Networking / Beginners

Local security mechanisms for Linux

Linux is an inherently secure operating system, although the system administrator might need to have a detailed understanding of the operating system to make it completely bulletproof. For local security measures, a username and password combination is required to log on to the system, providing the basis of user verification. In the past, username and password information was stored in a plain-text format, which constitutes a security risk. Today, it is far more common to use the password shadowing technique discussed earlier in this tutorial, in the section "Linux User Management Basics."

For file system security, the EXT2 file system, and others, can be used to secure the files that are held on a system.

Note that unlike Windows systems, where there are differences in the security measures and mechanisms from version to version, a Linux system used as a workstation and a Linux system used as a server utilize the same underlying operating system. Therefore, the information provided earlier about security on Linux servers is equally applicable to Linux clients.

Authentication for Linux

Linux authentication is based on a username and password combination. Without a valid user ID, it is very difficult to access a local system. Of important note is that on a Linux system, there is a root account that can be authenticated on any system. The root account is comparable to the Administrator account on Windows networks. On a Linux system, both the username and password are case-sensitive.

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In this tutorial:

  1. Network Operating Systems and Clients
  2. Network operating systems
  3. Windows NT 4
  4. Domains and workgroups
  5. Windows NT 4 authentication
  6. Windows NT 4 file and print services
  7. Windows NT 4 application support
  8. Windows NT 4 security
  9. Windows NT 4 and Windows 2000 file system security
  10. Windows 2000
  11. Windows 2000 Active Directory and domains
  12. Windows 2000 authentication
  13. Windows 2000 file and print services
  14. Windows 2000 application support
  15. Novell NetWare
  16. NDS (Novell Directory Services)
  17. NetWare authentication
  18. NetWare file and print services
  19. NetWare application support
  20. NetWare security
  21. Linux
  22. Linux file and print services
  23. Linux application support
  24. Linux security
  25. Operating system interoperability
  26. Using Windows with NetWare
  27. Using Windows and Linux servers
  28. Using NetWare and Linux servers
  29. Operating system client support
  30. NetWare server client support
  31. Linux server client support
  32. Client operating systems
  33. Local security mechanisms for Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me
  34. Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional, and Windows XP Professional
  35. Client connectivity for Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional, and Windows XP Professional
  36. Applications for Linux
  37. Local security mechanisms for Linux
  38. Macintosh
  39. Application support for Macintosh
  40. Selecting a NIC and network configuration settings
  41. Connecting the PC to the network
  42. Testing and troubleshooting the NIC
  43. Configuring the NIC settings
  44. Configuring client systems for TCP/IP
  45. Configuring DNS server information
  46. Configuring WINS server information
  47. Using DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol)
  48. Configuring clients to access servers
  49. Client software for Microsoft networks on Windows 95/98/Me
  50. Novell client software
  51. Unix/Linux client software