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Tis the season for spending time with loved ones, reminiscing about the past year and of course, technology forecasts and predictions. Whether we like it or not, nothing ever stays the same, in life and in business. My kids get older, their personalities mature and as a parent, I have to evolve the way I interact with them. It is the same for business, customer expectations continue to evolve, new technologies are developed to push the envelope and all of that leads to continuous transformation of our business, our people, our processes and of course, the technology and infrastructure.

As I started thinking about expectations for the coming year, I was struck with a strange feeling of déjà vu. Much of what’s on my list for 2019 is remarkably similar to last year. But there is a difference. Much of what might have been considered emerging technology 12 months ago is now maturing nicely and ready for more mainstream adoption. And for many of the items on my list, that has happened remarkably quickly.

Here are my predictions for 2019:

1. More major cybersecurity breaches

No real surprise here. Serious data hacks seem to be coming thick and fast. Marriott is the latest to hit the news with the second biggest hack of all time. Here’s a serious reality check: If you haven’t got a strong security plan and measures in place already, it may already be too late.

2. Major business failures will again hit the headlines

Household names and brands disappearing is nothing new. Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy in 2018 and while there are efforts to save it, it is a good example of how a company must evolve to stay relevant. Expect more of them to fall, if they miss the opportunity to adapt and transform. Make sure you’re not one of them.

3. Accelerated Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) application development and adoption

Organizations of all types and sizes have now bought into the productivity, efficiency and customer experience improvements to be gained from AI and ML. Leveraging high-performance computing, AI and ML underpin many of the tech trends I highlighted in 2018 including AR/VR, autonomous vehicles/drones, big data/analytics and robotics. Greater investment and focus in both these areas will surely follow.

4. The Internet of Things (IoT) is set to take off

But don’t expect IoT growth to be consumer-led – at least not yet. With IoT security improving and related technologies maturing, business IoT is my bet for a major expansion in 2019, with manufacturing, healthcare, retail and utilities at the forefront.

5. Expect to see more autonomous vehicles

They’re on our roads already in pilot programs. Over the next year, watch out for more real-world testing of cars, trucks and public transport, as well as industrial and farming vehicles.

6. Containers will make implementing hybrid/multi-cloud easier

Containerized applications and workloads are increasingly at the heart of development projects. Kubernetes and DevOps are now mainstream. Monolithic applications have had their day. Containers make it easier to implement a hybrid and multi-cloud strategy by deploying, moving or expanding cloud-native applications to your cloud platform of choice, even straddling cloud boundaries as needed.

7. Anticipate a new raft of technology-related acquisitions

More traditional, legacy businesses will be looking to buy innovation, new technologies and expertise in order to keep up with shifting market dynamics and in a move to avoid becoming irrelevant to their customer base.

8. Mobile devices will become even more indispensable to our lifestyle

Let’s be honest, most of us would be lost without our mobile phone, smartwatch or fitness tracker already. They’re how we now expect to interact with the world around us and how we want new real-time services delivered. Unfortunately, there is a downside. We are going to be even more glued to our devices.

9. Blockchain is finally going to deliver some business value.

While Blockchain is often maligned by many, there are new and valid use cases on the horizon that will help change perceptions. I expect interest to grow from government agencies, the finance sector, manufacturing, retail and the IoT world.

10. Open source software will continue to thrive and play a pivotal role in all of these predictions

Why? Because open source communities have become the vanguard of innovation. Open source software plays a pivotal role in all the dominant technology trends and is increasingly relied on by enterprise businesses around the globe.

Let me leave you with one more prediction.

At this time of year, it seems like everyone starts forecasting what the next year might bring. I predict that very few of them will get checked later to see if they were on the money or whether they missed the mark.

I’ll be checking mine from time to time throughout the year. I invite you to do the same.

Please feel free to send me your comments, observations or even your own predictions.

 

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Have you come across files bearing a .gz extension? These are files which have been compressed using the gzip command. Gunzip is a Linux command that is used to decompress such files earing the .gz extension and in this tutorial, we will look at different usages of the Gunzip command.

But first, let’s compress a file using the gzip command. The syntax will be as follows

# gzip file_name

When you verify the file using the ls command, you will notice the presence of another file with the same file name but with a .gz extension.

Output

# file_name.gz

Let’s now see how we can decompress files.

1) Decompress files using the Gzip Command

In addition to compressing files, the gzip command can also be used to decompress files. The syntax for decompressing a file is

# gzip -d file_name.gz

Output

# file_name

To decompress files recursively in a folder add the -r flag as shown

# gzip -dr folder_name

2) Decompress files using the Gunzip Command

While the gzip command also comes in handy in compressing and decompressing files, Gunzip command is another command that allows you to decompress files in a very simple way that’s easy to remember. The syntax is

# gunzip file_name.gz

Output

# file_name

Once gunzip decompresses a file, the extension is removed. The file file_name.gz changes to file_name and is expanded to the maximum size.

3) Display verbose output of decompression

To display verbose output, append the -v flag as shown

# gunzip -v file_name.gz

Output

test_file.gz: 52.1% — replaced with test_file

4) Keep both the compressed file and the decompressed one

To keep both copies of the compressed and decompressed file run

# gunzip -k file_name.gz

You will now have two files, filename & filename.gz

Output

file_name.gz file_name

5) Display the output of the compressed file without first decompressing

To print out the output of the compressed file before decompressing it run

# gunzip -c file_name.gz

6) To display more information about a compressed file

To get more information about the compressed file run

# gunzip -l file_name.gz

The output of the command above command will give the following values

• Compressed size
• Uncompressed size
• Ratio of compression
• Uncompressed name

This information comes in handy when dealing with large file sizes, especially when you are running low on disk space. You wouldn’t want to carelessly uncompress large files lest they eat up your remaining disk space.

