REMnux Linux Security Toolkit Beefed Up

 Linux, Security  Comments Off on REMnux Linux Security Toolkit Beefed Up
Jun 072015
 

REMnux Linux Security ToolkitMalware scanning and analysis distro REMnux has been updated to Version 6 with 19 new tools and updates to tools in earlier versions.

The brainchild of information security specialist Lenny Zeltser, REMnux Linux has been around for a while. The first version saw the light of day in 2010.

The upgrade also comes with changes to let the toolkit’s users easily apply future updates without requiring them to download the full REMnux environment from scratch.

Based on Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit, REMnux v6 features a suite of tools to scan and examine malicious software.

REMnux 6 includes tools to examine browser malware, investigate Linux malware and mobile malware, examine document files, file properties and contents, network protocol analysis and more.

REMnux 6 – New Tools

The following new tools have been added in With REMnux Linux 6.

* pedump, readpe.py: Statically examine properties of a Windows PE file
* virustotal-tools: Interact with the VirusTotal database from the command-line
* Nginx: Web server, which replaces Tiny HTTPD that was present on REMnux earlier
* VolDiff: Compare memory forensics images to spot changes using Volatility Continue reading »

Is Dell Really Serious about Linux?

 Linux  Comments Off on Is Dell Really Serious about Linux?
May 282015
 

Does Dell Really Love Linux?

As far back as I can remember, Dell has been cosily in bed with Microsoft.

During Microsoft’s anti-trust trial in the late 1990s, Dell was seen as one of Microsoft’s strong supporters.

Dell’s closeness to Microsoft yielded some valuable benefits against rivals like Compaq, HP and other PC vendors.

The US Justice Department said in court filings that Dell paid a lower price for Windows because of its close relationship with Microsoft.

Dell Loves Linux???

So I’m rather flummoxed to see Dell’s new found love for Linux.

Not only does Dell now offer a range of low-priced notebooks running Ubuntu but the company has been tweeting, horror of horrors, how to install Ubuntu on Dell systems (see picture above). Continue reading »

7 Things to do After Installing Fedora 22

 Linux  Comments Off on 7 Things to do After Installing Fedora 22
May 272015
 

Fedora 22 got out of the gate yesterday in three versions – Server, Cloud and Workstation (the version for regular users like you and me with desktops and laptops).

Fedora 22

Biggest Change in Fedora 22

The single biggest change under the hood in Fedora 22 is the replacement of yum package manager with dnf, which has been in development for a few years now.

Fedora developers said dnf, while similar to the yum software package manager, is better in terms of performance and memory footprint (by the way, dnf does not stand for anything and so don’t go looking for an expansion of the abbreviation).

Designed to have a cleaner codebase and easier maintenance, dnf makes use of the libsolv library (first pioneered by the openSUSE folks) to provide faster and better dependency management.

Replacement of yum with dnf is not really much cause for alarm because the syntax is similar.

Old timers who fall back on yum commands will get a reminder that yum is deprecated and dnf is now the default package manager.

Other changes in Fedora 22 Workstation include improvements in notifications, more refined themes and addition of the Vagrant software development environment.

KDE Plasma, Xfce, LXDE, Mate-Compiz and Soas spins (desktops) are available for Fedora 22.

Once I’d downloaded the Fedora 22 Workstation with Gnome desktop on an old Acer Aspire mini-PC with 2GB RAM system, I quickly made seven crucial adjustments.

7 Things to Do After Installing Fedora 22

1. Familiarize Yourself with dnf

Start using dnf package manager and give yum the heaveho.

Fortunately, the dnf syntax seems mostly similar to yum.

Who knows, maybe we’ll start seeing dnf in RedHat and CentOS too soon.

I checked a bunch of oft-used yum commands and to my surprise there was no difference with dnf.

