One of the beauties of Unix is that you can be very productive with surprisingly little knowledge. Even better, each new trick you learn can shave minutes off of your day. We've arranged the chapters in this book by subject area, not by any suggested order of learning. Skip around to what interests you most or solves your current problem. If the current hack depends on information in another hack, we'll include a link for you to follow.
Furthermore, the "See Also" sections at the end of individual hacks often include references such as man fortune. These refer to the manual pages installed on your machine. If you're not familiar with these manpages, start with [Hack #89] .
To master BSD, you'll have to understand several topics. We've arranged the hacks loosely into chapters. They are:
Though modern BSDs have myriad graphical applications and utilities, the combined wisdom of 35 years of command-line programs is just a shell away. This chapter demonstrates how to make the most of the command line, customizing it to your needs and preferences.
What good is knowing Unix commands if you have no files? You have to slice, dice, and store data somewhere. This chapter explains techniques for finding and processing information, whether it's on your machine or on a server elsewhere.
The best-laid security plans of administrators often go out the window when users enter the picture. Keeping the bad guys off of sensitive machines requires a two-pronged approach: protecting normal user accounts through good password policies and protecting the boxes physically. This chapter explores several options for customizing and securing the boot and login processes.
After you start creating files, you're bound to run across data you can't afford to lose. That's where backups come in. This chapter offers several ideas for various methods of ensuring that your precious data will persist in the face of tragedy.
Unless you're a die-hard individualist, you're likely connected to a network. That fact presents several new opportunities for clever hacks as well as mystifying failures. This chapter illuminates ways to take advantage of your network connection.
Security is as much a mindset as it is a process. Knowing the tools at your disposal will help. This chapter delves into multiple tools and ideas for increasing the security of your systems, whether keeping out the bad guys or staying on top of updates.
With years and years of refinement, the BSDs provide powerful and maintainable environments. Are you taking full advantage of everything your system has to offer? This chapter pushes the envelope of what you can accomplish.
No bragging about BSD is complete without mentioning the ports or packages system that keeps thousands of applications right at your fingertips. Keeping up-to-date could never be easier, could it? This chapter tackles the subject of installing and updating software, including the core system.
You cannot be a true BSD master until you grok the Unix mindset. How did the gurus become gurus? Is the true path still open? This chapter reveals some secrets of the masters and has a little fun along the way.
This book uses the following typographical conventions:
Indicates new terms, URLs, email addresses, filenames, pathnames, and directories.
Indicates commands, options, switches, variables, attributes, functions, user and group names, the contents of files, and the output from commands.
Constant width bold
In code examples, shows commands or other text that should be typed literally by the user.
Shows text that should be replaced with user-supplied values.
The second color is used to indicate a cross-reference within the text.
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