Reset a Lost root Password
What happens when that server that was always humming along nicely all of a sudden needs you to log in as root to check something or install something new. What was the root password? Didn’t it just get changed? All of a sudden, the cold sweat starts - the root password is unknown.
What do you do?
Reset it! Thankfully there are a few ways to do this.
Managing your bandwidth - iftop
Coming off a series of articles on installing and configuring IPCop (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), my attention now turns to actually monitoring and managing the network. One of the issues that will come up is ‘Where did all my bandwidth go?’ IPCop, as well as other *nix distros, include a program called iftop, which displays the bandwidth being used on an interface. While on individual machines this can be useful, it really shines on a router or gateway machine.
screen - Making Terminals More Efficient
One of the best things about *nix-based systems is the rich command line interface that they all have. No matter what shell you actually use, the entire operating system is at your fingertips with a terminal. The only downside is that multiple windows must be open to do multiple things, right? Not with screen, a basic window manager for terminals. Open multiple sessions and even split-screen to make your life easier. Find out how after the jump.
*nix Shell Scripting Tutorial
I had to come up with a way to run a bunch of rsync commands, and the only shell scripts I’ve ever really made have been extremely simple (just for running wine commands mostly). Since I needed to make what amounted to a small program for OpenBSD, I headed to Google and found a great shell scripting site:
 http://www.freeos.com/guides/lsst/index.html
It looks like some other sites have this information as well, but this site was closest to the top without being bombarded with ads.
Music While You Work
One thing that really helps me code is music. Not that crap that they play on the radio at work or on 90% of the radio stations out there that I can’t pick up in the office because I don’t have an actual radio, but good music, like what’s on my iPod. What do I do when I’m at work and I want to listen to some music?