Unix Common Commands

What is a good password?

Your password can be changed with the 'passwd' command.
Passwords must be at least 6 characters long, but no more than 8 characters long.
Your password absolutely should not be any word which can be found in a dictionary (English or any other language).
Any reversal or transposition of a dictionary word is also bad.
A good password will be some combination of numbers and letters (both upper- and lower-case).
It is a good idea to use a punctuation mark or two in your password. However, avoid @ and _ because they may cause login problems on some systems.

Common UNIX commands

UNIX commands have a general format of 'command {-options} arguments'



cd

change directory


chmod

change protections (permissions) on files and directories


cp

copy a file


date

display the current time and date


finger

display user information


grep

search a file for a specified string


ls

list files and directories


man

display online manual pages


mkdir

make a directory


more

display contents of a file on screen


mv

move a file or directory


pwd

display current working directory


rm

remove (delete) a file or directory

Useful Programs

telnet

Open a connection to another computer for a login session.


ftp

File Transfer Protocol Use this to move files from one computer system to another.


vi

Vi is a text editor you can use to create and edit text files.


pico

pico is another text editor for creating and editing text files.

E-Mail: Pine/Elm

Pine

Pine is a simple, easy-to-use e-mail program.


Elm

Elm is a more powerful e-mail program, but is somewhat harder to configure and use due to its added features.

Usenet News: nn/pine/tin

nn

nn is the original net-news reader for UNIX. nn allows you to read and post articles in the Usenet newsgroups.

Pine

Pine is a simple, easy-to-use news reader program.


tin

tin is another news reader harder to configure more options.