I’m aware that recently I’ve covered a lot of security posts for Windows, so today I’m going to share some advice for the Linux users. Unlike Windows, at this point, there is no need for an antivirus, though there are some solutions that presently exist, such as BitDefender for Unix, Avast for Linux, as well as Norton for Linux/Solaris. But you will not see me recommend them for a long time, for the main reason that Linux was designed to be far more secure out of the box, with use of Sudo or Su, effectively making the computer user a non-root user. And until Vista came along, there was no really safe way of doing this, seeing as most programs would not run as a non-root user, as most games and applications were designed to run as a root user. Even with trying some of the sudo replacements that were designed by open source advocates or by programmers that have experience in Linux and Windows, they seem to be a disappointment. However, firewall wise, for the longest time, Linux has had the disadvantage due to the fact that they were set up all as command-line applications, also known as CLI apps. Ubuntu planned to change all that… and succeeded with Gufw.

Gufw stands for GUI [Graphical User Interface] for Uncomplicated Firewall. Unlike Firestarter, Uncomplicated Firewall, and IPTables, it lives up to the name, it is extremely easy to set up and use. Ever since *buntu 8.04, it has been possible to install this application from the repositories. As the name suggests… it is extremely easy to set up and use.

Screenshot from Ubuntu 10.04

As you can see, all you have to do is check off the Enabled checkbox, and set it up as you see fit. You can allow incoming or outgoing transmissions as you wish, as well as adding custom rules onto it, to allow for custom access to web applications such as Webmin or GNUMP3D. Gufw is actually one of the few things that had kept me with Xubuntu for so long, thanks to it’s power and ease of use, and one of the things I am envious of *buntu users can use, since ever since I switched to Salix, I’ve had to switch to Firestarter. The final and perhaps most important thing about Gufw is the fact that it’s custom commands are so completely configurable that it could be impossible for a power user and advanced user to overlook it, even though that it’s ease of use makes it better suited for a newbie. It is also small as well, no more then 250 kb for the main program itself. And unlike Windows firewalls that need to be installed and loaded on bootup, Gufw’s settings remain enabled and active on boot, as far as I understand.

All you have to go and do to install it is simply click here or look in the Application Store for gufw. It couldn’t be any simpler and remains one of the better firewalls for Linux. If you aren’t using Ubuntu but would like a simpler interface then a command line application, take a look for Firestarter, which should provide you with a powerful interface, but documentation might be a good idea ro look at, before playing with it.