Articles about Linux

The Debian-derived Kali Linux is a distro used primarily for digital forensics and penetration testing and comes with wide range of tools to help in investigations and incident responses.

Users of the distribution will be pleased to know that its developer, Offensive Security, has just pushed out the first new release of 2022, and this brings with it various visual updates and tweaks to existing features.

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The Windows Package Manager -- also known as Winget -- is an open source tool designed to make it easier to install software on Windows 10 and Windows 11, by automating and speeding up the process. If you’ve used a package manager in a Linux distro you’ll know what to expect.

Microsoft has now released a new preview build with a number of a fixes and improvements. It has also enabled a raft of experimental features in the build.

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Thanks to its use on many cloud servers, Linux is a core part of the digital infrastructure. It's not surprising therefore that it's increasingly being targeted by attacks.

A new report from the Threat Analysis Unit at VMware finds malware targeting Linux-based operating systems is increasing in both volume and complexity amid a rapidly changing threat landscape,

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Back in August of 2021, we told you about Zorin OS 16 -- an absolutely brilliant Linux distribution for those switching from Windows. Its familiarity, polish, and inclusion of excellent software makes it not only a solid choice for Linux newbies, but experts too.

And now, Zorin OS 16 Education is here. This specialized version of the operating system is designed specifically for students. With many people believing Linux is the future, Zorin OS 16 Education should be a great way to teach your child about the open source kernel. If you let your young student rely solely on Windows 11, they could end up being unprepared and unequipped for the new Linux world.

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There are a number of Linux distros for WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) available to download from the Microsoft Store. Big names on offer include Ubuntu, Debian, Kali, SUSE and openSUSE. Now one more has arrived -- Oracle Linux.

Sneaking into the store with little fanfare on Monday, January 31, the official arrival of Oracle Linux 8.5 will be welcomed by any developers wanting to run Linux software in a Windows environment.

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The Document Foundation has released LibreOffice 7.3, the third major point release for its open-source, cross-platform office suite. Accompanied by the tag line, "More performance, more compatibility", the release boasts several noteworthy new features.

The key focus of this new release is better interoperability with Microsoft Office documents.

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System76 is a computer maker and seller that has long been selling laptops, desktops, and servers running a Linux-based operating system. For years, it only offered Ubuntu, but in more recent years, it started offering its own Ubuntu-based operating system called "Pop!_OS." This distribution has proven to be quite popular in the Linux community, as it builds upon the greatness of Ubuntu while also making it better.

As great as Pop!_OS is, today, System76 makes a big announcement regarding hardware rather than software. To the delight of many consumers, the company is releasing a refreshed version of its popular "Kudu" laptop. This new generation of the mobile workstation has a 15.6-inch 1080p display and it is powered by an octa-core AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX.

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Windows 11 is a rather good operating system. In fact, I can confidently say it is the best desktop operating system Microsoft has ever created. Seriously, folks, it is a pleasure to use. If your computer is compatible with it, and you like Windows 10, you should enjoy Windows 11 even more.

With all of that said, Windows 11 can be a bit polarizing. It features radical changes to the user interface (such as a centered task bar) which I adore, but some users may dislike. Not to mention, the system requirements will leave many still-capable computers unable to upgrade without using unofficial hacks. Even worse, computers deemed incompatible could eventually stop getting updates! These unfortunate computer owners will have to decide whether to continue using Windows 10 or buy a new Windows 11-compatible PC.

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If you live in the Northeastern United States like me, there's a very good chance you are snowed-in right now. For instance, my town on Long Island got nearly two feet of snow dumped on it, so I am stuck indoors. While I have been passing the time by watching movies and playing old-school video game ROMs, I am starting to get a bit bored.

Thankfully, there is a new Linux-based operating system version to play with! You see, version 2.0.0 of the Debian-based Nitrux distribution is finally available. The distro comes with KDE Plasma 5.23.5 as the desktop environment, MESA 21.3.5, and the XanMod-modified Linux kernel 5.16.3 by default.

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Linux-based operating systems are frequently touted as being far more secure than the likes of Windows or macOS. More secure they may be, but they are not completely infallible.

A great example of this is the recently discovered PwnKit vulnerability in the pkexec component of Polkit. The flaw can be exploited to gain root access to a system and it has been a security hole in pretty much all major Linux distros for over 12 years, including Debian, Fedora and Ubuntu.

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When it comes to computers, there are two things that really get my motor running -- AMD processors and Linux-based operating systems. So when I learned MINISFORUM had begun selling a diminutive AMD Ryzen-powered desktop that comes with Manjaro Linux pre-installed, my heart skipped a beat. It is very exciting to see yet another computer being offered with Linux rather than Windows.

Called "DeskMini UM700," the mini Linux desktop PC is being offered in three configurations -- all powered by the very capable Ryzen 7 3750H APU -- with pricing starting at less than $500. In other words, the tiny computer isn't just capable, but affordable too.

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It used to be, people would scoff at the idea of switching to a Linux-based operating system due to a lack of software. While that is still true for some folks -- especially business users -- it is less of a concern these days. Why? Well, so many things are done through the web browser nowadays, lessening dependence on Windows software. For many consumers, just having the Google Chrome browser on, say, Ubuntu, is more than enough to accomplish their wants and needs. Not to mention, there are many quality Linux apps like GIMP and DaVinci Resolve.

But OK, lets say you really want to use a Linux-based operating system, but there's some Windows-only software that you absolutely cannot live without. Thankfully, you may still be able to ditch Windows and upgrade to something like Fedora or Linux Mint. How? Thanks to the excellent Wine! This compatibility layer (don't you dare call it an emulator), can sometimes enable you to run Windows software on Linux. Today, version 7.0 is released.

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Debian is a great operating system in its own right, but also, it makes for an excellent base for other Linux distributions as well. For example, Ubuntu is probably the most well-known Linux distro and it is based on Debian. There are countless other operating systems, such as Netrunner, that stand on Debian's figurative shoulders.

The prettiest and most exciting Debian-based operating system, however, is deepin. This Chinese-developed Linux distribution is probably the most beautiful desktop operating system on the planet; it is arguably better than both macOS and Windows 11 in the style department.

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When using a Linux-based operating system, you should always use the most recent kernel, right? Actually, no. While new kernels do add fixes and support for new hardware, they can also be less stable and cause bugs.

Unfortunately, if you have extremely new hardware, sometimes you must use a newer kernel in order to boot, as older kernels do not yet support some of your devices. For instance, Linux Mint 20.3 "Una" was released recently and it comes with Linux kernel 5.4. If that older kernel does not support your computer, it may not boot.

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So, you decided to get rid of Windows and switch to Linux because you have strong beliefs about free and open source software, eh? Well done! That is quite the noble action, and you should be proud that you are following your morals. You could have chosen a Chromebook but you didn't, as you didn't want to support Google. Fair enough.

Maybe you instead went with Linux Mint because its developers are not beholden to anyone. Well, if that is the case, I have some bad news. You see, Linux Mint has officially sold out! Sadly, the developers of the Ubuntu-based operating system have agreed to accept an undisclosed amount of money from Mozilla in exchange for making significant changes to Linux Mint. This includes removal of modifications to Firefox and a big change for search...

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