Running Linux tools without installing Linux

Nutter helps a user take advatange of Linux without installing the OS

I have been seeing more network tools I would like to use but they require Linux. I am probably one of the last holdouts from at least looking at Linux. With tools such as Nessus, Ethereal, Etherape, etc, is there a way I can run the tools without installing Linux?

– Via the Internet

You have at least one option. I recently came across a bootable Linux CD by the name of White Glove. This is produced by Fred Cohen of www.all.net fame. The product comes on a business card-size CD-ROM that can slip in your shirt pocket and be ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Fred has come up with a precompiled Linux distribution that is easy to use. (There are others you can find at sourceforge.net but without some of the network tools on Fred’s CD; use a keyword of bootable.) Turn on the computer and get the CD into the drive before the post process completes. You may need to go into your BIOS setup and ensure the CD-ROM drive is set to boot from first.

After the CD boots up, login as directed and type startx. After a minute or so, you should see a Linux GUI screen appear. You can either type pump in the terminal window that will be open, or you will find a GUI-based tool in the menu that will let you do the same thing. At that point you can start taking benefit of the tools on the CD and take time to learn how to install Linux and install these packages on your own. This CD has the benefit of being able to run on just about any PC without disturbing the local files, which might just give you an option of not having to take a laptop with you when working on a problem.