When your application fails to bind to a port, you need to identify what’s already using it. This is one of the most common debugging tasks in Linux system administration. Using ss (Modern Approach) The ss command has largely replaced netstat in modern Linux distributions. It’s faster, more efficient, and provides clearer output: ss -ltnp…
VirtualBox’s scaled mode stretches the guest display to fill your host window, but it can distort the image or make it harder to work with. If you need to switch back to normal windowed mode, you have a few options. Using the Keyboard Shortcut The quickest way to exit scaled mode is with the keyboard…
The scp command supports bandwidth limiting through the -l flag, which caps the transfer rate in Kbit/s. This prevents large file transfers from saturating your network connection. Basic Usage The -l flag specifies the maximum bandwidth in kilobits per second (Kbit/s): # Limit to 1000 Kbit/s (approximately 125 KB/s) scp -l 1000 largefile.tar.gz user@remote:/path/to/destination/ #…
VirtualBox on Fedora reports “The vboxdrv kernel module is not loaded” when you try to launch it, even though the virtualbox and kernel module packages are installed. This typically happens on systems with UEFI Secure Boot enabled, which requires kernel modules to be cryptographically signed. Check if the module is loaded First, verify whether the…
When you need to check DNS records from a particular server—especially to verify changes on authoritative nameservers before they propagate through cached resolvers—use dig with the @ syntax to specify the target DNS server. Basic Syntax dig @DNS_SERVER domain.com Replace DNS_SERVER with the IP address of the nameserver you want to query, and domain.com with…
Network bonding aggregates multiple network interfaces into a single logical interface, providing redundancy, load balancing, or increased throughput. The method you use depends on your distribution and whether you’re managing a desktop, workstation, or server environment. NetworkManager (Desktop and Some Servers) NetworkManager is the easiest approach for most distributions. Create a bond with a single…
Setting up OpenVPN on an iPhone with Ovpn Spider requires a few specific steps since iOS has limitations compared to desktop environments. This guide walks you through the process. Prerequisites You’ll need: An iPhone running iOS 12 or later The OpenVPN Connect app installed from the App Store A valid .ovpn configuration file from Ovpn…
If you’ve forgotten your iPhone passcode, you’ll need to erase the device and set it up again. Apple provides several official methods, but recovery mode is the most straightforward and reliable approach for most users. Before You Start Recovery mode will completely erase your iPhone. Make sure you have a backup if possible, though if…
When you need to browse the web over SSH or in a headless environment, graphical browsers aren’t an option. Several terminal-based browsers exist that actually handle modern websites reasonably well, though with limitations around JavaScript and CSS. Lynx Lynx is the oldest and most established terminal browser, first released in 1992. It’s still actively maintained…
When a NameNode restarts, it enters safe mode to rebuild its understanding of block-to-DataNode mappings. If DataNodes don’t report their blocks quickly enough or some don’t come back online, the NameNode may stay stuck in safe mode with a message like: The reported blocks 1968810 needs additional 5071 blocks to reach the threshold 0.9990 of…
Accessing blocked websites from mainland China on an iPhone requires a VPN or proxy solution that can bypass the Great Firewall. This guide covers practical approaches and tools that work as of 2026. VPN Solutions for iOS The most reliable method is using a VPN app. Several options are available: Commercial VPN Services Paid VPN…
When you export a variable in Bash, it becomes available to all child processes spawned from your shell. Sometimes you need to remove that exported status or delete the variable entirely. There are two main approaches depending on what you want to achieve. Remove export status but keep the variable If you want the variable…
[md] Systemd’s coredump handler captures process crash dumps by default, which can consume significant disk space on development or test systems. Here’s how to disable or control coredump storage. ## Quick Solution Edit /etc/systemd/coredump.conf and set: [Coredump] Storage=none Then reload the systemd daemon: systemctl daemon-reload This prevents coredumps from being stored permanently while still logging…
When you have an absolute path like /foo/bar/baz.txt and need to split it into its components, Bash provides two essential utilities: dirname and basename. Using dirname and basename The dirname command returns the directory portion of a path, while basename returns just the filename: p=”/foo/bar/baz.txt” dirname “$p” # Output: /foo/bar basename “$p” # Output: baz.txt…
Google+ shut down in 2019, so the original premise of this post no longer applies. However, the broader problem—automatically sharing blog RSS feeds across social platforms—remains relevant. Here’s how to handle RSS-to-social distribution in 2026. Modern RSS Distribution Tools For most technical blogs, you have several solid options: Zapier remains one of the most reliable…
When writing C programs on Linux that handle file paths, you need to allocate buffers safely. The kernel defines maximum path and filename lengths through standard macros in <linux/limits.h>. Getting the limits On Linux systems, <linux/limits.h> provides two key macros: NAME_MAX — maximum length of a single filename component (255 characters) PATH_MAX — maximum length…
By default, Git doesn’t automatically configure your local branch to track its remote counterpart. You need to explicitly set up this tracking relationship so that git pull and git push know which remote branch to synchronize with. Setting Up Tracking for an Existing Branch If you already have a local branch and want it to…
When you have a password-protected RSA private key (indicated by the Proc-Type: 4,ENCRYPTED header), you’ll need to decrypt it before using it with most applications. The openssl command handles this straightforwardly. Basic decryption Use openssl rsa to decrypt the key: openssl rsa -in encrypted_key.pem -out decrypted_key.pem You’ll be prompted to enter the password for the…
Securing your website with HTTPS is no longer optional—it’s essential for SEO, user trust, and browser compatibility. The good news: Let’s Encrypt provides free certificates, and the tooling has matured significantly. Using Certbot with Nginx or Apache The standard approach is Certbot, which automates certificate issuance and renewal: sudo certbot –nginx This automatically configures HTTPS…
Cinnamon on Fedora offers solid theming options through the official repositories. Here’s a practical approach to building a cohesive desktop environment with matching window borders, icons, controls, and cursor themes. Installing Theme Packages Start by installing available theme packages from the Fedora and Cinnamon repositories: sudo dnf install cinnamon-themes cinnamon-control-center sudo dnf install papirus-icon-theme adwaita-icon-theme…