7) To decompress lot’s of files recursively

To achieve this, run

# gunzip -r folder_name

Let’s assume you have a folder structure like below where Office_files is the main folder containing zipped files sales.gz and marketing.gz plus another folder 2018 report with other zipped files.

office_files

sales.gz

marketing.gz

2018 Report

first_quarter_report.gz

second_quarter_report.gz

third_quarter_report.gz

last_quarter_report.gz

8) To decompress all the files within a directory

Run below command to decompress all of the files in the directory.

# gunzip -r office_files

9) Test whether a compressed file is a valid file compressed using gzip

To do this, run

# gunzip -t file_name.gz

If the file is invalid, you’ll get a warning but if it’s valid, nothing will be printed on the screen and you’ll be taken back to the shell.

Read Also:

• How To Use 7zip Archiver On Linux Command Line
• 20 Examples for Linux Zip and UnZip Command

Source

How to Install Putty on Ubuntu and Other Linux Distributions

Last updated December 11, 2018

If I am not wrong, Putty is perhaps the most popular SSH client for Windows.

In IT companies, the development environment is usually on a remote Linux system while the developers use Windows as their local system. Putty is used for connecting to the remote Linux system from the Windows machine.

Putty is not limited to Windows only. You can also use this open source software on Linux and macOS.

But wait! Why would you use a separate SSH client on Linux when you already have the ‘real’ Linux terminal with you? There are several reasons why you would want to use Putty on Linux.

• You have used Putty for so long on Windows that you are more comfortable with it.
• You find it difficult to manually edit SSH config file to save the various SSH sessions. You prefer Putty’s graphical way of storing SSH connection.
• You want to debug by connecting to raw sockets and serial ports.

Whatever may be the reason, if you want to use Putty on Ubuntu or any other Linux, you can certainly do so. Let me show you how to do that.

Installing Putty on Ubuntu Linux

The good news for the Ubuntu users is that Putty is available in the universe repository of Ubuntu.

To install Putty on Ubuntu, you should first make sure that the universe repository is enabled.

sudo add-apt-repository universe

Once you have the universe repository enabled, you should update Ubuntu with this command:

sudo apt update

After this, you can install Putty with this command:

sudo apt install putty

Once installed, you can start Putty by finding it in the menu.

As you can see in the screenshot below, the Linux version of Putty looks the same as the Windows version. That’s a relief because you won’t have to fiddle around trying to find your way through a new and changed settings.

When you enter the remote system’s hostname or IP address and connect to it, Putty will utilize the already saved SSH keys in your home directory.

Installing Putty on other Linux distributions

Putty is available for Debian so you just need to use apt-get or aptitude for installing it.

sudo apt-get install putty

Putty is also available for Fedora/Red Hat and can be installed using the default package manager.

sudo dnf install putty

You can also easily install Putty in Arch Linux based distributions.

sudo pacman -S putty

Remember that Putty is an open source software. You can also install it via source code if you really want to. You can get the source code of Putty from the link below.

I would always prefer the native Linux terminal over an SSH client like Putty. I feel more at home with the GNOME terminal or Terminator. However, it’s up to an individual’s choice to use the default terminal or Putty in Linux

What do you use for managing multiple SSH connections on Linux?

Source

Nagios is one of the most popular open source monitoring systems. Nagios keeps an inventory of your entire IT infrastructure and ensures your networks, servers, applications, services, and processes are up and running. In case of failure or suboptimal performance Nagios will send notification alerts via various methods.

This tutorial describes how to install and configure Nagios Core on a CentOS 7 server.

Prerequisites

Before continuing with this tutorial, make sure you are logged in as a user with sudo privileges.

Disable SELinux or set in permissive mode as instructed here.

Update your CentOS system and install Apache, PHP and all the packages necessary to download and compile the Nagios main application and Nagios plugins:

sudo yum update
sudo yum install httpd php php-cli gcc glibc glibc-common gd gd-devel net-snmp openssl-devel wget
sudo yum install make gettext autoconf net-snmp-utils epel-release perl-Net-SNMP postfix unzip automake

Installing Nagios on CentOS

Perform the following steps to install the latest version of Nagios Core from source.

1. Downloading Nagios

We’ll download Nagios source in the /usr/src directory which is the common location to place source files.

Navigate to the directory with:

Download the latest version of Nagios from the project Github repository using the following wget command:

sudo wget https://github.com/NagiosEnterprises/nagioscore/archive/nagios-4.4.2.tar.gz

Once the download is complete extract the tar file with:

sudo tar zxf nagios-*.tar.gz

Before continuing with the next steps, make sure you change to the Nagios source directory by typing:

2. Compiling Nagios

To start the build process run the configure script which will perform a number of checks to make sure all of the dependencies on your system are present:

Upon successful completion, the following message will be printed on your screen:

*** Configuration summary for nagios 4.4.2 2018-08-16 ***:

General Options:
————————-
Nagios executable: nagios
Nagios user/group: nagios,nagios
Command user/group: nagios,nagios
Event Broker: yes
Install $: /usr/local/nagios
Install $: /usr/local/nagios/include/nagios
Lock file: /run/nagios.lock
Check result directory: /usr/local/nagios/var/spool/checkresults
Init directory: /lib/systemd/system
Apache conf.d directory: /etc/httpd/conf.d
Mail program: /sbin/sendmail
Host OS: linux-gnu
IOBroker Method: epoll

Web Interface Options:
————————
HTML URL: http://localhost/nagios/
CGI URL: http://localhost/nagios/cgi-bin/
Traceroute (used by WAP): /bin/traceroute

Review the options above for accuracy. If they look okay,
type ‘make all’ to compile the main program and CGIs.

