ENGARDE SECURE LINUX

Feb 1 2009 in Articles by articles |

Engarde Secure Linux, out of the box Linux distribution built for what the name says, Secure (security). Engarde Secure Linux does just that for your server with easy to setup user restrictions, trusted hosts, Firewall protection etc via the GDWT (Guardian Digital WebTool).
Author: JUAN VAN DER MERWE
Source: Hakin9 2/2009 http://hakin9.org

Seeing the nature of Engarde is security, it still allows you to do the basics like setup and manage: local DNS, mail, web, ftp servers and backups.

ENGARDE MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

I have found that like any linux distribution the hardware requirements are minimal. Engarde developers recommend at least a Pentium series processor, 32MB of RAM. A 2GB hard drive and an Ethernet (10/100/1000) adapter. To utilize the true potential of Engarde I recommend 512MB of RAM and at least a 10GB hard drive.

INSTALLATION

A copy of the distribution can be downloaded from http:// www.engardelinux.org/. Registering your copy at http: //www.guardiandigital.com/register/ has its usual benefits; mailing list, priority and instant access to new system and security updates as well as GDMS (Guardian Digital Master Support). Engarde also has a LiveCD option available at the beginning of the installation which allows you to boot and run Engarde without any changes on your hard drive. It’s suggested you to use the LiveCD option to test run this distribution. The LiveCD function is setup similar to other distributions with this feature. When doing a hard disk installation you will be asked general questions like language, the installation hard drive (automatic or manual partitioning) as well as basic packages to install, Firewall services, Web, Mail and DNS services and so forth. You will need to supply general network information regarding your install such as IP address etc. You will have to remember the IP address as you need to configure the Engarde server from other PCs on the same network. Access your Engarde server from another PC by simply typing the IP address you assigned at the initial stages of the installation (eg. http://192.168.1.2:1023/ ). You will then need to accept the SSL certificate and proceed with the login. You can now setup your Trusted hosts and passwords that can access your Engarde`s Webtool (Figure 1). You’re also able to manage your startup services which will run on bootup. A nice feature with Engarde is the Virtual Mail Domain Management, where you can create and maintain your needed mail boxes.