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Thread: FreeBSD 4.4 Stable

  1. #1
    Senior Member
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    Feb 2002
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    170

    FreeBSD 4.4 Stable

    Hiya,

    As the total lamer I am I just managed to lock myself out of my debian box. (don't ask).
    Anyway, as I need to re-install anyway I thought maybe I should change to freeBSD instead.

    The box will mainly serve as a router/firewall for my home network of 3 computers.

    I know have a bunch of questions that I was hoping that some of could answer:

    *Generally, would freeBSD be thought of as more secure?
    *Is there a fancy packaging system for freeBSD, like rpm or dpkg?
    *Is it hard to configure? My thought here is that it doesn't matter how secure the OS could be if I can't configure it.
    *Are there any easy and/or good firewalls for freeBSD?

    Last but not least, I was hoping on getting some general thoughts and opinions on freeBSD as an OS, pros and cons.

    Thanks,
    Mankan

    \"The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise.\"
    - Edsger Dijkstra

  2. #2
    Installing FreeBSD is not easy and not for the newbie. There is no fancy install and as far as security goes I would say OpenBSD is far more secure. To run the box as a firewall you wil need two nics and configure ipf.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2001
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    1,193
    Focmaester -
    Where can you get Open BSD, does someone sell a cd box kit or is it a download?
    Trappedagainbyperfectlogic.

  4. #4
    If you wanna buy OpenBSD stuff and you live in Europe, www.kd85.com
    or if you wanna download it then ftp.openbsd.org
    3.0 is the newest version out, I would say download it rather then buying it if you just wanna give it a try.

  5. #5
    Senior Member
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    Dec 2001
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    thks. I have not worked with this version so am going to try and get it.
    Trappedagainbyperfectlogic.

  6. #6
    Senior Member
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    I have heard it before at several occasions, but how is it that openbsd is more secure? Isn't most of the security in the users, or the configuration made by them?
    Mankan

    \"The purpose of abstraction is not to be vague, but to create a new semantic level in which one can be absolutely precise.\"
    - Edsger Dijkstra

  7. #7
    OpenBSD is so called "pro actively secure"
    all code inserted is constantly tested before a new version is released.
    Besides is secure by default, no services run until you have enabled them.

  8. #8
    oh btw I forgot, there is a small BSD distro called ClosedBSD, it fits on a floppy and turns an old i386 into a firewall using ipfw.

    www.closedbsd.org

  9. #9
    Just to give FreeBSD its credit I ran 4.3 for awhile and it performed very well. It was considerably more difficult to configure than any *nix box I have set up. However it did handle my hardware better than any OS I've installed on my test box.
    A squirrel with no nuts will soon starve.

  10. #10
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
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    If freebsd is too difficult to use, GOOD LUCK with openbsd

    I do not think freebsd is that difficult. If you have some linux experience, it is no problem. You can also use IPF for your freebsd firewall, I believe it is the default FW package in v4.5.

    Freebsd is also very secure, although not quite as secure as openbsd, because in openbsd, all services are disabled by default. In freebsd, you will have to stop some services that are unnecessary, like sendmail. Also, do not install the inetd services during the install when prompted. all it really gives you is telnet, but I would suggest using SSH instead.

    The installation of freebsd is also very easy in my opinion, the hardest part is creating the partition, but go out to their website, and there are some very good HOWTO's.

    if you need any additional help, I would be more than happy...

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