Boot from cd write to disk

Support and queries relating to third party Live CDs and DVD, VM images and other packaged distributions
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gola10
Posts: 150
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:16 pm
Location: Panama

Boot from cd write to disk

Post by gola10 »

After my Zoneminder computer was attacked by a hacker i am more concerned about security. I has installed fail2ban and a firewall but those are things not easy to set for a newbie.
Could i run linux and zoneminder from a customerised CD and record events, database, etc on harddisk?
This way, with a simple reboot everything would go back to original stage.
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rdmelin
Posts: 863
Joined: Wed Oct 29, 2003 2:23 pm
Location: Ellensburg, WA USA

Post by rdmelin »

What you describe is possible by using the bootcode "changes= " in the commandline at boot. For example adding "changes=/dev/hda1" will layer a writable filesystem over the CDs readonly layer and write any new or updated files in a directory named "changes" on /dev/hda1. At reboot if the same "changes= " switch is used changes from the previous run will be retained and new changes will continue to be saved. If the changes directory is deleted everything will be set back to original.

Please consider that this is not a simple "silver bullet" for internet serurity. If your system is attacked the database and saved events are vulnerable. Whatever security hole the attacker exploited will still be present at reboot. Security requires effort. There are tools in the Mandriva Control Center to harden your system. Security updates should be applied. Passwords changed from the defaults, etc. We all need to be responsible about these things because if our systems are compromised they can then be used to attack others.
gola10
Posts: 150
Joined: Wed Nov 01, 2006 3:16 pm
Location: Panama

Post by gola10 »

Did not know about the "change" feature. I will try it.
Mandriva has feature for security but the problem is to know how to use them. This is complete new for me. I has been reading a lot but still are confused looks like this is not easy.
Thanks for your advise.
tlhonmey
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Mar 05, 2008 3:03 am

Post by tlhonmey »

Keep in mind also, this is your *security* system. If someone hacks it, not only can they use it to compromise other computers, they can also use it to compromise whatever physical location you are trying to protect. A little paranoia would not be amiss.
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