Automatic firewall for XP/Linux (+linux advocacy) (Score 1)

The new XP service pack touts an automated and interactive firewall builder. It supposedly starts out with a closed firewall and builds one in response to new packets. Microsoft sometimes does a good job of delivering good features and this is one of them.

Is Masonthe best tool for doing this on the Linux side? It looks like it has been around a while, and I'm lamely noticing it right now.

A good project for linux advocates might be a translation of MS's sales literature into how to do it in Linux, Debian, Redhat, Fedora, etc.... MS's marketers are good at identifing what they need to write on the box or in the literature to get people to buy it, and I'm certain that for each line item, there is good open source software. Right now you need a guru or tons of time to figure out just how to do each of the features on a MS XP/Office/whatever box, if you could go to to a how to do it in linux site and find a point-by point guide to how-tos, it might make the assimilation easier.

Example: from a current XP/SP2 release:
The software adds a new "security center" that is intended to provide a beefed-up firewall as well as easy ways to tell whether a PC is updated and protected against viruses.

Alternatives:

Mason, (link) the automated firewall builder
LIDS, Linux Intrusion detection software
Tripwire, (link) the system intrusion monitor

* Debian: apt-get mason tripwire
(see http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/securing-debian- howto/ch6.en.html
http://www.debian.org/doc/manua ls/securing-debian- howto/ch-sec-services.en.html

* Fedora: yum install mason tripwire ...or whatever. Each big story or release of MS software should be an opportunity to figure out how to do it in linux.