Linux Tips Weekly

Explore Linux—one tip at a time. Learn Linux core concepts such as virtualization, the Linux file system, file management, networking, and security.

Introduction

• Welcome

Foundations

• Foundations: What's Linux?
• Foundations: Distros
• Foundations: Installing Linux in a virtual machine
• Foundations: USB installer
• Foundations: Installing Linux
• Foundations: Dual-booting your system
• Foundations: Core Utilities
• Foundations: Linux on a VPS
• Linux on Azure
• Google Cloud Platform
• Linux on DigitalOcean

System Basics

• System basics: The Linux file system
• System basics: The command line
• System basics: Keyboard shortcuts
• System basics: sudo access and root
• System basics: Explore a system
• System basics: Exploring Bash
• System basics: Bash scripting basics
• System basics: The Bash prompt
• System basics: Bash output redirection
• Bash expansions and substitutions
• Bash aliases and functions
• Bash operators
• Logs
• Grub
• SysV init
• Systemd
• Cron
• Understanding chroot
• System basics: User and group management
• System basics: Service management
• Backing up data with rsync
• Splitting and combining files
• Environment configuration files
• Working with dotfiles
• Exploring the PATH variable
• Browsing with the directory stack
• Finding or locating files
• Working with swap
• Read and write caches
• Terminals, consoles, and TTYs
• Exploring journalctl

Filesystem Basics

• Files on Linux
• File system basics: Archives
• File system basics: Permissions 101
• Loop devices
• Configuring group file shares
• Managing space on the file system
• Overlay file systems
• Bind mounts
• Modifying the file system table
• Sticky bit
• Access control lists

Working with Text

• Working with text: Vim 101
• Working with text: Emacs 101
• Working with text: nano 101
• Working with text: grep
• Working with text: Regular expressions
• Working with text: sed
• Working with text: AWK
• Working with text: cut and sort
• Working with text: ed 101

Package Management

• Package management: Basics
• aptitude
• dpkg
• yum and DNF
• RPM
• Creating your own packages
• Adding third-party repositories with APT
• Adding third-party repositories with Yum
• Create a local APT repository
• Create an APT repository for your network
• Mirror repositories to save bandwidth
• Zypper
• Using Flatpak
• Using snaps
• Package management: PPAs
• Homebrew package management
• Using AppImage apps

Working Remotely

• Remote files: curl and wget
• SSH: Secure access
• SSH: Transferring files with scp and sftp
• SSH: Managing and distributing keys
• SSH: Tunnels
• Browsing the web through a proxy server
• X11 forwarding
• Using a SOCKS proxy
• Using a Squid proxy
• Using mosh
• SSH: Reverse tunnel

Process Management

• Process management: ps
• Process management: top
• Process management: htop
• Process management: System load
• Process management: fg, bg, and kill
• Manage terminal sessions with screen
• Manage terminal sessions with tmux
• Customizing tmux

Security

• Firewall basics
• Understanding iptables
• Exploring UFW: Uncomplicated firewall
• File checksums
• Services: Network Time Protocol (NTP)
• Encrypting files
• Encrypted filesystems
• AppArmor
• Security systems: SELinux
• Firewalls: firewalld

System Administration

• Disks and partitions
• Logical volume management
• Create a RAID array
• Repairing a RAID array
• Local IP address
• Predictable network interface names
• DNS
• VPN
• Exploring system hardware
• Drivers and modules
• Understanding QEMU and KVM
• Creating a VM with QEMU and KVM
• Private networking
• Routing and forwarding
• DHCP
• Network troubleshooting
• Wi-Fi on Linux
• Set up a secure tunnel with WireGuard
• Scanning network ports with Nmap

Desktops and Displays

• Desktops: Basics
• Desktops: GNOME
• Desktops: Xfce
• Desktops: KDE Plasma Desktop
• Desktops: LXQt
• Desktops: i3wm
• Sharing your desktop with VNC
• Remote desktop login with xrdp
• Display geometry with GRUB
• Display geometry with xrandr

Exploration Topics

• Exploring Windows Subsystem for Linux
• Windows Subsystem for Linux
• Exploring virtualization
• Exploring containers
• Exploring Fedora
• Ubuntu desktop 18.04
• Changing the default shell
• Exploring other shells
• Blocking ads on your network with Pi-hole
• Exploring CentOS
• Exploring Zsh
• Osquery
• Exploring fish
• Exploring csh and tcsh
• Using diff to compare files
• Using xargs
• Configuring and managing logs
• Job control
• Using watch and time
• Recording a terminal session
• Exploring Debian
• Exploring SUSE Linux
• Exploring Arch Linux
• Exploring Alpine Linux
• Exploring Linux Mint
• Exploring Amazon Linux
• UNIX time and the 2038 problem
• Visual file management with Midnight Commander
• Terminal on the go
• FUSE and SSHFS
• Removing Linux
• WSL distros on Windows 10
• Embedded Linux
• Exploring Netboot
• Exploring ZFS
• Docker on Linux

Troubleshooting Topics

• Recover a system with Live Boot
• Rescue mode and Emergency mode

Projects

• Planning a home server
• Backups with rsync
• Linux on an old PC
• Creating a disk image with dd
• Mounting and writing disk images with dd
• Migrating to a new distro
• Planning a portable bootable disk
• Creating a portable bootable disk
• Host your own Apache web server
• Set up Let’s Encrypt on a web server
• Host a personal cloud with Nextcloud
• Hosting email services
• Set up a print server with CUPS
• Create a network PDF printer
• Remote logging with Rsyslog
• Set up a Git server
• NGINX web server
• Share files with a Samba server
• Set up an NFS server
• Monitoring your server
• Exploring Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
• Keep on learning!