8.5.1 Kill a process

Run top to see what process is acting funny. Press `P' to sort by CPU usage, `M' to sort by memory, and `k' to kill a process. Alternatively, BSD-style ps aux | less or System-V-style ps -efH | less may be used. The System-V-style syntax displays parent process IDs (PPID) which can be used for killing zombie (defunct) children.

Use kill to kill (or send a signal to) a process by process ID, killall to do the same by process command name. Frequently used signals:

      1: HUP,  restart daemon
     15: TERM, normal kill
      9: KILL, kill hard