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Security Software Linux

Local Area Security Linux LiveCD 94

An anonymous reader writes "LocalAreaSecurity.com has released a new version of their live-CD Linux distribution for information security professionals. It contains over 200 security tools including all the usual suspects (Nmap, Nessus, etc.) as well as many other great tools less well known. The ISO images are meant to be burned on 185MB and 210MB miniCDs which they update around twice a month. L.A.S. also publishes many papers on how to use the tools as well as research docs on *nix security. Their latest papers include: Securing Mambo Open Source CMS, Doing More With Less: Nessus, and L.A.S. Security Tool Review and Howto: kismet."
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Local Area Security Linux LiveCD

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  • PHLAK? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by discogravy ( 455376 ) on Friday April 09, 2004 @11:11AM (#8816275) Homepage
    is this related to the PHLAK project?
    • Re:PHLAK? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by LostCluster ( 625375 ) * on Friday April 09, 2004 @11:15AM (#8816321)
      I think the key difference is that this is a White Hat tool, while PHLAK is meant for people weariing Black Hats...
      • Don't know if Black hats use it, but, I did to fix a virus problem on a MS based machine. Picked out the problems and cleaned it up enough for us to do a backup. The site seems to be down when I checked yesterday.
      • The Knoppix-STD [knoppix-std.org] logo is a black cat. Gee, "black cat" sounds just like "black hat"...
      • I think the key difference is that this is a White Hat tool, while PHLAK is meant for people weariing Black Hats...

        I disagree. The only "black hat tools" imo are rootkits and the like. Everything else, to and including password crackers and vulnerability scanners, is just as much an auditing tool as it is a cracking tool.

        Having used both distros, PHLAK has a little bit more style to it. I don't get the impresion that they made it for black hat uses, but wannabe blackhats may gravitate to it. You gott

    • MOD PARENT UP (Score:3, Informative)

      by Cyno01 ( 573917 )
      Glad you brought that up, i was about to post a link, but their site seems to be down.

      busted link for future reference [phlak.org]

    • No but I think that it bears a close relationship with PHLEGM.
    • I was wondering the same thing. This isnt related to PHLAK. I run PHLACK under vmware, but im not really too impressed with it, and think it has a long way to go. As far as blackhats use that, whitehats use this, etc, I'm not buying it. People will use whatever tool supports there needs the most. I will try this out, but when it comes down to it, a skilled person with just a few tools can probably do as much as someone with hundreds. Personally, if I could have 1 tool, it would probably be NETCAT.
  • by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 09, 2004 @11:13AM (#8816300)
    Their web server's so secure, I can't access it!!

  • I have used LAS... (Score:5, Informative)

    by Punk Walrus ( 582794 ) on Friday April 09, 2004 @11:16AM (#8816341) Journal
    ... and I liked it. So did a coworker, who then stole it. There's irony in there somewhere...

    Some other good Security LiveCD distros are Knoppix STD [knoppix-std.org] and P.H.L.A.K. But I mainly use Knoppix (which also has kismet [kismetwireless.net] and nmap [insecure.org]), and when I want speed, SLAX [linux-live.org] is very good.

  • by rosewood ( 99925 )
    Ive recently started administering more and more server 2003 environments and I feel the microsoft security auditing tool isn't that sexy and Id love an easy scan. Im too lazy to just look myself (oh the irony) so maybe someone here knows?

    I mean, nmap is always useful but I know my ports are solid so what else on there isn't *nix specific?
  • Mirrors for Download (Score:5, Informative)

    by MontyP ( 26575 ) on Friday April 09, 2004 @11:18AM (#8816366)
    Main Download Location (Miami, FL USA)

    HTTP Current 185MB Version [localareasecurity.com] | Current 210MB Version [localareasecurity.com]| Download Directory [localareasecurity.com]

    FTP Current 185MB Version [localareasecurity.com] | Current 210MB Version [localareasecurity.com]| Download Directory [localareasecurity.com]

    Please try to use a geographically closer mirror:

    http://chefax.fe.up.pt/mirrors/las/ [fe.up.pt] -HTTP Portugal
    ftp://chefax.fe.up.pt/pub/mirrors/las/ [fe.up.pt] -FTP Portugal

    http://ftp.lug.udel.edu/pub/iso-images/LAS [udel.edu] -HTTP US Delaware
    ftp://ftp.lug.udel.edu/pub/iso-images/LAS [udel.edu] -FTP US Delaware

    http://www.mednor.net/ftp/pub/mirrors/las/ [mednor.net] -HTTP US California
    ftp://ftp.mednor.net/pub/mirrors/las/ [mednor.net] -FTP US California

    Not all mirrors are up at this time. We remove mirrors periodically from the list that are not updated but re-add them once updated.
    We are currently seeking additional mirrors in Europe and Asia.

    MD5s

    L.A.S.0.5-185MB MD5:543fe2f42472f73cdba8378d9cb58579

    L.A.S. 0.5-210MB MD5: bc3a9ba8afcb99ff3e549b5d8d0b22a8
    • by deinol ( 210478 ) on Friday April 09, 2004 @01:49PM (#8818289) Homepage
      You'd think that someone clever enough to create a live linux CD would have heard of BitTorrent by now.

      Wake up people, releasing ISO's should be done through BitTorrent. Then, instead of /. making it impossible to download, it harnesses the power of /. to make it faster to download.

      • http://onyx.chattanoogastate.edu:6970/
      • > You'd think that someone clever enough to create a live linux CD would have heard of BitTorrent by now.

        You'd think someone clever enough to point it out would realize that they already have a torrent link on their page. (Rather than just jumping to a conclusion and looking like a fool.)

