🚀 go-pugleaf

Paul Richards <pauldoo@dunvegan1.demon.co.uk> wrote:

> I've recently got my Linux (Debian) box set up back to how it was before
> I broke it.  (Well M$ FDISK decided to make a FAT32 partition overlap my
> EXT2 which was nice when I tried to format the FAT32..)  What should I
> do to make the system more secure?  I no longer have dual boot, only
> Linux because I was pissed off with what M$ FDISK done.

My advice is probably going to sound patronising, but it's not supposed to
be: basically, get to know your system, and understand how things work.
When you say you want your system "secure", presumably you mean w.r.t. people
getting in over the internet, rather than security on the console.
Look at everything that's listening for connections / packets (netstat -t -u
-l works for me), decide if you need it running or not. For those that you
do need running, read the docs, look at any configuration options, etc.

> I'm only on a dialup box and I have no local network.  Any tips/ideas?

> I need to have http and anonymous ftp connections allowed and I also
> need to be able to telnet in.

Logging everything would be a good start so you can see what's going on.
If possible, use ssh rather than telnet so your passwords don't go in the
clear over the internet. If you can, restrict which hosts are allowed access
to the various services as tightly as possible.

-- 
"If you wish to insult me my consulting rates are available by return of
email." -- Alan Cox