. Use man to pull up information about a linux command. Type man followed by a command to get detailed information about how to use the command. Example: man ls
Type man -k followed by a word to list all of the commands and descriptions that contain the word you specified. Example: man -k finger

more. Use more to read the contents of a file. Type more followed by the name of a text file to read the file's contents. Why do I emphasize using this on a text file? Because most other types of files will look like garbage that you will probably not understand. Example: more testfile.txt

nano. Use nano to start a text editor. Typing nano will start a basic text editor on most linux systems. Type nano followd by the filename you wish to edit. This basic editor is quick and easy to use for beginners. However, it is very important that you also learn about other text editors available on linux and UNIX systems. I searched for a page three other text editors: vi, pico, and emacs. You may go to http://www.reallylinux.com/docs/editors/editor.shtml to learn about those.

passwd. Use passwd to change your current password. Type passwd and press enter. You will see the message "Changing password for username."
At the old password: prompt, type in your old password.
Then, at the enter new password: prompt, type in your new password.
The system double checks your new password just in case you made a typo the first time typing it. Beside the verify: prompt, type your new password again. You may also change other user's passwords with this. Just use "passwd theirusername". Although, this does require root to change other's passwords.

pwd. Use pwd to print the name of your current working directory. Type pwd and hit enter. You will see the full name of the directory you are currently in. This is your directory path and is very handy. This is especially handy when you forget what directory you have changed to and are trying to run other commands.

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File Permissions on Linux

First of all, let's figure out what the command "chmod" does.

chmod - The chmod command allows you to alter access rights to files and directories. All files and directories have security permissions that grant the user particular groups’ or all other users’ access. To view your files' settings, at the shell prompt type: ls -alt
You should see some files with the following in front of them (an example follows):
total 4
drwxrwsr-x 7 file1 file1 1024 Apr 6 14:30 .
drwxr-s--x 22 file2 file2 1024 Mar 30 18:20 ..
d-wx-wx-wx 3 file3 file3 1024 Apr 6 14:30 content
drwxr-xr-x 2 file4 file4 1024 Mar 25 20:43 files

What do the letters mean in front of the files/directories mean?
r indicates that it is readable (someone can view the file’s contents)
w indicates that it is writable (someone can edit the file’s contents)
x indicates that it is executable (someone can run the file, if executable)
- indicates that no permission to manipulate has been assigned.

When listing your files, the first character lets you know whether you’re looking at a file or a directory. It’s not part of the security settings. The next three characters indicate Your access restrictions. The next three indicate your group's permissions, and finally other users' permissions.

Use chmod followed by the permission you are changing. In very simple form this would be:
chmod 755 filename
The example above will grant you full rights, group rights to execute and read, and all others access to execute the file.
# Permission
7 full
6 read and write
5 read and execute
4 read only
3 write and execute
2 write only
1 execute only
0 none

Still confused? Use the table above to define the settings for the three "users." In the command, the first number refers to your permissions, the second refers to group, and the third refers to general users.

Typing the command: chmod 751 filename

gives you full access, the group read and execute, and all others execute only permission.

I hope this article helps anyone having trouble with file permissions on linux. Don't forget to rate and comment. Thanks.

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Ubuntu 11:10 release

The tentative release schedule for the Ubuntu 11.10 development cycle has been made available.
As with all release schedules the dates listed below are subject to change. If you’re landing on this page in July, August or even October you are advised to refer to wiki.ubuntu.com/OneiricReleaseSchedule to see the most up-to-date version.
For folks in the ‘now’ the dates bound for your diary’s/calendar apps are: -

• June 2nd Alpha 1
• June 30th Alpha 2
• August 4th Alpha 3
• September 1st Beta 1
• September 22nd Beta 2
• October 13th Ubuntu 11.10

A fanboy note: Oneiric will be the second release of Ubuntu to be made available on the 13th, the last being Ubuntu 5.10 Breezy Badger way back in 2005.

• Ubuntu 4.10 20th October
• Ubuntu 5.10 13th October
• Ubuntu 6.10 26th October
• Ubuntu 7.10 18th October
• Ubuntu 8.10 30th October
• Ubuntu 9.10 29th October
• Ubuntu 10.10 10th October

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