Administrators managing servers running Red Hat Linux or MandrakeSofts Linux-Mandrake can look forward to an updated version of the Bastille Linux security-hardening program to be released very soon.
I praised Bastille Linux 1.1 last year for its comprehensiveness and ease of use. The 1.2 release, which was in Release Candidate 3 stage as of mid-April, adds a graphical client, supports current versions of Red Hat Linux and Linux-Mandrake, and is able to do a more complete job of analyzing system configurations than before.
The package walked me through setting up a local firewall, removing root permissions from executables that didnt need this power, limiting root log-ins to the console, setting a password on the Linux boot loader Linux Loader, deactivating unneeded devices, setting resource usage limits and making a number of other security-conscious changes.
Each configuration choice in the software is accompanied by a clearly written explanation of what the program is going to do, why the action is important and what possible side effects there might be.
The software is available at www.bastille-linux.org.
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