Linux?? But Which One??

Don't try Linux at all (for now). That's my advice. Instead, judging by a [url=http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10877-6173025.html][b]review by Justin James[/b][/url] and my own reading on the subject, I'd recommend giving PC-BSD a try instead.

If you need help with PC-BSD, I'm sure you can get it from the PC-BSD community or from some of the more FreeBSD-savvy here at TechRepublic.

Go read Justin James' review and decide for yourself. Best of luck, whatever you do.

Well you have started the good old discussion whats better, whats good etc. bsd vs linux etc etc. But it all comes down to what you want.

I personally use Kubuntu cause i think its quite easy to use and install. you should just download a few linux or bsd distributions and see with which one you feel most comfortable with.

One thing is for sure its easier to install linux on a bit older laptop then a brand new top of the range one cause that means that there are drivers out there for your hardware. This might all change soon for ubuntu since dell has decided to install it on its new products.

Well good luck at uni next year and enjoy trying out some linux or bsd distros

Partition your laptop so that you have two partitions(or 3, if you keep windows on it). Then when it asks where you want to do the install's, you just point at the correct partition. It should automatically create a boot manager which offers you which os you want to boot from.

I would like to sugest Unix in a nutshell as a reference book also.

This gives all of the various commands, and indicates if a command is only supported on a specific platform.

it's an execelent reference book. I still use mine.

{i]Edited to add: [/i]That was not a stupid question.

Dan

I always recommend this to friends of mine at school who want to try Linux out for the first time ever, and have been using Windows their whole tech-lives. Depending on the amount of RAM you have (512mb DDR should be enough, it always ways for me... 256 might even be ok), go to www.knoppix.net/get.php and download Knoppix. It's a Live Linux distribution, which means you download it, and burn it to a cd, and it runs off of the cd without an install onto the hard drive. The CD is obviously bootable, so whenever you want to use it, you just pop it into your cd drive, and reboot your computer (making sure to boot from the CD drive, you may have to change your boot order in your BIOS, easy enough to do), and Linux will run entirely on CD, using some of your RAM to run certain things in the background. If you have a CAT5 cable hooked up to your computer for Internet, then you should be fine, as Knoppix is as far as I know completely up to date on all Network Interface Card drivers, and it knows how to get an IP address for your computer and everything. This has always been my experience with this distribution, as well as with another Live Linux distribution called IWHAX, formerly known as Whoppix. IWHAX is designed much more for the network security professional in mind. I've been trying to find IWHAX again for a while, but it seems to have dropped off the face of the internet.

Anyway, Knoppix is absolutely ideal for someone like you, who has never used Linux before (so I gather from your post, anyway), and also I think I understand that you're not *too* sure you want it or not, so once again, Knoppix would be what I would suggest since there is absolutely no installing of software. Your Windows installation will still be there, and you won't have to sit through a nerve-wracking installation, wondering if your Windows partition will still be there (if you want it to still be there). Now, users of Knoppix have, to some extent worked out an actual hard drive installation of Knoppix ( http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Category:Hard_drive_Installation ), but judging from what I've found there, I wouldn't recommend it. Plus, based on my own experience with Knoppix, it's just plain great to be able to run an entire operating system right off of 1 single cd, then, at a whim, taking it out and booting back into your other operating system with all your other stuff there.

Make *sure*, if you do this, you read http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Downloading_FAQ before you do anything, it might save you some question-asking later on, and with Linux, reading the manual always saves question-asking later.

This one will save you some questions later too:

http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/General_FAQ

"MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS"
----- If your computer was made in the last few years, it should meet or exceed these without any problem.

Q: What are the minimum system requirements?

A: Intel-compatible CPU (i486 or later), 16 MB of RAM for text mode, at least 96 MB for graphics mode with KDE (at least 128 MB of RAM is recommended to use the various office products), bootable CD-ROM drive, or a boot floppy and standard CD-ROM (IDE/ATAPI or SCSI), standard SVGA-compatible graphics card, serial or PS/2 standard mouse or IMPS/2-compatible USB-mouse.

I hope this has been informative. Have fun exploring the wonderful world of Linux, and if you like what you see with Knoppix, by all means, move on to a real, installed distribution. Do plenty of reading on several of them before choosing one. Believe me, it pays off in the long run to read and read and read about various distributions and comparing the reviews on them before installing them. Some of them have got some bad hardware compatibility issues. Enjoy, and good luck.

Edit: Some people may say that Live distributions aren't a great way to start out with Linux, but personally it got me off to a great start. After I was comfortable with the general interfaces, how everything worked, commands, et cetera, I then moved on to actually installing a distribution. The first one I actually installed was Slackware. I had some pretty nasty sound and video card compatibility issues, but the video worked good enough, and I was able to do everything that I needed to do. After a while with Slackware, I spent the next few months just trying out every distribution I could get my hands on. Believe me, it gets addicting. Have fun.

