11. quick build map

This section is a list of things to do, or have done!

If this is an old version of Raven, you should check for a more recent version. Re-reading this stuff, I think that a lot of rework is needed, and may have been busy since this version found it's way to your CD or BBS. So your first job might be get connected, and have a look.
11.1 Build base
11.2 End of the Beginning.
11.3 Other distributions
11.4 Linux and viruses
11.5 Linux is a virus
11.6 Dial-up IP
11.7 Other apps

11.1
Build base

You have done the following:

IE: you have built a minimum base, then a more comprehensive base. Congrat's you have built a Linux box, and Issue-One can leave it as an exercise to make it usable! This is what most people would call their starting point.

You can read and write floppies, so you're not trapped to rawrite.exe. You can rebuild kernels, so you're not limited to those on the CDROM. 

dd 	\
	if=/cdrom/slackwar/rootdsks/color.img \
	of=/dev/fd0 \
	bs=18k

11.2
End of the Beginning.

And that's it?

Yup. You have assembled the hardware ready for a Linux system. You know so, because it just booted. End of issue-One.

But there's loads left to do

Yup. The rest of this is just discussion. You can also find a list of things to do on http://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux, ftp://tsx-11.mit.edu/pub/linux or disk3 /cdrom/gnu/DESCRIPTIONS.

11.3
Other distributions

It doesn't really matter whether you used Slackware, or Red-Hat, or debian, FT or any distribution. These all have their advantages, and features. Hopefully you will see that yesterday you had a blank hard-disk, and tomorrow you will have a system. If one day, the entire machine accidently went pear shaped (by ignoring those various warnings), you can rebuild the BASE from the CD-ROMS, and any FTP packages you fetched. The system can be seen as plug in programmable ROM. Your files in the $HOME directory would of course be lost.

HINT: It's a lot easier if most things came from one set of CDROM's.

In a years time, you can decide to upgrade to a different, newer distribution (on a second machine, or second disk). Internet software develops in waves. Now all Linux machines are 'ELF' based, previously it was 'a.out'. Similarly X11R6 has tempted many applications to use it's facilities, and X11R4 is an SCCS OFF-branch. TCL/TK language and library versions have changed from 7.3/3.1 to 7.4/4.1. A lot of apps now only run on 7.4. 7.5 is available ...

The new system will be constructed, step by step, starting with the basic boot, going up to configuring each app, to do the same as it used to. You did archive those ftp.tgz files from the Net, but you want to try newer releases anyway.

Most applications unroll into /usr/src/appname-0.85 (or /tmp/pkgs_ftp), and expect to be compiled and tested as a user login. When you are happy, root will do a make install, and delete /tmp/pkgs_ftp (or not). Some apps demand their own db_admin login, to access files, and run system maintenence.

NOTE: I used to chown files to myself, so that I could edit them, but this opens them up to a cracker's attack - where _somehow_ my user session (uid) gets hijacked. Any files I can read/write/delete could also be accessed by the cracking utility. Personally, I blame VideoTron for giving me a phone line that is FREE in off-peak hours to my ISP (still totals £1 a day).

11.4
Linux and viruses

People say that Linux is immune to virus, because it is all source. This is complete baloney. The majority of individuals are quite happy to run make install as root without checking the source. Backdoors can be created in a single system call, for use later, or be built into a daemon that normally behaves securely. Most people will install Java browsers, and happily run postscript programs (ie it only really depends on your definition of 'virus').

There is a bigger risk of crackers having a database of accidental backdoors, and you having a system with the unfixed version. Getting a list of version numbers from your system and patches necessary is a hassle. Maybe there is something on the www pages of your disk supplier.

 

MORE INFO REQUIRED HERE, eg comp.security.announce + URL's

11.5
Linux is a virus

Technical arguments aside, Linux IS a virus. Mine arrived on floppy, cleverly working first time, only failing later.

When I didn't have a phone, it invited it's support army, which arrived snail-mail on CD-ROM. Ie the old VIRUS morphed itself into an updated, and stronger one, jumping from floppy to CD.

It encouraged me to buy a 486 and let the 386 out to pasture. The 386 still carries the remnents of the overwritten parition (The BIOS has an 120 M max, plain DOS can't see the remaining 100 M). It multiplied and split into seperate geographic locations, albeit with one branch currently broken (DOS).

It made me get a phone and Internet access, to allow itself connectivity. It encouraged me to brush contact with any number of home sites, or ISP servers. It is using me as an agent, to draw other connections in.

Now it's reaching out through these pages ...

11.6
Dial-up IP

For more information about networking see Raven Issue-3. Here is a quick list of things to check.

11.7
Other apps