What is a Live CD? A Live CD is a bootable cd that contains a fully functional operating system like Linux or Window. A Live CD works like a normal hard drive in a desktop or laptop computer; however, a Live CD is read only while a normal hard drive is writable. Even though a Live CD is read only, it is a great tool for normal users and system administrators.
A Live CD is a great tool for troubleshooting and repairing corrupted or unbootable computer systems. Imagine turning on your computer one day and it does not boot any more. If you have a Live CD, then you can try to boot from this Live CD to see if your computer is still bootable. If it is bootable, then you can check to see whether the hard drive is bad, some system files are corrupted, or whether your computer is infected with viruses or malwares. With a Live CD you can try to recover your data from the bad hard drive, repair the corrupted system files, or remove viruses or malwares from your computer system.
Beside troubleshooting and repairing computer systems, there are Security Live CDs like BackTrack, Operator, PHLAK, and Auditor that are packaged with a lot of security tools. These tools allow system administrators to do penetration testing, forensics, and vulnerability assessment. Live CD is a great resource for any system administrators to test their own security and close any vulnerabilities that they might have accidentally left open.
Overall, Live CD is handy tool for both normal users and system administrators to test, fix, and recover their systems. They can also be use as a second operation system and a great tool for any system administrators.
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http://www.darknet.org.uk/2006/03/10-best-security-live-cd-distros-pen-test-forensics-recovery/
