Dapper Linux ships with a hardened grsecurity patched Linux Kernel. Grsecurity/PaX patches are a true innovation to the Linux security world, and strives to prevent zero day attacks and other advanced threats by eliminating entire bug classes and exploit vectors, rather than fixing individual instances of a problem. The PaX patches pioneered Kernel level ASLR and other important security mitigations, and Dapper Linux ships with applications correctly set up for use with this kernel. Grsecurity, PaX and RAP provides the core security foundation of Dapper Linux.
Oz is a sandboxing framework designed to secure everyday applications. Your applications run in a secure chroot environment, with only the bare essentials the application requires to run. Sandboxes are further restricted with the system calls they are able to make, enforced by seccomp. Access to the file system and networking is disabled, unless specifically enabled inside the applications profile. Oz provides a simple UI to add and remove files from a sandbox, and brings great security with strong ease of use. Oz greatly restricts post exploitation activities, and is the future of secure desktop applications.
Two browsers are provided to aid your privacy. One is completely stock Firefox and can be customised as wished, and the other is known as Dapper Hardened Browser, an innovation from the authors of Dapper Linux. Dapper Hardened Browser has its settings set for maximum privacy out of the box, and enjoys the following preinstalled add-ons: NoScript, RequestPolicy, UBlock, Random Agent Spoofer, Self Destructing Cookies, Disconnect, Ghostery and HTTPS Everywhere.
Dapper Linux includes an advanced application firewall, which will prompt you to allow any and all network accesses, so you can be in full control of your network activity. Full information is provided, such as originating process, IP address and port, and system user. Rules can be defined, so once you make a decision, you will no longer be prompted and packets are routed as you wish.
Dapper Linux ships with a large useful application base, to get you up and running faster and doing the things you love. Dapper Linux comes with applications such as Firefox, Thunderbird, Libreoffice, GIMP, Inkscape and VLC, with more to be discovered. Dapper Linux includes a full collection of media codecs, meaning you can enjoy your music and videos right away. C Compilers and essential programming tools are available to aid development, and a full LaTeX distribution is provided along with LyX to typeset your academic reports and papers.
Dapper Linux is able to utilise full hard disk encryption to keep your data safe. Encryption is implemented with a LUKS container, and swap is encrypted too. This encryption is transparent, so you unlock your computer during startup, and not have to worry about entering passwords again.
Simply check the encryption box when installing Dapper Linux, and enter in a passphrase, and the installer does all the heavy lifting for you. /boot is encrypted too, which prevents evil maid attacks. LUKS Keyfiles are used so you only need to enter your passphrase once each boot.
Dapper Linux includes dnssec-trigger and unbound which act as a local DNS resolver, which checks and ensures all of your DNS queries are protected by DNSSEC, a new standard which signs queries and prevents tampering. DNSSEC works seamlessly out of the box, with no configuration required. With DNSSEC, when you connect to a domain, you can be confident that you are connecting to that exact domain, and not another server controlled by attackers.
Dapper Linux comes with intrusion detection systems built in, and ready to detect any nasties that attempt to get in. Host based intrustion detection systems include chkrootkit and rkhunter to find system rootkits, tripwire for seeing changes to files on disk, and in the future snort will be added for full network coverage. Watch this space!
Dapper Linux comes with an attractive dark theme, Dapper Dark. Dapper Dark has been in development for a few years, and takes the best parts from the themes Phosphene and Arc-Dark to create a modern desktop environment. All programs have been set to display their minimum UI, making for a clean minimalistic experience.
Installing Dapper Linux is a simple and familiar process. Simply open up the installer, select your language, create your user account and start installing! Calamares, the Dapper Linux installer, does all the hard work for you.
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