Protecting Linux GRUB With A Password

In my previous post we talked about changing password for root account on a Linux machine. If you have read it then I am sure you won’t like a naughty geek doing any kind of hanky-panky with your GRUB. So as I promised here we’ll discuss about protecting GRUB with a password.

The steps required do this is quite simple.  So let’s start our job–

• First of all open the command prompt and type the following command:

grub-md5-crypt

• Now type the password you want to apply to GRUB and you’ll get an encrypted string as output. Now select it with your mouse and right-click on it to copy it.
• Now go to the file /etc/grub.conf and write the following line:

password    –md5       paste the string we just copied by again a right-click.

• Save the file and quit. Now if someone wants to change kernel parameters through the way we saw previously he’ll be asked to enter the password and this way you can make your GRUB safe from the mischievous fellows.

Hacking Root Password In Linux

Hi friends! Time to come back for another blog post regarding Linux and this time we’ll mess with the root account password. My friends who  know Linux at their fingertips would find it easy but nevertheless it’s really interesting. This is the first task one need to do during the RHCE exam. So let’s break the root password from the GRUB.

At the time of booting process starts press ESC key to enter OS selection menu.

Here highlight the OS using arrow keys and then press E to edit it. Now you will see a screen like this.

Select the second line containing information regarding kernel parameters.

Now again press E to edit these kernel parameters. We can edit various kernel parameters from here but what we’ll do is to change the runlevel of  System.

Once we have entered into parameter editing mode type 1 or s or single after a space and then press ENTER key. Now press B to boot the system in the single user mode. This is the troubleshooting mode for Linux and we use this for repairing and maintenance.

Now let the system take its time to boot and once you get the prompt all you need is to issue just 2 simple commands.

setenforce 0

Here zero indicates to set SELinux permission to permissive mode. You may not need to do this in your home environment. After this issue passwd command and change the password for root account.

 

Once you have successfully changed the password issue init 5 to switch to graphical mode and enjoy -You have successfully changed the password for root account. So guys here we played with the GRUB and in my next  post I’ll tell you how to password protect your GRUB menu so that no mischief can be done through this trick .So till then wait and watch and have fun.

Universal Torrent Checker

Whenever it comes to download something we find torrents as an ultimate solution. Whether it is Softwares Movies TV shows or anything else torrents are like panacea. Since April 2001 when bit torrent came into existence it contributes 25 to 50% share in global internet traffic. Well this is just a fact to show the importance of torrents but our topic of discussion for this evening is a bit different.

Sometimes we download a torrent and after a while it’s updated. For example suppose we have downloaded a popular TV show and after few days fresh episodes of that show are released on torrent site. So do we need to search for them or we can get automatic updates regarding the new releases ? And the answer is yes,you can.

Universal Torrent Checker by elphsoft is one such application which let you get your torrents easily. You can get it from here. As its name implies it works with all torrent trackers. Its easy to use interface makes it a task of few seconds to add or check torrents. So in case you are searching for such an application I think that here your search comes to an end and it’s time to give it a try.