how are security updates applied to current?
 

I looked at the security adviseries page on slackware.org, and noticed only 1 listing for 2010. I'm currently using alien bob's slackware-current script to make a dvd iso (x86_64.) So is this patch already applied or what? How do I go about maintaining a secure system from here? I've tried to search for clues about this but I'm a little confused (very new to slackware,) so I apologize if this question has been answered many times. Also, when a security advisery arrives, do I need to download the updated package? Or can I simply find a patch from a single source and download / apply them? What would you do concerning this issue? I guess easily applying security updates is where debian shines. I'm really starting to like Slackware though, I must admit. TIA.

Installing security patches for current would be the same as applying them to the regular official release. When a security advisory is made they provide a link to the package in the repository, you can download it from there or one of the mirrors. After that you use upgradepkg to install the new package. You should use one of the mirrors listed on the Slackware site since the official Slackware repository is throttled, it takes about 20 or 30 minutes to download a 10M file I believe. You can read the quick explanation of using the Slackware package tools on the site's FAQ.

Edit: just remember to choose the -current repository for the package if you are using that version of the particular package with a security update.

Current basically is a rolling release. If there are security patches they simply get merged into the Current tree. There are no specific "patches" as with previous official releases and there are no packages added to the patches directory for Current. There are no individual security advisories like official releases. If a package gets updated in Current for security reasons, then like any other package update that will be noted in the Current change log. Current merely gets updated on-the-fly.

Current is basically a testing branch of Slackware, hence the slightly differnt treatment. Currently usually is stable, but is not recommended for daily production use. Things do occasionally break in Current, so only use on a machine intended for testing.