Security distribution

Under the Radar

Article from Issue 199/2017
Author(s):

Internet users can fly under the radar of hackers and data collectors with Discreete Linux.

Banning uninvited guests from your computer these days can mean negotiating several obstacles. Leaks have revealed many of the sophisticated technical methods deployed by the intelligence services. Additionally, industrial spies and criminal hackers spare no effort to spy on users. The attackers now rely not only on software vulnerabilities but also on manipulated hardware, which poses problems for special occupational groups that rely on discretion – such as journalists, lawyers, or doctors.

Discreete Linux [1] seeks to put a stop to intrusion attempts. The former Ubuntu Privacy Remix [2] now uses Debian 8 as its basis and is available as a beta version. In this article, we take an in-depth look at the updated edition.

Hardened

The system is available as 1.6GB hybrid image [3]. You can launch and run this on a USB stick or an optical medium. Discreete Linux lacks a persistence mode that lets you store your own files on USB flash drives. The system only boots on read-only ISO 9660 filesystems and creates a temporary overlay filesystem to avoid loading malicious software unnoticed in the background.

[...]

Use Express-Checkout link below to read the full article (PDF).

Buy this article as PDF

Express-Checkout as PDF
Price $2.95
(incl. VAT)

Buy Linux Magazine

SINGLE ISSUES
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS
 
TABLET & SMARTPHONE APPS
Get it on Google Play

US / Canada

Get it on Google Play

UK / Australia

Related content

  • VeraCrypt

    Protect your data and operating system from prying eyes with VeraCrypt.

  • VeraCrypt

    The VeraCrypt encryption software comes with a handy graphical interface, and the ability to hide a container in an encrypted volume adds a unique professional feature: plausibly deniable encryption.

  • Critical Flaws Found in VeraCrypt

    Popular open source encryption tool is vulnerable to attack

  • TruPax 9

    The TruPax tool specializes in encrypting small datasets to safeguard your data from prying eyes.

  • Disk Encryption

    Encrypted volumes have long since ceased to be an exception or luxury. Corporate policies and compliance rules often demand encryption for critical data. This article looks at tools for disk encryption on Linux.

comments powered by Disqus
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters

Support Our Work

Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

Learn More

News