Two easy questions

[dlimanov () sct com]

New to the list and tried archives but didn't get the answers I was 
looking for..
1. Does anyone have a list of steps necessary to harden the OS prior to 
installing Snort? Or will standard "Securing Linux" checklist is adequate 
enough?
2. Is there a IDSCenter alternative for Linux? I'm trying to get a 
user-friendly, no-nonsense GUI interface for managing snort and its 
configuration. I've looked at various free products and few commercial 
ones but they do appear a bit complicated for a non-Linux guru. I don't 
need advanced functionality of SourceFire or PureSecure; IDSCenter (the 
way it looks and operates on Windows) would be the optimal solution for my 
testing environment. 
Thanks in advance!

Dimitri