Best for beginners?

[Hadra85]

Only recently started exploring security/hacking . Seems like linux OS's keep popping up.
I know Backtrack 5 is supposed to be a hackers best friend. but it looks advanced, but it also looks more blackhat than anything. maybe someone can set me strait on that one.

would Ubuntu be good as a stepping stone into more advanced linux stuff? should i just stick with windows?

I want to gear myself towards anonymity more than anything. Not really looking to hack anything.

I know Ubuntu can just be downloaded and installed. Do most other linux OS's do the same?

would really love some advice on this subject.

[Shade_of_Gray]

Tools aren't really "black hat" or "white hat." It's the person who uses them.

Backtrack is a great example. It's built for penetration testing, which is the (usually white-hat) activity of testing someone's systems (with permission) for security vulnerabilities. Pen testers usually use the same tools and techniques a black-hat hacker would. The difference is that they're hacking with permission, trying to help the client harden their security.

Does that make sense?

-- Fri Nov 16, 2012 11:19 pm --

And yes, Ubuntu is a great Linux distro for new users to get into. You can at least play with it and familiarize yourself with it, maybe even dual-boot with Windows if you like it but don't want to get rid of Windows completely yet.

[mShred]

I'd say if your sole purpose in the computer techy hacky world was to only become anonymous and nothing else... Then don't waste your time with Linux. Route your windows OS through a vpn and heidy hoe. That said, if you wanna be a bad ass, then I'd say linux is a good step. Ubuntu is a good starting place. Looks fancy, bloated, and still has a good feet-wetter on getting used to the terminal. My advice would be to find a good tutorial on how to install Ubuntu on your computer and find some good tutorials on how to get introduced to the linux terminal and whatnot. Ubuntu also has a great freaking community where you can view tutorials or ask questions and all that good stuff.

[Hadra85]

I figure im just going to dive strait in and get my hands dirty with Backtrack 5. Lots of reading, studying this OS.

Im going to dual-boot.
I'll keep my Win7 for anything else i need. Creating a separate partition for Backtrack 5 right now.

VPN's not cutting it for me. I'm using a free one that often stalls out or hijacks me with ads. and i don't want to pay for a pro one. All it seems to be good for is torrenting pretty much..

perhaps this is for a whole separate topic. is there a way you can program your own proxy/vpn?
i keep seeing TOR pop up. but i have no idea how to configure it or how extensively it protects.
but thats another topic.

Thanks for the reply everyone. i really appreciate the info and advice. this forum needs +1 karma system or something.

[limdis]

He's new and rocking the +1! I like this guy lol
Hey if you need any help with bt let us know. We got some avid users here.

Edit: Yes I skipped that part. I personally boot it off a usb drive. Easier to setup and you dont have to deal with partitioning.

[mShred]

Hmm... meh.. Hrm.. eh. Backtrack really isn't the OS that you wanna go installing on a Hard drive. That's not what it's meant for. It isn't a desktop Operating System. It literally is a pentesting OS. IMO, I'd hold off on even looking at BT until you're fluent with linux. Which is why I stand by my suggesting Ubuntu. But that is just my opinion. You could completely blow me off and I'll only be upset for a little while.
Now TOR, TOR is some good shit. I'd suggest you look it up. Look up what it is, how it works and why and all that good shiz. See if you can benefit from it. Keep in mind that TOR will be slower than a good (paid) VPN. But TOR is good for some anonymity. Just another two cents, a paid VPN really is worth it. You won't notice a difference in speed, yet sites will never know your actual IP address. A decent VPN can be less than five bucks a month, which in the long run is a solid deal.

Feel free to post back with your progress along the way and what you decide to do and all that good stuff.

[Hadra85]

Hmm... meh.. Hrm.. eh. Backtrack really isn't the OS that you wanna go installing on a Hard drive. That's not what it's meant for. It isn't a desktop Operating System. It literally is a pentesting OS. IMO, I'd hold off on even looking at BT until you're fluent with linux. Which is why I stand by my suggesting Ubuntu. But that is just my opinion. You could completely blow me off and I'll only be upset for a little while.
Now TOR, TOR is some good shit. I'd suggest you look it up. Look up what it is, how it works and why and all that good shiz. See if you can benefit from it. Keep in mind that TOR will be slower than a good (paid) VPN. But TOR is good for some anonymity. Just another two cents, a paid VPN really is worth it. You won't notice a difference in speed, yet sites will never know your actual IP address. A decent VPN can be less than five bucks a month, which in the long run is a solid deal.

Feel free to post back with your progress along the way and what you decide to do and all that good stuff.

I caught that. im digging black buntu. gonna check that out as a more user-friendly learning platform. BT just looks complex as hell. and i dont even have the spare DVD's/USB's to install it from. everything else looks complicated as heck for a new guy. thoughts on Blackbuntu?

i guess i will bite the bullet on VPN's and get a paid service. I usually turn on a proxy, hotspot vpn, and peerblock whenever i want to obtain something online. but all the free stuff has a bad rep. understandably.

thanks again. i will post back with my newb-tastic findings.

[Amazingred]

Add Linux Mint to your check out list...

if you don't like one....you can always switch to another one. however i would make one suggestion. When you are browsing through the Linux releases, I would pay very close attention and filter your choices down in 2 ways:

• Packages available: you won't have an issue with something like Debian, Ubantu, openSUSE, etc....but if you go with an obscure Linux release that may have a killer looking interface you're options on libraries and software could be limited.
• Package Management: Different releases deal with packages in different ways. For example, DPKG is the system used by ubantu and Debian releases, Redhat and a few others use RPM, etc etc. Not a major concern here but system hopping from one management system to another means learning a whole new set of commands and protocols ie:
  

  Code: Select all

  to update the package list...
Ubantu = apt-get update
Zypp = zypper refresh
Yum = yum check-update
urpmi = urpmi.update -a


WARNING ON USING UBUNTU

on another note for everyone! just be advised ... if you decide on ubantu just be aware that release 12.10 (the one released last month) comes with both a contextual Advertising system built into Dash so any desktop search query will return back shopping advertisements in your search. It'll look like This.

Which brings me to the second thing ...this means that you will be letting Canonical (Ubantu developers) collect and distribute to other companies (amazon, facebook, etc were on that list) Personal information, internet histories, and IP information....not kidding.

There is a huge controversy over the whole thing and even though they're saying that since the data is sent to Caononical's servers THEN to amazon instead of Amazon getting the info themselves a users anonymity is in no way compromized. Hmm....just to be on the safe side:

Code: Select all

sudo apt-get remove unity-lens-shopping

My own personal thoughts: Having a system with a built in developer sanctioned piece of adware that requires a connection that is designed specifically to collect and transmit my personal information invisibly to someone....makes me nervous. The fact that a system like Windows....er....sorry (its getting hard to tell the difference these days)....Ubantu is doing exactly that WITHOUT USER CONSENT BEFOREHAND just makes me want to punch a coma patient. Fuck ubantu and Canonical.

[Hadra85]

blackbuntu doesn't seem to want to install on HDD either.

the search goes on....hmmm google.... linux.... mint?

[mShred]

You can install any OS onto a HDD.
What I'm trying to wrap my head around is why you're trying to go with the pentesting OS's. In my own experienced opinion, it would make more sense to learn how to use linux fluently before you go trying to use a pentesting OS and tools that are generally all ran on a terminal that you wouldn't know how to use.