Customize ubuntu live CD improving security

[savbuntu]

I've read the LPS review by distrowatch http://distrowatch.com/weekly.php?is...110704#feature
LPS distro running as root, how can I disable root access after boot CD?
How can I check that distro doesn't mount the hd drive?
Can I use

sudo swapoff -a

to disable hard disk mounting?

Are there other security measures that can I apply after boot live CD?

[snowpine]

Linux's 'mount' command is not mysterious. Simply:

mount

will tell you what is currently mounted. If you see something that is mounted but shouldn't be, you can easily unmount it with 'umount', for example to unmount the 1st partition of the 1st hard drive:

sudo umount /dev/sda1

But that's kind of tangential to the actual question/issue here. Why do you think that having hard drive partitions mounted (with the possible exception of personal data being temporarily stored in an unencrypted swap partition) will compromise the security of your online banking/shopping?

Also one thing that gets overlooked a lot in these conversations (apologies if I am stating the obvious) is the role of the financial institution. Have you contacted your bank yet to ask what are their policies and procedures with regards to fraud/identity theft? They probably have an entire department of people working on this exact issue who will be glad to discuss and give you some pointers. Because, no matter what software you run or precautions you take or advice we give you here, it is your bank's policies that will determine whether getting hacked is a minor inconvenience or a major life-changing event!

[savbuntu]

LWhy do you think that having hard drive partitions mounted (with the possible exception of personal data being temporarily stored in an unencrypted swap partition) will compromise the security of your online banking/shopping?

Because if there is resident malware in my hard disk it can compromise live cd security.

[snowpine]

Because if there is resident malware in my hard disk it can compromise live cd security.

Do you have a link or citation to support this statement?

Not saying it is impossible, just that this is the first time I've heard it in my 5 years on these forums. We have pros on these forums who use Linux Live CD's on a daily basis to repair/recover compromised Windows systems.

[savbuntu]

Do you have a link or citation to support this statement?

Not saying it is impossible, just that this is the first time I've heard it in my 5 years on these forums.

Unfortunately no. I'm a little bit paranoid penguin