begining security

Hey, I have decided (reluctantly) to get mandrake linux. I have heard that it is VERY insecure out of the box. And I was told to get hacking linux exposed. For right now that is a LITTLE advanced for me. So, how can I improve linux security? Are there any good firewalls available for linux? No, let's re-phrase that, what are the good firewalls for linux? And should I patch linux when I get it? The reason I have a doabt about this is that everytime I try to patch win98 on the M$ website my computer crashes. So far I have not been impressed with M$ patching. And finally, is that all?

Thanks

Punkin,

Hope this will get you started.

KapperDog

Quote:

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Hey, I have decided (reluctantly) to get mandrake linux

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Maybe you should try out linux when you actually are up to it.

Here are a few more links that you should bookmark:

http://www.linuxnewbie.org/
http://sunsite.dk/linux-newbie/Linux_commands.htm

I hear Bastille is a pretty good utility for quickly repairing some of the more gaping security holes some Linux distros might have.

Bastille works great with RED HAT distro's. For mandrake use the Single Network firewall. It was designed specifically for Mandrake.

Oh, oops. My mistake, then.

Quote:

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Originally posted by Punkin
Hey, I have decided (reluctantly) to get mandrake linux. I have heard that it is VERY insecure out of the box. And I was told to get hacking linux exposed. For right now that is a LITTLE advanced for me.
Thanks

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I am afraid of this quote but I will guess that it only means that you have never touched, played with, looked at or even known where to find a Linux machine before. So I am going to assume that you are a relatively bright induhvidual when I say this. If you are not...then disreguard.

Get a machine that you could care less about.
Install Linux.
Learn what a man page is! http://www.ntua.gr/cgi-bin/man-cgi?intro+1 :deal:
Get a beginners Tutorial.
Learn Your system!

Learn shell scripting with AWK or PERL!

Find the CERT Advisories for you OS.
Read them.
Hack your system.
Fix the security hole. :killcompu
Repeat!

Hook up to the internet.
Let others try to hack you.
Have fun rejecting them from access. :ubergun:
Repeat!

Punkin, no offense, but, stick to Windows for a while. At least until you understand computing concepts. Then securing UNIX based machines won't be such a hassle.

Thinking based on concepts rather practical example will get you ruther, because, you can apply those concepts to more difficult tasks.
For example, using a firewall to protect yourself. IPTables/IPChains is what is commonly used to protect Linux based machines. In Windows, the firewalls are point and clicka nd you learn what they are protecting you from. Which protocls, services, or attacks are being performed on your system. With a UNIX based machine, this information is already assumed, and strict protection is all that you'll get from it.
So, just take it slow and take your time. Grasp the concepts, then move on to practical applicaiton