Linux Security Cookbook

This is One of My Favorites,Let Me know what you think about the Book. Computer security is an ongoing process, a relentless contest between system administrators and intruders. A good administrator needs to stay one step ahead of any adversaries, which often involves a continuing process of education. If you're grounded in the basics of security, however, you won't necessarily want a complete treatise on the subject each time you pick up a book. Sometimes you want to get straight to the point. That's exactly what the new Linux Security Cookbook does. Rather than provide a total security solution for Linux computers, the authors present a series of easy-to-follow recipes--short, focused pieces of code that administrators can use to improve security and perform common tasks securely. The Linux Security Cookbook includes real solutions to a wide range of targeted problems, such as sending encrypted email within Emacs, restricting access to network services at particular times of day, firewalling a webserver, preventing IP spoofing, setting up key-based SSH authentication, and much more. With over 150 ready-to-use scripts and configuration files, this unique book helps administrators secure their systems without having to look up specific syntax. The book begins with recipes devised to establish a secure system, then moves on to secure day-to-day practices, and concludes with techniques to help your system stay secure. Some of the "recipes" you'll find in this book are: Controlling access to your system from firewalls down to individual services, using iptables, ipchains, xinetd, inetd, and more Monitoring your network with tcpdump, dsniff, netstat, and other tools Protecting network connections with Secure Shell (SSH) and stunnel Safeguarding email sessions with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Encrypting files and email messages with GnuPG Probing your own security with password crackers, nmap, and handy scripts This cookbook's proven techniques are derived from hard-won experience. Whether you're responsible for security on a home Linux system or for a large corporation, or somewhere in between, you'll find valuable, to-the-point, practical recipes for dealing with everyday security issues. This book is a system saver.

A Modern Linux Firewall

Firestarter is an Open Source visual firewall program. The software aims to combine ease of use with powerful features, therefore serving both Linux desktop users and system administrators.
We strongly believe that your job is to make the high level security policy decisions and ours is to take care of the underlying details. This is a departure from your typical Linux firewall, which has traditionally required arcane implementation specific knowledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why you need a firewall

A firewall does not guarantee security but it is in most environments the first line of defense against network based attacks.

You can use Firestarter on your...

... desktop or laptop. Our philosophy of simplicity has made Firestarter the most widely used Linux desktop firewall software available today.
... server. Firestarter can be installed onto individual servers and managed graphically over SSH or using the shell.
... gateway or dedicated firewall. Firestarter will set up Internet connection sharing for you with a minimum of fuss. Want DHCP for the clients? Sure you could configure it yourself, but we know you never get around to doing it, with Firestarter it only takes one click.

Firestarter features

• Open Source software, available free of charge
• User friendly, easy to use, graphical interface
• A wizard walks you through setting up your firewall on your first time
• Suitable for use on desktops, servers and gateways
• Real-time firewall event monitor shows intrusion attempts as they happen
• Enables Internet connection sharing, optionally with DHCP service for the clients
• Allows you to define both inbound and outbound access policy
• Open or stealth ports, shaping your firewalling with just a few mouse clicks
• Enable port forwarding for your local network in just seconds
• Option to whitelist or blacklist traffic
• Real time firewall events view
• View active network connections, including any traffic routed through the firewall
• Advanced Linux kernel tuning features provide protection from flooding, broadcasting and spoofing
• Support for tuning ICMP parameters to stop Denial of Service (DoS) attacks
• Support for tuning ToS parameters to improve services for connected client computers
• Ability to hook up user defined scripts or rulesets before or after firewall activation
• Supports Linux Kernels 2.4 and 2.6
• Translations available for many languages (38 languages as of November 2004)

Network Security Basics

Protecting Your Home Network

 

 

