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Malicious Linux commands to avoid

Warning: Don't run these commands on your machine. They can erase your valuable data or crash your machine. It is worthwhile to have basic knowledge about malicious commands in Linux.  Don't blindly run the commands instructed in websites or scripts downloaded from the internet. Just verify the contents of the script for any commands that can harm your computer. If you want to know what a command can do use the man pages if you are offline. You can get the information of a command by typing info <command name> in the terminal. Example:  info sudo If you are connected to the internet then type man <command name> in the terminal to get the updated documentation. Example:  man sudo Again, the following commands can heavily damage your OS. These are extremely dangerous and should not be attempted on any computer that has any physical connection to valuable data. 1.   COMMANDS THAT CAN DELETE FILES AND FOLDERS rm -rf / ...

ANTI-VIRUS FOR LINUX

Do I need to have an anti-virus software for Linux? Isn't Linux virus free? If it is virus free then why are some anti-virus software in the software-center? If you are an average user of Linux you might be having these questions. So, do we really need an anti-virus software installed? The answer is  'yes'  and ' no'.  Don't worry after reading this post you will know if you need an anti-virus for your Linux. There are viruses for most all platforms, they are just more common on Windows. You can actually run Windows without a virus scanner if you keep it patched and are really careful. If you are really careful and know what you are doing you can get away without a scanner. The fact of the matter is: viruses/worms take advantage of flaws or holes in the code. There are some viruses targeted on Linux platform. Linux and other UNIX platforms are regarded are well protected, but not immune to computer viruses.  It is said that Linux is not targeted because its low ...

INSTALLING JAVA IN UBUNTU

This post explains how to install Java in Ubuntu. You can install Iced tea java (open source) or the Oracle java. Installing Iced tea java is simple where as to install Oracle java you have to struggle a little with the command line. Let's get started. First I'll tell you how to install iced tea java and then we'll see how to install oracle java. 1. INSTALLING ICED TEA JAVA: Open a terminal by pressing  CTRL + ALT + T  keys or by searching for “terminal” in dash. Type the following to installed iced tea java on your machine. sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre icedtea-plugin That should install the java run time environment and the plugin for your browser. 2. INSTALLING ORACLE JAVA: To install oracle java you should first download the  32bit or 64bit Linux "compressed binary file" - it has a ".tar.gz" file extension.  Now we need to uncompress the file. Right click on the file and select “ extract here ”. OR you can do it the terminal way: tar -xvf jre-7-...

INSTALLING MOBILE PARTNER IN LINUX

Most of you who have a Huawei USB modem (data card) might have tried to install mobile partner (dash board) in Linux. Here I will show you how to install mobile partner in Linux. First, you have to copy the folder called Linux in the data card. The files in the data card are not accessible from Linux so copy them from Windows. Now right click the file “ install ” in the “ Linux”  folder. Go to the permissions tab and select the check box beside  Allow executing as a program. Now open a terminal by pressing  CTRL + ALT + T   keys. Change the working directory to the folder “ Linux”  by using “ cd <path to folder>”. Now type ./install. If you had installed this software in your system before, you will get a prompt: " The software is exist, do you want overwrites? ([Y]/[N])", enter "y" to overwrites or "n" to exit. If you do not had installed this software in your system before, you will get a prompt: " Please input the install path[/usr/local/Mobi...

CUSTOMISING UBUNTU BOOT SPLASH SCREEN

Are you bored with the purple boot splash screen in Ubuntu? You can customize the boot splash screen as you wish. After reading this post you will be able to play with your splash screen. 1. Use your favorite Wallpaper to replace the Purple boot splash: NOTE: 1.  Ensure the desktop wallpaper is the correct resolution for your monitor 2. Here there is no animation INSTRUCTIONS: Open a terminal by pressing  CTRL + ALT + T  and type: sudo mkdir /lib/plymouth/themes/simple This will create a folder called “simple”. After that rename your wallpaper as “ wallpaper.png ”. Now we need to copy the wallpaper to  /lib/plymouth/themes/simple. Open nautilus by typing  gksu nautilus   in the terminal. Now copy the wallpaper to  /lib/plymouth/themes/simple . Return to the terminal and type: sudo gedit /lib/plymouth/themes/simple/simple.plymouth In gedit paste the following: [Plymouth Theme] Name=Simple Description=Wall...

CUSTOMISING PLYMOUTH THEME

You can change your plymouth theme ( Ubuntu boot splash) as you wish. In this post I will tell you how to change your plymouth theme. Plymouth themes can be downloaded from the internet. You can download plymouth themes from gnome-look website. You have to extract the downloaded theme file. Now open a terminal by pressing  CTRL + ALT +T . Now type the following in the terminal: gksunautilus Now copy the extracted theme file to  /lib/plymouth/themes Copy the file “ splash”  to   /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d   (Optional, for better buffer) . Now type the following in the terminal: sudo update-alternatives --install /lib/plymouth/themes/default.plymouth default.plymouth /lib/plymouth/themes/ubuntu-sunrise/ubuntu-sunrise.plymouth 200 sudo update-alternatives --config default.plymouth Choose the number associated with your theme. Type in the terminal sudo update-initramfs –u Now type sudo reboot That's it. Yo...

INSTALLING FLASHPLAYER IN UBUNTU

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Adobe® Flash® Player is a lightweight browser plug-in and rich Internet application runtime that delivers consistent and engaging user experiences, stunning audio/video playback, and exciting gameplay.   Note:  Adobe Flash Player 11.2 will be the last version to target Linux as a supported platform. Adobe will continue to provide security backports to Flash Player 11.2 for Linux. To install Adobe Flash player in your Ubuntu follow these steps: Open a terminal by pressing  CTRL + ALT+ T  keys and type the following: sudo add-apt-repository ppa:sparkers/ppa Then type sudo apt-get update After that type the following to install Lightspark: sudo apt-get install lightspark browser-plugin-lightspark You can use Google chrome which has Flashplayer installed by default