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Incubi
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Linux

Post by Incubi » Fri, 18. Mar 22, 01:43

Seems like Linux is a minefield nowadays. My ex-wives laptop just loaded up to a xubuntu and a login message saying that you have been hacked by Mr. X with a waifu avatar came up. It was a windows 10 system. So, I found this very strange. My son was going to use it for Linux which was very sus (as he would put it). We just eliminated the computer itself for fear of a wifi hack affecting other computers.
So, before I let him have a Linux system, I would like to know a safe way to find Linux and whether or not it is safe once it is properly setup. He recently ruined a windows machine by duo booting it using Grub and that version of grub wrecked the bios and was unable to be uninstalled without wiping the hard drives and now I can't even reinstall windows on that system without somehow recovering, it if I even bother.
I do not think he is being honest with me but I can't prove it, I know he is not being safe. So I forbade Linux under this roof until I know more about it.
I think the thing making Linux not as safe as its reputation, is that its open source is too easily manipulated by the hacker mentality that is attracted to Linux. That said I know that there are some Linux buffs here that would never betray a fellow X universe gamer!.. right? In other words. Help.

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fiksal
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Re: Linux

Post by fiksal » Fri, 18. Mar 22, 03:04

I didn't quite follow what got hacked, Ubuntu, Windows?

I prefer latest stable releases, of Ubuntu (or with Kubuntu instead). Latest stable should be alright by themselves. If there are some security worries, maybe to investigate.

But I would also look into a human error. Was a root password too easy, was not trusted software installed with privileges?

Dual boot is what I did as well.

Maybe you need to redo Ubuntu, refresh and erase everything, Windows included
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Vertigo 7
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Re: Linux

Post by Vertigo 7 » Fri, 18. Mar 22, 03:37

There's no such thing as a secure OS. You can take steps to mitigate your vulnerability footprint by having properly configured firewalls, apply security patching routinely, pay attention to CVE bulletins and so forth. You can even invest in some more advanced networking equipment that can provide IDS/IPS to further help stop malicious actors if you feel like that's necessary for your situation. For example, the UDM Pro is an entry level grade enterprise router with IDS/IPS that works fairly well and wouldn't impact most consumer ISP bandwidth and is fairly user friendly without a super high price point.

There's no substitution for experience, though. Educate yourself on the ins and outs of IT security cuz there's no easy button to solve all your problems.
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pjknibbs
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Re: Linux

Post by pjknibbs » Fri, 18. Mar 22, 07:45

A majority of the websites you browse daily are hosted on Linux servers, as far as I know, so it ought to be pretty obvious that a properly configured Linux system is as secure as they come. As Vertigo says, of course you can mess up with it, but you can do the same with Windows. I currently have two laptops and a mini-PC all running Linux variants and none of them have been any more or less reliable than the four Windows PCs I also have knocking around. (Yes, I do have a lot of PCs here, thank you for noticing :D ).

By the way, actually malicious hackers are far more likely to target Windows systems simply because there are far more of them around. Why do a hack that nets you a few million systems, especially when the users of those systems are far more likely to be computer-savvy, when you could get tens of millions? To be honest, it sounds like the main problem here is that your son doesn't know what he's doing and is attempting stuff beyond his current capabilities. Treat it as a learning experience for him!

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Re: Linux

Post by jlehtone » Fri, 18. Mar 22, 17:31

Vertigo 7 wrote:
Fri, 18. Mar 22, 03:37
There's no such thing as a secure OS. You can take steps to mitigate your vulnerability footprint by ...
This. One can make mistakes in every OS. The less you have used / know about a system the higher the chance for mistakes.

Linux distros (although not all) do offer more control on details than certain other OS. That is both awesome and a risk.
<Spiderman quote here>

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Chips
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Re: Linux

Post by Chips » Sun, 20. Mar 22, 17:36

The biggest weakness for any OS is likely the user... and I imagine that's precisely what you're experiencing in your current situations; it's not likely the operation systems that are at fault.

Get him his own system (for Linux you won't need anything powerful, unless it's explained why it's necessary!) so he can mess it up to his hearts content, and better yet, won't compromise other people's systems that they may rely upon being secure etc.

Also, log into your router and update the firmware if available (you can google your make/model and update firmware on youtube to likely watch videos of how to achieve... but these days I think most manufacturers give out ones that do this automatically?).

pjknibbs
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Re: Linux

Post by pjknibbs » Sun, 20. Mar 22, 21:21

Chips wrote:
Sun, 20. Mar 22, 17:36
Get him his own system (for Linux you won't need anything powerful, unless it's explained why it's necessary!)
I was actually just thinking myself--why not get hold of a Raspberry Pi 400? It's got a built-in keyboard and comes with power adapter and mouse, so all you need to actually be able to use it for stuff is a TV or monitor with a HDMI input. Even with the current chip shortages I think one of those weighs in at maybe a bit over £100 and, being a RPi, there's a lot of educational software that comes with it. (Heck, you even get a full version of Wolfram with it). Being ARM-based does mean the selection of Linux software available for it isn't quite as wide as it is for an x86 PC, but there's plenty there for the son to experiment with, and if he manages to completely screw up the install, no biggie, you can re-flash the entire OS onto the SD card in a matter of minutes to take it back to its default state.

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Re: Linux

Post by jlehtone » Sun, 20. Mar 22, 21:25

However, if you do get a computer for "experiments", then you don't want it into the same subnet as the rest of your home. Your router/switches/APs should then have support for "guest" / "dmz" subnet.

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