this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2023
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Linux

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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).

Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.

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Do you have any antivirus recomendations for Linux.

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[–] [email protected] 74 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (18 children)

I wouldn’t recommend using anti-virus software. It usually creates a lot more overhead, plus it usually mimics existing solutions already in linux. The only viruses I have ever caught using an anti-virus software on Linux are the test viruses to see if all is working fine.

Anyway, here’s my 20+ enterprise experience recommendations with Linux :

  • enable secure boot: will disable launching non-signed kernel modules (prevent root kits)
  • enable firewall: and only allow ports you really need.
  • SELinux: it is getting better, and it will prevent processes to access resources out of their scope. It can be problematic if you don’t know it (and it is complex to understand). But if it doesn’t hinder you, don’t touch it. I do not know AppArmor, but it is supposed to be similar.
  • disable root over ssh: or only allow ssh keys, or disable ssh altogether if you do not need it.
  • avoid using root: make sure you have a personal account set up with sudo rights to root WITH password.
  • only use trusted software: package managers like apt and rpm tend to have built in functionality to check the state and status of your installed software. Use trusted software repositories only. Often recommended by the distro maintainers. Stay away from use this script scripts unless you can read them and determine if they’re the real thing.

Adhering to these principles will get you a long way!

edit: added section about software sources courtesy of @[email protected]

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago (16 children)

Thank you for the advice!

Firewall on Linux is something I still don't understand, and explanations found on Internet have always confused me. Do you happen to know some good tutorial to share? Or maybe one doesn't need to do anything at all in distros like Ubuntu?

Regarding ssh: you only mean incoming ssh, right?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

ebtables and iptables can be very complex. And I failed my 1st RHCE exam because of them. But once you learn, you will never unlearn, as they are quite beautifully crafted. You just need to get into the mindset of the people who wrote the tools…

Look into firewalld It has a rather simplified cli interface: firewall-cmd

The manpages will tell you a lot.

firewall-cmd —add-service=ssh Will open the ports for your ssh daemon until you reload your firewall or reboot your system firewall-cmd —permanent —add-service=ssh Will open the ssh ports until you remove them

firewall-cmd —list-all Will show you the current firewall config

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

Try nftables directly, it's simple and straightforward, scripting syntax is easy.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Another simpler frontend for iptables I think is well suited for desktop environemnts is ufw. It does what it's supposed to do and is extremely simple to use

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

I personally do not know ufw, but if it does what it must, then you’re solid.

Linux is also about choices: do stuff the way you choose to, and makes you comfortable.

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