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1. In which language was UNIX written? 2. Why did Linus Torvalds invent Linux? 3

ID: 3694291 • Letter: 1

Question

1. In which language was UNIX written?

2. Why did Linus Torvalds invent Linux?

3. What is a good hardware hack for an x86 system?

4. Describe a particular utility vulnerability. What makes it different from a kernel vulnerability?

5. What is root account mismanagement?

6. What is default account mismanagement?

7. What is console program access mismanagement?

8. What is su command mismanagement?

9. The Linux command used to locate files is userdel account_name. True or False?

10. Linux is an operating system. True or False?

11. If you are not using telnet on your Linux box this week, you should delete the telnet user. True or False?

12. What is the difference between rlogin and rsh ?

13. All other things being equal, the default installation of any operating system is not entirely secure. True or False?

14. The /etc directory is where files go when you delete them. True or False?

Match each of the following terms with the correct statement below.

a. Where temporary files are stored

b. The root user home directory

c. Where configuration files are stored

d. Where standard users have their personal files

e. Where LILO or GRUB configuration files are stored

f. The standard place to find system logs

15. /boot

16. /tmp

17. /var/logs

18. /home

19. /etc

20. /root

Explanation / Answer

1. Unix was written in C.

2. Linus Torvalds invented Linux In 1991 becuase GNU Project was launched in 1983 by Richard Stallman originally to develop a Unix-compatible operating system called GNU, intended to be entirely free software. Many programs and utilities were contributed by developers around the world, and by 1991 most of the components of the system were ready. Still missing was the kernel so Linus Torvalds developed Linux as he was a student at the University of Helsinki in Finland where he had been using Minix, a non-free Unix-like system, and began writing his own kernel. He started by developing device drivers and hard-drive access, and by September had a basic design that he called Version 0.01. This kernel, which is called Linux, was afterwards combined with the GNU system to produce a complete free operating system

3. BIOS hacking is good hardware hacking mechanism for x86 systems because The BIOS boots a computer and helps load the operating system. By infecting this core software, which operates below antivirus and other security products and therefore is not usually scanned by them, spies can plant malware that remains live and undetected even if the computer's operating system were wiped and re-installed

4. Stack Smashing Vulnerability : By combining the C programming language liberal approach to memory handling with specific UNIX filesystem permissions, is
operating system can be manipulated to grant unrestricted privilege to unprivileged accounts or users. A variety of exploit that relies upon these two factors is commonly known as a buffer overflow, or stack smashing vulnerability and different from Kernel vulnerability

5. Root Account Mismanagement : Hackers almost always first attempt to gain access to the root account

–Strong passwords are best for the root account

–Use root access only when you actually need root access

–Another vulnerability is leaving a system unattended

After logging on with the root account

6 . Default Account Mismanagement

–Some special accounts are created by default while installing a Linux operating system

–Default Linux accounts include adm, lp, halt, sync, news, uucp, operator, games, ftp, and gopher

–Some default groups, such as adm, lp, and popusers, are also present in the Linux operating system

7. Console Program Access Mismanagementv:Console programs that could be exploited include shutdown, poweroff, reboot, and halt.

8. su Command Mismanagement–switch user (su) command

•Helps users of a Linux operating system temporarily switch the current privileges available to those of the root account

–Access to this command should be restricted

–The best administration practice is to use the sudo utility rather than the su command

9. False as the command is used to delete an account.

10. Linux is an operating system : true

11. False as telnet can be retained.

12. rlogin to do a remote login to another machine, and rsh to execute a program remotely.

13. True

14 . False as etc is the nerve center of system, it contains all system related configuration files in here or in its sub-directories

15 . /root - The root user home directory

16. /etc - Where configuration files are stored

17 /var/logs - The standard place to find system logs

18 /tmp - Where temporary files are stored

19 /boot - Where LILO or GRUB configuration files are stored

20 /home - Where standard users have their personal files