I need to make an install iso of the OS the way it is after I've laboured for several hours to customized it...

[Peter Gordon]

On Tue, 2011-10-04 at 10:06 -0700, Linda McLeod wrote:
> Here's my little problem..  My PC is hit nearly every week or two by
> hateful bullies..  I need to make an install iso of the OS the way it is
> after I've laboured for several hours to customize it to my liking..  I
> need all my peripheral programs and files to be in that install.. 
> Please link me to a site that tells how it's done..  Ten years I've been
> trying to make such an install disk, and just can't get through it..  It
> makes me feel so darn stupid and small that I can't do this simple
> little thing...  If ever I do get it one day, I'll probably be bouncing
> in my chair till it or my bum breaks...  Please tell how it's done.

Pardon if this reply seems a bit insensitive; but instead of simply
fixing it each time these "bullies" hit your PC, why not prevent them in
the first place?

Primarily, how do they attack your computer? Are the attacks from an
external source, or from within your own home/business network? Are you
keeping updated with security fixes and such?

If the attacks are internal, try restricting access to your computer:
iIf you have the "automatic login" enabled for convenience; I recommend
turning it off and forcing yourself (and likely, your attackers) to use
an explicit password. (Ensure that this is a strong and unpredictable
password. Use a lengthy combination of upper- and lower-case letters,
numbers, and symbols; and make it unrelated to your username. Don't
write it down anywhere if you can help it.) Some more paranoid measures
might be to encrypt your hard drive contents (using a different password
than your user login), and to restrict physical access to the machine
(for example, locking it in its own well-ventilated room, and keeping
the key on your person). 

If the attacks are coming from an external source, ensure that your
firewall is set to block all incoming connections. If you are connected
to the internet directly, try instead to connect through a known-good
router, as the required NAT will add an additional security barrier
between you and the Internet.

Second, I don't know whether you are running as the superuser ("root")
or not; but if you are, you should stop immediately. As the
administrator account for a system, it has virtually limitless
read/write access to anything on that system, including being able to
add, modify, or remove any kernel modules, programs and user data.

Finally, if none of these are viable in your circumstances, some
utilities you can use include rsync and/or duplicity (or the GNOME
frontend to these, Deja Dup) to create a file-by-file copy of the drive,
and the 'dd' tool to create an image of the drive contents. (Though
realistically, you probably only need the /home directory and any
modified data files in /etc or /var; as the rest can be simply
redownloaded.)

-- 
Peter Gordon (codergeek42) <peter at thecodergeek.com>
Who am I? :: http://thecodergeek.com/about-me

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