From a security professional's perspective, a number of common Linux distributions are insecure "out of the box", and many of the supplied packages are already out of date by the time they reach the shelves. As the security of one's computer and more importantly its data is a priority concern, there are a number of steps that should be taken at the time of installation to secure one's operating system as well as to help identify attempted or successful attacks.

These steps are listed below:

1. Installation and configuration of an effective firewall
2. The (automatic) updating of all installed packages
3. Stopping and disabling of all unnecessary services
4. Locating and removing/altering unnecessary SUID/SGID's
5. Logwatch and Tripwire

By Barry O'Donovan at the Linux Gazette.

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