Are Xubuntu mirror's and torrents safe to download from?
Linux - NewbieThis Linux forum is for members that are new to Linux.
Just starting out and have a question?
If it is not in the man pages or the how-to's this is the place!
Notices
Welcome to LinuxQuestions.org, a friendly and active Linux Community.
You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!
Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.
Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.
Get a virtual cloud desktop with the Linux distro that you want in less than five minutes with Shells! With over 10 pre-installed distros to choose from, the worry-free installation life is here! Whether you are a digital nomad or just looking for flexibility, Shells can put your Linux machine on the device that you want to use.
Exclusive for LQ members, get up to 45% off per month. Click here for more info.
Distribution: native install of Parrot Home Edition 5.0 Debian (no security tools) 64 bit, KDE, 5.14.0-9parrot1,
Posts: 872
Rep:
Are Xubuntu mirror's and torrents safe to download from?
How will I know the torrents and mirrors are safe to download Xubuntu or for that matter any linux distro?
Xubuntu site mentions downloading it from torrent but I've read elsewhere that torrents aren't safe?
torrent itself is a file transfer protocol (like ftp - just works in a very different way). With other words torrent itself is a tool to download (and share) files. Torrent itself is more or less safe, but you need to know what do you download from where - which is not so trivial. That's why the linux distros usually have a (md5) checksum and you can check if the downloaded file is ok. The official checksums are available on the official sites, so they are most probably valid, although it can be hacked too.
Distribution: native install of Parrot Home Edition 5.0 Debian (no security tools) 64 bit, KDE, 5.14.0-9parrot1,
Posts: 872
Original Poster
Rep:
Quote:
Originally Posted by pan64
torrent itself is a file transfer protocol (like ftp - just works in a very different way). With other words torrent itself is a tool to download (and share) files. Torrent itself is more or less safe, but you need to know what do you download from where - which is not so trivial. That's why the linux distros usually have a (md5) checksum and you can check if the downloaded file is ok. The official checksums are available on the official sites, so they are most probably valid, although it can be hacked too.
Is there a way to find out which servers I'm downloading the iso from?
Well... Theoretically you could log all connections of the torrent client, and work your way back through that.
But quick & easy : No.
As mentioned earlier : check the checksums.
One should get in the habit of running a md5 or shal on downloads.
The original torrent file ought to be obtained from trusted web page.
I forget the setting in torrents to make them much less secure. Something about the way it gets sources over the original torrent list. Someone who runs torrent programs would know that setting.
Distribution: native install of Parrot Home Edition 5.0 Debian (no security tools) 64 bit, KDE, 5.14.0-9parrot1,
Posts: 872
Original Poster
Rep:
I have a iso.torrent file 54KB sitting on my desktop, do I just go to virtual box to start the ball rolling or do I need to do something else with it now? My first experience with iso.torrent files.
^ you need to download the actual .iso first.
to do that, open the .torrent file in your favorite torrenting software; transmission-gtk is often preinstalled.
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing
Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute
content, let us know.