Linux Basics for Beginners: A Step-by-Step Guide for Hackers and Cybersecurity Enthusiasts

By Vere salazar

Linux is an open-source operating system that powers the internet and most of the world's devices. It is fast, secure, and versatile, but it can also be daunting for beginners who are not familiar with its commands and features.

That's why this book is designed to help you learn Linux in a simple and fun way. This book is a beginner-friendly guide that covers everything you need to know about Linux, from its origins and benefits to its installation and customization. You will learn how to use Linux for various purposes, such as programming, automation, networking, and more. You will also learn how to make Linux work with your existing Windows or Mac OS systems.

By reading this book, you will:

Learn what Linux is, why it is important, and how it compares to other operating systems
Choose the best Linux distribution for your needs and preferences
Install Linux on your computer or on a virtual machine
Get familiar with the Linux command line, file system, and directories
Use graphical user interfaces, software managers, and package managers to manage your Linux system
Write and run shell scripts using bash to automate tasks and processes
Use Linux for programming, debugging, and testing in various languages and frameworks
Set up and manage Linux networks, servers, and security features
Customize Linux to look and behave like Windows or Mac OS
And much more!

Linux Basics for Beginners is the ideal book for anyone who wants to start learning Linux from scratch. It is written in a clear and engaging style, with plenty of examples and exercises to help you practice and improve your skills. Whether you are a student, a hobbyist, or a professional, this book will help you master Linux and unlock its full potential.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vere salazar
• Release date: Feb 29, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224194025

Book preview

Introduction

For any software,-re,late,d profe,ssional, linux has se,rve,d as an e,pitome, of acce,ssibility, cre,ativity, and fre,e,dom. linux has be,e,n haile,d as one, of the, all-time, gre,ats in our e,ra. it is an ope,rating syste,m that has re,volutionize,d the, world with its dynamic nature,, the, she,e,r numbe,r of distributions (also re,fe,rre,d to as distros), and the, se,curity that it brings to the, table,. with succe,ss storie,s e,me,rging from all across the, globe,, this ope,rating syste,m continue,s to dominate, the, industry with its high standards and immaculate, functionality.

Linux has be,e,n making the, he,adline,s, and the,re, is e,ve,ry re,ason why that is the, case,. with products and se,rvice,s like, android and the, e,ntire, macintosh ope,rating syste,m (os), which de,rive, the,ir e,xiste,nce, from linux, the, ope,rating syste,m has ce,me,nte,d itse,lf as the, marke,t le,ade,r.

With hundre,ds of thousands of profe,ssionals le,arning linux, it make,s more, se,nse, than e,ve,r to ge,t yourse,lf acquainte,d with it as we,ll, and that is e,xactly what this book is all about.

What to e,xpe,ct in this book

Fortunate,ly, you do not ne,e,d to be, a high-e,nd programme,r or an e,xpe,rt at coding to ge,t the, most out of this book. if anything, this book is aime,d for pe,ople, who have, no ide,a what linux is, how it functions, and who should use, this incre,dible, ope,rating syste,m.

The, book is writte,n to e,nsure, all comple,xitie,s and advance,d te,rminologie,s are, ke,pt to the, minimum so that it is e,asily unde,rstood by the, re,ade,rs. the, be,tte,r the, unde,rstanding, the, be,tte,r your command will be, ove,r the, ne,w ope,rating syste,m you are, about to ope,rate,.

The, book should se,rve, as a good starting point for those, willing to e,mbark on a journe,y to the, ope,n-source, ope,rating syste,ms and familiarize, the,mse,lve,s with basic functionalitie,s, commands, and e,sse,ntial. the, book will also re,fle,ct on topics like, ne,tworking, scripts, and applications, with hope,s that the, re,ade,rs would find the,mse,lve,s comfortable, tackling instructions and guidance, to e,nhance, the,ir e,xpe,rie,nce,s.

The, book cove,rs e,sse,ntials that are, ne,ce,ssary for e,ve,ry be,ginne,r to unde,rstand in orde,r to ope,rate, the, os succe,ssfully and maximize, productivity. whe,the,r you de,sire, to use, linux for e,nte,rtainme,nt purpose,s or profe,ssional one,s, the, book will e,nable, you to le,arn, unde,rstand, and e,xe,cute, basic commands at will, configure, your syste,m, pe,rsonalize, your use,r e,nvironme,nt, and if ne,e,de,d, dive, into some, advance,d linux wizardry.

Some, e,sse,ntial te,rminologie,s

While, all e,fforts have, be,e,n poure,d in to maintain a simple,, frie,ndly approach throughout the, journe,y, some, significant words and te,rminologie,s will still be, use,d. the,se, will most like,ly be, use,d throughout the, book to e,ithe,r e,laborate, proce,sse,s or provide, an e,xplanation. without the,se,, it is virtually impossible, to proce,e,d. to give, you a bit of a warm-up e,xe,rcise, and ge,t your compre,he,nsive, skills flowing, he,re, are, a fe,w most commonly use,d te,rms:

Command line, inte,rface, (cli). it is a te,xt-base,d inte,rface, that allows a use,r to navigate, through the, compute,r/ne,twork, move, file,s, and e,xe,cute, commands.

Flavors. although some, may find this unusual, the, te,rm flavor is use,d to de,scribe, the, variants or distributions of linux. the, ne,xt time, you he,ar or re,ad this, you would now know what it re,fe,rs to.

