Stop Google Chrome Opening as a Windows App
KB ID 0000986 Problem I don’t know what I managed to click to enable this, or if it was simply an update, but I don’t like it at all. Solution 1. As indicated above, open the Chrome ‘Customise and Control Google Chrome’ settings > Select ‘Relaunch Chrome on the the desktop’. 2. That’s better, back to normal. Related Articles, References, Credits, or External Links NA...
Linux (CentOS) Securing and Hardening SSH / Shell Access
KB ID 0000881 Problem The following is by no means an extensive list of everything that can be done. It’s just a run though of what I would consider ‘good practice’. Solution Create a user for SSH and Remove Shell access for the ‘root’ user. 1. Connect to the server via SSH or open a terminal session and su to root. Create a new user then set and confirm the new users password. useradd {username} passwd...
CentOS (RHEL) Installing VMware Tools in ESX
KB ID 0000888 Problem This was a much more complicated job than I expected it to be! The following procedure is done on CentOS 6, so will be the same for Red Hat Enterprise 6. Solution 1. Connect to the server via SSH, (or open a terminal session). Logon as, (or su to) root. 2. Execute the following commands; yum install make gcc kernel-devel kernel-headers glibc-headers perl mkdir /mnt/cdrom 3. Then present the VMware tools CD to the...
CentOS BIND DNS Not Responding To DNS Queries
KB ID 0000906 Problem While moving my DNS records from my old hosting company, I finally got round to pointing my domain name server records at my own server. I then saw my web traffic nose dive! Some troubleshooting steps later I realised I could not connect to my server on TCP port 53 (use an online port scanner to test yours). Solution Allow Access to DNS BIND From Remote Clients 1. Firstly let’s make sure that the firewall...
CentOS – Setup the iptables Firewall
KB ID 0000938 Problem I was a little perturbed to find out the firewall on my CentOS web server was wide open today. My server setup notes yielded no clues, so it was time to put my ‘Linux Head’ on and fix it. Solution 1. Connect to the server via console or SSH. As I’m going to change the iptables config file lets back it up (always assume you are going to smash something!) cp /etc/sysconfig/iptables iptables.bak 2....
CentOS 7 – No Network Connection
KB ID 0001047 Problem A while ago I spun up a CentOS server in VMware Workstation, and I could not get it connected to the network, I was in a bit of a hurry, so I blew it away and just built a new server with CentOS 6. This week I’ve been using VirtualBox and spun up a new CentOS 7 server and had the same problem. Solution 1. Quite why CentOS 7 does this I’m not sure, My NIC is called enp0s3 (run ‘ip addr’ to...
CentOS 7 – Ifconfig Command Not Found
KB ID 0001048 Problem Although not my strongest subject, I know enough to get by in Linux, so I was a little put out when I tried to run ifconfig, only to be told it could not be found. On an ‘out of the box’ install you are supposed to use ‘ip addr’ instead. Solution To Install Ifconfig 1. Run either of the following; yum provides ifconfig or yum whatprovides ifconfig And you should see a net-tools package....
Brocade 300 SAN Switch – Setup and Configure
KB ID 0000593 Problem I got a warning from a colleague that these switches, were no longer ‘Open’. i.e. You can no longer just plug them in, connect all your SAN devices and it will work. That’s how they used to work, so someone has decided to have then ‘Not Work’ out of the box (Nice one, well done). Solution Rack fitting the Brocade 300 SAN Switch 1. Each mounting rail is in three pieces (2 long pieces...
Blackberry Express – Blackberry Enterprise Server – Greyed Out?
KB ID 0000372 Problem When trying to install Blackberry Express, the option to install “Blackberry Enterprise server” is “Greyed out” (or Grayed out if your American). Solution Not really a solution, but this happens because the server you are installing on is running Terminal Services. Either choose another non TS server, or remove Terminal Services. Related Articles, References, Credits, or External...
Hacking Wireless WEP Keys with BackTrack and Aircrack-ng
KB ID 0000633 Problem Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. Having the ability to pick a lock does not make you a thief. The main thing to take away from this article is, “DONT secure your wireless network with WEP”. WEP, has been around for a long time now, its limited to an alpha numeric password, 0-9 and A-F (because its in hexadecimal), the password can be 40, 64 or 126 bits long. The flaw is, each...