Slashdot Mirror
Local Area Security Linux 0.4a
Anonymous Coward writes "Local Area Security Linux is a small 'live CD' distribution based on Knoppix that aims at being less than 185MB so it will fit on a MiniCD. It is now 107MB with FluxBox as the window manager. It contains about 100 security (forensics, penetration testing, firewall, intrusion detection, etc.) tools including Ethereal and Nessus. See a screenshot here."
Enjoy!
Overall, this is a great new window manager, that will perform well on lower end machines.
::::: New Mirrors Added! :::::
N .i so -The Netherlands
4 a_ MAIN.iso -India/Asian Pacific
A IN .iso -USA
3 b. iso
s o
S ER V.iso
3 b_ SECSERV.iso
E CS ERV.iso
L.A.S. 0.4a Main with FluxBox MD5: 0939d7294035b5246bedbce1085bb1e1
http://lightning.chem.tue.nl/las/l.a.s_0.4a_MAI
http://sarovar.org/mirrors/knoppix-las/l.a.s_0.
http://psifertex.nerdc.ufl.edu/iso/l.a.s_0.4a_M
L.A.S. 0.3b Main MD5: f47150d2458c78169a65458bcf8ebf96
http://lightning.chem.tue.nl/las/l.a.s_0.3b.iso
http://sarovar.org/mirrors/knoppix-las/l.a.s_0.
http://psifertex.nerdc.ufl.edu/iso/l.a.s_0.3b.i
L.A.S. 0.3b SECSERV MD5: ff412734492e39d1d084ced556a47493
http://lightning.chem.tue.nl/las/l.a.s_0.3b_SEC
http://sarovar.org/mirrors/knoppix-las/l.a.s_0.
http://psifertex.nerdc.ufl.edu/iso/l.a.s_0.3b_S
Check out Morphix. It's a distro based on Knoppix, but modularized. There are small versions (that will fit on a mini-CD) as well as "fat" versions (with all the bells and whistles).
It's designed so that you can choose the features you want, add additional software, and burn a custom CD. Not quite turnkey, but quite doable with a little effort.
I can think of two:
knoppix-usb
and runt.
Knoppix-usb is based on (you guessed it!) and runt is based on slackware.
I'm typing this right now in the "Links" browser. It's fast, it looks good, it has most of the tools I use (Nessus, Ethereal, XMMS, Firebird). I might just mod this and carry it with me instead of using other people's machines when I'm doing diagnostics. It picked up my wireless correctly and everything.
Have fun with this one, kids.
***
Oh, really? Since when does "advanced forensics [sic] analysis" involve expensive tools? What forensic company do you work for, anyway, that you'd have the experience to make such a sweeping generalization? Oh, wait... you DON'T work for a forensic company--you build servers for a living.
I've worked six jobs in the last four months using Unix tools, and used various combinations of dd, netcat, ssh, mount, losetup, grep, and the other unix basics to wonderful effect on every one. They don't really ever fail on account of bugs or arbitrary limit conditions (can't handle files bigger than X MB, for instance), and they're terribly simple to troubleshoot. Oh, and there's nothing like an open-source tool for when you have to walk into court and answer the question "So, Mr. Expert-Computer-guy, how do you KNOW that this software did what you said it did?" It takes the wind out of an attorney's sails when you whip out the printed source code to md5sum and start walking him through it.
I've used the $90K forensic tools from the high-profile companies, and they work OK. Not great , though. EnCase, one of the more popular LE programs, has been plagued with bugs in the latest major version. Also, they're restricted to Windows and Mac analysis, so you're out of luck if you get a Linux machine. Oh, and don't even bother with tech support unless you're a true idiot who has failed to plug in his computer--one time, their IDE write-blocking interface was forcing drives into PIO mode (and taking 40 hours to copy a 10 GB hard drive!), and their phone tech suggesting that I try "www.hardforum.com" for technical advice. Talk about pure shit.
Most of the other insanely expensive tools that I've used have similar issues: limited platform support, buggy out the ass, and crappy tech support. The last isn't their fault so much, because most people using forensic tools are advanced enough that they won't be helped by any by the best--and the best technical/forensic people are expensive. But the bugs, oh god, the bugs!
There are a few tools that the USAF's OSI put into public domain usage that are handy, but really, you just need a linux machine with dd, ssh, netcat, and a custom kernel.