Start the compilation process using the make command:

The compilation may take some time, depending on your system. Once the build process is completed, the following message will be printed on your screen:

….
*** Compile finished ***
…
For more information on obtaining support for Nagios, visit:

Nagios Support Home

*************************************************************

Enjoy.

3. Creating Nagios User And Group

Create a new system nagios user and group by issuing:

sudo make install-groups-users

The output will look something like below:

groupadd -r nagios
useradd -g nagios nagios

Add the Apache apache user to the nagios group:

sudo usermod -a -G nagios apache

4. Installing Nagios Binaries

Run the following command to install Nagios binary files, CGIs, and HTML files:

You should see the following output:

…
*** Main program, CGIs and HTML files installed ***
…

5. Creating External Command Directory

Nagios can process commands from external applications. Create the external command directory and set the proper permissions by typing:

sudo make install-commandmode*** External command directory configured ***

6. Install Nagios Configuration Files

Install the sample Nagios configuration files with:

…
*** Config files installed ***

Remember, these are *SAMPLE* config files. You’ll need to read
the documentation for more information on how to actually define
services, hosts, etc. to fit your particular needs.

7. Install Apache Configuration Files

Run the command below to install the Apache web server configuration files:

sudo make install-webconf…
*** Nagios/Apache conf file installed ***

8. Creating Systemd Unit File

The following command installs a systemd unit file and also configure the nagios service to start on boot.

sudo make install-daemoninit…
*** Init script installed ***

9. Creating User Account

To be able to access the Nagios web interface wel’ll create an admin user called nagiosadmin

Run the following htpasswd command to create a user called nagiosadmin

sudo htpasswd -c /usr/local/nagios/etc/htpasswd.users nagiosadmin

You will be prompted to enter and confirm the user’s password.

New password:
Re-type new password:
Adding password for user nagiosadmin

Restart the Apache service for changes to take effect:

sudo systemctl restart httpd

Configure the Apache service to start on boot.

sudo systemctl enable httpd

10. Configuring Firewall

The firewall will secure your server against unwanted traffic.

If you don’t have a firewall configured on your server, you can check our guide about how to setup a firewall with firewalld on centos

Open the Apache ports by running the following commands:

sudo firewall-cmd –permanent –zone=public –add-service=http
sudo firewall-cmd –permanent –zone=public –add-service=https
sudo firewall-cmd –reload

Installing Nagios Plugins

Switch back to the /usr/src directory:

Download the latest version of the Nagios Plugins from the project Github repository:

sudo wget -O nagios-plugins.tar.gz https://github.com/nagios-plugins/nagios-plugins/archive/release-2.2.1.tar.gz

When the download is complete extract the tar file:

sudo tar zxf nagios-plugins.tar.gz

Change to the plugins source directory:

cd nagios-plugins-release-2.2.1

Run the following commands one by one to compile and install the Nagios plugins:

sudo ./tools/setup
sudo ./configure
sudo make
sudo make install

Starting Nagios

Now that both Nagios and its plugins are installed, start the Nagios service with:

sudo systemctl start nagios

To verify that Nagios is running, check the service status with the following command:

sudo systemctl status nagios

The output should look something like bellow indicating that Nagios service is active and running.

nagios.service – Nagios Core 4.4.2
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/nagios.service; enabled; vendor preset: disabled)
Active: active (running) since Sat 2018-12-08 14:33:35 UTC; 3s ago
Docs: https://www.nagios.org/documentation
Process: 22217 ExecStart=/usr/local/nagios/bin/nagios -d /usr/local/nagios/etc/nagios.cfg (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Process: 22216 ExecStartPre=/usr/local/nagios/bin/nagios -v /usr/local/nagios/etc/nagios.cfg (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
Main PID: 22219 (nagios)
CGroup: /system.slice/nagios.service

Accessing the Nagios Web Interface

To access the Nagios web interface open your favorite browser and type your server’s domain name or public IP address followed by /nagios:

http(s)://your_domain_or_ip_address/nagios

Enter the nagiosadmin user login credentials and you will be redirected to the default Nagios home page as shown on the image below:

Conclusion

You have successfully installed the latest Nagios version from source on your CentOS system.

You should now check the Nagios Documentation and learn more about how to configure and use Nagios.

If you hit a problem or have a feedback, leave a comment below.

Source

Let[s] talk a little about this box. In this HTB machine we will see only one port is open and that will be the http one , we will fireup the dirbuster to find the different files and directories inside that website. We will came to know about the phpbash file from where we will be getting code execution. After getting the ever shell we will enumerate more and will be able to find the way to escalate the privileges and became root. This time I have made two video[s] the first one will be on getting our first reverse shell on the box and the second one will be on how we will be able to escalate the privileges. Hope you guys will enjoy it. In last but not the least I have uploaded some file[s] from which you will be able to learn about bash scripting, python and you will learn about the cronjob working.

TenTen BOX WALKTHROUGH

About this machine

1. Machine Name: Bashed
2. Machine Architecture : Linux
3. Machine creator: Arrexel
4. IP address: 10.10.10.68
5. User owned: 6334
6. User rooted: 4218
7. Points: 20

Pre-requestie[s]

1. As always you must have the hackers mindset to approach different vulnerabilities,
2. This time you need some little bit knowledge about bash and python.
3. You must know how to use dirbuster or any other tool for finding different folders and file.
4. You must know how to use NMAP for scanning port’s.
5. If you know bash then it will be plus point.
6. Different approaches
7. Try Harder mind set

[Disclaimer : That’s all you need, Now let’s try to Pentest this machine.]

