So, now you are using the shadow password file and picking good passwords. You have made a
great start toward securing your system. You may also have noticed by now that security is not
just a one-time job. It is an ongoing process, as much about policies as programs. Keep reading
to learn more.
Using Log Files
If you make use of good firewalling practices as described in Chapter 18, you will be well prepared
to mitigate and prevent most cracker attacks. If your firewall should fail to stop an intrusion, you
must be able to recognize the attack when it is occurring. Understanding the various (and numerous)
log files in which Linux records important events is critical to this goal. The log files for your
Linux system can be found in the /var/log directory.
Most Linux systems make use of log-viewing tools, either provided with the desktop environment
(such as GNOME) or as a command you can execute from a Terminal window. GNOME-based
desktops often include a System Log Viewer window (gnome-system-log command) that you
can use to view and search critical system log files from the GUI. To open the System Log Viewer
window from the top panel in Fedora, select Applications???System Tools???System Logs. Figure 6-4
shows an example of the System Log Viewer window.
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