One would think that we're the only ones struggling with Linux CLI (read: bash). Seems like cyber security professionals might be in the same boat according to the nice summary of dozens of Linux/bash commands collected by Robert Graham.
I was recently asked by a friend to read and review a book his publisher had just released. This was a technical book on a topic I was keenly interested in, so I was happy to oblige.
I tackled the book in the way that I normally tackle technical books — a chapter a day, or maybe two chapters in a day. Technical books aren’t recreational fiction for me. I want to grasp the contents of technical books to best make use of the information. This often leads to slow reading. I mull over paragraphs and digest.
This time, I broke that habit. I wanted to get this book done quickly. I wanted the information immediately. I didn’t want to take a few weeks to get through it. Thus, I tried reading the book all at once.
Surprisingly, this worked out well. I ended up getting through the book in four sittings, which perhaps doesn’t sound like “all at once.” Bear with me. The first sitting was a single chapter. The second sitting was a single chapter. Then came the holidays and a complete disruption to my workflow. And then came the epiphany as I stared at the book post-holidays. Continue reading
Some time ago I was asked by my friend to recommend a cost-free solution that he could use for storing logs of his security device over network. The Linux OS with installed syslog-ng is perfectly suitable for this job because it can collect logs from any source, process them in near real-time and deliver them to a wide variety of destinations. However it was challenge to explain all the steps in an easy manner as he was a total newbie in a Linux world. For this reason I wrote a basic installation and configuration manual for him which I share with you. The manual helps you to setup syslog-ng on Ubuntu server and troubleshoot the possible issues.
1. Install Ubuntu 16.04 Server Edition
During Ubuntu installation you are asked to provide the username/password and IP settings. Once an installation process finishes, the system is rebooted. when you get your console again, login and install updates with the command:
$ sudo su
# apt-get update
# apt-get upgrade
2. Install and Configure Syslog-ng
# apt-get install syslog-ng
First, you need to download a simple configuration file that I created for you.
# cd /etc/syslog-ng/conf.d
# wget http://brezular.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/firewals.conf_.txt -O firewals.conf
# Continue reading