[Fedora] Seeing input on Securing the Linux system from intrusions and attacks.

[Gene Heskett]

On Sunday 30 December 2007, Tim wrote:
>Craig White:
>> Actually, anyone who has set up Windows 2003 Server in the last year has
>> noticed that this shouldn't happen anymore because the firewall is
>> automatic during initial setup phase and user is clearly aware that
>> during initial setup phase, this firewall remains until updates are all
>> installed or the user opts out.
>
>That's hardly an OS for a user.  In this case, it would have been 2000
>or XP, most likely.
>
>> Let's give Microsoft a little credit (not much, but a little).
>
>Only as being a successful software *pusher*, not for being a good
>software creator.
>
>My laptop came with Vista, there was virtually no avoiding it.  Not
>unless I wanted to mail order in some computer that I'd never been able
>to physically inspect in a shop before purchase.  And that's not
>something I'll do with a purchase of that price.
>
>I can see they've smartened up a bit, but only a bit.  Yes, at long
>last, you don't have to login as the admin to do some admin tasks.  Just
>give an admin password at the right moment, just like when we try to use
>one of the various system-config- whatever GUIs.  But it doesn't give
>you an option to keep that authentication for the next one, you're
>forever typing in the password.  Eventually users are going to turn off
>the security, in one way or another.
>
>It doesn't always work, either.  Not everything will run as a user, or
>let the user run it as an admin.  For example, I thought I'd have a look
>at the BBC's / Patrick Moore's "Sky at Night" [1].  There's no way that
>I can make use of the view on-line feature.  It wants to install some
>Real Media software, and I can't.  It fails, because the run-as an admin
>doesn't work, and you can't actually log in as an admin (well you
>probably can, but I can't find a way to do it).  And why did I try this
>in Vista?  Because I couldn't get it to work in Linux.  The on-line
>thing was a no-goer.  I used mplayer to stream-dump, but that gives me
>audio-only playback.
>
>1:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/space/spaceguide/skyatnight/
>
FWIW Tim, it is all working for me right now.  Numerous clicks to actually get 
to the mplayer, and the video's aspect ratio is squeezed somewhat, but its 
working.

>--
>[tim at bigblack ~]$ uname -ipr
>2.6.23.1-10.fc7 i686 i386
>
>Using FC 4, 5, 6 & 7, plus CentOS 5.  Today, it's FC7.
>
>Don't send private replies to my address, the mailbox is ignored.
>I read messages from the public lists.



-- 
Cheers, Gene
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
Questionable day.

Ask somebody something.