Tagged Questions

2
votes
1answer
75 views

Force all user processes to be ptraced

I'm implementing a ptrace based tool for logging system call use. It is much more simple than strace, but I'm doing this so I can learn how these tools work. I'd like to trace all user processes since ...
4
votes
2answers
240 views

Securing data on laptop's hdd

I was wondering which is the best way to secure/encrypt data in the hard disk on a laptop that runs Ubuntu Oneiric? Setting LVM encryption? I am mostly concerned about having my laptop lost or what ...
7
votes
3answers
379 views

How to gain a shell?

I'm doing an exercise (exploit-exercises.com) that requires me to gain access to a shell running as another user. My question is this: I can create application that is guaranteed to be run by the ...
6
votes
5answers
954 views

How can I remotely wipe the contents of a Linux Laptop if its been stolen?

I am currently investigating using Linux Laptops for my development team. We currently run Windows. The one advantage that keeps coming up for Windows over Linux from a system administration / ...
5
votes
4answers
3k views

Monitoring system calls (in a reliable and secure way)

It there a reliable method of “monitoring” system calls under Linux? There is strace for example to monitor system calls and signals. Is there a way for a process to dodge out of strace? If yes, is ...
4
votes
3answers
587 views

Wrapping system call (in reliable and secure way)

It there reliable method of "wrapping" system calls under Linux ? (Like LD_PRELOAD for wrapping shared library function calls.) Is there reliable, secure method of "wrapping" system calls (and, maybe ...
13
votes
1answer
503 views

Are there Linux rootkits circulating that directly modify the kernel (without modules)?

It has been said, over and over, that disabling dynamic kernel module loading on Linux increases security. I understand why people give this advice, but I've always assumed that a bad guy could ...
7
votes
2answers
311 views

Running proprietary software on Linux safely

As a summer project, I'm looking to prevent any piece of proprietary software like many games I run from have access to my personal files. After looking a lot at sandboxing, I've decided that anything ...
15
votes
5answers
1k views

How can I protect my computer from my potentially malicious colleagues?

So, I work in this small company (10 people) where we do stuff in programming, for various platforms. I started recently working there (2 months) right after I graduated. My work is not exactly ...
7
votes
5answers
1k views

Browsing on a USB OS (Linux) safe from malware?

Let's say I have a computer. It's a personal computer - the one you'd typically find in homes. In this scenario, it's running Windows XP SP3, although it could run 7, Vista, etc. I have a USB drive ...
12
votes
2answers
663 views

Can Windows malware harm a Linux computer when it's executed with Wine?

I am an (Ubuntu) Linux user. Sometimes, I have to use Wine for running Windows executables. I would like to know if Windows malware (virus, trojan, worm,...), i.e. malware that was not intended to ...
10
votes
5answers
3k views

Linux command logging?

Recently someone broke into one of our linux servers as a non root user. An excerpt from .bash_history: [...] perl perl set +o history set +o history set +o history passwd sdfsdf passwd exit I ...
8
votes
3answers
805 views

How to manually check for rootkits on a server

Does anyone have a general step by step list on how to try discover rootkits on a Linux or Solaris server? I'm looking for to to manually find the rootkit, not by automated software. For example: ...
3
votes
5answers
981 views

Secure mount options + partitioning on Ubuntu

What is the best solution for mount options/partitioning when having e.g.: an Ubuntu minimal install (11.04) for Desktop use? e.g.: put /tmp on different partition to give it mount options like: ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views

Recommend Keylogger for Ubuntu?

I purchased a new laptop recently, and I'm working on hardening it. Specifically, I'm interested in increasing my chances of recovering the machine in the event that it's ever stolen. The system ...
19
votes
6answers
2k views

Secure Linux Desktop

I'm looking for hints about secure linux desktops. Securing servers is no problem. Most recent Software Updates, run only the services required etc. But what about desktops? I'm thinking about details ...
6
votes
4answers
2k views

How to disable Firewire in OpenBSD/Linux to prevent attacks through Firewire?

Since Firewire lacks security, allowing a plugged-in device to access host memory, it's a good thing to fully disable it. If we're not using the BIOS to disable the Firewire port then how could we do ...
5
votes
1answer
603 views

Does Fedora 15 still use suid bits?

I heard that Fedora 15 will not use suid bits. Is that true? Is the suid bit a security design bug?
5
votes
3answers
1k views

Is CentOS a good choice from a security perspective?

How secure is the CentOS Linux distribution? I noticed there were times when there were no up-to-date patches for some version of CentOS (e.g., 5.6). I read this on some mailing list that I can't ...
4
votes
2answers
375 views

How to improve VPS security?

I’m using Linux based VPS hosting, and a firewall and mod_sec help to keep most hackers out. However, over the last couple of weeks I noticed several entries in mod_sec showing that an unknown domain ...
10
votes
3answers
350 views

Given SSH access, what should I do to protect a server and monitor (dangerous) user actions?

Context: Small business, mostly a software house for web applications but also some desktop software. Many external collaborators, so a variety of outside users with access to the servers. Single ...
42
votes
8answers
6k views

Hardening Linux Server

We have already had questions on here about Hardening Apache, Hardening PHP and Securing SSH. To continue this trend I am interested in what steps people take to harden Linux servers. As in what ...
4
votes
2answers
210 views

What does a MCSE need to learn to be proficient regarding *nix security?

I have a top notch Windows MCSE/MCSD (developer) who wants to broaden his skills with Linux security... but needs to update his skills from the Ultrix / Yellowpages days of 40 years ago. What ...
12
votes
3answers
795 views

Multi factor authentication on Ubuntu workstations, where to start?

Is it possible to have Ubuntu users log in with multi-factor authentication? I was thinking of a combination of pass(word|code) and smartcard (with screen locks when for example smart-card is removed) ...
8
votes
1answer
223 views

What shell binary should I use for the root account on a Linux system?

Is there a security advantage to using a different shell for the root account, either a hardened shell program, or simply a shell binary stored in a non-standard location?