Linux

Making /tmp non-executable

Many simple exploits that are used against machines, (via vulnerable PHP applications or local users, etc), rely upon being able to execute commands in /tmp. If this is a seperate partition or file system you can gain some protection by marking it non-executable. The common problem with this is that apt-get fails to work with […]

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Linux

Ubuntu Linux 7.10 Beta on HP Compaq 8510p (laptop)

I experienced problems booting the install-CD for both Ubuntu 7.04 and Fedora Core 7 on my HP Compaq 8510p laptop because the kernel didn’t have the correct SATA driver, so I decided to try the beta of Ubuntu 7.10. The booting problem was fixed on 7.10 Beta and the installation process halted at 88% “importing […]

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Linux

Advanced APT user tricks

Debian/Ubuntu apt-get tricks. Basics Install software apt-get install foobar Search software apt-cache search foobar You can query files to see which packages own them, or query packages to see which files own them. Installing apt-file apt-get install apt-file Build apt-get file information cache apt-file update Query through the packages to determine which package contains the […]

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Linux

Finding which package contains a file in Debian

There are times when you’re looking for a particular library, or file, which you know is available to Debian/Ubuntu but you cannot find the package which contains it. This is the kind of job that the Debian packages site helped with in the past, but given its current unavailability we’ll look at another approach.

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