Edited again: I didn't even notice how late I showed up in the discussion. My apologies; I hope this might still be found useful by someone :)

Personally, I like Kubuntu...that's just my taste...might not be yours...but...on to the real question...YOURS :)

[b][i]So, any advice on what to use, and where to find them ??
[/i][/b]

1) I'd suggest if your uni is going to use SUSE Linux...get openSUSE so that you remain within the relatively same kernel/product.

2) Where to get them? One place I know of that I think does the best job of keeping up with all that is Linux releases:

http://www.distrowatch.com

Plus, you'll be able to get several hundred other distros there too to play with. :)

In regards to multiple Linuxes on a box...be sort of careful.

A refined distro load like openSUSE will let you choose whether or not to put on a boot loader.

Ubuntu/Kubuntu (as of 7.04 release) didn't give you the option of whether or not to from the GUI...but rather...only where you wanted to put it.

Also, it depends on your internal laptop drive size as well as to how many distros you want to load. If you have only 30GB, having 5 distros on the drive might be a bit much.

If you wanted my suggestion, and [b]your laptop has the BIOS option to select to boot from a USB device[/b]:

1) get openSUSE 10.2 (I think that's still the latest)
2) get something like Kubuntu desktop or Gentoo desktop distro to play with.
3) purchase you an external USB 2.5" drive (I suggest the Aluratek brand. cheap and good)
4) put openSUSE on the internal drive
5) put Kubuntu on the external drive

You will be able to use as many partitions/distros on the external as you want and that the drive you get can handle. An external 2.5" USB hard drive starts out cost-wise about $65 for a 60-80GB drive.

Plus, you can keep your internal drive only to use for work while you play with things on the external (even install openSUSE there too for an experimentation area).

That's my suggestion...take it as you will.

openSUSE is a good choice. It was the 2nd distro that I tried, and it worked fine. It is a bit bloated to compared to others, but there are quite a few things that 'just work' in it that do not in others.
Most of the kde environments are similar in los of ways, so switching between distro's is easy. I do recommend though, to use either KDE or GNOME desktop until you are familiar with the command line and/or and OS as a whole. Then it is easier to start looking at other desktop environments, etc.

I have to agree with apotheon about PC BSD as well, but keep that as a back-burner item to look at after you are familiar with SUSE.

Get a book on SUSE, it may even come with the latest distro as well, and it may even be the full (pro) version. If not, openSUSE can be downloaded right from http://www.novell.com
Other resources are available as well.

Another good place to start is
http://www.reallylinux.com/ as it has a lot of useful info for beginners.
If you need help, just post!

Not wanting to jump in on Tigs' reply, but you've forgotten what MY job is!!

If you're going to be heading along the security lines in the UK, that course would be a Godsend. It won't only cover the CMA, but [i] should [/i] cover all other relevant statutes from the UK and EU.

Look out for specifics on RIPA, FOI, EU P & M (Privacy and Monitoring Directive 2003) as well as up to date guidance on Digital Evidence Collection. If you're looking at doing security, you'll need to know how and when to apply all of these laws as they all inter-react with each other (and there are more.....)

Personally, I found law very interesting, and was told I had an aptitude for it, hence the move from "ordinary" security into Info security.

If you need anything - anything at all! - for your assignments on security, you know where I am. (And if I haven't got the answer, I know damn well where to get it!) I also have connections with other infosec people, as well as back doors into specific companies in the UK. If it's any use, I can sanitise some cases for you, too.

If you want to discuss this, skype me over the weekend - name is the same as my personal mail account, so the TR lot can find me! :D

GG

Sounds like you can be of alot of use to me :D

Thanks for the offer of help and the advice, might not be this weekend, as I'm a bit busy at the moment, but I'll definitely get in touch :D i think I emailed you my skype name, but if you need it again let me know :)

Open SUSE 10.2 is available for download from here

http://tinyurl.com/2ngtca

You might like to find out which version of SUSE they are using at your Uni and post back with the version number and then it will be possible to point you to the places to download that version from.

If the Uni is using SUSE I would stick with what you are going to be using as it saves confusion latter when you switch to what the Uni is using. Also ask if they are using the 32 or 64 Bit version and if you are unable to find the older Downloads drop me an E-Mail and I can either point you to the right places or post you a Disc.

[i][u]God only knows that as you are a Blonde you are going to need all the help possible so try not to confuse yourself any more than absolutely necessary.[/i][/u] :p

Col

If the university uses Suse, you should too. However if you really want to dig deep into Linux, then look at a distro that is more hands on to start with. stick it on an old box and tinker with it til you break it and then reinstall it and start over. IMO Linux is more complicated to manage than windows and having a thorough knowledge of its internals will make it so you are comfortable with any distro. BTW, I have several flavors depending on the mission of the system where the distro is installed.
For example I have freenas on one box ubuntu for desktops, RHEL for my intranet, and Debian on another box for doing stats. My assistant primarily uses freeBSD. But he's a college Kid :-)

If you have the opportunity, take the class.

