path: root/docs/mcc-help/en/msecgui.xml

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  <info>
    <title xml:id="msecgui-ti1">MSEC: System Security and Audit</title>

    <subtitle>msecgui</subtitle>
  </info>

  <!-- written by Lebarhon 2014/01/03 To be checked-->

  <para/>

  <mediaobject>
    <imageobject>
      <imagedata xml:id="msecgui-im1" revision="1" fileref="msecgui.png" align="center" format="PNG"/>
    </imageobject>
  </mediaobject>

  <para/>

  <section>
    <title>Presentation</title>

    <para>msecgui is a graphic user interface for msec that allows to
    configure your system security according to two approaches:</para>

    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para>It sets the system behaviour, msec imposes modifications to the
        system to make it more secure.</para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>It carries on periodic checks automatically on the system in
      order to warn you if something seems dangerous.</listitem>
    </itemizedlist>

    <para>msec uses the concept of "security levels" which are intended to
    configure a set of system permissions, which can be audited for changes or
    enforcement. Several of them are proposed by Mageia, but you can define
    your own customised security levels.</para>
  </section>

  <section>
    <title>Overview tab</title>

    <para>See the screenshot above</para>

    <para>The first tab takes up the list of the different security tools with
    a button on the right side to configure them:</para>

    <itemizedlist>
      <listitem>
        <para>Firewall, also found in the MCC / Security / Set up your
        personal firewall</para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>Updates, also found in MCC / Software Management / Update your
        system</para>
      </listitem>

      <listitem>
        <para>msec itself with some information:</para>

        <itemizedlist>
          <listitem>
            <para>enabled or not</para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>the configured Base security level</para>
          </listitem>

          <listitem>
            <para>the date of the last Periodic checks and a button to see a
            detailed report and another button to execute the checks just
            now.</para>
          </listitem>
        </itemizedlist>
      </listitem>
    </itemizedlist>
  </section>

  <section>
    <title>Security settings tab</title>

    <para>A click on the second tab or on the Security
    <guibutton>Configure</guibutton> button leads to the same screen shown
    below.</para>

    <mediaobject>
      <imageobject>
        <imagedata fileref="msecgui2.png"/>
      </imageobject>
    </mediaobject>

    <para/>

    <section>
      <title>Basic security tab</title>

      <para role="underline">
        <emphasis role="underline">Security levels:</emphasis>
      </para>

      <para>After having checked the box <guilabel>Enable MSEC
      tool</guilabel>, this tab allows you by a double click to choose the
      security level that appears then in bold. If the box is not checked, the
      level « none » is applied. The following levels are available:</para>

      <orderedlist numeration="arabic">
        <listitem>
          <para>Level <emphasis role="bold">none</emphasis>. This level is
          intended if you do not want to use msec to control system security,
          and prefer tuning it on your own. It disables all security checks
          and puts no restrictions or constraints on system configuration and
          settings. Please use this level only if you are knowing what you are
          doing, as it would leave your system vulnerable to attack.</para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>Level <emphasis role="bold">standard</emphasis>. This is the
        default configuration when installed and is intended for casual users.
        It constrains several system settings and executes daily security
        checks which detect changes in system files, system accounts, and
        vulnerable directory permissions. (This level is similar to levels 2
        and 3 from past msec versions).</listitem>

        <listitem>
          <para>Level <emphasis role="bold">secure</emphasis>. This level is
          intended when you want to ensure your system is secure, yet usable.
          It further restricts system permissions and executes more periodic
          checks. Moreover, access to the system is more restricted. (This
          level is similar to levels 4 (High) and 5 (Paranoid) from old msec
          versions).</para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>Besides those levels, different task-oriented security are
        also provided, such as the <emphasis role="bold">fileserver</emphasis>, <emphasis role="bold">webserver</emphasis> and <emphasis role="bold">netbook</emphasis> levels. Such levels attempt to
        pre-configure system security according to the most common use
        cases.</listitem>

