RE: Linux for newbies

["Fisher, E." <EFisher () ocwen com>]

Matt,
After downloading and installing most of the major distros with the same
goal in mind, I would suggest Suse Linux 9.0.  Go to www.suse.com and take a
look.  If it appeals to you, download the live eval from
ftp://ftp.suse.com/pub/suse/i386/
This will be a bootable cd-rom that you can use to run linux on your pc
without actually "installing" it.  This will let you play around with it and
figure out if all of the hardware in your pc will support it without a lot
of pain or lost time.  If it does, then I would really suggest buying the
Suse 9.0 Professional from your local store or Amazon.  There is a DVD and a
couple of good books in that set to get you started.  Most of the Suse books
that are on the market now are on older version, but don't let that
discourage you.
By the way, if you have VMWare 4, Suse 9 runs great in a virtual machine
without having to install the vm-tools.
Of course, if your goal is to learn the security tools that are available in
Linux, and not Linux itself, look at another live cd version called Knoppix.
http://www.knoppix.net.  That is one of the 'tools' that I have with me at
all times, and does an admirable job without requiring an install.

Hope this helps,
Ed

-----Original Message-----
From: Matt Atkins [mailto:matthewsatkins () msn com] 
Sent: Thursday, 13 November 2003 17:22
To: 
Subject: Linux for newbies

First of all, I want to tell all of you what a great mailing list this is.  
I am just starting to scratch the surface of network security, and this list

is the major source of my information, ideas, and motivation to learn.

In my first of many posts, I would like to ask the group what flavor of 
Linux is recommended for a newbie.  I have no experience with Linux, and 
want to teach myself the ins and outs.  I will probably be purchasing a book

or 2 to help get things off the ground, so a good book recommendation would 
also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to your suggestions.

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