If you can’t monitor everything yourself, why not let your computers watch your computers? This month we examine some practical techniques for network monitoring.

Internet intruders have many ingenious ways of escalating privileges and hiding their presence once they get inside your system. The best protection is to keep them out in the cold.

Good tools are half the battle – even if you are just managing virtual machines. This month we take a practical look at virtualization, and we show you a new threat to watch for in the virtual future.

You can find a web service that does almost anything your home computer can do. This month we study some examples of Software as a Service.

Just because Google’s services are web-based doesn’t mean you can’t use them from the comfort of your desktop.

Tools such as Linux From Scratch, NimbleX Live CD Generator, Kiwi image system, and the Ubuntu Customization Kit can help you create your own custom Linux system.

Linux From Scratch helps you create a custom Linux system with everything you need and nothing more. And as you build your system, you’ll get an insider’s look at how Linux really works.

If you want customization without all the fuss, then try building your own custom ISO image with the web-based Custom NimbleX Live CD Generator.

The Kiwi image system lets you create bootable images for a variety of purposes. We’ll show you how to use Kiwi to create a Live USB stick.

We’ll show you how to create a custom Ubuntu ISO with the Ubuntu Customization Kit.