Enumeration Part

-Nmap Scan

So, first we need to scan for the open ports. Let’s do it.

We will use nmap’s 3 option’s “i.e -sS , -sV and -sC”. You must be wondering what are these. Actually these are nothing they are just a scanning options. I really want you all to read the man page of nmap from there you can understand what are these options used for. Let me just point them out simply.

1. -sS: For scanning TCP SYN. You need to the root privilege also to use option, I believe.
2. -sV: For scan for open ports to determine there services and version informations.
3. -sC: It is used for using the default nse nmap script. To know what are NSE script read this article. [Chapter 9. Nmap Scripting Engine] Just read about it and you will understand.
4. -Pn: This option will treat all hosts as online, no matter what. This is a good practice to use it to bypass filtration something.

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The scan is completed as you can see in the above screenshot. So as you all can see only the port 80 is open.

-Understanding Nmap output

So we have only two open port[s] now let’s try to understand the output.

#1

Port: 80

State:Open

Service: http

Version: Apache httpd 2.4.18

Let[s] check what it is really looking like.

It seems like it[s] working perfectly. Anyways let[s] start enumerating the box.

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Low Level Exploitation

The very first thing that I always used do is to check the source page and the robots.txt file.

So here it is ,

I don’t know if you are able to see it or not but there is nothing interesting here.

So, let[s] start our favorite dirbuster for finding the directory. If you don’t know what it is then let me tell you.

Dirbuster:- It is a java tool that is designed to brute force the directory and the webpages in the website[s]. It is OWASP Projectyou can read more about it “Here”. Let[s] start it:-

In target URL option you need to define the address of the website here in our case it is 10.10.10.48, in Number of threads I have increased it to 54 to speed up the process and under wordlist option you need to specify the directory list. I used the one that the dirbuster come[s] with medium one. Give the file extension according to your need, the php is just fine for me here. Let’s start our DirBuster.

So as you can see we got too many folder[s] and some php files. So, I have just export the result in text file. Here it is:

DirBuster 1.0-RC1 – Report

http://www.owasp.org/index.php/Category:OWASP_DirBuster_ProjectReport produced on Mon Apr 30 02:48:56 EDT 2018

——————————–

http://10.10.10.68:80——————————–

Directories found during testing:
Dirs found with a 200 response:

/images/
/uploads/
/js/
/php/
/demo-images/
/css/
/dev/
Dirs found with a 403 response:
/icons/
——————————–
Files found during testing:
Files found with a 200 responce:
/index.html
/single.html
/js/jquery.js
/js/imagesloaded.pkgd.js
/js/jquery.nicescroll.min.js
/js/jquery.smartmenus.min.js
/js/custom_google_map_style.js
/js/html5.js
/php/sendMail.php
/js/jquery.mousewheel.min.js
/js/jquery.carouFredSel-6.0.0-packed.js
/js/jquery.easing.1.3.js
/js/jquery.touchSwipe.min.js
/js/main.js
/css/carouFredSel.css
/css/clear.css
/css/common.css
/css/font-awesome.min.css
/css/sm-clean.css
/dev/phpbash.min.php
/dev/phpbash.php
——————————–

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Let[s] check that php directory.

Their is one “sendMail.php” php file. Let[s] check /dev directory now.

Okay so here are also some directory. Let[s] try to open phpbash.php

Okay so it is looking like a terminal using bash. So, now we can execute the commands.

Amazing let[s] try to get the reverse shell on this box.

Now we finally got our first low fruit reverse shell on this machine.

SO, finally we got our low fruit privilege on this box.

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Privilege Escalation

So now we need to escalate the privileges to become “root”. In this box I will be going to show you three different methods of privilege escalation on this machine.

First let’s start our enumeration manually first then we will upload some scripts to check other stuffs. Let’s start with checking Distribution type by command “ cat /etc/issue “

www-data@bashed:/home/arrexel$ cat /etc/issue Ubuntu 16.04.2 LTS n l

Okay so this is Ubuntu box running version Ubuntu 9.10, Great. Now let’s check what files have root privileges which we can probably read, write and execute by the command.

www-data@bashed:/home/arrexel$ find / -perm -222 -type d 2>/dev/null
/var/www/html/uploads
/var/tmp
/var/lib/php/sessions
/run/lock
/tmp
/tmp/.Test-unix
/tmp/.font-unix
/tmp/.XIM-unix
/tmp/VMwareDnD
/tmp/.ICE-unix
/tmp/.X11-unix
/dev/mqueue
/dev/shm
www-data@bashed:/home/arrexel$ find / -perm -4000 2>/dev/null
/bin/mount
/bin/fusermount
/bin/su
/bin/umount
/bin/ping6
/bin/ntfs-3g
/bin/ping
/usr/bin/chsh
/usr/bin/newgrp
/usr/bin/sudo
/usr/bin/chfn
/usr/bin/passwd
/usr/bin/gpasswd
/usr/bin/vmware-user-suid-wrapper
/usr/lib/dbus-1.0/dbus-daemon-launch-helper
/usr/lib/eject/dmcrypt-get-device
/usr/lib/openssh/ssh-keysign

Nothing seems interesting here. So now let[s] try “sudo -l” to list the allowed (and forbidden) commands for the invoking user (or the user specified by the -U option) on the current host. A longer list format is used if this option is specified multiple times and the security policy supports a verbose output format.

