[ale] Need a better Linux distro

[Leam Hall]

Hey Raj,

Back when I was purely a Linux guy, adding multiple layers of defense 
was a great idea. I had the time and skillset. Now, however, I have to 
spend my time elsewhere, and my skills are rusty. I have to provide for 
my wife's Mac and my own boxes, and that's time away from other stuff I 
need to be doing.

My goal is to reduce the risk footprint. Or course, I won't get to zero 
risk, but there are general things that can be done. Things like fewer 
"extra" packages, a more trusted repo, and less software bloat. I'm in 
the non-SystemD user space too, so that's key.

Leam


On 5/30/20 9:37 AM, Raj Wurttemberg via Ale wrote:
> Hey Liam,
> 
> If you are that worried about key loggers and other malware, why not just
> setup a small proxy server, and only allow the proxy server to get out to
> the internet? Your Linux PC would have to send all HTTP/HTTPS/SOCKS traffic
> though the proxy server.
> 
> I know that many businesses block all outbound internet traffic, you could
> easily do the same. The proxy server would also allow you to log and monitor
> all of the traffic. Couple that with PiHole and I think that you would be
> pretty safe.
> 
> /Raj
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ale <ale-bounces at ale.org> On Behalf Of Leam Hall via Ale
> Sent: Saturday, May 30, 2020 8:56 AM
> To: Atlanta Linux Enthusiasts <ale at ale.org>
> Subject: [ale] Need a better Linux distro
> 
> I can't remember what I was doing this morning, but I look at the
> installed packages on my CentOS 7 box. I was surprised, and very
> dismayed, that a few dozen rpms came from a repo in the former Eastern
> Bloc.
> 
> While I love my friends and neighbors of all shapes, sizes, and cultural
> origins, my confidence in not getting a keystroke logger or similar hit
> rock bottom. Who cares about virus protection if you install the malware
> yourself?
> 
> I've used Void in the past and will be trying to get the few things I
> need onto it. Just wanted to see what other options were out there.
> Here's what I'm using the computer for:
> 
> 	Nothing with systemd
> 	Web, Firefox
> 	E-mail, Thunderbird
> 	git
> 	Printing to a Brother printer
> 	LibreOffice (mostly to manipulate and print DOCX, XLSX files)
> 	IRC (Hexchat)
> 	Ansible
> 	GnuCash (no bank data)
> 	Ruby and Perl development (C, libraries)
> 	Calibre
> 
> 
> In the past I've done NetBSD, but their Package site has adware. Not
> sure that speaks well of the project. I'm not quite ready for Linux From
> Scratch, but the more I deal with commercial Linux, the more LFS appeals.
> 
> Thoughts?
> 
> Leam
> 
> 
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