Tripwire for Linux File Integrity

What is Tripwire?

Tripwire is a form intrusion detection system (IDS) that helps you keep tabs on the integrity of the files on your computer. Quite simply it will help identify files or modifications made to your system in the event someone compromised your system.

How does Tripwire work?

Tripwire works on a pretty easy to understand concept. Basically, when you install Tripwire on your linux box you tell it to scan your system and create a database of checksums and information. Once you have a good reference point or database setup, you then scan your system on a regular basis for modifications to your file system.

Why would I want run a file system integrity software?

If you have ever had your system compromised by a cracker, it's an extremely frustrating time. You never know what they have done, where they have been, or what files they have modified or installed. This type of application helps in the recovery process. Quite often crackers will installed a group of applications on your system called a rootkit. A rootkit overwrites many of your commonly used system files to help hide the tracks of the cracker, or leave a backdoor on your system so he can return at a later date. Often the types of files modified are ones such as ps and netstat. By installing their own version of applications like these they can hide the fact there is additional daemons and processes running the background.

How do I put Tripwire to practical use?

Tripwire can be configured to send you e-mails at a set time interval via Sendmail or SMTP. On small systems it wouldn't be unreasonable to have your system checked several times a day and have Tripwire e-mail you the results. If you don't want the results e-mailed you can store the information in a file for later review. I believe it is a handy tool to have the logs e-mailed to you, so a problem can be quickly identified.

Thought Tripwire won't protect you from hackers, it will help you identify the level of which your system has been compromised and if scanned at regular time intervals should help you reduce the amount of time for which your system has been compromised. If your system has been broken in to, then the best thing to do is isolate the machine from the network and rebuilt it from know good backups and try to determine the method of entry.

Ken Dennis
http://KenDennis-RSS.homeip.net/

---

Software Companies: Generate New Revenue Streams and Decrease Costs with Custom e-Learning Content

It's no secret that software companies operate in a very... Read More

Configure Windows Indexing Service for Performance

The Windows Indexing Service provides you with the ability to... Read More

Programming Language Migration Path

While I was preparing some personal background information for a... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains implementation: Restaurants Supply Chain Management Example

Microsoft Great Plains serves majority of US based horizontal and... Read More

Where to Find Free Fleet Maintenance Software

Costs of fleet maintenance software can vary widely. It is... Read More

Five Tips For A Great Software Demo

Whether you need to close a sale, gather end-user feedback,... Read More

Artificial Intelligence And Intuition

The intuitive algorithm.Roger Penrose considered it impossible. Thinking could never... Read More

Who Is Minding Your Sensitive Data?

Stealing company information used to be the specialty of spies... Read More

Begun, The Browser Wars Have

As Mozilla Firefox nears 10% market share, with well over... Read More

Make 2005 the Year You Save Time!

Today's business world is fast-paced. No matter what it is... Read More

How the Firefox: How to... Manual Helped Me

A few months back I really got sick of my... Read More

Microsoft eCommerce Web-development: Great Plains eConnect .Net ? Highlights for Programmer

In our small article we'll consider Microsoft Business Solutions Great... Read More

These Items Are A Must Before Making The Decision To Purchase Any Off-The-Shelf Software

1. What determines the software price? Is it Per Seat... Read More

Spyware: What It Is and How to Combat It

Spyware is software or hardware installed on a computer without... Read More

Separate Anti-Keylogging Protection: Who Needs it Most?

If there still are few unprotected computers left, I haven't... Read More

Navision Attain C/ODBC Crystal Report ? Customization Example

Microsoft Business Solutions Navision is main ERP application for European,... Read More

Basic Tips and tricks for Windows XP

Running Applications in Compatibility Mode With Windows XP, you can... Read More

Linux for Home Users

Hey Guys! Don't raise your eyebrows or fear by hearing... Read More

Brand Your Websites URL With a Favicon

Have you ever noticed that when you look at your... Read More

Anti-Virus Software

Anti-virus software is used to find, remove or fix files... Read More

Two Reasons to Use Timesheet Software

This short paper will expand on two key reasons to... Read More

20 Extra Hours Per Week: What Would You Do?

While I was in college, if you would have asked... Read More

Review of TikiWiki Content Management System

TikiWiki is open source software - it is written in... Read More

How To Develop Software For Your Business

Software development is a risky business.Many software developers are barely... Read More

CRM and Customer Life Cycle

Customer Relationship Management or CRM is a combination of enterprise... Read More

netstat - Linux Command to Display Networking Information

In linux, one of great commands for finding out information... Read More

5 Easy File Management Tips in Microsoft Word

How many steps does it take you to locate and... Read More

Microsoft Business Solutions VAR/Partner Selection ? Overview for IT Director/Manager/Controller

Microsoft Great Plains and Microsoft CRM become more and more... Read More

Crystal Reports - Geterogeneus databases: SQL Server, Oracle, Unidata, Btrieve ? Tips For Developer

Crystal Reports is the most flexible tool on the market... Read More

Not All Project Management Software is Created Equal

The purpose of Project Management Software is to provide an... Read More

Reporting Tools for Microsoft Great Plains ? Overview For Developers

Looks like Microsoft Great Plains becomes more and more popular,... Read More

Microsoft Great Plains Payroll Module Customization Scenarios

It is now common thing when large corporation selects mid-market... Read More

What is Shareware?

Shareware is software that you can try before you buy;... Read More