Home » Articles by: Brad Morton

STOP Using the Linux ifconfig Command [Here’s Why]

January 4, 2021 by Brad Morton

The ifconfig command is obsolete, and you should no longer use it! This tutorial covers the ip command, which you should use in place of ifconfig. Here’s how to use the ip command instead. The ip command can do a bunch of other stuff as well, but we’ll focus on how it replaces the ifconfig command. To see the full manual for the command, type the following into your terminal: man ip Using the ip Command Instead of ifconfig Let’s look at two ip commands – ip addr focuses on addresses and ip link on network interfaces. IP … Read more

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How to Update Ubuntu Linux [Server and Desktop]

January 4, 2021 by Brad Morton

If you’re running Ubuntu Linux on your desktop, you’ll be regularly prompted to update using the built-in update tool. But what if you’re on Ubuntu Server or want to check for and run any pending updates manually? This tutorial covers the steps required to update your Ubuntu Linux OS on Desktop and Server. But first, some relevant articles: apt vs. apt-get Commands – What’s the Difference? Checking Your Operating System Version in Ubuntu Linux with ‘lsb_release.’ Preamble All package management functions should be run using the sudo … Read more

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What Is chmod 777 and What Does It Do in Linux?

January 3, 2021 by Brad Morton

This article explores chmod 777, a Linux command used to give ALL RIGHTS to the user, group, and others. As a new Linux user, web developer, or system administrator, you have probably been instructed to type: chmod 777 /path/to/file/or/folder …into your Linux shell at some point. Whenever you’re running commands on your systems (especially as root!), you should ALWAYS know what they’re up to. So what’s chmod 777 really about? Permissions in Linux Above is an example of running the: ls -l command, which will list the current directory contents in … Read more

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Using the SCP Command to Securely Copy Files [Examples]

June 23, 2022January 2, 2021 by Brad Morton

SCP or Secure Copy securely transfers files between two hosts over the network using the SSH protocol. This tutorial explains how to use this popular command with numerous examples. SCP is pre-installed with most Linux distributions and is often used for deploying software to servers and backing up – frequently automated using Bash Scripts. SCP Command Syntax scp OPTIONS SOURCE … TARGET SCP has a lot of options that are outlined on the commands manual, available by running: man scp Here’s a summary of the most commonly used options from the … Read more

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How to Quickly Check your Ubuntu Version [Easy]

December 31, 2020 by Brad Morton

It’s important to stay up to date – both for security and compatibility reasons and because it’s always nice to have the latest features in your Linux Operating System. To find out which Linux distribution, and version of that distribution you’re using, use one of the below methods on both the server and desktop versions of Ubuntu based systems: Getting Your Ubuntu Version by reading from the /etc/issue file Type the following into your terminal to read the contents of the file /etc/issue into your terminal: cat /etc/issue You’ll get … Read more

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Bash For Loop [With Examples]

June 23, 2022December 30, 2020 by Brad Morton

The for loop is a handy tool when writing Bash scripts for repeating a task for a number of files, records, or other values. The for statement will iterate over a list of values, performing tasks on each one until all items have been processed. Usage cases include looping over the files in a directory, the lines in a text file, or the output of a database query. Bash For Loop Syntax for VARIABLE in LIST do COMMANDS done Where: VARIABLE is the variable name that will … Read more

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How to Build a Smart Magic Mirror Using a Raspberry Pi Zero [Tutorial]

December 29, 2020 by Brad Morton

Ever wanted to see check the weather is in Tripoli and read randomized Seinfeld quotes while you’re doing your hair in the morning? Smart mirrors are the DIY project to make that happen. This easy-to-follow tutorial covers how to build a small magic mirror using a Raspberry Pi Zero and a few other bits and pieces. Smart mirrors (also sometimes known as “magic mirrors”) can display live information right in the reflection on a mirror – it looks cool and is actually kind of useful. You can … Read more

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Linux wget Command Guide [With Examples]

December 29, 2020 by Brad Morton

If you followed our Magic Mirror tutorial, you’d see the wget command was used to download some files. This tutorial explains how to use wget, a command-line tool for downloading (getting) files from the web, be it via HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, or FTPS. Use it to download files from the internet from the Linux shell, call it from Bash scripts – it’s simple and versatile and doesn’t require user interference once started so that it can run in the background. Syntax wget [OPTIONS]… [ URLS ]… … Read more

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RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 & RAID 10 Explained [With Images]

June 23, 2022December 29, 2020 by Brad Morton

This tutorial explores the popular raid levels, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 & RAID 10, with diagrams and explanations. What is RAID? RAID – Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or Independent) Disks is a data storage solution that works by combining multiple disks connected to a computer into a single storage unit. Data is spread across the disks in different ways depending on whether data integrity, access speed, or both are priorities. RAID can be implemented in software or hardware, and the Linux Operating systems support … Read more

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What Is a 500 Internal Server Error and How to Fix It?

June 23, 2022December 28, 2020 by Brad Morton

This guide explores the 500 internal server error code, an HTTP error, and how to fix it. HTTP Errors and Error Codes Whenever a web page is loaded, a request is made to an HTTP server (Most web servers run Linux, by the way), and part of the response is a numeric status code that tells your web browser what kind of response it is. This allows the browser to handle the contents of the response correctly. Some example responses are: Status Code Meaning 200 … Read more