The users of a Linux Operating system computer, should always take care about security and if you are the admin of a Linux box with lots of users, you are responsible for the security of it, and maybe you should “force” the other users to change their passwords from time to time, to make this [...]
In order to use hosts_access (hosts.allow/hosts.deny), a service would need to be compiled in with tcpwrapper (tcpd) support and can be checked easily with the below commands.
# ldd `which sshd` | grep -i libwrap
Read more at Tux Training
gnoMint is a desktop application that lets you easily manage your own certificate authority (CA). Many secure communications technologies use digital certificates to ensure that the party or service they are connecting with is not an impostor. For many people, the main exposure to digital certificates comes when they visit an HTTPS Web site and [...]
pfSense is a free, powerful firewall and routing application that allows you to expand your network without compromising its security. Started in 2004 as a child project of m0n0wall — a security project that focuses on embedded systems — pfSense has had more than 1 million downloads and is used to protect networks of all [...]
One feature I’ve been looking forward to in Ubuntu 8.10 is the encrypted private directory. With this feature, you’ll get a folder called Private in your home. Private will work just like a normal folder, but it will be transparently encrypted and automatically locked and unlocked when you log in and out.
The encryption is provided [...]
Passwords
Choosing the correct password, as well as informing and enforcing password security for users is an important task for the administrator. Security is built upon passwords, so close attention should be paid to making passwords an effective tool in security.
Aspects of a Good Password
1. 8 characters or more
2. use numbers in the password
3. use letters [...]
There’s no doubt that Linux is a secure operating system. However, nothing is perfect. Millions of lines of code are churned through the kernel every second and it only takes a single programming mistake to open a door into the operating system. If that line of code happens to face the Internet, that’s a backdoor [...]
This tutorial shows how you can use GnuPG to secure and verify data on your Linux box but the first part is relevant for Windows users too.
Look the video at Privacylover
Google offers users with an option to filter out results that contain
explicit sexual content, called SafeSearch. It also displays a warning message with search results identified as sites
that may install malicious software on your computer. You can enforce Google SafeSearch with SafeSquid Proxy,
so that it overrides the user preferences, and displays only SafeSearch
results.
Read more at [...]
Last week I talked about testing the strength of users’ passwords. Another way to ensure security is to set a good password policy.
The PAM module pam_cracklib can enforce both length and complexity. For length, it uses the minlen option. For complexity, it has options dcredit, ucredit, lcredit, and ocredit, which refer to digit, upper-case character, [...]
We have already discussed how to use UFW from command line.Gufw is an easy to use Ubuntu / Linux firewall, powered by ufw.Gufw is an easy, intuitive, way to manage your Linux firewall. It supports common tasks such as allowing or blocking pre-configured, common p2p, or individual ports port(s), and many others! Gufw is powered [...]
Being connected to the Internet means exposure to what the outside world has to offer — including the undesirable elements. Every time you connect to the Internet, you’re exposed to threats that can compromise your network’s security. Although network security solutions have evolved in recent years, so have network attack techniques. To prevent ever-evolving attacks [...]
Unified Threat Management (UTM) devices unify all network security elements into a single device. They often include a combination of routing, firewall, intrusion detection, content filtering, URL filtering, spam filtering, VPN, and antivirus functionalities. These devices usually cost thousands of dollars and require subscriptions. However, you can secure your network and save money at the [...]
Being connected to the Internet means exposure to what the outside world has to offer — including the undesirable elements. Every time you connect to the Internet, you’re exposed to threats that can compromise your network’s security. Although network security solutions have evolved in recent years, so have network attack techniques. To prevent ever-evolving attacks [...]
Most distributions use Bash as its default shell. One of the features of Bash is its ability to keep a running history of commands the user has typed. This could, however, end up being a security problem. If a bad guy were able to compromise a user’s home directory, they could view commands [...]