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How to install Snort in Ubuntu Linux

Updated: Nov 28, 2023

If you are new to the Linux command line and IDS/IPS software then you may not be surprised to learn that installing Snort, an open source IDS/IPS solution is NOT straight forward.


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In this blog post I am going to get straight to the point and give you commands you need to know to successfully install Snort in Ubuntu.


Take a note of your IP address

$ip a


$ sudo apt update && sudo apt install snort


Add any custom rules to the Snort local.rules file

sudo nano /etc/snort/rules/local.rules


Go to the bottom of the page and add any custom rules, for example:


alert icmp any any -> any any (msg: "YOUR CUSTOM MESSAGE"; sid:1000001;)


Close the nano doc with CTRL+X and Y to save


$ sudo systemctl status.service


Check the logs:


$ sudo tail /var/log/snort/snort.alert.fast


Now run Snort LIVE and monitor the console


$ sudo snort -A console -q -u snort -c /etc/snort/snort.conf -l enp0s3


Now ping the Ubuntu machine and watch the terminal


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