Secure & Persistent Ubuntu 8.10 on USB Flash Disk

A very simple yet effective way to have Ubuntu on a flash disk with you, but not a live session as in one of my previous posts in Ubuntu 8.04, the difference between it and the live session is that the live session doesn't provide any means of authentication which makes it useless for anyone who wants to keep his/her private data on it, and so, you'll have to do the following:

Prerequisites:

1. Access to Ubuntu 8.10 (Installed or Live CD)
2. An Ubuntu 8.10 Source (.iso or a CD)

Steps:

1. Use the Ubuntu 8.10 tool (System->Administration->Create a USB Startup Disk) and attach your USB Flash Disk to the computer and wait till it finishes.
2. Restart the computer (make sure that you boot from the USB stick) and choose your language and then the first option in the menu (Install Ubuntu without any modifications to your system)
   
3. Go to System->Administration->Login Window, Security tab, and Disable Automatic login and timed login
4. Create a password for user "root" (From System->Administration->Users and Groups)
   
5. Allow local system administrator login
   
6. logout of the user "ubuntu" and login as "root" with the new password you've just created.
7. Remove the existing "ubuntu" user using the command "userdel -f ubuntu"
8. Create a new user named "ubuntu" and set its password
9. Log out and login as the new user
10. Enjoy!!

Live USB Ubuntu 8.04 Installation (Persistent)

Article Source: Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron Live USB How-to

Tips and Tricks:

1. You can just use gmountiso "sudo apt-get install gmountiso" to mount the iso file instead of doing it manually.
2. You can just download the "initrd.gz" file instead of manually doing the steps.
   

Post-Installation Notes: Everything worked great, I only have to configure my Bios to allow booting from my USB flash disk and everything works like a charm, but only the following caused me some problems:

1. Trying to add security by adding a user rather than the live session user totally messed things up! I couldn't even update my repositories or install any new software
2. Some system updates couldn't be installed (don't know why), but after facing some problems which I don't know the source of, I just disabled the automated system update from System->Preferences->Sessions, and whenever I need a new package or something, I just do it manually.

I'll keep you updated with any new things I encounter, please leave your comments if you face any problems or find a solution to any of the above ones, thanks :)

DreamLinux on a Stick (NON-persistent)(DRAFT)

Debian-based DreamLinux Live USB :)