Operating Systems

Not all Linux distributions are created equal. When choosing a Linux distribution, there are several things you need to keep in mind. Release Cycle You should choose a distribution which stays close to the stable upstream software releases, typically rolling release distributions. This is because frozen release cycle distributions often don’t update package versions and fall behind on security updates. For frozen distributions, package maintainers are expected to backport patches to fix vulnerabilities (Debian is one such example) rather than bump the software to the “next version” released by the upstream developer....

There is a common misconception among privacy communities that Linux is one of the more secure operating systems, either because it is open-source or because it is widely used in the cloud. However, this is a far cry from reality. There is already a very in-depth technical blog explaining the various security weaknesses of Linux by Madaidan, Whonix’s Security Researcher. This page will attempt to address some of the questions commonly raised in reaction to his blog post....

Passwordless authentication with OpenSSH keys has been the de facto security standard for years. SSH keys are more robust since they’re cryptographically sane by default, and are therefore resilient to most bruteforce atacks. They’re also easier to manage while enabling a form of decentralized authentication (it’s easy and painless to revoke them). So, what’s the next step? And more exactly, why would one need something even better? Why? The main problem with SSH keys is that they’re not magic: they consist of a key pair, of which the private key is stored on your disk....