Jan 21 2009

Data Recovery on Linux and ext3

By: Abe Getchell 2008-10-03

This article discusses the process of recovering deleted data from an ext3 partition, on a system running Linux, using a process called data carving. This basic technique is useful in any number of situations, such as recovering data that has been accidentally deleted by a user, information removed in an attempt to erase signs of a system intrusion that could be used to track the source, or data erased by an end-user attempting to cover up an acceptable use policy infraction.

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Jan 19 2009

Install APC for PHP on Linux

APC is the Alternative PHP Cache, which is a free, open, and robust framework for caching and optimizing PHP intermediate code. What this means is that APC reads your PHP files, parses them into a more efficient binary format and then caches them in memory so that each request for your PHP files and PHP library files can be fed from the parsed cache. This will generally lead to a speed increase when serving a PHP site, especially one with a lot of library files. This post looks at how to install APC for PHP on Linux. The Linux distribution I used was CentOS 5, but it should be fairly similar for most distros.

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.SQM files are created by a number of Microsoft applications, most commonly Windows Live Messenger (previously known as MSN).

According to Microsoft, SQM files (standing for Software Quality Metrics) are used as part of their “Microsoft Customer Experience Program” and help improve their products by anonymously monitoring usage habits and reporting software errors/bugs.

To stop these files being created, you will need to disable the option in Windows Live Messenger. You can do this through the options menu:

1. Click HELP.
2. Select ‘Customer Experience Improvement Program’.
3. Tick on ‘I don’t want to participate right now’ box.
4. Click OK.

Please take note, that .SQM files are NOT viruses and do not contain spyware/malware and do not contain any personal information.

SQM files have a naming convention such as “sqmnoopt00.sqm”. They are normally found in the root folder of your hard-drive (C:) and more recently, the “Documents and settings/Application Data/Microsoft/MSN Messenger/” folder.

Dot What!? visitors have found that deleting SQM files is safe. Although probably true, we advise you to backup the files first.

################### Simple Story ###################

By default, you participate in a data-gathering program. Open Live Messenger, click on Help, then on Customer Experience Improvement Program, then de-check the radio button which says you want to participate. Try that. It will almost certainly work, and it’s not dangerous.

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Step 1: Back up important files

Red Hat has finally placed sendmail.cf in /etc/mail, where it belongs. To verify the location of your configuration file, type this command:

sendmail -d0.20 -bv | grep sendmail.cf

The default installation outputs this:

Conf file: /etc/mail/sendmail.cf (default for MTA)
Conf file: /etc/mail/sendmail.cf (selected)

Be sure to use this path when generating your new sendmail.cf from sendmail.mc, or no changes will take place. Back up your current sendmail.cf and the m4 file that generated it (probably /etc/mail/sendmail.mc):

cp /etc/mail/sendmail.cf /etc/mail/sendmail.cf~
cp /etc/mail/sendmail.mc /etc/mail/sendmail.mc~

Step 2: Make your certificate

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Jan 06 2009

How to “chmod” directory and/or file only

Just do as followings. Login root or as correct owner for the folder:

# cd (to your /path/directory)
# find -type d -print0 |xargs -0 chmod 755
# find -type f -print0 |xargs -0 chmod 644