Book Image

Practical Linux Security Cookbook - Second Edition

By : Tajinder Kalsi
Book Image

Practical Linux Security Cookbook - Second Edition

By: Tajinder Kalsi

Overview of this book

Over the last few years, system security has gained a lot of momentum and software professionals are focusing heavily on it. Linux is often treated as a highly secure operating system. However, the reality is that Linux has its share of security ?aws, and these security ?aws allow attackers to get into your system and modify or even destroy your important data. But there’s no need to panic, since there are various mechanisms by which these ?aws can be removed, and this book will help you learn about different types of Linux security to create a more secure Linux system. With a step-by-step recipe approach, the book starts by introducing you to various threats to Linux systems. Then, this book will walk you through customizing the Linux kernel and securing local files. Next, you will move on to managing user authentication both locally and remotely and mitigating network attacks. Later, you will learn about application security and kernel vulnerabilities. You will also learn about patching Bash vulnerability, packet filtering, handling incidents, and monitoring system logs. Finally, you will learn about auditing using system services and performing vulnerability scanning on Linux. By the end of this book, you will be able to secure your Linux systems and create a robust environment.
Table of Contents (20 chapters)
Title Page
Copyright and Credits
Contributors
Packt Upsell
Preface
Index

Tails OS


Tails is a Linux distribution that runs as a live operating system and can be run on any system from a USB stick or a DVD.

It aims to preserve the privacy and anonymity of the user by helping the user use the internet anonymously and avoid restriction almost anywhere the user goes. Tails also helps the user perform activities without leaving any trace unless they ask it to explicitly.

Getting ready

Tails is a free software built on Debian, and the ISO image can be downloaded from its website:  https://tails.boum.org/index.en.html:

Use the button on the right to download the ISO of Tails.

How to do it...

Tails is a complete operating system that can be used as a live OS from a USB stick or a DVD.

To use Tails, we boot our system using the live DVD or USB of Tails and when we boot our system using Tails, we get the following screen:

Click Start Tails to start using the Tails operating system. After booting completes, we are presented with the desktop. Clicking on the Applications menu, we...