If you head in the direction of web design, you will need to have at least a high level of understanding of security principles, governance as it applies to data gathering and storage, and compliance- which rules apply to you and when.

GG is always an excellent resource for questions like this- and she will have knowledge about what is considered important in the UK while I am really limited to the US. But getting as many inputs as you can is always good. Maecuff and dspeacock are also good contacts to have.

Good luck, Steffi. I don't get much time lately to talk but am always interested in how you are getting on.

Kubuntu will get you the nice windowy feeling in a slick simple package.

Mandriva includes KDE and has well done graphic config tools so you get a more poweruser distrobution but less slick and consolidated than the 'buntu family.

PClinuxOS sounds good and is probably closer to what your used too as it's designed to be Windows Like and support win32 software to some degree.

Leave Debian, Gentoo, Slackware for the second go around after your more comfy.

You may also like to check Newsfourge.com daily for some great FOSS articles. They often have liveCD distro writeups, software writeups and general community news.

As for HOWTO information, you have to be more specific about what you want to do and with what distrobution. Mandriva and Ubuntu have great walkthroughs for installation and setup. Check the forums off either distorbutions website.

Of course, posting here for help is also good.

It's a Damn Small Linux liveCD purposefully build without all the fixes and updates and meant as a training aid/lab for security geeks. It's also got all the security tools included with it so you can use it as your security toolbox also. Far as I can tell, it's still only available by FTP within the US. Us humble Canadians are out of luck unless things have changed from last time.

Anyhow, if your inside the States, that may offer a number of your missing forensic programs.

Just make sure MS Windows isn't the last thing you install, and you can have all the free unices you want multi-booting with each other and, if you like, with MS Windows as well. No problem. DanLM did a good job of answering you.

. . . and he's right, it's not a stupid question.

I needed that drive to learn how to setup the MS Shared Computer Toolkit.

OpenSUSE was the first distro I'd tried that installed with only one, easily fixed, glitch. Prior to that I had tried to install Zandros, openSUSE 9.2 and Knoppix. After the openSUSE installation I tried to install Ubuntu too but didn't make it.

I think you'll be happy with openSUSE. I had the 64-bit distro installed and my Dell was FAST.

Some version of Linux is going back on my Dell before long.

Stuff I didn't know until last Friday:
http://linuxmovies.org/studios.html
and
http://www.howtoforge.com/ubuntustudio_7.04.
and
http://64studio.com/

To me it all depends on what someone is trying to do. You'll likely be better off with the decision to give openSUSE a try. I found support for it right here. I resolved my installation glitch thru replies to a post I made at TR.

Results are the important thing. As long as no one gets hurt what reasonable person really cares how you get to the end result you want?

My favorite hobby is tinkering with pictures and making short animations. The more I learn about it the more I want to learn. I'm going to give 64Studio and/or Ubuntu Studio a shot later on. Failing that I'll go back to openSUSE so I can still investigate the other Linux tools used by some of the major studios.

Edit: It was Xandros not Zandros

Apparently the previous version is banned for something and the links have been removed.
If you go here
http://www.damnvulnerablelinux.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45&Itemid=56
they have a newer version, so you may be able to download it now.
There are also training courses

Here's documentation for the tools that come with it. The tools being things related to digital forensics, network security, etc.
http://backtrack.offensive-security.com/index.php?title=Tools
A lot of the tools have links back to their homepages so you'll be able to find more info for each tool at those links.

How-To's
http://backtrack.offensive-security.com/index.php?title=Howto
Most of them are about getting BackTrack up and running if you're not going to run it Live from the CD. There are however a couple How-To sections at the end for getting a couple of the tools running (Nessus and Airsnarf).
Look for more documentation using google, but be advised that anything that you will read in regard to BackTrack or its tools that is not on remote-exploit.org or backtrack.offensive-security.com is probably not going to be official documentation. I would just run it live first and read the official documentation provided in these links first before doing a permanent installation. Oh yeah, BackTrack comes with Metasploit, which if you've never used, you'll really want to read about it at http://www.metasploit.com/ before you use it.

I do play with settings and try to learn what works and what does not. But sometimes it is 'beyond my meager knowledge' and I just re-install. Often not knowing what caused the break, or how to fix it.
But, I usually work on 1 item for a few days to a week while learning an OS or new program. Which means that I can usually identify the area of the break and look further into it from there.

Thank you I have been provided with so much information! It's helping me so much :)

Thank you, but just because I've said thanks doesn't mean you have to stop! More information is always helpful and I'm still reading all the replies!

Oh and thanks to everyone who send me peer mails offering their help and advice. You guys are great :D