Oh neato! Both my little brothers use Unix. I'll have to forward this to
them!
~Lisa
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jay Daniels" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, December 30, 2000 5:45 PM
Subject: Re: * informant * the cover-up
At 11:34 AM 12/30/00 -0800 Lisa Selk wrote:
>Uh.. Just curious - What is "Slackware"?
>
>~Lisa
The Official Release of Slackware � Linux by Patrick Volkerding is an
advanced Linux Operating System, designed with the twin goals of ease of
use and stability as top priorities. In fact, it was the first distribution
of Linux on CDROM. Slackware Linux provides new and experienced users alike
with a full-featured system, equipped to serve in any capacity, from desktop
workstation to machine-room server. Web, ftp, and email servers are ready to
go out of the box, as are a wide selection
of popular desktop environments.
A full range of development tools, editors, and current libraries are also
included for users who wish to develop or compile additional software. The
Slackware philosophy demands ease of use, ease of administration, and open
develop-ment; all are reflected in this carefully built and tested official
4-disc set.
The advanced Linux kernel on which Slackware is based performs superbly on
high-end systems, with symmetric multi-processing support (up to 16
processors) and special optimizations for each Intel processor class.
You can purchase Slackware on cd-rom here.
http://www.wccdrom.com/titles/linux/slack.phtml
However, since you have access to a cable modem, you may want to just
download the entire distribution. If you have a cd-r you can create your
own cdrom.
Download mirrors:
http://download.sourceforge.net/mirrors/slackware/slackware-7.1/MIRRORS.TXT
A sample of what Slackware is used for is stated in a previous post. You
could install Slackware Linux on an old computer and set it up as your
gateway to connect your home network. There is even a Cable-Modem_HOWTo
document to show you how to set it up. Since Slackware (linux) will run on
a 486 with only 16MB of ram (some say less), it's a very cheap and powerful
Operating System.
In a nut shell, Linux is a Unix clone developed to run on an i386 PC.
Slackware is one of many distributions of Linux designed to make it easier
for you to use. There are many distributions or brands, so to speak:
RedHat, Debian, Dragon Linux, Turbo Linux. Most of which you can download
for free, but they run around 600MB for the entire distribution! For that
reason most people purchase a good Linux distribution on cdrom. The price
of the entire OS and 1000's of programs you receive on the cdrom is
basically equivilent to the price it cost to create and produce the cdrom
itself. You can also find cheap Linux cds online for around $1.99.
However, for a newbie this may cause problems since it comes with NO printed
documentation.
Cable Modem Help
http://www.cablemodemhelp.com/lanconnect.htm
If you work in the IT industry, then you definitely could use Slackware
Linux. The main reason I installed Linux in the first place (in 1996) was
to learn Unix. I've used a Server running Slackware and also a high-end
$40,000 Sun Workstation running Solaris, another Sun running Unix and I have
to say except for the obvious speed:) there isn't really much difference --
except the price, download Linux for free. The commercial versions of Unix
can range up to $495 per machine just for the software.
Need to connect ANY type of network: cable, LAN, Apple Talk, UUCP? Get
Slackware, wipe the dust off your old 486 or low-end pentium and go for it!
Read some of the HOWTOs. They are very technical and helpful even if you do
not use Linux at all.
http://www.linuxdoc.org/docs.html#howto
Example:
http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Cable-Modem/index.html
IP Masquerading:
http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/IP-Masquerade-HOWTO-2.html#ss2.1
Back to the original topic. Public relations can hurt a company. The
cover-up of the recent hack is not unfounded. Many people respect the
developer of Slackware (Patrick Volkerding). He's quiet the genius and
entrepreneur. So until some we hear some word as to why the system has been
down for so long, I guess we have to wait for a press release. Besides, no
one even knows if the developers even ran Slackware or they may just have
out sourced the web site to a hosting company. In either case, they are
probably still on Xmas vacation:-)
The website in question http://www.slackware.com/ is a valuable resource of
information. I received many answers to difficult questions in the Forums.
After you visit the mirror hacked page at attrition.org please be aware that
this type of hacking is no intuitive. It disrupts a companies operation,
and is also very criminal nature. The party in question probably is not a
programmer, expert, or may not even be literate. He searches for an
exploit, finds a target or vise-versa, then runs someone else code to
exploit the system -- never understanding how it works or what the code
actually does; it may even be a trojan destructive to his own system (but
this type of criminal doesn't care). This is not very smart. On the other
hand (if you view the source code of the hacked page) he seems to know jave
very well -- unless he used copy and paste? He's probably a web developer.
There have been accusations in the group on the type of websites I post or
visit. Well if you want to stay ahead of the game in computer security (and
secure your own system) you need to know what is out there. What new
exploits are found and what they do. Are you at risk? Do you need to
update your software NOW?
While Microsoft give little details in their security alerts, other sites
post the actual exploit or code that you can run on your own system
(providing you understand the code and what it does) to determine if your
are vulnerable. I see no problem with this since these hacks have been
circulating around irc for weeks or months. You might as well make everyone
aware of the problem. This also gets the companies attention and forces
them to develop a patch or update to fix the problem.
You may say to yourself, that there would not be a problem if those hackers
didn't exploit it. Well my answer to this question is that those hackers
that post to http://packetstorm.securify.com/ and other security related
sites are NOT the problem at all. People who do NOT post the exploits they
find and use them to gain access to your system is the real problem!
It's much like the gun issue. Take all guns away from the public (law
abiding citizens) and eliminate everyone's constitutional rights to bare
arms? That's not the answer. The criminals will always find a way. I
believe this even though I do not own any guns and/or weapons of mass
destruction :-)
Linux is not like windows at all. If you do not like to read, then stick
with windows. If you still rely on others to fix your Windows box for you,
then try to master that before moving on...
Perhaps you were one of those kids that took things apart just see how they
work. As you got older you began to read more and try to understand how
things work, or maybe even build your own devices? Then you will like Linux
very much!
/jay
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