Not at all Linux-specific
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| Author | Content |
|---|---|
| phsolide Feb 19, 2010 11:11 AM EDT |
This almost doesn't pass the smell test, in that *nothing* on the list is Linux specific. "Be aware of session thieves", "Do not use unsafe internet protocols for administration or data transfer", these should apply to anything done on any OS, be it Linux, Windows, Multics, VMS, or NOS/VE. The article mentions Firewire and DMA attacks. These are due to the underlying hardware, not any OS property, as I recall. Some of it seems like good advice, but I question the validity of changing passwords "often". This is one of those places where human factors interact poorly with so-called "best practices", and a "best" practice might actually cause problems when people write passwords on sticky notes left in desk drawers, etc. The "use a firewall" one is just strange. As near as I can tell, running a "personal firewall" on a Windows box comes about because nobody is 100% certain what's running on their Windows box. Windows is just too baroque for anyone outside sysinternals.com to be sure. Like running an "anti-virus" program, "personal firewalls" are a WIndows practice that constitutes Cargo Cult behavior when brought to Linux. This is just an odd article for a "let's make linux a better experience" blog. It's really all about making any computer use a worse experience. Why would such a blog run this article? Did someone have a monthly article quota to mee? |
| Bob_Robertson Feb 19, 2010 1:48 PM EDT |
> I question the validity of changing passwords "often". I'll agree with you on this one. Use a good password, keep it unique, so that even if one is broken it only works on that one system. "Change passwords often" is silly if your system is cracked already, or the network is being sniffed, and then your new passwords are compromised too. I've had several websites send me plain text "confirmation" email with my username and new password. Oh, wow, now that's security! Write your passwords down, so that the passwords can be really good ones. The odds of an electronic attack are far higher than the CIA breaking into your house and copying your password list. Passwords are just another form of "security through obscurity". |
| ComputerBob Feb 20, 2010 3:48 PM EDT |
@ phsolide - I agreed with you 100% the minute I saw that article. I suspect that the author has already posted -- or will soon post -- the exact same article -- with a slightly different title -- on Windows and Mac blogs. Also look for the author's upcoming, informative series of articles about how to use a seatbelt in a Chevy sedan, a BMW convertible, a Ford truck, etc. |
| azerthoth Feb 20, 2010 4:49 PM EDT |
@CB, you missed the Pulitzer prize winning, soon to be tv movie "How to use a toothpick chapters 1 through 32" unabridged directors cut. |
| ComputerBob Feb 20, 2010 4:55 PM EDT |
I heard that the director's cut includes a surprise ending -- I don't want to spoil the surprise so I'll just say that it involves dental floss. |
| Bob_Robertson Feb 20, 2010 5:02 PM EDT |
Bob, that's dental F/L OSS. |
| ComputerBob Feb 20, 2010 5:57 PM EDT |
Now you've ruined the surprise. |
| Bob_Robertson Feb 20, 2010 7:16 PM EDT |
Better than a thong. |
| gus3 Feb 20, 2010 7:47 PM EDT |
Well, if the thinger hath had voithe training... |
| Bob_Robertson Feb 20, 2010 7:54 PM EDT |
Make it loud, make it thtrong. |
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