need a version of *nix for a security laptop

I'm currently dual-booting Windows XP and RH 8 on a Dell Inspiron 8200 512MB RAM 40GB HDD, mini-PCI wireless and NIC.

i'm plenty used to the *nix environment, but I'm looking for suggestions about what version of *nix to put on the laptop for security purposes. I would be using it strictly for audits, forensics and the such. I've never had a problem with RedHat or Slackware, I did try FreeBSD but I had some issues during the install, which i just didn't take enough time to figure out *kicks ADHD*

Just wondering what your opinions/suggestions/comments/reasons are.

Anyways, I'm thinking either RedHat 9, Slackware 9.1 or FreeBSD. I'm open to suggestions on others that I didn't list.

thanks in advance.

i would recommend HD 9. From what i've heard and seen it is quite the operating system.

HD 9 :confused:

did you mean RH 9?

lol, that too, lol it has just been one of those days. Lol, sorry, thanks tekno.

I meant RH 9

hehe...no problem,

i've had plenty of those days myself.

If your're looking for a security OS you should check out OpenBSD. It installs with many
features disabled intentually to prevent security risks. It has the best track record for
the BSD's. OpenBSD requires more technical knowledge and skill to use effectively than
FreeBSD, so it would not the best choice for beginners. BUT, because of its reputation
for security, experienced UNIX administrators frequently use it to build firewall routers
and secure servers. Now as for doing audits and forensics, I do know that Coroners
Tool Kit (a collection of tools designed to assist in a forensic examination of a computer)
supports OpenBSD and nmap still works along with nessus, and maybe you will have
better luck with getting OpenBSD installed. Hope this helps with your decision.


-dephial

You should check out http://www.guardiandigital.com/produ...are/community/ since they got an award or two for being a secure Linux version. It's not entirely free from what I saw, but it may well be worth it.

linuxalien

Did I hear you say wireless... you should check out http://www.antionline.com/showthread...ght=wardriving

you could always try the bastille scripts - they are a bunch of shell scripts that ask you questions and tighten security based on your answers. you could try suse and use the hardensuse script to make it more secure. then of course there are grsecurity patches which prevent buffer overflows and such but they limit the applications you can run. you cant run X with them. are you using this computer to be secure or for security analysis?

I want this laptop to be secure as well as to use for security analysis.

Right now...I have Slackware 9.1 installed on it. Next I think I'm going to try debian, then Suse.

wassup.....do you know where I can get a hold of those bastille scripts?

c0bra...one step ahead of you ;)

thanks for the replies everyone!

For security analysis I would recommend RH9, since most applications are most compatible with RH I've found with little modifications needing to be done to config files, however if you're looking for personal security I would go with OpenBSD.
Slackware is alright if you don't mind doing a lot of tweeking yourself, which requires a little bit of time, but its doable if one knows what they're doing. Slackware would be good if you're very detail minded, you can control a lot more features, but you also get a lot of headaches.
But if you're the patient type, then Slackware it is!

Caveat.... I am as much of a Linux zealot as anyone else and highly recommend it to everyone.

However, you did mention security, and I would have to say OpenBSD. Linux has a lot of potential to be secure, far more secure than some UNIX's and Windows, but the only secure OS straight out of the box is OpenBSD. Having said that, you will be much happier with RedHat, Mandrake or SuSE if you are a complete newbie to UNIX.

Kind of on subject. But head over to http://www.knoppix-std.org/

Its a linux distro with security tools (crackers, sniffers, forens, honeypots etc) and is all on a bootable cd.

Might not be what you had in mind, but its a nice cd to have in the book. You never know when you might need it.

I have to say RH 9.
I actually went through this process recently. Then thing is you can really make any distro secure with a little work.Sure some come out of the box more secure but none will require huge amounts of work to tighten down.

The usage of security tools is what wins with RH. It is the most supported from what I can tell. I thnk Salckware would be a nightmare for this.

so far the only problem i've had with slackware is with my orinoco gold card. Seems to not want to change the channel, tells me operation not supported. I have the newest pcmcia module and the orinoco drivers patched. I'm still working on this problem. Other than that, I haven't had a problem with slack 9.1

I am thinking about going back to RH tho, simply for the fact, like you said it's well supported. Granted i could build from source, which i do alot anyways...I feel the most support is with redhat and I personally feel comfortable on a redhat box. I just got ahold of another laptop, so redhat 9 is going on one and slackware 9.1 on the other :p