You may think because you are working on your home network you are safe from hackers and other security issues. You may not even use your home computer that often. However, these are security myths and your computer is just as open to viruses, hackers, and security threats as those found at the public library or coffee shops.
If you follow these tips and guidelines, you’ll be protecting your home computer and its network from potential outside attacks.
Make sure your wireless network is password protected. This is the first line of defense for your home network. If there is someone out there who is searching for wireless networks, they won’t be able to gain access to yours. You should always change the password regularly in case someone is able to gain access.
Enable encryption on your wireless network. This security method scrambles information being sent by you so that anyone who may be able to intercept the transmission won’t be able to do anything with it. WPA and WPA2 are examples of the latest encryption protocols.
If by some chance someone has been able to access your network via your router, they will have access to your computer unless you take the precaution of installing a firewall. A firewall will help protect the information that is stored on your computer.
In addition to the above, you should always have the most up-to-date anti-spyware and anti-virus programs up and running. They must be updated regularly, because they are basically worthless if not updated. This is because new threats and viruses pop up on the Internet at an almost daily basis and these updates are critical to the protection of your computer and information. Your operating system and other software should also be updated regularly. This will allow your computer to operate at an optimal level.

GhostBSD 3.0 RC4

 




New Release for Testing GhostBSD 3.0 RC4




 Article from The GhostBSD Website



Know Issues

• ZFS need more testing and will probably not work properly for 3.0.

About Openbox Version.

This version will not contain panel. We release it on a default configuration.


Gnome package list.

cups system-config-printer foomatic-db foomatic-db-engine foomatic-db-hpijs hpijs eog evince file-roller gcalctool gconf-editor gdm gedit gedit-plugins gnome-audio gnome-applets gnome-control-center gnome-keyring gnome-media gnome-power-manager gnome-screensaver gnome-session gnome-system-tools gnome-system-monitor gnome-terminal gnome-themes gnome-utils freedesktop-sound-theme gtk-murrine-engine metacity brasero rhythmbox evolution totem system-config-printer pitivi gnome-netstatus gnome-user-share alacarte libreoffice rsync sudo virtualbox-ose-additions gksu e2fsprogs florence bxpkg cursor-dmz-theme xorg-minimal xorg-drivers setxkbmap linux-f10-flashplugin nspluginwrapper gnome-audio dejavu cyberbit-ttfonts font-kochi wifimgr pidgin transmission firefox xchatbwi-firmware-kmod bwn-firmware-kmod

Lxde package list.

cursor-dmz-theme xorg-minimal xorg-drivers setxkbmap cups lxde-meta lxappearance gdm lxmusic xfburn xarchiver galculator gxneur leafpad freedesktop-sound-theme evince sylpheed parole xscreensaver gnome-utils gnome-themes lxrandr xrandr gtk-murrine-engine zenity mixmos rsync sudo virtualbox-ose-additions gksu e2fsprogs florence bxpkg abiword gnumeric gnome-audio dejavu cyberbit-ttfonts font-kochi wifimgr pidgin transmission firefox xchat bwi-firmware-kmod bwn-firmware-kmod

Openbox package list.

openbox zenity obconf obmenu nitrogen terminator lxappearance xscreensaver geany gmrun xarchiver gnome-utils gnome-themes lxtask mixmos gpicview xfburn Thunar zenity vlc e2fsprogs wifimgr pidgin transmission firefox xchat bwi-firmware-kmod bwn-firmware-kmod cursor-dmz-theme xorg-minimal xorg-drivers setxkbmap cups rsync sudo virtualbox-ose-additions gksu e2fsprogs florence bxpkg abiword gnumeric gnome-audio dejavu cyberbit-ttfonts font-kochi

Some One Is Tracking You !

When you search Google,

 

So don't get tracked when searching.

Use DuckDuckGo instead.  Add to Browser.

Privacy is just one of many reasons why it's awesome.

  

 

For maximum protection, use these apps too:

	Abine DoNotTrack+. IE | Safari | Firefox | Chrome
	Adblock Plus Blocks ads. Firefox | Chrome
	AdBlock Blocks ads. Safari | Chrome | Opera
	AdSweep Blocks ads. Opera | Chrome
	Beef Taco No ad network tracking. Firefox
	Disconnect No tracking from major sites. Chrome | Safari
	HTTPS Everywhere No tracking between you and sites. Firefox | Chrome
	Tor No tracking by being anonymous. Bundle (includes Firefox)

	Ghostery No third-party tracking. IE | Safari | Chrome | Firefox | Opera
	RequestPolicy Manage third-party tracking. Firefox
	RefControl Manage what gets sent to sites. Firefox
	BetterPrivacy No tracking from Flash. Firefox | Others
	NoScript Blocks JavaScript. Firefox
	JavaScript Blocker Blocks JavaScript. Safari
	ScriptNo Blocks JavaScript. Chrome
	NotScripts Blocks JavaScript. Opera | Chrome

 

Do you Like Microsoft?

