To start a terminal form the GUI(Graphical User Interface)

In Gnome (Ubuntu)
The terminal can be found at Applications menu -> Accessories -> Terminal.

In Xfce (Xubuntu)
The terminal can be found at Applications menu -> System -> Terminal.

In KDE (Kubuntu)
The terminal can be found at KMenu -> System -> Terminal Program (Konsole).

Commands

sudo: Executing Commands with Elevated Privileges

• Most of the following commands will need to be prefaced with the sudo command if you will be working with directories or files not owned by your account. This is a special command which temporarily gives you access to change computer settings. The terminal will ask you for your password.

File & Directory Commands

• pwd: The pwd command will allow you to know in which directory you’re located (pwd stands for “print working directory”). Example: “pwd” in the Desktop directory will show “~/Desktop”. Note that the Gnome Terminal also displays this information in the title bar of its window – see the example screenshot at the top of this page.

• ls: The ls command will show you the files in your current directory. Used with certain options, you can see sizes of files, when files were made, and permissions of files. Example: “ls ~” will show you the files that are in your home directory.

• cd: The cd command will allow you to change directories. When you open a terminal you will be in your home directory. To move around the file system you will use cd. Examples:

  • To navigate into the root directory, use “cd /”

  • To navigate to your home directory, use “cd” or “cd ~”

  • To navigate up one directory level, use “cd ..”

  • To navigate to the previous directory (or back), use “cd -”

  • To navigate through multiple levels of directory at once, specify the full directory path that you want to go to. For example, use, “cd /var/www” to go directly to the /www subdirectory of /var/. As another example, “cd ~/Desktop” will move you to the Desktop subdirectory inside your home directory.

• cp: The cp command will make a copy of a file for you. Example: “cp file foo” will make a exact copy of “file” and name it “foo”, but the file “file” will still be there. If you are copying a directory, you must use “cp -r directory foo” (copy recursively).

• mv: The mv command will move a file to a different location or will rename a file. Examples are as follows: “mv file foo” will rename the file “file” to “foo”. “mv foo ~/Desktop” will move the file “foo” to your Desktop directory but will not rename it. You must specify a new file name to rename a file.

  • To save on typing, you can substitute ‘~’ in place of the home directory.

  • Note that if you are using mv with sudo you can use the ~ shortcut, because the terminal expands the ~ to your home directory. However, when you open a root shell with sudo -i or sudo -s, ~ will refer to the root account’s home directory, not your own.

• rm: Use this command to remove or delete a file in your directory.

• rmdir: The rmdir command will delete an empty directory. To delete a directory and all of its contents recursively, use rm -r instead.

• mkdir: The mkdir command will allow you to create directories. Example: “mkdir music” will create a directory called “music”.

• man: The man command is used to show you the manual of other commands. Try “man man” to get the man page for man itself. See the “Man & Getting Help” section down the page for more information.

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Recently I upgraded my parent from Windows XP to Ubuntu. As many of you already know, even Dell now includes an option to have Ubuntu rather than Windows.

If you’ve recently upgraded a family member from Windows to Ubuntu please feel free to share your experience and offer any suggestions for FAQs/tutorials.

This is a guide on some common questions I have run into if you have any you would like to add just drop a comment or e-mail us.

Browser Related

1. How to change your Home Page in Firefox on Ubuntu

• open firefox
• Select Edit and then Preferences from the Firefox menu
• Enter in the Homepage in the Homepage section and click CLOSE

Managing Files, Folders and Programs

1. How to rename a file or folder in Ubuntu

• Right-click the file/folder you want to rename, and select Rename… from the menu.

or

• If you prefer to use the keyboard more than the mouse, select the file you want to rename and hit the F2 key. The background will change (the cursor will be blinking) indicating that you can rename the file now. Hit enter when done.

2. How to create a desktop shortcut in Ubuntu

• Navigate to the program you want to create a desktop shortcut for, select it by clicking on it once and while holding down the mouse button, drag it over to your desktop and let go.

