distribution election

[teknogod]

Hello and Happy Holidays!
I am a real newbie to linux but not to Unix. See i have used Unix remotely but, installing it is whole different story. Now i hear that Mandrake is farily easy to install, but i also here from some fellow linux users that Mandrake sucks (sorry to say) on security. Now, im confused, i dont know what distribution to pick. I dont mind buying another kind of dist and configuring it with the manual, but i like mandrake cuz of the cool desktop themes and icons and the real ease of configuring anything on the system, but the security(like i said, i have only heard about it) is really important to me. So now i need to know from anyone out their if they could help me. I also have been thinking about Slackware. So i ask, Can anyone inform me about Mandrakes security?; Slackware's install process and system usage(overview)?

Please! I hope you can all help me!

Thank You!

[scott_R]

It depends on your level of networking expertise. Even garbage 98 can be secure if you know what you are doing. I personally haven't had any problems with a mandrake install on my home kit, but I also have the advantage/disadvantage of a 56k connect. As far as faster ones go, you'll probably want to dig up an old 486 (up to t-1 connection speeds), which are probably readily available for free from your local winfanatic. Set it up as a firewall, and you should be good to go. There are a couple ways for people to bypass that, but for the most part, linux is pretty safe as long as you keep up to date on the security info, which it seems you do.

Slackware has a rep for being more secure, but I couldn't tell you more about it as I've never used it. If you have a unix background you might not have a problem installing it, but it (as far as I've heard) can be a bear to install and upgrade.

Just for your information, I've had redhat and mandrake installed on my kit, and I would definitely recommend mandrake over redhat, although I am seriously considering trying SuSE. Especially seeing as I just got a nice chunk of "play" money from christmas. http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif

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RTFM=Rewrite The F***ing Manual
For more info, visit http://rute.sourceforge.net/
The snow's falling, and so is MS...:)

[teknogod]

Ok Great. Thakx so much scott. I was looking at SuSe 7 last night after i posted, i was really impressed with its whole package and its cheap price ($39.95). It has over 600 apps, so i was thinking of getting it for two reasons: 1)Its cheaper than Mandrake and as easy to install 2)It has as much security as Slackware. The best of both worlds! http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/biggrin.gif

Later!

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Knowledge is Power!

[ph34r]

Any distro can be secure, or insecure - and no matter which you install, I strongly recommend going thru the process of locking it down immeadiately.

Slack's install is nice and easy, but text based - which I happen to like.

Any distro can use the various themes, window managers, and desktop environments.

Have you taken a look at the distro choice NHF?

[teknogod]

Yes i did check it out. Thankx for the reply. Btw, i have chosen to get SuSe 7 and Mandrake 7.2 http://www.linuxnewbie.org/ubb/smile.gif