Do you Like Microsoft Windows and Apple ? Do like to install copies of windows and Apple OS,  with out  paying for? Are you running a small Repair Computer Shop or a business using software?

Before you Install Windows Keep Reading ( I Love Open Source and Don't care about Microsoft ).
 


Software license theory is a pretty dry topic -- we admit that. But it is also a critically important topic because chances are that your business would stop working if your computers stopped working, and by clicking "I agree" when installing software you are literally entering into a contract with a software vendor. We're going to introduce you to some radical new concepts here, and if you read through this page we think you'll be glad you did.
Linux and most programs which run on GNU/Linux are licensed under a software license developed by the Free Software Foundation called the General Public License (GPL), also known as the copyleft license.
GNU/Linux also has software programs which have traditional software licenses -- the "pay per seat" or "pay for each copy" type of software licenses (so you have a maximum amount of choice) -- but most software available for GNU/Linux is free software licensed under the GPL and other non-restrictive software licenses.
A software license outlines the terms under which you can use computer software. Make no mistake about it, GPL'ed computer software is copyrighted -- it has the full force of law and international copyright agreements behind it.
But GPL'ed software turns the restrictive ideas of copyright on their head! For example, with GPL'ed software it is perfectly legal (in fact, encouraged) for you to give the software to your friends and colleagues. You can sell or resell GPL'ed software. And since GPL'ed software comes with the full "source code" (the actual computer language code that programmers write to create the programs we run), you can even modify -- or pay to have someone else modify -- GPL'ed software to fit your own needs better.
There are two main restrictions to GPL'ed software:
(1) You cannot remove the copyright notice or change the software license.
(2) If you modify GPL'ed software and then redistribute the modified software (i.e. by selling it or even giving it away), then you must also share your modifications and license them under the GPL. This guarantees the future freedom of GPL'ed software. This idea allows others to use your modifications and to build upon your work. This sharing also is what creates the lightning-fast development times of free GPL software. (Of course, you are free to keep your custom modifications secret as long as you do not redistribute them in any way.)
Imagine what this can do for your business or organization! First, you can significantly lower software costs. You don't have to worry about fines and being guilty of software piracy -- there's no such thing with GPL'ed software. Since you have the source code to your computer programs, you can never be "locked into" a single vendor; your data can never be locked up in a secret file format forcing you to continue to buy updates to software just to have access to your data. And, since you have the source code, you can hire programmers to modify a program (adding or reducing features) to your own liking (sure, few small organizations do that, but it is certainly possible).
In other words, GPL'ed software is business-friendly software. It puts the freedom of how to use software into your hands! You decide on how software can best fit your business needs, and you simply use GPL'ed software that way. Though this is simple common sense, this is a radical departure from typical software licensing!
To make sure we drive this point home, let's compare free GPL software to the type of software license used by most businesses, Microsoft's restrictive license agreements. This can be done by asking a you few questions:

• Did you know that when you install most Microsoft software that you agree to allow Microsoft or their third-party representatives to go into your place of business and to search for illegal software any time they want to?
And you also agreed to pay for the full costs of this investigation -- and any penalties -- if you are found to have pirated any software. Think this won't happen to you -- that you're too small to worry about? Microsoft has prosecuted some small school districts and businesses just to set an example! Sure, the odds are low you'll be audited this way, but why would you want to take the chance and agree to such a thing?
• Did you know that you agree to give up certain rights of free speech when you install Microsoft software? You agreed not to publish any benchmarks indicating how fast or how slow Microsoft's software is. Think about this: How can you make an informed decision about buying software when Microsoft only allows favorable benchmarks to be published?
• Did you know that some versions of Microsoft's FrontPage web creation software makes users give up the right to use FrontPage to write anything disrespectful about Microsoft? To me, that's downright un-American. Yet schools all over the country are running this software -- what sort of a civics lesson does that teach our children?
• Did you know that when you install a copy of Windows and/or Microsoft Office that details about your computer are sent to Microsoft and that you are issued a Globally Unique Identifier (GUID)? This GUID is then secretly embedded into every single document you create with Microsoft Office.
• Do you know that you gave Microsoft -- or its designated third parties -- the right to enter your Windows computer and to disable software?
• Did you know that the Microsoft Word file format (the .DOC files in which Word documents are saved) is a secret, proprietary format? Only Microsoft knows exactly what is inside of those files and how those files are created; the GUID issue mentioned above was discovered only after extensive research (research which Microsoft and others are lobbying to be made illegal, by the way). Of course, most people have seen how Microsoft has used these secret file formats to force software upgrades on users, but consider this issue from a business perspective: Is it wise to put your most sensitive business data into a "secret box" which you don't have the key for and which only 1 vendor controls?

