Blog Archives

  For system and network administrators or other users who frequently deal with sessions on multiple machines, SSH ends up being one of the most oft-used Unix tools. It usually works so well that until you use it for something slightly more complex than starting a terminal session on a remote machine, you tend to use it fairly automatically. However, the ~/.ssh/config file bears mentioning for a few ways it can make using the ssh a client a little easier. Abbreviating hostnames If you often have to SSH into a machine with a long host and/or network name, it can get irritating to type it every time. For example, consider the following command: $ ssh server42371.some.long.hostname.for.a.server.com If you interact with the server42371 machine a lot, you could include a stanza like this in your ~/.ssh/config: Host server42371 HostName server43271.some.long.
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This tutorial describes how to give users chrooted SSH and/or chrooted SFTP access on Debian Squeeze. With this setup, you can give your users shell access without having to fear that they can see your whole system. Your users will be jailed in a specific directory which they will not be able to break out of. I will also show how to restrict users to SFTP so that they cannot use SSH (this part is independent from the chroot part of this tutorial). I do not issue any guarantee that this will work for you!   Preliminary Note I will use the user falko here with the home directory /home/falko. The user falko belongs to the group users. I want to chroot the user to the /home directory. (more…)
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A good friend of mine posted this on his blog today, and I had to ask him permission to be able to share it.  Quite interesting story indeed.  Please read it and comment below and let me know what you think about it.   Hi children! I know it is a bit early for scary tales. We usually get to those in October. But I have one for you that you just might want to hear now. So. Get your hot cocoa, your S’mores and your sleeping bag and come over here by the fire. I have a tale of chills and thrills to tell you young’uns. There now. Are you all snuggled in and ready for a scary tale? Good. Here goes … (more…)
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I am talking about human multitasking here, not operating system multitasking. Every time I have to work on repairing a Microsoft Windows based system for a client I feel as if I am restricted to typing with one finger while blindfolded. Okay, I admit that is hyperbole. But after using X with fluxbox and ten workspaces as well as the Linux console with screen for several years now, a Microsoft OS experience seems very restrictive to me. There are no multiple workspaces by default on a Microsoft desktop and adding anything to give a Microsoft system multiple workspaces would not be the Right Thing To Do when working on someone else’s PC system. Another restriction is with multi-user on Microsoft. With my Linux desktop PC I have a user for work related tasks and a user for relaxation and gaming tasks. I can keep the work user logged in,
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