Internal Live Non-Persistent Ubuntu System = Good for Public Use Computers

[cochranizer666]

Hi, y'all,

I just wanted to let you know that if you want to share your computer with the public, you might as well create a read-only Linux system. This is especially useful if you want to avoid people messing it up and you having to reinstall Ubuntu all over and over again.

I have an Ubuntu partition installed on my hard drive as if it were a live CD or USB. And when I restart, everything, from the program configuration to the wifi settings, goes back to brand spanking new. The fact that there is no persistence involved is a plus. I've even tested this normally EXTREMELY DANGEROUS command:

rm -rf / --no-preserve-root

...and it completely denied the command altogether, even with --no-preserve-root specified!

[uanode]

Obviously, when you load a filesystem into the RAM, you deal with virtually created inodes that only reside within the RAM, not on any kind of physical storage. So rm -rf / will only mess the RAM-stored data.
Even if you don't use a toram option with your initrd, aufs permits to load a layer of writable tmpfs over a read-only root filesystem (the one you have your files on), that simulates a writing effect.

This topic is helpful, many may not know that and this is a good way to prevent distribution of infection even on personal systems with critical data.

[saatana]

just install your system in a USB pendrive or external HD

much simpler

[uanode]

just install your system in a USB pendrive or external HD

much simpler

It doesn't add any security. Once a virus infects a system on USB/HD drive, it's going to persist there and replicate.