grep with color output

grep is capable of color-highlighting the matched string in its output. But, by default, that option is turned off. $ grep abc a_file.txt ab...Read more »

fail2ban - Yet another tool to protect your server

What is Fail2ban ? Fail2ban scans log files like /var/log/auth.log or /var/log/apache/error_log and bans IP that makes too many passwor...Read more »

The find / xargs Linux command-pipe

My task at hand is to delete all backup files ("*~") located anywhere in my home directory hierarchy. $ find /home/peter -name *~...Read more »

Crunch numbers

You can crunch numbers on the command line using the command "bc". Instead of firing up a GUI-based calculator application, you ...Read more »

Shred it!

Have a top-secret file that you want to delete? A file that you don't want to recover by you or anyone else? Use the shred command: #...Read more »

Dictionary Lookup via Command Line

#curl dict://dict.org/d:YourWord To help you remember, d: stands for DEFINE. For example, to look up the word "bash", (all output...Read more »

Recalling command history

The bash shell has a command history. You can repeat a command which you executed before by specifying the command number, e.g., !398 to...Read more »

You can always have the Last Word In ..

!$ is a handy shorthand for the last word in the previous command. At first, it may not seem that useful. But wait, ... cd somedir cp some_...Read more »

More context with less

less is a text file viewer. By default, it will print out one screenful of file contents at a time, and wait for you to tell it what to do ...Read more »

Command Line editing: emacs or vi shortcuts

You can edit your command line using emacs style shortcuts. For example, to go to the beginning of the command line, enter Control-a via ke...Read more »

My #1 beloved tool: emacs

It is fitting that my first post is about the tool I love the most: GNU emacs. It is the text editor, plus a lot more. Normally, when you ...Read more »

apt-get remove Fedora; apt-get install Debian

After giving a thought about possibility of converting my Fedora box to Debian,yesterday morning, with DVD I got from LFY, I gave it a try. ...Read more »