        <listitem>The last two levels called <emphasis role="bold">audit_daily</emphasis> and <emphasis role="bold">audit_weekly</emphasis> are not really security levels but
        rather tools for periodic checks only.</listitem>
      </orderedlist>

      <para>These levels are saved in
      <filename>etc/security/msec/level.&lt;levelname></filename>. You can
      define your own customised security levels, saving them into specific
      files called <filename>level.&lt;levelname></filename>, placed into
      the folder <filename>etc/security/msec/.</filename> This function is
      intended for power users which require a customised or more secure
      system configuration.</para>

      <caution>Keep in mind that user-modified parameters take precedence over
      default level settings.</caution>

      <para>
        <emphasis role="underline">Security alerts:</emphasis>
      </para>

      <para>If you check the box <guibutton>Send security alerts by email
      to:</guibutton>, the security alerts generated by msec are going to be
      sent by local e-mail to the security administrator named in the nearby
      field. You can fill either a local user or a complete e-mail address
      (the local e-mail and the e-mail manager must be set accordingly). At
      last, you can receive the security alerts directly on your desktop.
      Check the relevant box to enable it.</para>

      <important>It is strongly advisable to enable the security alerts option
      in order to immediately inform the security administrator of possible
      security problems. If not, the administrator will have to regularly
      check the logs files available in
      <filename>/var/log/security.</filename></important>

      <emphasis role="underline">Security options:</emphasis>

      <para>Creating a customised level is not the only way to customise the
      computer security, it is also possible to use the tabs presented here
      after to change any option you want. Current configuration for msec is
      stored in <filename>/etc/security/msec/security.conf</filename>. This
      file contains the current security level name and the list of all the
      modifications done to the options.</para>
    </section>

    <section>
      <title>System security tab</title>

      <para>This tab displays all the security options on the left side
      column, a description in the centre column, and their current values on
      the right side column.</para>

      <mediaobject>
        <imageobject>
          <imagedata fileref="msecgui3.png"/>
        </imageobject>
      </mediaobject>

      <para>To modify an option, double click on it and a new window appears
      (see screenshot below). It displays the option name, a short
      description, the actual and default values, and a drop down list where
      the new value can be selected. Click on the <guibutton>OK</guibutton>
      button to validate the choice.</para>

      <para>
        <figure>
          <screenshot>
            <mediaobject>
              <imageobject>
                <imagedata fileref="msecgui11.png"/>
              </imageobject>
            </mediaobject>
          </screenshot>
        </figure>
      </para>

      <caution>Do not forget when leaving msecgui to save definitively your
      configuration using the menu <guimenu>File -> Save the
      configuration</guimenu>. If you have changed the settings, msecgui
      allows you to preview the changes before saving them.</caution>

      <para>
        <figure>
          <screenshot>
            <mediaobject>
              <imageobject>
                <imagedata fileref="msecgui10.png"/>
              </imageobject>
            </mediaobject>
          </screenshot>
        </figure>
      </para>
    </section>

    <section>
      <title>Network security</title>

      <para>This tab displays all the network options and works like the
      previous tab</para>

      <mediaobject>
        <imageobject>
          <imagedata fileref="msecgui4.png"/>
        </imageobject>
      </mediaobject>
    </section>

    <section>
      <title>Periodic checks tab</title>

      <para>Periodic checks aim to inform the security administrator by means
      of security alerts of all situations msec thinks potentially
      dangerous.</para>

      <para>This tab displays all the periodic checks done by msec and their
      frequency if the box <guibutton>Enable periodic security
      checks</guibutton> is checked. Changes are done like in the previous
      tabs.</para>

      <mediaobject>
        <imageobject>
          <imagedata fileref="msecgui5.png"/>
        </imageobject>
      </mediaobject>
    </section>

    <section>
      <title>Exceptions tab</title>

      <para>Sometimes alert messages are due to well known and wanted
      situations. In these cases they are useless and wasted time for the
      administrator. This tab allows you to create as many exceptions as you
      want to avoid unwanted alert messages. It is obviously empty at the
      first msec start. The screenshot below shows four exceptions.</para>

