It is fast and efficient.
It gives more control and power than the normal GUI.
Multiple security tools only run in the terminal.
Which folder are you in?
Whenever you open the terminal, you are always in a folder in a directory. To understand which directory you are in, there is a very specific command you can run that can help you find that out.
The command is “ pwd.”
To look around?
To look around the files and data stored in the folder you are in, there is another command you can use. It basically tells you the contents of the directory you are in.
The command is “ ls.”
Detailed Search
There is another command that gives you more detail about the contents of that directory. This command includes the previous one with an addition.
The command: “ ls -l.”
Hidden files
There are always some hidden files that you can find; these are the files that you can not see without using this command or without admin access due to security reasons. The command again is just an addition to the previous “ ls “ command.
The command: “ ls -al.”
Also Read: What Happens When a Website Server Goes Down
How to move around?
After using the ls or ls -al command, you might want to open a new directory to move around. For this, you can use a special command that lets you enter a new directory.
The command: “ cd {name of the directory}.”
To get out of this directory, we use a variation of the above command
The command: “ cd .. “
The find tool
Linux has its own tool for finding files in the Command Line Interface. The command is very efficient for finding the files you only know the name of. With this command, you can find the proper location of that file. Keep in mind that this “ ~ “ symbol represents your home directory. So rather than having to write the path of your home directory, you can just use this ~ symbol. Also, hidden files are always named with a period prefix in their names. For example, “ .cache “
The command: name {location of the file} -name {Name of the file}
Here are the multiple variations of this command I used to find the directory called “ Pictures.”
To read it
To be able to read or view the contents inside a directory, we use another special command. It is very efficient and short
The command: “ cat {Name of the content} .”
Since it's for an image, it may look a bit weird, but you will be able to see the text file easily.
Also Read: The Hidden Security Risks Inside Everyday WiFi Networks
Which system you are on?
To know the details of your system, you can use another command.
The command: uname -a
- Linux: Our Operating System
- Red: The name of your PC
- x86_64: Hardware platform
- GNU/Linux: The operating system type
Disc Storage
To find the disc storage of your Linux machine, there is a command you can use.
The command: df -h
This gives you a lot of detail about the storage, but the “ -h “ explains this in human-readable units. If we use the normal df command, we are given the same information, but this time we get it in bits.
The command: df
But this data in bits is not human-readable and hard to understand; that is why we use the “ -h .”
System Files
Linux stores system files in /etc directory. We can run “ cd /etc “ this will let us enter this directory.
Then we used the ls command to look around
Conclusion
This topic is close to my heart; it is your start into the Linux CLI. In cybersecurity, you will be seeing this terminal a lot no matter what distro you use: Ubuntu, Kali, Arch, etc. You will be seeing this terminal a lot. So, I believe this is a proper entry for you into cybersecurity. The next articles will be just as fascinating, so please keep supporting the TopicGems team and me so we can keep bringing you helpful articles.
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