October 2018

Secure Copy over SSH

As the name implies, SCP stands for SecureCopy and is a Linux command for copying files to and from different hosts. It does this by using the SSH protocol ensuring encryption on both filenames and the password. Unlike other protocols like FTP , the filenames or the password is not visible in case someone is snooping the network making SCP a very secure and powerful tool. By default, the SSH port is 22 therefore SCP will be using port 22. When copying files to/from another host, the account’s password will be required.

Syntax

scp username1@source_host:folder1/filename1 username2@destination_host:folder2/filename2

An example:

 scp... read more +

                        

Easier than it sounds

You may come across a situation where you must change the linux password of a user be it root or any other. Luckily , the process is rather simple and easy to do.

First step is to connect to the VPS or Linux machine with the root account via your desired SSH client and run the following command:

passwd user

After pressing enter, you will be prompted to insert the new password twice. Make sure you typed it correctly, twice.
If you wish to change the password for the root account, make sure you are logged in as root and… read more +

Fail2ban

Fail2ban is a very good tool for hardening linux against brute-force attacks. It works by checking logs and creating iptable rules once the rules are triggered.
The following guide is for Ubuntu/Debian who’s repos already provide the required pacakges. For CentOS/RHEL, epel-release repo must be installed first.
Update the packages and install fail2ban:

apt update && apt -y dist-upgrade && apt -y install fail2ban

Create a jail configuration file:

cp /etc/fail2ban/jail.conf /etc/fail2ban/jail.local

SSH might be included by default but just to make sure, it will be enabled manually.
Include SSH in the newly created jail:

nano /etc/fail2ban/jail.local

Scroll down to sshd and you should see the following config:

Change… read more +

Why the fuss about security?

Linux is secure by default but the multitude of options at your disposal are plenty and rather loose or very customizable. Some basic options do not work out of the box but there is nothing preventing you to enable them.

Public key authentication

It is the most basic and simple way to login via SSH but it’s not uncrackable. The best way by far is using Public Key Authentication. To get your own Public Key, checkout this article.

Once you have you own key, download and install Putty. Open Putty and go to Connection > SSH >… read more +

What is Teamspeak?

Teamspeak is a VoIP software mostly used by videogame players to communicate to each other by talking instead of typing. Using a VoIP (Voice over IP) app is crucial when playing multiplayer games with your friends without having to type in order to talk.

Prerequisites

You will need the following tools in order to create your own Teamspeak server:

• An SSH client – Putty is simple and light
• A vps with Ubuntu/Debian linux – get one from MVPS.net
• 10-15 minutes of your time

Installation

First off, ensure your VPS is up to date with the latest and greatest plus 2… read more +

Areca CLI

In order to monitor, configure or get a report from an Areca RAID controller, the best tool to use is the Areca command line interface names cli32 or cli64 (for 64 bit systems). Commands are mostly the same for both 32-bit and 64-bit versions therefore the following examples will be using cli32.

Some basic examples:

Show a list of possible commands:

cli32 main

Show the current RAID set (for specific commands, add the -h or -help argument) :

cli32 rsf info

Show the current volume set (for specific commands, add the -h or -help argument) :

cli32 vsf info

Show disk properties:

cli32 disk info

Show 1st disk… read more +

How secure is Windows RDP?

By default, a Remote Desktop session is operated via an encrypted channel which prevents anyone to view your session by network listening methods. Although this is a secure method, it is still susceptible to “man-in-the-middle-attack” to a certain degree as well as a form of brute-force attacks or simple guesses if the attacker has any info on your general likes, preferences and habits (Social media is fun indeed).

Basic security tips

Keep your Windows updated

Remember those annoying updates notifications ? They do come in very useful to ensure the security and stability of your operation system (among… read more +

MetaTrader , as the name suggests, is a platform designed for trading Forex. It is available on several systems like Windows or Linux.
This tutorial will cover Linux installation on a RDP-enable VPS.

Prerequisites:

• An Ubuntu RDP-enabled linux VPS. You can find one at MVPS.NET, the minimum recommended is the Basic variant.
• Putty or any other SSH client.

The installation process is comprised of Wine installation and MetaTrader 4 installation.

1. Wine installation

A free software that allows apps developed for Windows run on Linux or other UNIX-based systems.
Connect to the VPS using Putty and follow the following commands.

Install the Wine repo:

wget -nc... read more +