Ke,rne,l. this is e,sse,ntially the, he,art and soul of any ope,rating syste,m. the, e,ntire, os, me,mory manage,me,nt, task manage,me,nt, proce,sse,s, and data manage,me,nt re,lie,s on a ke,rne,l.

Ope,rating syste,m (os). the, software, that communicate,s be,twe,e,n the, machine, or hardware, and allows programs to function. think windows, mac os, android for phone,s, e,tc.

She,ll. it is lite,rally like, a virtual she,ll that wraps itse,lf around othe,r programs and runs it. it is whe,re, you type, in your commands, and the, action is the,n carrie,d out for you. if it sounds familiar, it is be,cause, some, use, this inte,rchange,ably with cli.

Unix. this is the, mothe,r of linux. that is inde,e,d a fact and not just a fancy way of putting it (more, of that in chapte,r 1).

With the,se, me,ntione,d, we, are, all se,t to dive, into the, world of linux, and since, it is a start we, are, focusing on, it is important to take, a trip back me,mory lane, and find out just how linux came, into e,xiste,nce, in the, first place,. sure,ly, some,thing must have, happe,ne,d which force,d some,one, to think outside, the, box and e,ve,ntually come, up with a solution that continue,s to be, use,d today.

Chapte,r 1: what le,d to linux?

so you have, just starte,d on a ne,w journe,y, and imme,diate,ly you are, be,ing take,n back into the, page,s of history. you might be, wonde,ring why. the,re, is a pe,rfe,ctly good e,xplanation for this, which will be,come, cle,ar by the, e,nd of this chapte,r.

We, know we, are, about to le,arn some,thing calle,d linux, a rival for windows and mac os that appare,ntly most pe,ople, have, ne,ve,r he,ard of. this shy but e,xtre,me,ly e,fficie,nt ope,rating syste,m has drawn quite, a lot of atte,ntion from the, world. it stands as one, of the, all-time, gre,ats and continue,s to se,rve, almost e,ve,ryone, whe,the,r the,y know about it or not.

If you are, an android use,r, you are, alre,ady familiar with the, file, syste,m that linux use,s. you may have, he,ard of use,rs and supe,r use,rs, acce,ssible, through a me,thod calle,d rooting. the,se, are, e,xactly what you can e,xpe,ct to come, across in linux.

In orde,r to fully unde,rstand ce,rtain conce,pts and why linux came, into use,, le,t us sit back and re,wind the, clock quite, a lot.

A brie,f history

We, find ourse,lve,s some,whe,re, be,twe,e,n 1991 and 1994. a guy name,d linus torvalds starte,d a proje,ct whe,re, his motive, was to cre,ate, his own ope,rating syste,m. using unix as building blocks, the, e,ntire, ope,rating syste,m was made, from scratch. this is some,thing you might want to re,me,mbe,r as the,re, are, quite, a fe,w source,s whe,re, unix is haile,d as the, mothe,r of linux.

Obviously, those, who have, se,e,n unix would know that linux use,s commands that are, quite, similar to those, se,e,n in unix. this naturally le,d pe,ople, to be,lie,ve, that linux is just anothe,r ve,rsion of unix. as me,ntione,d e,arlie,r, it is not at all the, case, since, both of the,se, are, diffe,re,nt. both ope,rating syste,ms are, inde,pe,nde,nt and se,rve, diffe,re,nt purpose,s. with that sorte,d, we, can now proce,e,d to find out what brought mr. torvalds to cre,ate, an os from the, ground up.

Be,fore, linux e,ve,r be,came, a succe,ss that it is today, the,re, still e,xiste,d othe,r ope,rating syste,ms. in orde,r for pe,ople, to gain acce,ss and use, the,m, the,y ne,e,de,d to pay quite, a bit. this was obviously a proble,m for a lot of software, e,ngine,e,rs and de,ve,lope,rs. obviously, the, world was not ye,t introduce,d to source,s like, we, have, today, which have, e,ase,d the, proce,ss of writing hundre,ds of line,s of code,s and de,ve,lop software,, upgrade, the,m, or modify the,m. it took quite, a lot of time,, and it cost quite, a lot of mone,y. not e,xactly the, ide,al situation for anyone, to find the,mse,lve,s in.

Mr. torvalds re,alize,d that in orde,r for software, e,ngine,e,rs to continue, thriving, the,y ne,e,de,d an ope,rating syste,m, and the, the,n-available, options we,re, quite, costly. right about this mome,nt, an ide,a came, forth — an e,piphany that would change, quite, a lot of things for ye,ars to come,. mr. linus de,cide,d to do the, unthinkable, and cre,ate, an ope,rating syste,m, right from ze,ro, and make, it a true, ope,n-source, ope,rating syste,m.

This ope,ne,d a floodgate, to possibilitie,s for programme,rs across the, globe,. now, the,y had some,thing that was not only fre,e, but unpre,ce,de,nte,d acce,ss to the, actual source, code,. to make, things be,tte,r, the,y could now manipulate,, modify, alte,r, or change, the, code, to the,ir liking and come, up with the,ir own ve,rsion of linux. sure, e,nough, this caught on rathe,r quickly. the, re,sult was a succe,ss be,yond compre,he,nsion. with thousands of variants coming up, some, starte,d gaining more, popularity. if you have, e,ve,r he,ard of ubuntu, it is a prime, e,xample, of what we, are,