Downloading Ubuntu.

[Kidorry 189]

Rarebit you are a star:thumbsup:.I went onto the Ubuntu forum on the page you said & all the problems were the same as mine.Near the bottom of the page was a man with the a solution. I tried it and all is O.K. now.All I have got to do is learn how to use it ,but that will be a pleasure.Once again thanks to everyone.

[rarebit 10]

no, well done for your perseverance...

 

if you have any other problems or queries and I don't answer here, then pm me and i'll see if I can help.

 

p.s. I'm a programmer, not a hardware specialist, so my view is different to some but I can help with many software and admin issues. But beware the more you know, the more there is to know.

 

well done

[Kidorry 189]

I phoned Virgin media this morning to see if UBUNTU was covered by the PC Guard I have got on XP. They said they could not guarantee it.Is there another anti-virus ,anti everything I can install just on UBUNTU?

[rarebit 10]

Linux is a lot more secure than windows. Generally the built in firewall (iptables at its base) and then checks with the rkhunter and chkrootkit packages is suffice. You'll find them somewhere on your download package manager. Is that 'emerge' on a debian system?

[rarebit 10]

p.s. viruses are generally known as root kits in the *nix world, ref http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rootkit

[rarebit 10]

fter a quick look I think the command line version is 'apt-get' and not 'emerge', but I found this help doc:

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/SynapticHowto

which provides a graphical interface.

[basshedz2 10]

Linux is a lot more secure than windows. Generally the built in firewall (iptables at its base) and then checks with the rkhunter and chkrootkit packages is suffice. You'll find them somewhere on your download package manager. Is that 'emerge' on a debian system?

 

On Debian based systems it's 'apt-get' (or synaptic for the pretty gui based version). 'emerge' is used on Gentoo based systems. Anti-virus software isn't really needed on a linux based system - though of course a basic understanding of security 'best practice' will help. Keep everything updated (Ubuntu's update manager will help with this), and don't run stuff as root. If you do need to use the root account (sudo <command> in Ubuntu), make sure you have a thorough understanding of what you're doing (i.e. don't blindly follow what people have posted to forums ...).

 

The main security risks to a linux system are:

1) weak passwords (especially for the root account)

2) privilege escalation exploits*

 

Choosing a strong password (i.e. mix of numbers, letters, special characters, and capitals), and properly configuring your firewall will minimise the risk.

 

Hope this helps,

 

b

 

 

* note: the reason that linux is much more secure than windows is that, in linux, there is proper seperation of user permissions. To do anything that will effect the core of your system you need to change to the root user account. This article explains the lack of need for antivirus software under linux.

[rarebit 10]

Yes, basshedz2 thats a very good article.

For the reference to grok see: http://www.groklaw.net/.

To read about how the human is the weakest link in the security issue, read: The Art of Deception.

[Kidorry 189]

I have read your comments & I an satisfied about the security of Linux.Thank you both very much for the trouble you have taken.

[rarebit 10]

thats what the opensource community is all about!

[mikeybaby72 10]

Are there any pitfalls to me downloading Ubuntu onto my P.C. If I do not like it can I uninstall it easy?

 

I would give Mandiva 2008 a look, it's far better than most 'distos.' Depending on your hardware, I would also give 'Puppy Linux V.4' a look. Linux love to all windows abandonees!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :love: :love::banana::banana:

[rarebit 10]

Mandriva was originally based on red hat (fedora) and puppy is basically debian, but I did like like how much it used Tcl/Tk, I have it on my old toshiba portage 500