[buug] Linux Security Site

[Zeke Krahlin]

Hi Rick Moen, you wrote on 2/16/2000 1:22:11 PM:

>If such a hypothetical customer refuses to budge from this blinkered
>mindset, then I doubt he would benefit from Linux.  

I know people who *really want to dump Windoze, and who do not need to run 
a local network or servers. But they cannot go through the learning curve 
re. setting up security. If I can take care of this myself, they can then 
procede with their Internet activities as a normal user (not root). They 
don't mind going through any learning curve for actually using any program 
(such as word processor, spreadsheet, etc.).

These people have never had the time to go through the learning curve of 
maintaining and troubleshooting Windoze, either. But they used the OS, 
anyway. My plan is to learn Linux very well, so my clients will need 
minimal maintenance. In fact, since Linux is more robust than Windoze, I 
expect they'll be calling me a lot less.

These are clients who do not want to get under the hood of *any OS...they 
just want to run a reliable system...minus the creepy overhead and bad 
politics that comes with Windoze.

>I see no problem, here.  Put the modem on the Linux box, and run it
>"headless" (no monitor).  It could even be in your closet.  Let the
>Linux box run your Internet connectivity for both boxes, running IP
>masquerading (Network Address Translation) and the Squid Web cached.

I *like that idea very much. But this is just for the Internet connection. 
I also want 
to run Linux for local use, for all my computer needs (eventually). And 
*that is why 
I need a monitor. I just don't want *two CRTs for this.

Okay, I'll break out my older system, and prep it for Linux. Thanks for the 
great
ideas.

>You appear to suffer from a bit of a case of one-computer disease
>yourself, Zeke.  A bit too long on legacy Microsoft OSes will do that to
>you.

No argument there, Rick! I was a DOS nut from day one...though always 
resented
Windoze, and was among the very last users to put it on my system.

> Well, at *least my Windoze98 and Mandrake 6.1 reside on separate hard 
> drives.
>
>http://linuxmafia.com/~rick/faq/#partition

Partition Magic kept crashing on me, and finally ceased to function. A 
nasty experience overall, which I care not to repeat more than I already 
have. With two separate hard drives, I can easily claim additional 
partitions from my Windoze drive, as I pare down my use of that horrid  OS. 
That's because that HD is set up with four distinct partitions. And this, 
then, makes it easy to expand Linux space w/o a tool like Partition Magic. 
But I will definitely look into the *other partition utilities you mention 
on your page. Thanks!

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