On 04/03/2019 08:03 AM, Ben Tasker wrote: > On Wed, Apr 3, 2019 at 3:17 PM npdflr <npd...@zoho.com> wrote: > >> Thanks a lot Jim for the information. >> >> >> >> If I am running a live system on a DVD for internet access and booting >> from that DVD then the DVD should be able to write some data on itself >> (Example: if I am using a browser then the browser needs to write some data >> on the DVD to function). So, I would need a DVD-RW (DVD rewritable) not >> DVD-R (one-time recordable disc) >> > > No, one time recordable is fine (preferable, even).
Yes. That's the point. Although it's possible to write to "one time recordable" DVDs, that requires custom software and a cooperative DVD drive. > When the system boots from the disk, it loads the OS into memory, so things > like your browser cache files are written into memory (and so lost when the > DIMMs lose charge). If you want persistence then most live CDs will allow > you to provide a writeable media (normally a USB drive) for that purpose, > but then you get back into the risks associated with having writeable media > available. True. And there are some limitations. As far as I know, all live read-only systems allocate half of the physical RAM to the system, and half to working memory. So if your machine has 4GB RM, you can load at most a 2GB system image. But DVDs can hold ~4.7GB. So if your machine has 8GB RAM, you can load 4GB from the DVD. Years ago, I built a live ISO with Debian, VirtualBox, a pfSense VPN gateway VM, and stripped-down Whonix gateway and workstation VMs. The workstation VM had just a simple openbox GUI. It took several minutes to boot, but was very responsive afterward. >> Running a live system on a USB would still have some risk as the USB could >> read/write data to the attached Hard Disk of the PC or Laptop. >> >> A DVD-RW can't read/write to the attached Hard Disk on its own, am I right? >> >> >> > It can just as easily as the same ISO running off the USB could. If you > need that level of security, then you're going to want to remove the > harddrive from the system. Or just unplug the data and power cables. > Alternatively make sure whatever system you've got installed on the > harddrive is using software Full Disk Encryption. At which point the ISO > cannot read any data from it, and write attempts will (at most) corrupt > your filesystem. > > > > > > > >> >> >> >> ---- On Tue, 02 Apr 2019 23:12:00 -0700 Jim <jimmy...@copper.net> wrote >> ---- >> >> >> >> npdflr wrote: >> >>> Can you elaborate or give example on how to run a live CD/DVD for >> internet access. >> >> >> >> It has been a while since I have done this so I am a bit out of date, >> >> but presumably the procedure hasn't changed. You need to find and >> >> download an .iso image from the internet or obtain it from another >> >> source. Hopefully the creators of the image provide a way to verify >> >> that the image you get is correct and unaltered (PGP signature, a signed >> >> list of secure hashes, etc). You should verify your image. Then you >> >> need to burn the image to a CD or DVD (as appropriate) *as an image*. >> >> You can find instructions on the Internet about how to to this. Do >> >> *not* just write it to the optical disk as a file. Put the disk in >> >> your computer and boot to it. You will then be running from the optical >> >> disk and there should be no hard drive access unless you specifically >> >> request it. >> >> >> >> There are multiple live systems to choose from. Probably all will give >> >> you Internet access but some/many may not include Tor. TAILs does >> >> include Tor and is specifically set up to direct all Internet traffic >> >> through Tor. There may be others. You should be able to find any >> >> additional information you need through searching the Internet. >> >> >> >> My impression is these days it is more common to run live systems from >> >> thumb drives than optical disks. But I specifically mentioned CD/DVDs >> >> because they are read-only media and therefore can't get infected >> >> (assuming your original image is clean). >> >> >> >>> One has to install an OS on the CD/DVD and there needs to be some means >> for CD/DVD to access a network-specific firmware etc for using the >> internet, am I right? >> >> >> >> Live systems auto-detect hardware and will usually "just work" with the >> >> hardware you have. If it doesn't you need to either find a different >> >> live system or different hardware. But if your hardware works with >> >> standard Linux I wouldn't expect a problem. >> >> >> >> HTH >> >> >> >> Jim >> >> >> >> -- >> >> tor-talk mailing list - mailto:tor-talk@lists.torproject.org >> >> To unsubscribe or change other settings go to >> >> https://lists.torproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tor-talk >> -- >> tor-talk mailing list - tor-talk@lists.torproject.org >> To unsubscribe or change other settings go to >> https://lists.torproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tor-talk >> > > -- tor-talk mailing list - tor-talk@lists.torproject.org To unsubscribe or change other settings go to https://lists.torproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tor-talk