Other Security Utilities to Consider


In addition to the tools mentioned thus far, you should also consider adding some basic Linux security tools to your toolbox. These include the following:

  • Tripwire This is one of the best file system monitoring tools around. It records information about important files (such as checksums) in a database. If anything changes in those files, Tripwire will catch the change when it runs (configure it as often as you like with cron) and will alert you. More information on Tripwire can be found at http://www.tripwire.org.

  • Snort This is a sniffer that monitors network packets and can be used to alert you to suspicious activity. Acting as an intrusion detection system, it can offer you the first warning that a possible attack is underway. More information on Snort can be found at http://www.snort.org.

  • PortSentry Like Snort, PortSentry acts as an intrusion-detection system by looking for suspicious activity. It differs from Snort in that it tries to find this activity by focusing on attempts aimed at the local computer and not on the network as a whole. It also offers the capability to block ports, and thus functions as a firewall as well. More information on PortSentry can be found at http://sourceforge.net/projects/sentrytools.

Note

Although it has been implied, it is important to note that any network is only as strong as the weakest element on it. To have a secure network, it is important to keep all workstations secure.




SUSE Linux 10 Unleashed
SUSE Linux 10.0 Unleashed
ISBN: 0672327260
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 332

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