So, we can sudo to scriptmanager user without any password. Let[s] do it.

Amazing now we are no longer www-data , Let[s] start our enumeration from the root directory now “ / “

If you are having Linux as your primary operating system then you will notice “/scripts” directory is something suspicious. Which do not come with Linux by default. SO, lets check what are the files and directories inside that folder.

We are having two files : test.py and test.txt . Let[s] check what is written in test.py

Okay so it is a simple python script which is opening the file test.txt in writing mode and writing “testing 123!” inside that test.txt file. After writing it is closing that file. If you will see the above screenshot again you will see test.txt was created 00:42 minute ago. Means maybe cron job is running every minute.

Here is the proof that it is running every minute. Now we know that whatever is inside test.py it will be executed as root. So, now we can re-write the test.py and enter our python reverse shell.

Amazing we finally escalated the privileges

.Source

This tutorial shows you how to update Ubuntu for both server and desktop versions. It also explains the difference between update and upgrade along with a few other things you should know about updates in Ubuntu Linux.

If you are a new user and have been using Ubuntu for a few days or weeks, you might be wondering how to update your Ubuntu system for security patches, bug fixes and application upgrades.

Updating Ubuntu is absolutely simple. I am not exaggerating. It’s as simple as running two commands. Let me give you more details on it.

Please note that the tutorial is valid for Ubuntu 18.04, 16.04 or any other version. The command line way is also valid for Ubuntu-based distributions like Linux Mint, Linux Lite, elementary OS etc.

Update Ubuntu via Command Line

On the desktop, open the terminal. You can find it in the menu or use the Ctrl+Alt+T keyboard shortcut. If you are logged on to an Ubuntu server, you already have access to a terminal.

In the terminal, you just have to use the following command:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

It will ask for password and you can use your account’s password. You won’t see the anything on the screen while typing so keep on typing your password and hit enter.

Now let me explain the above command.

Actually, it’s not a single command. It’s a combination of two commands. The && is a way to combine two commands in a way that the second command runs only when the previous command ran successfully.

The ‘-y’ in the end automatically enters yes when the command ‘apt upgrade’ ask for your confirmation before installing the updates.

Note that you can also use the two commands separately, one by one:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

It will take a little longer because you have to wait for one command to finish and then enter the second command.

Explanation: sudo apt update

This command updates the local database of available packages. If you won’t run this command, the local database won’t be updated and your system will not know if there are any new versions available.

This is why when you run the sudo apt update, you’ll see lots of URLs in the output. The command fetches the package information from the respective repositories (the URLs you see in the output).

At the end of the command, it tells you how many packages can be upgraded. You can see these packages by running the following command:

apt list –upgradable

Additional Reading: Read this article to learn what is Ign, Hit and Get in the apt update command output.

Explanation: sudo apt upgrade

This command matches the versions of installed packages with the local database. It collects all of them and then it will list all of the packages that have a newer version available. At this point, it will ask if you want to upgrade (the installed packages to the newer version).

You can type ‘yes’, ‘y’ or just press enter to confirm the installation of updates.

So the bottom line is that the sudo apt update checks for the availability of new versions while as the sudo apt upgrade actually performs the update.

The term update might be confusing as you might expect the apt update command to update the system by installing the updates but that doesn’t happen.

Update Ubuntu via GUI [For Desktop Users]

If you are using Ubuntu as a desktop, you don’t have to go to terminal just for updating the system. You can still use the command line but it’s optional for you.

In the menu, look for ‘Software Updater’ and run it.

It will check if there are updates available for your system.

If there are updates available, it will give provide you with options to install the updates.

Click on Install Now, it may ask for your password.

Once you enter your password, it will start installing the updates.

In some cases, you may need to reboot the system for the installed updates to work properly. You’ll be notified at the end of the update if you need to restart the system.

You can choose to restart later if you don’t want to reboot your system straightaway.

Tip: If the software updater returns an error, you should use the command ‘sudo apt update’ in the terminal. The last few lines of the output will contain the actual error message. You can search on the internet for that error and fix the problem.

Few things to keep in mind abou updating Ubuntu

You just learned how to update your Ubuntu system. If you are interested, you should also know these few things around Ubuntu updates.

Clean up after an update

Your system will have some unnecessary packages that won’t be required after the updates. You can remove such packages and free up some space using this command:

sudo apt autoremove

Live patching kernel in Ubuntu Server to avoid rebooting

In case of a Linux kernel updates, you’ll have to restart the system after the update. This is an issue when you don’t want downtime for your server.

Live patching feature allows the patching of Linux kernel while the kernel is still running. In other words, you don’t have to reboot your system.

If you manage servers, you may want to enable live patching in Ubuntu.

Version upgrades are different

The updates discussed here is to keep your Ubuntu install fresh and updated. It doesn’t cover the version upgrades (for example upgrading Ubuntu 16.04 to 18.04).

Ubuntu version upgrades are entirely a different thing. It updates the entire operating system core. You need to make proper backups before starting this lengthy process.

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There are plenty of excellent games on Linux, and a fair amount of them are completely free. Some are open source, and others are fairly big names available through Steam. In every case, these are quality games that you can play any time on Linux at absolutely no cost.

DoTA 2

DoTA 2

is one of Valve’s biggest titles. It’s been around for a fairly long time, and it was one of the first games Valve ported to Linux when they started supporting the OS with Steam. It was also one of the first Linux games to receive Vulkan support.

DoTA 2 is one of the biggest MoBA games and a giant player in the eSports space. Valve continues to update DoTA 2 with new heroes and content. Because DoTA 2 is an eSports title with an active online playerbase, you’re never going to run out of things to do in this game.

