[95847] in RedHat Linux List
Security for (SOHO) Newbies
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (John Lewis)
Wed Oct 21 18:21:51 1998
Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 23:27:36 +0100
From: John Lewis <jayell@mcmail.com>
To: "redhat-list@redhat.com" <redhat-list@redhat.com>
Resent-From: redhat-list@redhat.com
Reply-To: redhat-list@redhat.com
Hi
Most of the questions on security issues are asked by Network Administrators.
What, if any, problems are lurking for the (SOHO) user like myself who has
his/her system set up straight off the RedHat CD and is a sole user with
connection to the outside world by dial-up access to an ISP (using PAP) at
irregular intervals for email but occasional on-line purchasing of various
products or downloading software.
Is there any risk of someone gaining access to the system, it seems unlikely but
I would like to be sure. I suppose the risk is greater the longer on line, to
newsgroups for example.
What, if anything, should be removed from the system to make it more secure and
what sort of modifications should be made to config files for services,
protocols etc. I am guessing that the standard installation loaded some files
that are really only needed for networking. If netscape is the only interface
with the ISP do I need to keep sendmail, pine elm etc that are there by default.
<comment>
And yes! I really do prefer a grapical interface since for most of my computing
life I have used one, having used OS/2 in all the desktop versions from ver2.0
until my recent switch to RH5.0. I rarely need to use the command line in OS/2
as it is easy to use dos/win progs in seamless mode. Suggesting I use comand
line progs like sendmail is a backwards step as far as I am concerned.
I guess this is a bit OFF-topic but since I use RH this seems to be the
appropriate place to make a comment. As people keep saying Linux isn't quite
ready for the desktop PC and all the current distributions assume the system
will be
servers or networks. How about an option that provides only what is needed for a
basic system with ppp, browser and a choice of window managers. Most isps
provide simple setup programs with their installation cds, something similar
could be done to make the connection to the isp simple with Linux. The number of
questions asked about the make ppp work suggests it isn't as simple as it ought
to be. Optional CDs could provide StarOffice, Applixware or WordPerfect to give
the sort of systems Windross users could feel at home with.
I am well aware what some of you will respond to this so I finish by saying I
don't intend to start a flame war here, just putting some thoughts onto
'paper'.
p.s. What do the anti-html guys use when they set up webpages???
</comment>
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