Command-line tools for monitoring system access

Keeping Watch

© Lead Image © daniilantiq, 123RF.com

© Lead Image © daniilantiq, 123RF.com

Article from Issue 170/2015
Author(s):

Linux tracks all the actions that take place on your system, including when your users were active and what they did.

Linux lets multiple users work in parallel. With multiple users on the system, the system administrator needs a means for monitoring user activity to watch for unusual behavior and to keep tabs on how the system is being used.

In this article, I describe some simple command-line tools that help the admin quickly identify strange behavior and ensure a stable operations.

Users on Your System

The /etc/passwd file contains user account settings (Listing 1). The lines start with the login name, followed by the user and group IDs, the user's real name, the user's home directory, and the program that automatically launches after successful authentication (typically the /bin/sh or the /bin/bash login shell.

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
Print Issues
Digital Issues
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Print Subs
Digisubs
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • Charly's Column – Whowatch

    For no particular reason, Charly occasionally patrols his server farm and hunts down attackers. He has put together a neat toolbox for this job.

    more »
  • System Monitoring

    Off-the-rack monitoring tools often offer too many functions or fail to offer precisely what you need, but shell scripts let you create individual monitoring routines.

    more »
  • LXC Basics

    Chroot lets you run a largely autonomous guest system on a computer, without the need to emulate hardware. The LXC container management tool refines this technique with a comprehensive range of additional functions.

    more »
  • Ajaxterm

    Public Internet access is often protected by restrictive firewalls, and you have no chance of running SSH. However, HTTPS over port 443 is typically permitted. Ajaxterm lets mobile users login to their home servers.

    more »
  • Automating FTP

    If you find your self executing the same few steps in FTP, you’ll save time and effort with a little automation.

    more »
comments powered by Disqus