[CS-FSLUG] Another chapter in my transition to Linux saga

Thu Apr 28 00:17:10 CDT 2005

> > I was just trying out something named SSH last night to upload pages to
> > my site, and I had to back out as I couldn't figure out how to use it.
> > Can you give me a 101 lesson in a paragraph or two?
>
> A common newbie misconception is not recognizing that you need to
> specify what username you are logging in as, unlike telnet. The common
> connection syntax looks like 'ssh josiah at server'. It will then ask for a
> password and you are in as long as you have access. For me to log into
> my server it's 'ssh myadminuser at ritchietribe.net'. Some hosters provide
> ssh by request only or not at all.
>
Okay, as I was just explaining to JD, I discovered it wasn't installed yet, so 
I have now installed OpenSSH, and tried logging in like that. I got a couple 
of screens full of neon green text on black background, which indicated it 
was trying to access my web host server, but finally asked for a password. I 
tried the one I usually use, but it wasn't satisfied with that. Does it need 
a more unique one?

I checked the admin area at the host (HostingRevolution), but there is no 
indication that SSH is encouraged, or any info on setting it up. I thought 
I'd seen it there before. -- 
Okay, I've just checked the index in Help there, and find that SSL/Telnet is 
suppose to be available if I click on its icon, but I can't find it, so I'll 
have to go ask at support.

I do see Open PGP keys, but that's not the same, is it?

>
> With ssh you can reset permissions like you would from the linux
> commandline using the chmod command. 'chmod o+rwx file' would give
> everyone read, write and execute permissions. 'chmod ugo-x file' would
> remove execute permission from user, group and others. You may see this
> done with numbers like 'chmod 755 file'. Basically, 4 = read, 2 = write,
> 1 = execute. The first number is the user permission, the second is
> group and the third is others. So, 755 means the user has all
> permissions (4+2+1=7) and the other two have read and execute (4+1=5).
> Those two permission conventions (especially the numerical one) are good
> foundational learning.
>
Oh. I'll have to save all this for once I can get in. Thanks.

> Also, become familiar with a commandline (CLI) text editor. nano is
> great if your hosting company has it on their server. Remeber to always
> use the '-w' switch. It keeps it from wrapping lines which can break
> things in code like CSS and Java. If nano isn't available, you may want
> to stick to editing on your own desktop and transferring or using the
> website's control panel. There are other comparable ones, but I don't
> know them off the top of my head. 'vi' and 'emacs' are great editors but
> may not be worth taking the time to learn them. Code hackers love them
> though for their flexibility.
>
I don't recognize nano, but I've seen the emacs editor, and have read it is 
good. Again, something I'll need to learn!

> To get around the CLI, you'll need:
>
> 'ls'      (list files in current directory)
> 'ls -l'   (list with permissions and other attributes)
> 'pwd'	  (what directory am I in? or present working dir)
> 'cd dir'  (change directory)
> 'cd ..'	  (.. is a shortcut for going back 1 directory in the tree)
> 'cd ~'	  (~ is a shortcut that takes you back to your home dir)
> 'rm file' (remove file)
> 'mv file newfile (move or *rename* a file)
> 'less'	  (this is a pager. Pipe othe commands into it like
>            this 'cmd |less' to scroll through output -- see next para.)
>
A little like my old 286 DOS computer downstairs. I'll save these tips too.

> Also critical is the 'man' command. Use it like 'man ls'. This will give
> you short manual page with information on usage of the command. Use
> 'space' to scroll down a page at a time or 'enter' for a line. The arrow
> keys also work. 'less' also uses this convention. to exit type 'q'.
> Search with '/stuff' where stuff is the string you are looking for.
>
> That's pretty much everything that got me stuck when I started messing
> with this, I think. Anyone know any other basic commands that I missed?
>
Thanks so much, Josiah. I'd been told about the man command, but all the other 
stuff is new and bound to be helpful.

> NO! The only thing you 'have' to reboot for in Linux is a new kernel and
> I've seen some who can avoid that though it is torturous.
>
Ahmm. Well, I'm my Dad's caregiver, and to show hiim I'm not wasting the power 
in his house, I shut down at night, and re-boot in the morning. Is re-booting 
really hard on the computer?

>
> My CLI snobbery :-) keeps me from using tools like kget. I tend to push
> anyone away from the GUI, though you may like to stay there (and that's
> fine). 

Well, I need the GUI as a bridge or crutch until I become fluent in command 
line. I can't learn it all in one gulp. I do learn a lot from every crisis! 
:)

Others can help with that. 'wget' is a simple downloader on the
> commandline. 'wget http://your.url/here' is the syntax. It then pulls it
> down with a pretty progress meter. sftp is a secure implementation of
> ftp over ssh. You'll need to start it with a command like 'sftp
> admin at ritchietribe.net'. It will then allow you to 'put' and 'get'
> files. This is a bit complicated and might be worth avoiding. I prefer
> scp (secure copy) which is less flexible, but also a secure way to
> transfer files between 2 machines with ssh. the syntax is 'scp
> source.file ruth at remotemachine:/dir/to/place/file/in/'. Using wildcards
> you can send all files in one directory onto another machine. That would
> look like this 'scp /source/dir/*.html
> ruth at remotemachine:/dir/to/place/file/in/'.
>
Okay. I'll save this stuff too, until I get all these things sorted out. I did 
use a wget command last week when downloading firefox, as per the 
instructions.

> Someone else may be able to help with the GUI stuff.
>
> JSR/
>
-- 
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Ruth Marlene Friesen 

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