Team Fortress 2

Team Fortress 2 is another major title from Valve. It’s a cartoon first person shooter that allows you to take the role of one several characters with different abilities. Together with your team, you fight an opposing team over several objectives. Team Fortress 2 might not be as big as it once was, but it’s still a very popular title with complete Linux support. With an active online community and competitive play, this one shouldn’t get old for a long time.

Wakfu

Wakfu is another excellent free game available on Steam. This is a classic anime-style turn based tactical RPG with a movement grid. Wakfu is actually a free to play MMORPG with an active and dedicated community.

If you’re a fan of classic JRPGs, or you’re just looking for something different, this one is a fantastic option. Because Wakfu is an MMO that’s still being actively supported, more content is always being added to the game, making it a great long term favorite.

Xonotic

Xonotic is one of those games that goes back a long way with Linux gamers. It’s an open source sci-fi first person shooter with a fast paced gameplay feel that might remind you of a mix between Quake and Timesplitters.

Xonotic might not be a AAA blockbuster, but it’s still a fun game with online play. Because it’s open source, you might even find it in your distribution’s repositories. Even if it’s not, you still won’t have a problem downloading it and getting running real quick.

Battle For Wesnoth

Battle for Wesnoth is a turn based strategy game set in a medieval fantasy world. Wesnoth is open source, and it’s available in many distribution repositories as well as on Steam. This is another game that’s been synonymous with Linux gaming for a long time.

Wesnoth has a endearing old school vibe with pixel graphics, don’t let that trick you into thinking this is a dated game. Instead, it blends nostalgic visuals with genuinely fun and engaging gameplay to make one awesome free game.

0 A.D.

If real time strategy is more your thing, check out 0 A.D. It’s an open source real time strategy(RTS) game that’s probably available in your distribution’s repositories. 0 A.D. has been popular for a long time in the Linux world, and for good reason. It’s actually a great RTS game that can rival some commercial options.

0 A.D. is still under continual development, and receives regular updates. It features fully 3D gameplay and units with combat animations. Over the years, the graphics of 0 A.D. have improved dramatically, so it looks pretty great, especially for a free game.

SuperTuxKart

For years, SuperTuxKart was a joke of sorts when talking about Linux gaming. Its an open source clone of the popular Mario Kart series, but featuring Tux instead of Nintendo’s trademark plumber. Still, the game is actually fun, free, and probably in your distribution’s repositories. SuperTuxKart is fully 3D and will run on nearly any Linux computer, regardless of your system specs, making it a great option for standard desktops as well as gaming PCs.

The Dark Mod

If you like the classic game, Thief, check out The Dark Mod. First off, it’s not technically a mod, at least not anymore. It started out as a total conversion on top of Doom 3, but it’s since evolved into its own standalone game that you can download directly from the developer’s website.

The Dark Mode is a lot like Theif, with the player acting as a thief in a steampunk style world, but it isn’t set in the same world and doesn’t use any of the assets from Theif. This is it’s on game, a fan created tribute of sorts. That said, it’s still an actively developed title with regular updates, new content, and continual improvements. If you’re a fan of stealth gameplay at all, this one should be on your to-play list.

HedgeWars

HedgeWars is a modern remake of the classic game Worms, but with its own twists and improvements. Like Worms, HedgeWars is all about strategy and choosing the right tools for each situation. HedgeWars adds a more comedic style and multiplayer.

HedgeWars is opens source, cross platform, and of course, free to play. It’s under constant development with new tools, weapons, and customization options always popping up.

AwesomeNauts

AwesomeNauts is another free Steam game for Linux. This one isn’t from Valve. Instead, it’s one of the growing number of indie titles to support Linux on Steam. AwesomeNauts is a 2D side scrolling MoBA that feels like a strange cross between DoTA 2 and Mega Man. Somehow, that works in a really great way,

While serious MoBA fans might not like the side scrolling gameplay, if you’re looking for something that’s just pure chaotic fun, this one is definitely a great option.

Closing Thoughts

These games are a great example of how much the Linux gaming ecosystem is growing. With top quality free games continually adding to an already impressive library, gamers will find more options than ever to get into gaming on Linux.

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fdisk

is a tool for partitioning hard drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs), USB thumb drives etc. The best thing about fdisk is that it is installed by default on almost every Linux distribution these days. Fdisk is also very easy to use.

In this article, I will show you how to use fdisk to partition storage devices such as HDDs, SSDs, and USB thumb drives in Linux. So, let’s get started.

In Linux, the block devices or hard drives has unique identifiers such as sda, sdb, sdc etc. Before you start partitioning your hard drive, you must make sure that you’re partitioning the right one. Otherwise, you may lose data in the process.

You can use fdisk to list all the storage/block devices on your Linux computer with the following command:

As you can see, I have a hard drive (sda) and a USB thumb drive (sdb) attached to my computer. The lsblk command also lists the partitions. The raw storage device has the TYPE disk. So, make sure you don’t use a partition identifier instead of raw disk identifier.

As you can see, the hard drive (sda) is 20GB in size and the USB thumb drive (sdb) is 3.8GB in size.

You can access the device identifier, let’s say sdb, as /dev/sdb.

In the next section, I will show you how to open it with fdisk.

Opening Storage Devices with fdisk:

To open a storage/block device with fdisk, first, you have to make sure that none of its partition is mounted.

Let’s say, you want to open your USB thumb drive /dev/sdb with fdisk. But, it has a single partition /dev/sdb1, which is mounted somewhere on your computer.

