1. Also, about security, what are the benefits of KNOPPIX security wise if I just want to go surf the Internet? It doesnt leave traces or anything in the cache? I think thats what I heard...But I want to confirm this. I heard from somebody that if you load KNOPPIX CD just browse the Internet, is more secure? I heard it doesnt leave any cache or cookie traces one after ejecting KNOPPIX...

2. Now the how to use part of KNOPPIX....

Suppose I have Windows 2000, And I load Knoppix CD into the CD drive and it boots up, then everytime I have to set my Internet connection up everytime I load the Knoppix CD just to surf the net?? If thats the case, than thats a hassle. But its more secure though.Thats what I like about it..And If I dont want the KNOPPIX CD anymore running in the CD drive, how can I eject it or shut the PC down if I dont want to go back to Windows again? Or, if I want to go back to Windows, then how will I eject the CD and then go back to Windows again? Do I need to eject the KNOPPIX CD before rebooting back into Windows or what?

And what if I want to shutdown the computer completely? Should i just eject the CD first and then shutdown? Is there a shutdown command in KNOPPIX? If there is, should I do the command AND then eject the CD right away and the PC will turn off?

Not sure of the security but typing as root ' iptables -L ' will list the firewall rules. Boot and post the output.

You can use a floppy or pendrive to store configuration. Not sure of a site that explains that but there is a book called Knoppix Hacks that explains how to do it.

Brian1

Using Knoppix (or any LiveCD) is a very secure way to surf. Nothing is actually written to your computer during the session. when you boot there is no trace of even being on the net in that computer, however, you are never really secure on the net. If your doing some sort of illegal activity then there will be tracks through your IP address and ISP. but as far as data physically stored on your system it is very secure.

KC

You have not replied to my second question...Thats why it was there in the first place.. Have you read it?

When I finish using KNOPPIX, what should I do in order to shutdown the PC or, to go back into Windows? Please explain. Is there a command? And then after that shutdown command I have to eject the CD right away to shutdown the PC or go reboot going back to Windows? I only want to use KNOPPIX only to connect to the net, so everytime I load KNOPPIX I to set everthing up all the the time evrytime I reload KNOPIX?? Thats a hassle I suppose...

So your saying that it will not be secure to only browse the net, but only to secure my data right? Lets say I have a folder called myusername....in Windows...then how should I secure that data using KNOPPIX?

Please explain in detail?

Also, instead of using KNOPPIX live CD, can I use OpenBSD Live CD? is there a download link for it please? I would aprreciate this.

thanks

Since you haven't employed anyone to answer your question, noone is obliged to do so. This is a volutary forum.

You can shut down if you like, but since KNOPPIX runs from cd/ram, you can safely just turn it off (assuming you don't have any mounted hard drive partitions, of course).

You can store configuration on a hard drive or usb flash drive etc and have KNOPPIX mount it at boot time. Read the KNOPPIX docs to see how to do that.

You can use whatever OS you want, it's your computer. You can find OpenBSD by googling (it's not hard to find, the homepage is the first hit).

I don't think you can be more safe in any way with Knoppix rather than any distro correctly installed on a hard drive in the case of online banking. The fact that there's no SSL certificate saved is sufficient reason. You have no way to be sure that you're not connecting to a rogue site that got there through either DNS poisoning or ICMP redirects or related router tricks. Also, on an installed system you may always delete (securely) the browser's cache and the system swap on shutdown. Also, you may update your applications and handle any security setup or configuration easily.