One cannot call restrictions like those in the above questions to be business friendly. Those restrictions are Microsoft-business-friendly, for sure, but they certainly are not friendly to your business!
When examining the types of restrictions found in traditional commercial software, the need for free software and open and free file formats stands out and screams at you. And thanks to the group of computer researchers that formed the Free Software Foundation and who created the GPL, the problem is solved.
The free software licensed under the GPL is truly business-friendly software.
Now with the arrival of GNU/Linux systems we have a user-friendly, freedom-embracing solution to the needs of businesses like yours. (And don't worry, GNU/Linux systems will handle those secret Microsoft Office file formats quite well, so you'll still be able to communicate with the people who are not enjoying business-friendly software.)
Thanks for Stopping by.

WebDAV Installation

GNU/Linux operating systems

First, as an administrator

fallow the Links for the Installation, if you have questions drop me a line and I will do my best to  Help you.

If you are an Advance user you shouldn't have any problems at all.

 

1. Install the WebDAV support: sudo apt-get install davfs2
2. Reconfigure davfs2 to allow access to normal users: sudo dpkg-reconfigure davfs2 (select Yes when prompted)
3. Add the users you want to be able to mount the share to the davfs2 group: sudo usermod -aG davfs2 <user>
4. Edit /etc/fstab, and add the following line for each user who wants to mount the folder (with your details where appropriate)
   • For version 1.x: ADDRESS/webdav/owncloud.php /home/<username>/owncloud davfs user,rw,noauto 0 0
   • For version 2.x: ADDRESS/files/webdav.php /home/<username>/owncloud davfs user,rw,noauto 0 0

Then, as each user who wants to mount the folder

1. Create the folders owncloud & .davfs2 in your home directory
2. Create the file secrets inside .davfs2, fill it with the following (with your credentials where appropriate)
   • For version 1.x: ADDRESS/webdav/owncloud.php <username> <password>
   • For version 2.x: ADDRESS/files/webdav.php <username> <password>
3. Ensure the file is only writable by you either through the file manager, or via chmod 600 ~/.davfs2/secrets
4. Run the command: mount ~/owncloud
5. To automatically mount the folder on login, add the command you used in step 4 to ~/.bashrc

Known issues:

Resource temporarily unavailable

If you experience trouble when you create a file in the directory, edit /etc/davfs2/davfs2.conf and add use_locks 0

Certificate warnings

If you use a self-signed certificate, you will get a warning. If you are willing to take the risk of a man in the middle attack, run this command instead: echo "y" | mount ~/owncloud > /dev/null 2>&1

Dolphin file manager (KDE, Kubuntu)

1. Open Dolphin and click on where it says Network in the left hand Places column.
2. Click on the icon labeled Add a Network Folder
3. It should come up with WebDAV already selected. Make sure it is and then click Next
4. Enter the following settings:
   • Name: The name you’ll see in the Places bookmark, for example ownCloud
   • User: Your ownCloud username you use to log in, for example admin
   • Server: Your ownCloud domain name, for example myowncloud.com (without http:// before or directories afterwards)
   • Folder: Enter /files/webdav.php
   • Create icon checkbox: Tick to get a bookmark in the Places column
   • Port & Encrypted checkbox: Leave as it is unless you have special settings or an SSL certificate.
5. Click Finish and enter your ownCloud password

You’re done! You can now save, load, sync files in your ownCloud through Dolphin and other KDE apps. Awesome!