Arch Linux

jimmy the saint

Member

Registered: 2009-04-10

Posts: 41

Need some advice on Arch for a school use laptop

I have been using Linux for a few years now.  The vast majority of that time has been spent with Ubuntu, but now I have a few other distros on various machines, including an Arch installation that I have been playing with.  I love Arch so far and have learned a bit from using it. 

My concern is that, while I can get round a Linux system pretty well, I am by no means
a) a programmer,
b) a linux administrator or
c) a guru.

I am considering using Arch on my laptop because it runs so well and doesn't install so much unneeded software and load a bunch of unnecessary services by default.  The downside is that I feel I may miss something important that I should install/setup that would make the laptop less safe on the schools unprotected networks.  Much of this concern lies in the need to patch applications and that sort of administration.   

Am I just being paranoid or should someone like me who can get around, but is still in a little over his head be deterred by this?

Thanks for any input.

JTS

Last edited by jimmy the saint (2009-05-24 22:12:00)

Barrucadu

Member

From: York, England

Registered: 2008-03-30

Posts: 1,158

Website

Re: Need some advice on Arch for a school use laptop

I think you're just being paranoid. As long as you don't run any servers (or properly configure iptables if you do), you are safe.

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Website | Blog

The Arch Hurd Project

jimmy the saint

Member

Registered: 2009-04-10

Posts: 41

Re: Need some advice on Arch for a school use laptop

I should have mentioned that I will be setting up a vpn to gain access to my home network.

Arisna

Member

Registered: 2009-02-13

Posts: 81

Re: Need some advice on Arch for a school use laptop

Using a VPN client on your laptop shouldn't make your laptop more vulnerable to anything.  It also shouldn't be too difficult to set up the VPN securely on the server (home) side and to make the tunnel secure.

Allan

Pacman

From: Brisbane, AU

Registered: 2007-06-09

Posts: 11,651

Website

Re: Need some advice on Arch for a school use laptop

You will be fine...  Given Arch starts no services by default, you are quite secure.  Just don't start unnecessary services (e.g. you probably don't want to give ssh access to your laptop...) and you should be fine.

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PGP Key: F99FFE0FEAE999BD | I develop pacman - buy me a drink!

ngoonee

Forum Fellow

From: Between Thailand and Singapore

Registered: 2009-03-17

Posts: 7,360

Re: Need some advice on Arch for a school use laptop

SSH is the biggie, really. Security-wise, nothing much on a mainly windows school network will be able to touch you.

For added security (mostly unnecessary) just set your iptables to drop every incoming except those initiated by you. For a laptop, which shouldn't be running any providers/servers, that would be perfect security against non-user-initiated problems.

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Allan-Volunteer on the (topic being discussed) mailn lists. You never get the people who matters attention on the forums.
jasonwryan-Installing Arch is a measure of your literacy. Maintaining Arch is a measure of your diligence. Contributing to Arch is a measure of your competence.
Griemak-Bleeding edge, not bleeding flat. Edge denotes falls will occur from time to time. Bring your own parachute.

jimmy the saint

Member

Registered: 2009-04-10

Posts: 41

Re: Need some advice on Arch for a school use laptop

Thanks for the info.  I am installing arch as we speak (or trying, can't get my wireless interface to show up for the installer).

tung

Member

From: Sydney, Australia

Registered: 2008-08-22

Posts: 29

Website

Re: Need some advice on Arch for a school use laptop

Use wired for setup. Wireless takes more work, and can be set up properly later.

Last edited by tung (2009-05-25 09:02:32)

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Running Arch on Eee PC 901 12 GB

Trent

Member

From: Baltimore, MD (US)

Registered: 2009-04-16

Posts: 990

Re: Need some advice on Arch for a school use laptop

Use wired for setup. Wireless takes more work, and can be set up properly later.

Second the motion.  I have an Intel 4965 card which works great in the final install (package iwlwifi-4965-ucode, btw) but I spent hours trying to make it work (and failing) during the initial install.  I finally gave up and hooked it to the wall... installation was a snap and the wireless was working in no time.

oopsicrappe

Member

Registered: 2009-01-18

Posts: 17

Re: Need some advice on Arch for a school use laptop

Use wired for setup. Wireless takes more work, and can be set up properly later.

Second the motion.  I have an Intel 4965 card which works great in the final install (package iwlwifi-4965-ucode, btw) but I spent hours trying to make it work (and failing) during the initial install.  I finally gave up and hooked it to the wall... installation was a snap and the wireless was working in no time.

That's strange. My Intel 3945 card was really easy to get working during installation, even with WPA.

jimmy the saint

Member

Registered: 2009-04-10

Posts: 41

Re: Need some advice on Arch for a school use laptop

I found out my issue was that I was using an old version of the installer.  I made a usb stick using unetbootin, but it used an outdated version of the installer.  Not only did the wireless not work, but even though the wired connection worked fine, it couldn't pull the package list.  It took me a while to give up.  I guess the repositories change with new installers (or at least since that version of it).  Once I got a fresh version on the stick, the install went beautifully (wired) and post-install, wireless works great.  I'm sticking with Arch for my personal machines (Ubuntu for the lady).