      <mediaobject>
        <imageobject>
          <imagedata fileref="msecgui6.png"/>
        </imageobject>
      </mediaobject>

      <para>To create an exception, click on the <guibutton>Add a
      rule</guibutton> button</para>

      <mediaobject>
        <imageobject>
          <imagedata fileref="msecgui7.png"/>
        </imageobject>
      </mediaobject>

      <para>Select the wanted periodic check in the drop down list called
      <guilabel>Check</guilabel> and then, enter the
      <guilabel>Exception</guilabel> in the text area. Adding an exception is
      obviously not definitive, you can either delete it using the
      <guibutton>Delete</guibutton> button of the
      <guilabel>Exceptions</guilabel> tab or modify it with a double
      clicK.</para>
    </section>

    <section><title>Permissions</title><para>This tab is intended for file and
    directory permissions checking and enforcement.</para><para>Like for the
    security, msec owns different permissions levels (standard, secure, ..),
    they are enabled accordingly with the chosen security level. You can
    create your own customised permissions levels, saving them into specific
    files called <filename>perm.&lt;levelname></filename> placed into the
    folder <filename>etc/security/msec/</filename>. This function is intended
    for power users which require a customised configuration. It is also
    possible to use the tab presented here after to change any permission you
    want. Current configuration is stored in
    <filename>/etc/security/msec/perms.conf.</filename> This file contains the
    list of all the modifications done to the permissions.</para><mediaobject>
        <imageobject>
          <imagedata fileref="msecgui8.png"/>
        </imageobject>
      </mediaobject><para>Default permissions are visible as a list of rules
    (a rule per line). You can see on the left side, the file or folder
    concerned by the rule, then the owner, then the group and then the
    permissions given by the rule. If, for a given rule:</para><itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>the box <guilabel>Enforce</guilabel> is not checked, msec only
          checks if the defined permissions for this rule are respected and
          sends an alert message if not, but does not change anything.</para>
        </listitem>

        <listitem>the box <guilabel>Enforce</guilabel> is checked, then msec
        will rule the permissions respect at the first periodic check and
        overwrite the permissions.</listitem>
      </itemizedlist><important>For this to work, the option CHECK_PERMS in
    the <emphasis role="bold">Periodic check tab</emphasis> must be configured
    accordingly.</important>To create a new rule, click on the<guibutton> Add
    a rule</guibutton> button and fill the fields as shown in the example
    below. The joker * is allowed in the <guilabel>File</guilabel> field.
    “current” means no modification.<mediaobject>
        <imageobject>
          <imagedata fileref="msecgui9.png"/>
        </imageobject>
      </mediaobject><para>Click on the <guibutton>OK</guibutton> button to
    validate the choice and do not forget when leaving to save definitively
    your configuration using the menu <guimenu>File -> Save the
    configuration</guimenu>. If you have changed the settings, msecgui allows
    you to preview the changes before saving them. </para><note>It is also
    possible to create or modify the rules by editing the configuration file
    <filename>/etc/security/msec/perms.conf</filename>.
    </note><caution>Changes in the <emphasis role="bold">Permission
    tab</emphasis> (or directly in the configuration file) are taken into
    account at the first periodic check (see the option CHECK_PERMS in the
    <emphasis role="bold">Periodic checks tab</emphasis>). If you want them to
    be taken immediately into account, use the msecperms command in a console
    with root rights. You can use before, the msecperms -p command to know the
    permissions that will be changed by msecperms.</caution><caution>Do not
    forget that if you modify the permissions in a console or in a file
    manager, for a file where the box <guilabel>Enforce</guilabel> is checked
    in the <emphasis role="bold">Permissions tab</emphasis>, msecgui will
    write the old permissions back after a while, accordingly to the
    configuration of the options CHECK_PERMS and CHECK_PERMS_ENFORCE in the
    <emphasis role="bold">Periodic Checks tab</emphasis>.</caution></section>
  </section>

  <para>You can start this tool from the command line, by typing <emphasis role="bold">msecgui</emphasis> as root.</para>

  <para/>
</section>