You may want to read about logrotate. I'm running MDK 8.1. In my system, logrotate settings are located in /etc/logrotate.d. Each file in that directory is the log rotation sheme for an application or daemon.
If you didn't create a separate partition for /var, you should keep an eye on your logs because filling up /var/log will also fill up your root directory (bad idea).
What logrotate will do is compress old logs, and delete even older previously compressed logs in your /var/log (or any) directory, as long as the daemon has a config file sitting in /etc/logrotate.d. Take a look at some of the other config files in this directory, and read the man page, and you should get the gist of what it would take to change them or make your own.
Keep in mind that it's a good idea to keep older versions of compressed logs around for a while -- text compresses really well so they won't take up too much space -- and you'll be able to refer back to the old logs if you need to.
Other than that, in terms of housecleaning, there are a lot of things you can do. Make sure that you turn off any services that you don't need. If you don't use the FTP daemon, for example, you should turn it off. It's a good idea to find out what ports you have open, too. I regularly do a self-scan using nmap:
Code:
nmap `ifconfig eth0 | fgrep "inet addr" | cut -d: -f2 | cut -d ' ' -f1`
If you don't have it already, install "lsof". Running "lsof -i" will give you more info about the network daemons you have running.
There's a hell of a lot more that you can configure and keep an eye on to keep your box safe and efficient. The rule is "if you don't use it, turn it off". Too many people get cracked because of things like this.
Linux house cleaning tips?
