Data Center

Compressing files using the zip command on Linux

The zip command lets you compress files to preserve them or back them up, and you can require a password to extract the contents of a zip file.

The logic of && and || on Linux

These AND and OR equivalents can be used in scripts to determine next actions.

Using the apropos command on Linux

Shredding files on Linux with the shred command

The shred command is a good option for removing files from a Linux system in a way that makes them virtually impossible to recover.

Who’s logging into your Linux servers?

A few Linux commands offer different ways to see which users are logging into your Linux servers, how often they log in, and how long they’ve been active or idle.

Working with directories on Linux

Directories provide a hierarchical way to organize your files, and you can categorize them to suit your needs.

Making bash aliases easy to manage

Aliases provide an easy way to reuse complicated or often-used commands.

Determining leap years on Linux

Leap years are not quite as regular as we might have believed. A fairly simple Linux script can tell you whether a year will be a leap year or not.

How to ensure users periodically update their passwords on Linux

Requiring password changes is a common security practice, and Linux systems admins can use the chage command to view and change password expiration information.

Unix, Linux and epoch time

You can use the stat command to view dates and times associated with Linux files, and the date command can do some handy conversions if you’d like to display the current time in the epoch format.