Distro security features

venomviper · 03-16-2009, 02:26 PM

Hello I am working on a research project on finding what unique security features exist in distros. I seem to not be able to find such a web page that has such information. If anyone can point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

salasi · 03-16-2009, 03:11 PM

Presumably you mean things like SELinux/Apparmor?

Just don't go thinking that security is somehow reducible to the sum of this kind of 'easy to check the boxes on the check list' features. (I've no idea whether you are making this mistake; its not an accusation, but if you were intending to say Distro A is better for security than Distro B because A has eighteen ticks and B only has sixteen ticks, that would be a mistake. well, for any simple definition of what you get a tick for, anyway.)

venomviper · 03-16-2009, 03:43 PM

All I am basically looking for is what security feature is unique to let's say Debian for example and likewise for Gentoo, Fedora, etc.

win32sux · 03-16-2009, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by venomviper

All I am basically looking for is what security feature is unique to let's say Debian for example and likewise for Gentoo, Fedora, etc.

That's gonna be a tough one I think. You'd need to make a list of what you consider to be security features, with a field for each distro and then start checking boxes off as your research progresses. When you're done, you'd check which features turned out to be unique. That is, unless someone's already done something like this.

cloud9repo · 03-16-2009, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by venomviper

Hello I am working on a research project on finding what unique security features exist in distros. I seem to not be able to find such a web page that has such information. If anyone can point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

A lot of people downplay wikipedia, but I think typically it's a good reference. Here's the listing that contains some of the info you seek:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compari...urity_features

win32sux · 03-16-2009, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cloud9repo

A lot of people downplay wikipedia, but I think typically it's a good reference. Here's the listing that contains some of the info you seek:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compari...urity_features

Heh, that list (as it looked like at the time of this post) has a lot of... Ummm... Potential.

venomviper · 03-16-2009, 04:26 PM

Thanks a lot for all of your help fellas!!

cloud9repo · 03-17-2009, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by win32sux

Heh, that list (as it looked like at the time of this post) has a lot of... Ummm... Potential.

Yeah, it's not extensive. Just lists the main, supported security features that are highly developed. Doesn't include the nuances of distros.

theYinYeti · 03-17-2009, 09:06 AM

As far as I know, “msec” and the associated GUI are specific to Mandriva.

Yves.