As already advised by others just enable the firewall you find in your
Mandrake Control Centre, then visit http://scan.sygatetech.com/ to test it.
The good news is that now you are using Linux, and are using Sylpheed as your
email client, you will never get an E-mail borne virus, you will never have
to worry about accidentally executing an .exe e-mail attachment, and any
determined attack on your computer is unlikely to succeed.
If you wanted to get really obsessive about security, there are a number of
applications which you might like to play with.
For example :-
Portsentry will add any IP address which tries to scan your ports to an
'ignore' list so there is no way they can get any further.
Logcheck will scan your system logs for messages from your firewall, or
perish the thought 'unauthorised actions' within your computer and send you a
daily e-mail summary.
There are also any number of Firewall products to play with. The tiny
firewall supplied on LM8.1 does a perfectly good job, but if you want to
start opening up ports and reconfiguring its behaviour it is not very
flexible.
Interactive-Bastille supplied with LM8.1 will allow you to be more flexible,
and also tightens up security around your computer in other ways.
HTH
derek
On Monday 21 January 2002 17:43, you wrote:
> Hi list,
>
> Being new, and currently enjoying an installation that's up and running
> (even if it did need a few tweaks here and there) I came across an article
> about 'Armoring Linux'. It was all about how default installations leave a
> lot of unneeded services running and provide access for 'undesirables' to
> wreak havoc if they so choose. This article has kinda scared the bejeepers
> out of me, as I could've sworn I just said yes to most of the default
> questions during (the most recent) install. The article referenced a lot to
> do with the Redhat distro, and I found myself at a loss on some of the more
> technical points and instructions about what to do. So, here's my question.
> Where in LM 8.1 do I start to find out what services are running? I am not
> using my Linux box as a server or anything 'technically heavy', just home
> use with email and browsing, MP3 playing etc... Will I need to setup a
> firewall? And of course, how do I start to shut off the unneeded services?
> Mick (nervously awaiting!)
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