is it safe running slackware 10.1 now, security-wise?
 

hi all,
i have the slackware 10.1 install CDs (which i made 2 years ago),and i want to install it on a spare hdd i have, and use it as my primary desktop os. is it safe to use slack 10.1 now, security-wise? i am not willing to spend time upgrading packages, or apps, right now, because i am focused on other things right now. i will be primarily using the system for web browsing (firefox), listening to music (xmms), using my printer (hp laserjet 1010) and scanner (hp scanjet 2400), and <perhaps> some chatting (xchat or gaim or similar). i will be using kde as the front-end. is it safe to go ahead and run slack 10.1 as it is, without any modifications? if not, what are your suggestions, so that it involves the least work for me? i dont have the cash to buy the slack 12.1 CDs, nor is my dsl connection fast enough to download 12.1.

thanks,
guy24x

Shouldn't be a problem, just make sure you get all the updates for 10.1, example:

http://slackware.oregonstate.edu/sla...ches/packages/

smedley,

are you saying that i have to manually download <all> of those packages and install every one of them, if i have to be safe in terms of security? i mean, is it possible to run an older version of slack, without any updates, and still be safe?

thanks,
guy24x

Yes to be safe you should install the security updates found in the patches/ directory.

Something like slackpkg (in extra) will make this very easy.

You could also use rsync to download all of the packages. And to be clear: when security vulnerabilities are found in packages released with a Slackware release (like 10.1), Pat either patches or upgrades the package to fix the vulnerability. Therefore, if you want to be safe and secure with 10.1, you HAVE to download/install all of those packages.

It has been said that security is a process, not a product. Pat tries to release a very stable Slackware release, and he does -- but vulnerabilities can be found in just about anything, and it's a good thing he tracks them and provides updated packages, or else I'd have to do it manually.

thanks smedley, mrgoblin and t3slider,

i will install slack 10.1 on the spare hdd, and use slackpkg to upgrade. thanks a lot, wish me luck :)

regards,
guy24x

if i install slack 10.1 and run the following commands:

# slackpkg update
# slackpkg install-new
# slackpkg upgrade-all
# slackpkg clean-system

would it be me practically having installed slack 12.1 ?

i'm a bit nervous to go ahead with this step, so i'm asking. after this process, would it mean that i would have the version of (say) xmms that ships with slack 12.1?

thanks,
guy24x

Read the UPGRADE.TXT file before doing any updating. There are a few steps you need to go through before doing a mass update - it will save you from huge headaches later on.

but xavier, the upgrade.txt file says it explains how to upgrade from slack 10.0 to 10.1. but i want to upgrade from slack 10.1 to slack 12.1. what do you suggest?

I may be wrong, but I do not believe you can easily go from 10.1 to 12.1 and, in fact, I do not believe this is supported. You would need to go incrementally from one release to the next until you get to 12.1.

Your best bet would be to back everything up and install fresh (maybe you could keep your /home partition intact if you use one). Upgrading from 10.1 to 12.1 will almost certainly break something in the process -- you'd have to upgrade from 10.1 to 10.2, then from 10.2 to 11.0, then from 11.0 to 12.0, then 12.0 to 12.1 -- which is a LOT of work (and the 11.0 to 12.0 upgrade is a big one since a LOT changes between those two releases, especially the kernel version). You're going to have a lot or work ahead of you if you do decide to upgrade.

yikes! thanks a lot, t3slider, maybe i have to figure out if i'm up to downloading the 12.1 iso's. thanks a ton !

-guy24x

Apologies, I had too many tabs open. Going from 10.1 to 12.1 is possible but involves upgrading to each subsequent version - 10.1, 11.0 and so on to avoid breakages. Do what T3slider said and install 12.1 fresh.

Probably not a bad idea regardless - if you've been running for a while you will probably have orphaned files and lots of .bak files where you've made mistakes - I know I do!