Ubuntu
ubiquity package

Why booting from Ubuntu 11.10 live cd give me access to my hard disk data... ?

Asked by Cannibal Fizz

Why does running Ubuntu 11.10 from a CD-ROM allow acces to my Ubuntu 11.40 hard disc data when it is password protected without the CD-ROM ? This seems a MASSIVE security issue!

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marcobra (Marco Braida) (marcobra) said : 		#1

is no a security issue, you need to protect phisical access to your pc, please tell is your home directory an encrypted directory ?

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Warren Hill (warren-hill) said : 		#2

Your hard disk is not password protected its your user account that is. If you want fully protect the data then the only way is to encrypt it. You can't encrypt the entire file system, otherwise Ubuntu wouldn't work, but you can encrypt directories. It would only be an issue if you if you had encrypted your home directory and could see its contents.

This is true of any OS not just Linux. Its amazing what you can get off the hard drive from an old computer if you have a little technical know how. Passwords protect from external attacks and should make you aware each time you run a command with security implications by requiring you to enter your password

A big part of security is just keeping your PC safe physically.

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