Articles about Linux

Well, folks, we finally made it; the weekend is officially here! Hopefully you have some exciting activities planned. Maybe you are going to a party or taking someone out for a romantic dinner date. Or maybe, just maybe, you have absolutely nothing planned. You know what? That's OK. A lot of people are lonely and/or have no prospects. And for them, Linux exists.

Thankfully, Linux Mint 20.3 (code-named "Una") has finally exited beta, giving countless computer nerds around the world something to do this weekend. And yes, this includes me -- I had nothing planned other than a trip to Costco on Saturday and watching my New York Jets lose on Sunday. But now I will be installing the stable version of Linux Mint 20.3 "Una" as well. Huzzah!

Continue reading →

Will Linux Mint 20.3 make 2022 the fabled "Year of Linux on the Desktop?" Absolutely not. However, that won't stop some fans of the Ubuntu-based operating system from making that prediction. While it won't dethrone Windows anytime soon, the release of a stable Linux Mint 20.3 is imminent.

You see, today, the Linux Mint developers share that version 20.3 of the operating system will be released this week! Sadly, the devs missed the Christmas 2021 deadline they previously shared -- a major disappointment. Oh well, users simply had more time to play with the Beta release. At least the wait for Linux Mint 20.3 -- code-named "Una" -- will be over soon.

Continue reading →

Windows 11 is far from perfect -- it’s still very early days for the new operating system after all -- but it sports an attractive, modern aesthetic thanks to the use of Microsoft’s Fluent Design System.

If you like the look of Windows 11, but prefer to use a Linux OS, you can now get the best of both worlds by applying a new 'Fluent' icon set.

Continue reading →

Christmas is just a few days away now, and I am definitely not in a great mood for the special holiday. Like many of you, I am depressed about this new Omicron variant of COVID-19 running rampant. Sadly, we all may have to lock ourselves down once again, staying in our homes while waving goodbye to visiting family and going to restaurants. This is not the Christmas I was envisioning just last week. Sigh.

Thankfully, there is a way to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ without leaving the house -- installing a Linux distribution! Look, I can't prove it, but I'd like to think Jesus would be a fan of both Linux and open source software. If he returned to Earth tomorrow, I think he would be more likely to use the Arch-based Manjaro than Windows 11. And so, if you are forced to stay indoors this Christmas weekend, I highly recommend trying out the all-new Manjaro 21.2 operating system.

Continue reading →

At the end of November a vulnerability targeting Minecraft servers was uncovered. If you don't play Minecraft you probably didn't pay it much attention.

Since then, however, 'Log4Shell' has surged across the web sending tremors through the security community and prompting the US government to describe it as a 'severe risk'. So, what's going on and is it time to panic?

Continue reading →

Like System76's Pop!_OS, Linux Mint is an operating system based on Ubuntu. The distribution comes with some interesting tweaks that many users appreciate, making it a popular choice in the Linux community for both beginners and experts alike. It is stable, easy to use, and has a well-designed Update Manager that puts many other distros to shame. Linux Mint is an absolute joy to use.

Back in October, we told you that Linux Mint 20.3 would be named "Una." Even further back, towards the end of July, we shared the Beta of the operating system would be released around Christmas. Well, folks, we are less than two weeks away from that holiday and guess what? You can download Linux Mint 20.3 Beta immediately!

Continue reading →

Ubuntu Linux 21.10 was released back in October, and since then, fans of the Pop!_OS operating system have been wondering when System76 would update to the new Ubuntu base. Well, folks, today is finally the day. Pop!_OS 21.10 is now available to download for your PC hardware. In a surprise move, the company also releases a preview of the OS for the ARM-based Raspberry Pi!

The most notable change in Pop!_OS 21.10 is the inclusion of a new Applications Library, as System76 tries to further distance itself from the vanilla GNOME desktop environment. The refreshed library displays windowed rather than full screen. It even has improved multi-monitor support, displaying the app library on whichever screen has the mouse cursor when summoned. You can see a video of it in action further down the page.

Continue reading →

Microsoft has released a new collection of open-source tools for analyzing system performance. Building on the tools that the company has already produced for Windows, Microsoft-Performance-Tools for Linux-Android is a set of trace processing tooling that makes it possible to closely monitor app and operating system code.

