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#1 2009-05-30 14:43:58

unregistered
Member
Registered: 2008-04-09
Posts: 134

Is arch linux safe to be connected to the net just after install?

Is it secured enough to be connected to the net after install and all updates applied or do I have to do some additional configuration to make harden it?

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#2 2009-05-30 15:10:13

whoops
Member
Registered: 2009-03-19
Posts: 891

Re: Is arch linux safe to be connected to the net just after install?

I guess the people who know most about security haven't been (re)installing arch (in a normal way) for a while now...?

So until one of them has the harddisk eaten by a pet or something like that, I'll try to anser... AFAIK: "At least as secure as your user/root password".

- if you have p.e. ssh installed, you can make it unaccessible only from outside and/or change the default port (most likely wiki / +google)
- There might be ways to "spam"/"flood" you a little (nothing really bad, probably you won't even ever notice); iptables can help you totally get rid of it (=> wiki)

I think all real "security leaks" have to be installed manually and I didn't figure out how yet. wink

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#3 2009-05-30 15:17:06

karol
Archivist
Registered: 2009-05-06
Posts: 25,440

Re: Is arch linux safe to be connected to the net just after install?

Depends what do you run. If you just browse the net than Arch is secure out of the box, unless you mess sth up. If you have a mail server etc. you should follow that app's guidelines wrt to security. Arch provides a nice base, a set of building blocks you can use to build you own castle.

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#4 2009-05-30 16:54:32

ebal
Member
From: Athens, Greece
Registered: 2009-05-26
Posts: 224
Website

Re: Is arch linux safe to be connected to the net just after install?

if there isnt any service running - there is problem with that

take a look what is listening to world with this:

netstat -nap | egrep 'LISTEN '

https://balaskas.gr
Linux System Engineer - Registered Linux User #420129

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#5 2009-05-30 20:10:14

Pudge
Arch Linux f@h Team Member
Registered: 2006-01-23
Posts: 300

Re: Is arch linux safe to be connected to the net just after install?

IMHO every home computer should be connected to a recent and good name brand NAT router.  Even if you only have one computer, I still recommend running it behind a good router.

With the default /etc/rc.conf file, there are only four daemons started at boot up.  If you put your out of the box Arch install behind a properly optioned NAT router, you should be safe for E-mail, browsing, messaging, downloading Arch updates, etc.  After that it's up to you to use some common sense about what web sites you visit.

Here is a good tutorial on NAT routers.  If you are interested in computer security, it is a good read.  While you are at that site, you can go to ShieldsUp, click on proceed, then in the blue box, click on "All Service ports".  This will probe the first 1056 ports and hopefully all your ports will be green and you get a "TrueStealth" rating. 

If I turn on additional daemons, such as SAMBA or SSH, then I take a couple of additional precautions.  These extra precautions aren't really necessary as long as you aren't doing any port forwarding on your router, but I tend to be on the paranoid side when it comes to security.  Since I use Gnome, I install the Firestarter firewall.  I know it isn't under development anymore, but since iptables hasn't changed since then, does it really matter?  You also have to use a work around to start the GUI, but that is easy enough.  gksu dbus-launch firestarter does the trick.  Set up the firewall so that the smb service (SAMBA) and the ssh service only allow computers on your home network.  Anything external to your network is not allowed.  Then I use the /etc/hosts.allow and /etc/hosts.deny files to only allow computers on my home network.  That should be good enough for a home network.

Now, if you want to open up ports and services that "Listen" to the world, such as Apache, mail servers, etc, then that is a whole new can of worms that is currently beyond my capabilities.

Pudge

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#6 2009-05-31 06:32:54

Gen2ly
Member
From: Sevierville, TN
Registered: 2009-03-06
Posts: 1,529
Website

Re: Is arch linux safe to be connected to the net just after install?

Arch is good at security but you also have to trust the software.  Any software could allow security-holes (e.g. firefox 3.08, certain versions of flash...).  If you're real interested about security, do as Pudge says: build a router and then use something like snort to detect intrusions - any device on a network is prone to security attacks.


Setting Up a Scripting Environment | Proud donor to wikipedia - link

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#7 2009-05-31 07:06:39

sekiz
Member
Registered: 2008-12-31
Posts: 16

Re: Is arch linux safe to be connected to the net just after install?

Secure against what? Anyone who is searching for a more secure environment should define their risks. For egsample, if a system is physically accessed, its security is breached already. If you can touch it, you can rule it.

Just have a look at definitions of windows updates, how many of them explains themselves away, "a remote user can take control of your system" if you dont do the patch. Compared to that, any open source system is more secure, risk being defined remote network users might take control of your system.

Is installation the right place of this discussion?

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#8 2009-05-31 08:38:45

karol
Archivist
Registered: 2009-05-06
Posts: 25,440

Re: Is arch linux safe to be connected to the net just after install?

Is installation the right place of this discussion?

Please, read the title. Apart from the last sentence, you're right. There's (yet?) no foolproof AI-driven system that could protect itself from *any* intrusion and Arch is no different. Operator should be as smart as the equipment.

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