Notice below the syntax similarities between yum and dnf for a few key commands.

yum install –> dnf install

yum upgrade –> dnf upgrade

yum remove –> dnf remove

yum list installed –> dnf list installed

yum search search_string –> dnf search search_string

yum repolist –> dnf repolist

2. Install Gnome Tweak Tool
For some bizarre reason beyond the understanding of sober minds, the Gnome folks have disabled the minimize and maximize buttons in title bar windows (affecting Firefox, terminal etc) and causing much agony to a lot of users.

Utter insanity!

Here’s how you can restore the minimize and maximize buttons for windows by installing the Gnome Tweak Tool.

# dnf install gnome-tweak-tool

Open the Tweak Tool, go down and click on the ‘Windows’ tab and then enable Maximize and Minimize in title bar windows.

Alternatively, you can type Maximize or Minimize in the tweak search box to activate these missing features. Continue reading »

Lynis – Awesome Free Linux Security Audit Tool

 Linux, Security  Comments Off on Lynis – Awesome Free Linux Security Audit Tool
May 222015
 

All good things of life must end sooner rather than later given human imperfection.

Ditto with Linux.

Long considered one of the most secure operating systems thanks to its open source nature, Linux’s growing popularity is drawing the attention of hackers around the world.

In what must be extremely distressing news for system administrators, new malware does not spare even Linux systems.

Besides malware, configuration errors too can leave Linux system vulnerable.

Linux systems have grown so complex that even seasoned administrators can be befuddled by the various processes and options. Configuration errors can easily creep in during installation, updates and/or maintenance.

Here’s where the free security auditing software Lynis comes in. Continue reading »

Are Ubuntu Phones Doomed?

 Linux, Products, Smartphones  Comments Off on Are Ubuntu Phones Doomed?
May 202015
 

If not everything, timing is at least almost everything in the smartphones world.

Every day brings fresh excitement over snazzy new smartphones like LG4, YotaPhone 2, ZenFone 2, Galaxy S6 and Xiaomi Mi4i .

But there’s barely a pipsqueak about Ubuntu phones.

Even the little news that trickles out turns out to be all bones and no meat.

Are Ubuntu Smartphones Doomed?

Tough Challenges

Given the severe competition Ubuntu phone faces from both iPhone and the gaggle of Android phones, the odds of the Ubuntu Linux phone making a dent in the market are slim

A lot of us are familiar with the Ubuntu Linux distribution that powers desktops and servers but what exactly is an Ubuntu Phone?

Smartphones running on an optimized version Ubuntu Linux are popularly referred to as Ubuntu phones.

Right now, only two vendors are selling the Ubuntu phone – BQ and Meizu, both in a limited way.

BQ, a Spanish electronics retailer, is peddling the Aquaris E4.5 Ubuntu Edition (4.5 inch screen, 1GB RAM, 8GB usable storage, 8MP rear camera and dual SIM) in Europe. Continue reading »

10 Key DU Commands for Linux Newbies

 Command Line, Linux  Comments Off on 10 Key DU Commands for Linux Newbies
May 202015
 

Simply put, the du command gives you the size (disk usage) of a directory and files.

In the face of growing storage requirements and huge data warehouses, familiarity with the du command would stand Linux newbies in good stead.

Here’s the synopsis of du from the man pages.

SYNOPSIS
du [OPTION]… [FILE]…
du [OPTION]… –files0-from=F

Let’s now consider some key du commands that Linux system administrators will find extremely handy.

Default Command

$ du

Running the above command will spit out a list of all directories in the current working directory and their size.

Total size of the current directory (including sub-directories and files) is provided at the end.

Although the results will not mention it, disk usage output is given in Kilobytes.

Summary Output
Far too often, we just need summary size of a directory, not pages of details.

In such situations, we’ll go with the -s option.

$ du -s

It’s simple but not that user-friendly since the output is provided in Kilobytes (who uses Kilobytes in an era of Gigabytes and Terabytes).

Human Readable Format
When you use the -h option (-h stands for human readable format) with du, you’ll see an easy to grasp output.

$ du -h

Depending on their size, file and directory sizes are suffixed with K (kilobytes), M (megabytes) or G (gigabytes). Continue reading »

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