To unmount /dev/sdb1, run the following command:

Now, open /dev/sdb with fdisk with the following command:

As you can see, /dev/sdb storage/block device is opened with fdisk.

In the next sections, I will show you how to use the fdisk command line interface to do common partitioning tasks.

Listing Existing Partitions with fdisk:

You can press p and then press <Enter> to list all the existing partitions of the storage/block device you opened with fdisk.

As you can see in the screenshot below, I have a single partition.

Creating a New Partition Table with fdisk:

A partition table holds information about the partition of your hard drive, SSD or USB thumb drive. DOS and GPT are the most common types of partition table.

DOS is an old partition table scheme. It is good for small size storage devices such as a USB thumb drive. In a DOS partition table, you can’t create more than 4 primary partitions.

GPT is the new partition table scheme. In GPT, you can have more than 4 primary partitions. It is good for big storage devices.

With fdisk, you can create both DOS and GPT partition table.

To create a DOS partition table, press o and then press <Enter>.

To create a GPT partition table, press g and then press <Enter>.

Creating and Removing Partitions with fdisk:

To create a new partition with fdisk, press n and then press <Enter>.

Now, enter the partition number and press <Enter>. Usually, the default partition number is okay. So, you can just leave it as it is unless you want to do something very specific.

Now, enter the sector number on your hard drive from which you want the partition to start from. Usually, the default value is alright. So, just press <Enter>.

The last sector number or size is the most important here. Let’s say, you want to create a partition of size 100 MB, you just type in +100M here. For 1GB, you type in +1G here. The same way, for 100KB, +1K. For 2TB, +2T. For 2PT, +2P. Very simple. Don’t type in fractions here, only type in real numbers. Otherwise, you will get an error.

As you can see, I created a 100MB partition. The partition is created.

If you had a partition that started and ended in the same sector before, you may see something like this. Just, press y and then press <Enter> to remove the partition signature.

As you can see, fdisk tells you that when you write the changes, the signature will be removed.

I am going to create another partition of 1GB in size.

I am going to create another 512MB partition just to show you how to remove partitions with fdisk.

Now, if you list the partitions, you should be able to see the partitions that you created. As you can see, the 100MB, 1GB and 512MB partitions that I just created are listed here.

Now, let’s say you want to delete the third partition /dev/sdb3 or the 512MB partition. To do that, press d and then press <Enter>. Now, type in the partition number and press <Enter>. In my case, it is the partition number 3.

As you can see, partition number 3 is deleted.

As you can see, the 512MB partition or the 3rd partition is no more.

To permanently save the changes to the disk, press w and then press <Enter>. The partition table should be saved.

Formatting and Mounting Partitions:

Now that you’ve created some partitions using fdisk, you can format it and start using them. To format the second partition, let’s say /dev/sdb2, to ext4 filesystem, run the following command:

$ sudo mkfs.ext4 -L MySmallPartition /dev/sdb2

NOTE: Here, MySmallPartition is the label for the /dev/sdb2 partition. You can put anything meaningful here that describes what this partition is for.

The partition is formatted to ext4 filesystem.

Now that the partition /dev/sdb2 is formatted to ext4, you can use the mount command to mount it on your computer. To mount the partition /dev/sdb2 to /mnt, run the following command:

$ sudo mount /dev/sdb2 /mnt

As you can see, the partition /dev/sdb2 is mounted successfully to /mnt mount point.

So, that’s how you use fdisk in Linux to partition disks in Linux. Thanks for reading this article.

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PyCharm is an awesome Python IDE from JetBrains. It has a lot of awesome features and a beautiful looking UI (User Interface). It is really easy to use.

In this article, I will show you how to install PyCharm on Ubuntu. The procedure shown here will work on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and later. I will be using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS for the demonstration in this article. So, let’s get started.

Before you install PyCharm on Ubuntu, you should install some pre-requisites packages. Otherwise, PyCharm won’t work correctly.

You have to install the Python interpreters that you want to use with PyCharm to run your project. You also have to install PIP for the Python interpreters that you wish to use.

If you want to use Python 2.x with PyCharm, then you can install all the required packages with the following command:

$ sudo apt install python2.7 python-pip

Now, press y and then press <Enter>.

All the required packages for working with Python 2.x in PyCharm should be installed.

If you want to use Python 3.x with PyCharm, then install all the required packages with the following command:

$ sudo apt install python3-pip python3-distutils

Now, press y and then press <Enter> to continue.

All the required packages for working with Python 3.x in PyCharm should be installed.

Installing PyCharm:

PyCharm has two versions. The Community version, and the Professional versions. The Community version is free to download and use. The Professional version is not free. You have to purchase a license to use the Professional version. The Community version is okay mostly. But it lacks some of the advance features of the Professional version. So, if you need these features, then buy a license and install the Professional version.

On Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and later, PyCharm Community and Professional both versions are available as a snap package in the official snap package repository.

To install PyCharm Community version snap package on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and later, run the following command:

$ sudo snap install pycharm-community –classic

To install PyCharm Professional version snap package on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and later, run the following command:

$ sudo snap install pycharm-professional –classic

In this article, I will go with the PyCharm Community version.

As you can see, PyCharm Community version snap package is being downloaded.

PyCharm Community version is installed.

Initial Configuration of PyCharm:

Now that PyCharm is installed, you can start it from the Application Menu of Ubuntu. Just search for pycharm in the Application Menu and you should see PyCharm icon as marked in the screenshot below. Just click on it.

As you’re running PyCharm for the first time, you will have to do some initial configuration. Once you see the following window, click on Do not import settings and click on OK.

Now, you will see the JetBrains license agreement window.

Now, click on I confirm that I have read and accept the terms of this User Agreement and click on Continue to accept the license agreement.