3. How to resize pictures/images in Ubuntu

• Start by locating the image you want to resize. Right-click it and select Open With -> Open with “GIMP Image Editor”.
• In the main Gimp window (the one with your picture displayed) select Image from the top menu, and then Scale Image… from the drop-down list.
• The Scale Image window will appear. The image dimensions (Width and Height) will be displayed in pixels.
• If you’d like to resize your picture based on percentage, click the “up/down” arrows in the pixels menu and select percent.
• Now use the up or down arrow(s) in the Width: box to increase or decrease the size of your picture. In the example below, I’ve decreased the size of the picture by 50%. Click the Scale button when you’re ready.
• The picture will now shrink (assuming you opted to decrease its size).
• If you want to permanently resize the picture, select File -> Save. If you want to save this resized picture but keep the original as it is, click File -> Save as…
• Give your ‘new’ picture a name and click the Save button.
• You’ll be asked what Quality you want the picture to be. The higher the quality, the larger the resulting file. I usually opt for somewhere around 95. Click OK when you’re done.
• That’s it! You can now quit The Gimp by selecting File -> Quit.

Ubuntu “Look and Feel”

1. How to change your desktop background/wallpaper

• Right-click in an empty space on your desktop and select Change Desktop Background from the pop-up menu.
• The Desktop Background Preferences window will appear. From here you can opt for No Wallpaper, one of the defaults (Simple and Smooth Chocolate), set your own, or use a solid color. To set your own wallpaper, click the Add Wallpaper button.
• Navigate to the folder that contains the picture you wish to use as your desktop background (wallpaper). Select it and then click Open.
• That image will now appear as one of the wallpaper choices (and should already be selected). Click Finish and your new wallpaper will be set.

2. How to change the Ubuntu screensaver

• To set (or change) a screen saver in Ubuntu, select System -> Preferences -> Screensaver.
• The Screensaver Preferences window will appear.
• Select a screensaver from the list in the left column. It will preview itself in the main Screensaver Preferences window.
• After you’ve found one you like, just click the Close button. If you want to see what the screensaver will look like in “full screen” mode, click the Preview button directly underneath the column of screensavers. If you want to require a password (yours) to be entered to turn off the screensaver once it has become active, place a check in the box labeled Lock screen when screensaver is active.

3. How to change the Ubuntu theme

• To change the Ubuntu Theme, select System -> Preferences -> Theme.
• The Theme Preferences window will appear.
• Select one that looks interesting to you, and Ubuntu will actually apply that theme right away.
• When you’ve found one you like, just click the Close button. If you decide you actually prefer the default Theme, just click the Revert button, or select Human (which is the name of the default).

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To list directory size in ubuntu use the following command. Be careful as it is recursive and will list everything below the directory you are in.

du -h

To overcome being hit with to many files for your screen use the pipe to less command:

du -h | less

To quit just hit the q key.

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You can use the IPtables “recent” module to effectively limit your connections, here’s how:

To make this work, you need to have this commonly used rule (this allows previously established connections and is a normal rule in most firewalls):

iptables -A INPUT -j ACCEPT -p tcp ! –syn -s 0/0 -d (outer ip/net)

Now, set the limit:

iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -i eth0 -m state –state NEW –dport 22 -m recent –update –seconds 15 -j DROP
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp -i eth0 -m state –state NEW –dport 22 -m recent –set -j ACCEPT

Another way of limiting dictionary attacks is to limit using -m limit –limit like this:

iptables -A INPUT -p tcp –dport ssh -m limit –limit 3/minute –limit-burst 2 -j ACCEPT

Pick your poison, both great ways to slow down those annoying attempts.

You may want to read this guide for more info on SSH

Done!

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For part of the example I have replaced <> with left carrot and right carrot.

You will need to do two things:

nano /etc/modsecurity/exclude.conf

It should look like this:

left carrot LocationMatch “/wp-admin/post.php” right carrot
SecRuleRemoveById XXXXXX
left carrot /LocationMatch right carrot

Now add this to your virtual hosts file in apache:

 nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/yourdomain.com

Add the following somewhere in the file:

SecRuleInheritance Off

Done

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