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posted by janrinok on Monday April 07 2014, @09:44PM   Printer-friendly
from the but-do-we-trust-it? dept.

The US Department Of Defense (DOD) has released version 1.5 of their LPS (Lightweight Portable Security) OS. LPS is a highly secure CD/USB bootable OS based on a thin Linux client.

The LPS family was created to address particular use cases: LPS is a safer, general-purpose solution for using web-based applications.

LPS allows general web browsing and connecting to remote networks. It includes a smart card-enabled Firefox browser supporting CAC and PIV cards, a PDF and text viewer, Java, and Encryption Wizard. LPS turns an untrusted system (such as a home computer) into a trusted network client. No trace of work activity (or malware) can be written to the local computer. Any malware that might infect a computer can only run within that session. A user can improve security by rebooting between sessions, or when about to undertake a sensitive transaction. For example, boot LPS immediately before performing any online banking transactions. LPS should also be rebooted immediately after visiting any risky web sites, or when the user has reason to suspect malware might have been loaded.

The DOD provides two different versions available for download in the form of an ISO image: LPS-Public (281 MB), and LPS-Public Deluxe (440 MB). The Deluxe edition is the same as the Public, but also includes Libre Office and Adobe Reader.

A few of the recent updates to version 1.5 include:

  • Firefox v24 (With HTTPS Everywhere v3.4.5 and NoScript v2.5.8.14)
  • Adobe Reader v9.5.5
  • Libre Office v4.1.5
  • Pidgin v2.10.9
  • IPv6 support
  • Linux Kernel v3.10.22

LPS has been my favorite go-to tool when I am using a possibly compromised system, or even one that is just plain slow; pop in my keychain USB drive and reboot the computer, now I can do whatever I need without any worries of stolen passwords. I also occasionally use it to test the functionality of the hardware on systems that have a botched OS.

Are there any other great tools like this that you would suggest? What do you use?

 
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by edIII on Tuesday April 08 2014, @04:29AM

    by edIII (791) on Tuesday April 08 2014, @04:29AM (#27944)

    Psst.. mista, I got Linux CD here from North Korea - better trust than USA version...

    North Korea could have information on every single one of us and it would be no different than a homeless person having it.

    The people to worry about being in possession of that information are your fellow countrymen.

    --
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  • (Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday April 08 2014, @01:34PM

    by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday April 08 2014, @01:34PM (#28133)

    To some extent its the other way around.

    A local cop has more info on me, but at least in theory if he sold it, he could be in trouble. Won't in practice, but at least it could happen. So the price won't be high, but there will be a price of sorts.

    Some NK bureaucrat? No one here can do anything to him, civil, criminal, or otherwise, so the price is going to be a little less than a local cop would charge to maximize profit.

    So you're slightly worse off with NK having your CC number (or whatever) than a local cop. Not much, but some.