        On their page: http://www.localareasecurity.com/index.php?option= content&task=view&id=9&Itemid=28

        Torrents - http://onyx.chattanoogastate.edu:6970/
  • by Anonymous Coward on Friday April 09, 2004 @11:19AM (#8816371)
    Linux operating system . . . . . . . [PASS]
    210mb download . . . . . . . . . . . [PASS]
    News posted on Slashdot . . . . . . [PASS]
    Insufficient mirrors . . . . . . . . [PASS]
    Setting new record for shortest slashdotting time . .
  • "security" (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Yeah, security all right. I'm sure 99% of the 14 year old skript kiddiez making and downloading these things are "security" minded.
    • by Anonymous Coward
      14 year old skript kiddiez: Where the fuck is the "Crack" button!
      Wait a minute...Where that fuck ARE the buttons!!?!?
      Linux SuX0rz! Where's the cursor!!?
    • Re:"security" (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Punk Walrus ( 582794 ) on Friday April 09, 2004 @12:37PM (#8817275) Journal
      Yeah, security all right. I'm sure 99% of the 14 year old skript kiddiez making and downloading these things are "security" minded.

      And thus, I want a copy. As others have joked, by the very definition of a "skript kiddie" (unskilled cracker dependent on the tools of others), something like this is way out of their league. But I assume you might have meant, "People who do illegal things to computers who could use such a convenient CD where all the free tools online are in one place."

      Well, they are going to do use it, whether it's wrong or not, and if LAS doesn't do it, someone else will (and has). And I want the same tools to test my firewalls and stuff to make SURE that it's hard to break into my network. Nothing will ever be hack-proof, but if you can make it hard for illegal entry, the crook will look elsewhere for something easier. And tools like these give me the same tools the crooks have, and the advantage I have is that I don't need time to "sniff" for anything to deduce which items to crack, since I already know what machines are senistive. I can just use an Ethereal capture pointed at an IP or MAC and see what it's sending out. Try and hack my own wireless connection with Kismet. And so on.

      It's all in intent, and how you use it. I use tools like thse to trace stray DHCP servers, look for illegal Kazaa use, or find out who's trying to hack my firewall.

      A prybar is not illegal. Forcing open a loose door on property you don't own or beating someone to death with it is illegal. But you don't see people banning prybars at Home Depot.

      • A prybar is not illegal. Forcing open a loose door on property you don't own or beating someone to death with it is illegal. But you don't see people banning prybars at Home Depot.

        No, of course we shouldn't ban prybars. Prybars don't commit illegal acts, people with prybars commit illegal acts. We should ban people.

        This is of course the same argument that is used against Gun Control. Never mind that it would be harder for people to commit crimes using guns if they didn't have such ready access to those

  • glad to see.. (Score:3, Informative)

    by laurent420 ( 711504 ) on Friday April 09, 2004 @11:29AM (#8816475)
    glad to see the las developers fixed the issue of usb mouses not working under x11 from 0.4. keep up the good work, guys.
  • But I just read.. (Score:2, Insightful)

    by noselasd ( 594905 )
    Hmm.. pondering about how this releates to this [slashdot.org]
  • When I get home I'll download and see if I can set up a tracker and post a torrent somewhere.
  • This was in the Freshmeat slashbox yesterday. wtf?
  • Set up a torrent? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by suwain_2 ( 260792 ) on Friday April 09, 2004 @11:41AM (#8816591) Journal
    I'm only about 10% down downloading from the UDel site, but I've noticed that my speed seems to keep dropping. I use BitTorrent often to download stuff, but I have no experience in creating a torrent. Can someone post a link on how to create a torrent? (Do I need a lot of initial bandwidth? I'm only on a cable modem.)
  • I am currently only getting about 3k/s off of the closest geographical mirror to me. Will someone please make a torrent of this once you get it?
  • by rapiddescent ( 572442 ) on Friday April 09, 2004 @11:47AM (#8816675)
    it is well worth bookmarking distrowatch [distrowatch.com]. Very good for news on all the latest distro's with information on all major distros including live cd's, usb keys, big cd's wee cd's and all of that. Has a useful weekly roundup of distro news.

    I wonder if people are becoming less distro-religous since most distros seem to work well. anyway, after reading distrowatch for a while you'll no doubt become a distro-tart and try all out 101 live cd's like L.A.S.

    rd

  • by kry10 ( 166308 ) on Friday April 09, 2004 @11:54AM (#8816763)
    How ironic - I was just using my 210MB version L.A.S Linux on a friend's computer and noticed this article. One thing I really like about L.A.S - integrated ClamAV. So, on someone elses computer that's totally hosed, I can boot off of L.A.S. and scan their hard drive for viruses. Plus, with the mini-CD size, it's easy to keep a copy in my glovebox/computer case/etc. for emergencies.

    No, it's not a replacement for Knoppix STD, but it's a nice complement.
  • Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Friday April 09, 2004 @03:57PM (#8820070)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Official Torrent (Score:4, Informative)

    by Relaxus ( 584121 ) on Friday April 09, 2004 @03:58PM (#8820074) Homepage
    There is now an official tracker:
    http://onyx.chattanoogastate.edu:6970/ [chattanoogastate.edu]
  • Noteable Omissions (Score:3, Insightful)

    by HenryKoren ( 735064 ) on Friday April 09, 2004 @04:10PM (#8820223) Homepage
    There are some programs I expected to be on this distro that aren't.

    Tethereal [ethereal.com] The X version "ethereal" is there, but I've always prefered the text based ethereal
    Etherape [sourceforge.net] A cool visual traffic monitor.

    Other than that, LAS Linux is pretty cool!

C makes it easy for you to shoot yourself in the foot. C++ makes that harder, but when you do, it blows away your whole leg. -- Bjarne Stroustrup

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