Microsoft-Performance-Tools for Linux-Android is built on .NET Core as well as the new microsoft-performance-toolkit-sdk, and it can be used across multiple platforms. It also integrates with Windows Performance Analyzer for easy GUI-based trace analysis.

Continue reading →

I'm a big fan of Windows 11, and I highly recommend it. With that said, the operating system has a huge problem -- it is incompatible with many older computers. This is by design, as Microsoft purposely blocks some older hardware. While there are ways to bypass the compatibility check, Microsoft can close them at any time, including possibly blocking future updates. It just isn't worth the hassle, folks. Ultimately, if the Windows 11 installer says your PC is incompatible, you should either stay on Windows 10 while it is supported or switch to Linux.

If you want to switch to Linux but don't know which operating system to choose for your aging PC, I have a suggestion. Released today, Zorin OS 16 Lite should be an excellent Linux-based Windows 11 alternative for older computers. The distribution is based on Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS and uses Xfce 4.16 as its desktop environment; it should seem very familiar to Windows users. The lightweight distro comes with great software pre-installed so beginners can start using their computer right away. It even offers a simple way to install and run Windows programs!

Continue reading →

The Linux Foundation has announced that it will host the Cloud Hypervisor project, aiming to deliver a Virtual Machine Monitor for modern cloud workloads.

Written in Rust, the project has a strong focus on security, features include CPU, memory and device hot plugging; support for running Windows and Linux guests; device offload with vhost-user; and a minimal and compact footprint.

Continue reading →

Guess what, folks? Freespire 8.0 is available to download immediately. This version of the Ubuntu-based operating system utilizes Linux kernel 5.4.0-91 LTS while using Xfce 4.16 as its desktop environment. This no-nonsense distribution is fairly lightweight and easy to use, making it a good choice for Linux newbies; particularly with aging (not obsolete) hardware.

Surprisingly, the developers have decided to focus heavily on Google with this release. This includes the search giant's services (Translate, News, etc.) and the Chrome browser. Apparently, this new focus is a result of reading user feedback. While this may scare some privacy-zealots away, it should make the operating system more appealing to the average home computer user. Let's be honest, shall we? Google services are rather essential for many people.

Continue reading →

Happy Friday, fellow Lixux distro-hoppers! The weekend is almost here, and once again, we have a new version of a Linux-based operating system to play with. This time, it is an exciting rolling-release distro called "EndeavourOS."

Today, version 21.4 of that operating system becomes available for download. Code-named "Atlantis," this Arch-based distribution has many new features and updates, most notably of which is the use of the bleeding-edge Linux kernel 5.15.

Continue reading →

Linux Security Fundamentals provides basic foundational concepts of securing a Linux environment.

The focus of this book is the digital self-defense of an individual user. This includes a general understanding of major threats against individual computing systems, networks, services and identity as well as approaches to prevent and mitigate them.

This book is useful for anyone considering a career as a Linux administrator or for those administrators who need to learn more about Linux security issues. Topics include:

Continue reading →

With Thanksgiving in the rearview mirror, it is time we turn our collective sights towards holiday shopping. Yes, this is the time of year many of us lighten our wallets and go into debt so we can buy the love of friends and family with gifts. After you spend your money on other people, you likely won't have much, if any, disposable cash available for yourself. Thankfully, there is something you can always enjoy that doesn't cost a penny... Linux!

There are all sorts of exciting Linux distributions on the horizon, but today is all about 4MLinux 38.0 achieving stable status. This little-known operating system has tons of great software available, and the lightweight distro should be a good choice for both Linux beginners and experts alike. Gamers in particular will appreciate the optional "GamePack" that contains a bunch of fun free video games.

Continue reading →

Yes, you did read the headline correctly; security researchers have discovered a stealthy new remote access trojan (RAT) designed to attack Linux systems. Named CronRAT, the malware hides as a scheduled task and is configured to run on a non-existent date – February 31st.

Researchers from Sansec warn that CronRAT "enables server-side Magecart data theft which bypasses browser-based security solutions". This is something that is particularly concerning this Black Friday.

Continue reading →