What are these pesky core.12345 files I am seeing on my account? I didn't put them there and they are using up space. What's going on?
Fortunately, core files are usually not present as a result of a hack. They are, rather, error files that explain why something in the account failed. When a program crashes, a core dump is triggered which writes the core file.
"A core file is created when a program terminates unexpectedly, due to a bug or a violation of the operating system's or hardware's protection mechanisms. The operating system kills the program and creates a core file that programmers can use to figure out what went wrong. It contains a detailed description of the state that the program was in when it died." (source: http://www.unixguide.net/linux/faq/07.13.shtml )
What do I do about core files?
Please do not delete them. They contain very important information about the cause of the errors.
Instead, we ask that you please visit LiveChat or email support@osirion.co.za to let us know if you see these files. We can investigate the files to determine the cause of their presence. We will take a look at the date, file size, and content of the dump file to see what has happened and should be able to address any issues to get them taken care of for you.
Once the issue is cleared, we can then assist you as well in deleting the error files and clearing up the space they are using since they will no longer be needed.