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Is Your OS Tough Enough?
LE UI Guy writes "A Denver Post article examines the Internet 'horrors' Windows, Mac and Linux users face simply being connected to the Internet with only an out-of-box configuration. Over the course of a single week the machines were scanned 46,255 times. The test didn't look into additional security threats caused by surfing the web or reading e-mail, just the connection itself."
These results mirror what I typically see on my workstation. I run a couple of websites on my workstation including our laboratory website, and my blog. Logs are monitored constantly with a nice tool called mkconsole that displays the logs transparently on my desktop. Several times a week, there is an attack. Most however are either scripted or fairly primitive, although last week there was a sophisticated attack that that bounced through a compromised Windows machine on campus. We tracked it back to an AOL user on the East coast and reported his IP address to the sysadmins. They sent an email back to me letting me know that they would follow it up. I've not heard anything else since, but in addition to using a more secure OS, one should also maintain a vigilance of your systems to help keep things under control and if you do use Windows, PLEASE keep it patched with recent security releases.
The truth is that if somebody really does want to get into your system, it can happen. In addition to using a secure OS and keeping the security updates current, securing physical access is your next line of defense.
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FC has no services running by default that connect to the internet unless you specify otherwise. Also you have complete control over every program installed at installation time. Regardless, an entire FC3 install with all the thousands of applications takes up approx 4 gigs, thats really not much for what your getting. A server install is something like 800 mb, and thats before you cut off the fat. I always do a full install because its nice to just have everything you need, a program sitting on my harddrive isn't doing anyone any harm.
FC3's firewall is also set up very well and has been noted to have one of the best default setups out of many of the linux distros. Some of the other protections included in FC3 are SElinux which has policies for all major services and exec-shield is also extensively used. All major services connecting out are compiled with switches that randomize the memory allocation, which may have the negative side affect of taking a little longer to start because it can't prelink, but it really helps against many attacks because every machine has its memory mapped in different locations. The amount of security that Red Hat puts into FC3 while still leaving it so functional is pretty amazing. Most of the vulnerabilities found usually can't do much harm after you consider the layers of security and the other standard security measures, i.e. users and setting up perms correctly. Its nice to know though that the latest outbreak of [insert worm here] *probably* won't affect you.
Regards,
Steve