Now, you have to select a UI theme for PyCharm. You can select either the dark theme – Darcula or the Light theme.

Once you select a theme, you can click on Skip Remaining and Set Defaults to leave everything else the default and start PyCharm.

Otherwise, click on Next: Featured plugins.

Once you click on Next: Featured plugins, PyCharm will suggest you some common plugins that you may want to install. If you want to install any plugins from here, click on Install.

Now, click on Start using PyCharm.

As you can see, PyCharm is starting.

PyCharm has started. This is the dashboard of PyCharm.

Creating a Project in PyCharm:

In this section, I will show you how to create a Python project in PyCharm.First, open PyCharm and click on Create New Project.

Now, select a location for your new project. This is where all the files of this project will be saved.

If you want, you can also change the default Python version of your project. To do that, click on the Project Interpreter section to expand it.

Here, you can see in the Base interpreter section, Python 3.6 is selected by default. It is the latest version of Python 3 installed on my Ubuntu 18.04 LTS machine. To change the Python version, click on the Base interpreter drop down menu.

As you can see, all the Python versions installed on my Ubuntu 18.04 LTS machine is listed here. You can pick the one you need from the list. If you want any version of Python which is not listed here, just install it on your computer, and PyCharm should be able to detect it.

Once you’re happy with all the settings, click on Create.

The project should be created.

Now, to create a new Python script, right click on the project and go to New > Python File as marked in the screenshot below.

Now, type in a file name for your Python script and click on OK.

As you can see, test.py file is created and opened in the editor section of PyCharm.

I wrote a very basic Python script as you can see.

Now, to run the Python script currently opened in the editor, press <Alt> + <Shift> + <F10> or go to Run > Run… as marked in the screenshot below.

As you can see, the Python script which is currently opened in the editor is shown here. Just press <Enter>.

As you can see, the script is running.

Once the type in all the inputs, I get the desired output as well.

So, that’s how you install and use PyCharm on Ubuntu. Thank you for reading this article.

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Using a password is arguably the most common and popular security measure available for most types of accounts and information storage. But unfortunately, it is often one of the most vulnerable to hackings and other types of cyber-attacks.

A 2016 study revealed that hackers and other cybercriminals usually perform the most significant data breaches with the aim of stealing individual identities. However, after these attacks take place, the most common response from companies is simply to change your password to avoid having it happen to you.

The problem with this is that using a password has a lot of flaws and imperfections. For starters, passwords don’t generally provide a very strong way to identify a person and basically, anyone who gets their hands on a password can simply log on to an account and do or take whatever they wish.

Additionally, an account’s security level is based only on the strength of the password being used. And most of the time, this isn’t a very strong measure since people don’t usually want to remember long strings of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. Instead, users typically use a password that is simple and easy to remember. In other words, they unknowingly use something that’s easy to hack.

Because of the deficiencies with using a single password, many companies are now turning to more secure solutions, such as email encryption and multi-factor authentication, to control account access and provide users with alternatives to traditional passwords.

Still, this might leave you wondering what precisely multi-factor authentication is and how it can help improve your online safety and security.

What Is Multi-Factor Authentication?

In simple terms, multi-factor authentication is the process used to identify an individual online by validating more than one claim from several different categories of authentication, which are presented by the user.

The process is also sometimes referred to as advanced authentication, step-up authentication, or two-factor authentication. Regardless, it is simply the means of verifying an individual’s identity by using more than just a simple password as recognition.

In most cases, multi-factor authentication will involve two or more of the following basic elements:

Something is known by the user, such as a PIN or password.

Something owned by the user, such as a mobile device or email account.

A user biometric, such as a fingerprint, facial scan, or voice recognition.

Essentially, the concept of multi-factor authentication understands that no authentication factor is completely secure. In fact, any type of authentication factor will have both its own strengths and weaknesses. However, multi-factor authentication improves identification by using a second or third factor to compensate for the weaknesses of the other factors being used.

By now, it should be easy to see why multi-factor authentication is needed to ensure the safety and security of your online presence. Below, we’ll go over a few of the benefits of using multi-factor authentication.

Increased Security

As we’ve already mentioned, traditional password security is no longer as effective as it once was. Fortunately, multi-factor authentication can supplement a traditional password with an additional factor that cannot easily be guessed, such as a verification code sent to your mobile device or a given biometric factor such as your fingerprint or a facial scan.

These additional factors make it much harder for a cybercriminal to get into your accounts unless they actually possess all the factors required by the system.

Simple Account Access with Single Sign-On Software

Most people assume that using multi-factor authentication will make logging into their accounts a more complicated and time-consuming process. However, the added security of multi-factor authentication allows companies to provide their users will login options such as single sign-on.

Single sign-on, or SSO, is the process of authentication which allows a user to gain access to multiple applications or accounts by using a single set of login credentials. Therefore, once a user is authenticated, they will be logged onto the single sign-on account and will have access to any other apps or accounts that are covered by the software.

One of the biggest challenges in implementing multi-factor authentication is the belief that it will make logging in more complicated. But when combined with software such as single sign-on, multi-factor authentication benefits internet users by making it easier to sign into a variety of different apps at the same time.

Regulatory Compliance

Today, there are many different compliance standards when it comes to organisations that use and store their customer’s sensitive information. And, in many cases, some laws specify the need for these organisations to implement safety features such as multi-factor authentication.

So, not only does multi-factor authentication keep your personal identifiable information safe and simplify logging into your accounts, but it is also a step towards regulatory compliance for most companies and organisations, which ensures that your online safety is held in the highest priority.

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