Brad Morton

I'm Brad, and I'm nearing 20 years of experience with Linux. I've worked in just about every IT role there is before taking the leap into software development. Currently, I'm building desktop and web-based solutions with NodeJS and PHP hosted on Linux infrastructure. Visit my blog or find me on Twitter to see what I'm up to.

Home » Articles by: Brad Morton

How to Install Ubuntu Desktop [Beginner’s Guide With Screenshots]

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How to Install Ubuntu Desktop

This beginner’s guide takes you through the process of how how to download and install Linux Ubuntu Desktop. Ubuntu remains one of the most popular and easy to use Linux distributions. It provides a fantastic platform to dip your toes into networking and programming. It has also become an effective Operating System to use as your daily driver, with full-featured desktop office and media tools. Here’s how to install it. Download The Disk Image Head on over to https://ubuntu.com …in your favorite web browser and hit … Read more

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Linux rsync Command, Syntax and Examples [Guide]

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Linux rsync Command

The rsync (remote synchronization) command is a file copy tool that can synchronize files across local storage disks as well as over a network. It’s prevalent because it’s very good. It is commonly used for backing up files, keeping file servers up-to-date with each other, and for deploying code and assets for web apps to servers. rsync can and will copy just about every file it can see and will synchronize based on file size and modification date to see what’s changed and what needs to be updated. … Read more

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How to Easily Check if a Network Port is Open in Linux

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Check if a Network Port is Open in Linux

When your computer acts as a server, such as a web server or a database server, that server process must listen on a port that other computers connect to. It’s useful to be able to find out what ports are open on your Linux server should you want to connect to one of the services being served – and it’s also useful to be able to check what ports are open so that you can make sure that you aren’t sharing something you don’t intend to. … Read more

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

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ip command

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]

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Update Ubuntu Linux

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?

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What Is chmod 777

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]

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Using the SCP Command

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]

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Check your Ubuntu Version

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]

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Bash For Loop

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]

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Build a Smart Mirror

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