Security. What do linux users need to know?

[wdhpr]

The original link I found for this I think gave around 400 days free license and mine said 215 on install but I saw on their site somewhere that this can just be renewed for free again when it runs out.

I believe you are corret ............. Lets,..... let those to discover themselves.

Questions remains....................do we let are credit card to be stored......

I believe linux is still safer!

Cheers
Wdhpr

[bk_7312]

Originally Posted by lonny

Warning Requires: Reading & Thinking

http://www.geekzone.co.nz/foobar/6229

Took me a while to read it but it was worth the time. I learned a lot about Linux security.

I should point out: The vulnerabilities we will be taking advantage of are 'features' of the most popular modern Linux desktop environments, Gnome and KDE. The actual core of Linux itself does not have any of these vulnerabilities. A Linux (or any other *nix) system without running Gnome or KDE will not exhibit any of these problems, which is one of the huge advantages of properly separating the core OS from other applications such as the desktop environment.

On the flip side, if you run those desktop environments on other OSs (maybe on FreeBSD, for example) then you possibly have to deal with the same vulnerabilities.

I see, window managers/desktop environments play a sort-of vital part in security. Guess I should consider an alternative to KDE then.

We said earlier that attachments are not normally run when they are stored as files. There is no standard file extension that indicates that a file should be executed when clicked, as there is under Windows. Instead - and this is the second big hurdle we need to overcome - for the file to be executable under Linux (or any other *nix OS), the execute flag would have to be set in the permissions of the file. This is something that Windows doesn't have, and which is often seen as one of the reasons why infecting a Windows PC can be so easy, and why it should be close to impossible on *nix systems. When you save an email attachment under Linux, the execute flag is normally NOT set and thus, the file can't be executed just by clicking on it. So, no luck?

Not so fast. Modern desktop environments, such as Gnome and KDE, conveniently offer a nice "workaround" called 'launchers'. Those are small files that describe how something should be started. Just a few lines that specify the name, the icon that should be displayed and the actual command to execute. Conveniently, the syntax of those launcher files is the same for Gnome and KDE. And those launchers don't have to have any execute permissions set on them! Desktop environments treat those files as a special case, so when you click on them Gnome or KDE will happily execute the command that was specified within the launcher description and without the need for the execute bit to be set on the launcher itself.

Didn't know that... I think I should consider an anti-virus now.

The trouble free times of the past have given Linux users another false sense of security. We are so used to the constant mantra of "Linux is so secure, you don't even need anti-virus software!" that we probably really don't have any anti-virus software to catch us when we are about to do something dumb.

Hey, do you think it would be possible to create a 'Best free anti-virus for Mac/Linux' or does a 'Best free firewall for Mac/Linux' seems more probable?

Thanks

[MidnightCowboy]

Thanks for posting these extracts. As a new convert my Linux learning curve is steep enough as it is but I reckon it's just got steeper

I guess in a way people moving from Windows, or like me adding Linux as a dual boot, will already be used to dealing with potential security issues so doing a bit more research is not too much of a chore. Overall, even with an AV scanner to manage the demands on time, resources and amount of software required are still no where near that for Windows.

[MidnightCowboy]

Originally Posted by wdhpr

I believe you are corret ............. Lets,..... let those to discover themselves.

Questions remains....................do we let are credit card to be stored......

I believe linux is still safer!

Cheers
Wdhpr

Not exactly sure what you mean here?... but there's no need to enter credit card details anywhere.

[wdhpr]

N

ot exactly sure what you mean here?... but there's no need to enter credit card details anywhere.

I guess I was trying to make an abstract thought while trying to be rhetorical.
At second glance, I did neither very well :P.

This whole notion of security issues with Linux has me rethinking everything. Of course I would never suggest keeping ones credit card info stored on the computer. But there for awhile I was tempted to keep my little credit card (low limit just for online orders) stored on my linux version of keypass for convenience. I won't even consider it now.
Linux is safer than windows but has vulnerabilities as well.

Cheers
Wdhpr

[MidnightCowboy]

Ah, now I understand what you were saying in your other post.

Well, helpful as ever here's 80 of the best security apps for Linux to get you started. When you're tried them all post back here and tell us how safe you feel.

http://www.linuxlinks.com/article/20.../Security.html

Attachment 329

[wdhpr]

Well, helpful as ever here's 80 of the best security apps for Linux to get you started. When you're tried them all post back here and tell us how safe you feel.

OMG...........lol

ignorance was bliss.

I will continue with the premise of linux being a more secure OS than windows. I also can see how software developers want to prey on people's paranoia.
Now weeding out the true security threats from the perceived ones

I can only imagine the long time linux users getting a kick from this thread.

Update: The more I look into this issue. The deeper it gets. This comes from the Mepis lovers forum key search words where security vulnerabilities: http://mepislovers.org/forums/search...archid=1009090
Cheers
Wdhpr

[MidnightCowboy]

I really do think it's a case of the longer you look into a hole the bigger it appears to be. I refuse to go back down the Windows stress path by trying to load up Ubuntu with as much junk as I have installed on Vista.

BitDefender, RootkitHunter and Firestarter is now my limit reached

[wdhpr]

BitDefender, RootkitHunter and Firestarter is now my limit reached

Well I tried BitDefender and I liked it better than the default ClamAV. Firestarter i found kinda of buggy. So I am back to guardDog. RootKitHunter looks pretty good considering what I already had. Which was none. Has no GUI so I have to use the command line from root. No biggie

Cheers
Wdhpr

[wdhpr]

Hey, do you think it would be possible to create a 'Best free anti-virus for Mac/Linux' or does a 'Best free firewall for Mac/Linux' seems more probable?

Hi bk7312

From what I am reading mac has it on unique security vulnerabilities. So maybe the two should be separate. It is kind of interesting in the disparity in the amount of thread activity between the two OS's.
Just my 2 cents

Cheers
Wdhpr