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Linux is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991 by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged in a Linux distribution (or distro for short).
Distributions include the Linux kernel and supporting system software and libraries, many of which are provided by the GNU Project. Many Linux distributions use the word "Linux" in their name, but the Free Software Foundation uses the name GNU/Linux to emphasize the importance of GNU software, causing some controversy.
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As you're currently using Windows on your PC, you might have to do an extended reboot. By default Windows skips the UEFI/USB step in the boot sequence to make Windows boot slightly faster.
Check out this link for reference' https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/boot-to-uefi-mode-or-legacy-bios-mode?view=windows-11
seems to involve disabling secure boot, not happy with that. will cause more paranoia π¬
you can do some things to be able to enable it again once you're set up.
That's new to me. For me so far it was sufficient to follow this part from the linked article...
Or, if Windows is already installed, from either the Sign on screen or the Start menu, select Power (Power button icon) > hold Shift while selecting Restart. Select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > UEFI Firmware settings.
Does secureboot really help?
No.
Yes
What PC do you have? Is it company's PC with locked BIOS? Did you set the bootable flag on the usb partition? Can you test the capacity of the flash drive and verivy it's not fake?
I have a cheap USB drive that doesn't work as a bootable medium too (except for Ubuntu and maybe some other specific distros). Though I suspect this issue apppeared after I dropped it from like 1.3 meters height. Anyways it can be a malfunction or your drive just doesn't properly support it. What is your hardware though? Are you sure you need the UEFI mode and not the legacy BIOS mode?
Are you sure you need the UEFI mode and not the legacy BIOS mode?
im not. and i dont even understand that question π
but the stick is new and should not be too bad: https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005006057488603.html
You know that stuff that appears on the screen before the operating system? That is the computer's firmware. Sometimes it shows a brief memory check, sometimes it has a silly error message like "No keyboard detected. Press F1 to continue." Sometimes it's just a big image of the motherboard's manufacturer's logo. That firmware exists independently of the operating system, and will run even if you don't have any operating system installed.
Most people refer to the firmware as the "BIOS", but technically, BIOS refers to an API between the firmware and the operating system. About a decade ago, some people decided that "BIOS" was going to be replaced by "UEFI", and operating systems would start having a new way to boot. What ended up happening is: the firmware on all recent computers supports both UEFI and BIOS interfaces (and everyone still calls it "BIOS"). Recent Windows versions seem to only boot in UEFI mode, but most Linux distros can boot in either UEFI or BIOS mode. The GRUB bootloader can also start itself up in either UEFI or BIOS mode.
USB live operating systems are limited in size and may have less functionality than other operating systems, so maybe they are only able to boot in one method or another. Try looking around in the firmware (or "BIOS" if you prefer) to see if you can change the boot method to allow both UEFI and BIOS operating systems.
It may help if you can take a picture of some of the firmware's boot configuration menus.
... did you seriously buy a USB drive from AliExpress? ΰ² _ΰ²
yes and my pc too π
Don't do that. Many malicious actors can put malware on Aliexpress tech products and sell it to get credit card information, create a botnet (similar to gaining remote access) or spy on you for the government
Ali is known for shipping questionable products at times. I won't tell you not to use them, but do understand that there's some risk involved to get those lower prices.
You don't know how far people from poor countries can go to save money. Some of my relatives literally buy everything non-critical there
soon will be one year old.
Hmm then I'm almost sure it's working in UEFI mode. I'd say try another USB stick
I question the legitimacy of Kicksecure because they have some strange design choices from their About page, but I digress. I understand that's not your main concern at this time.
Do you have a non-USB 3 drive available? I've seen some firmware have issues with the newer standards. Have you tried different ports?
omg pls do digress! like i said, im reallly open to other distros.
did try other ports.
dont have another usb. i like this one cuz its fast and i dont want to buy a new one before being sure it will work.
As someone who does do a lot of embedded work professionally, including custom kernel development and security research, I don't think the developers of the distro really understand what they wish to accomplish. They don't understand the technologies they are working with and how it fits into a good security posture. Let me cherry pick some examples from their website:
Torified operating system (apt) upgrades
Routing your upgrades through Tor seems really silly to me. Your packages are already authenticated using strong cryptography, and if you're concerned about Debian core repositories signing packages with their keys just to target you in particular, use a mirror. There's plenty of them. Debian maintainers won't know what you're downloading, and if you fear the maintainers as part of your threat model, then perhaps a Debian-based distribution that implicitly trusts those maintainers is the wrong choice.
TCP Initial Sequence Numbers Randomization prevents TCP ISN-based CPU Information Leaks; see footnote.
Okay... that seems rather contrived. They don't cite any sources, and I've never heard of this being a security concern.
Better encryption is achieved via preinstalled random number generators.
Woah, "better" encryption! That's a pretty extreme claim without establishing that there's anything wrong with how Linux already generates random numbers, which has been extensively studied and attacked. I'd be way more shy of their tweaks introducing security bugs. Do not get creative with cryptography.
I can't take their work seriously, I'm sorry. It sounds like a lot of hope and not a whole lot of experience.
TCP Initial Sequence Numbers Randomization prevents TCP ISN-based CPU Information Leaks;
Seems to be related to this: https://github.com/Kicksecure/tirdad
Although it looks like it's literally just slightly possible to leak the load on the system. It's hard to pull off, and isn't precise enough to leak anything important.
Appreciate it a lot, thanks. What Distro would you recommend running from a USB?
Beside security concerns about stuff that I don't understand, my only real needs are:
Security is really hard. The most vulnerable part of any computer system is you, the user. Even a 100% secure computer can still be attacked if you can fool the user into approving malicious activity.
I struggle to recommend something specific, but I do recommend arming yourself with knowledge about security, what it means, and what you hope to achieve with it. Use things that have lots of eyes on them that get attention from security experts, such as popular distributions with good reputations. A vanilla Debian system, Ubuntu, or Linux Mint are going to be extremely secure out of the box, but even then I rather have a smart user in front of an unpatched Windows machine with no antivirus than an uneducated user on Tails.
like i said, i tried mint, does not work from that stick, only tails works. what i want to achieve is not much:
I'm sorry but I'm not sure how to help further because I don't know enough about how tails booting is different from how Mint boots.
ok, appreciate your time and insight. thanks!
ah crazy, i made it work with Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS!
For some reason i had to unplug the PC before restarting. Then it got found as UEFI and could boot.
The full installation on the USB was a bit dirty, as i put the Live Ubuntu in a Virtual Machine and installed it from there. So i typed the full disk encryption and login passwords in Windows ... but I wont be too paranoid about that one now π
Look into Windows Fast Startup I think that was the cause. (It will bug you in the future if you want to dual boot linux)
if you fear the maintainers as a part of your theat model
At that point just install gentoo