Security distribution
Under the Radar
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.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
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.
News
-
Cairo Dock 3.6 Now Available for More Compositors
If you're a fan of third-party desktop docks, then the latest release of Cairo Dock with Wayland support is for you.
-
System76 Unleashes Pop!_OS 24.04 Beta
System76's first beta of Pop!_OS 24.04 is an impressive feat.
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.