Researchers at Nebula Security have discovered a Linux kernel flaw dating back to 2011 that lets any logged-in user take full root control of an unpatched machine in just five seconds.

Dubbed GhostLock (CVE-2026-43499), it was introduced in Linux 2.6.39 and fixed in Linux 7.1.

The flaw allows an unprivileged local attacker to get a dangling kernel pointer to kernel stack memory with only regular threading syscalls, write a pointer to an arbitrary address, and hijack a function table to get root access.

GhostLock has been shipped by default in every mainstream distribution since 2011, and requires no special privileges or network access. Nebula, which uncovered the flaw, said its exploit is reportedly 97% reliable and can also escape containers.

This particular flaw is the second part of an attack chain dubbed IonStack, with the first step being CVE-2026-10702, a vulnerability in Firefox that allows code execution within the browser and escapes its sandbox.

The vulnerability is rated high (7.8) as the attacker would already need to have local access to the system.

How the GhostLock flaw works

Nebula researchers said the root cause is a function reused by a caller it was never written for: the helper function remove_waiter(). During certain futex operations, it incorrectly clears a pointer associated with the currently executing task, rather than the actual waiting task.

This leaves the kernel with a dangling pointer that points to a memory location that has already been freed and reused. This allowed the Nebula team to gain full control, tricking the kernel into running their own code as the root user.

Daniel Bechenea, security manager at Pentest Tools, said the flaw is of particular concern because kernel exploits have historically carried a “real operational cost for attackers”.

“An unreliable one crashes the box and burns the access,” he explained. “An exploit that Nebula reports as 97% reliable, with public code anyone can run, changes that math.”

"As GhostLock uses a kernel vulnerability, containers also represent a juicy target for attackers as the exploit escapes the container and obtains code execution as root on the host OS, meaning that: containerised workloads that teams treat as isolated become stepping stones to the host and everything else scheduled on it."

Patch now

Systems running older kernels remain vulnerable to exploitation, according to Nebula. Researchers urged users and administrators to update to patched kernel versions as soon as possible.

"On an unpatched host, treat any code execution as root, and plan containment accordingly," advised Bechenea.

"Prioritize the systems that run untrusted or semi-trusted code by design: CI runners, container platforms, shared development machines, multi-tenant hosts, and verify the fixed kernel package version on each system rather than trusting that the April fix propagated, because with several major LTS releases still lagging in early July, attackers who land a foothold will check your kernel version even if you haven’t."

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Qualys researchers have uncovered a set of nine vulnerabilities in Linux's built-in security layer, AppArmor, that affect more than 12 million enterprise systems around the world.

Researchers at the company's Threat Research Unit said the flaws allow unprivileged local users to circumvent kernel protections, escalate to root privileges, and weaken container isolation.

Notably, these flaws have existed since 2017 and affect more than 12.6 million enterprise Linux instances worldwide - any organization running Ubuntu, Debian, or SUSE will be affected, according to Qualys.

Industries most affected are likely to include cloud computing, banking and finance, manufacturing, healthcare, telecommunications, and government.

AppArmor is a Linux security module that provides mandatory access control (MAC) by applying profiles to applications. It's been part of the mainline Linux kernel since version 2.6.36.

"As the default mandatory access control mechanism for Ubuntu, Debian, SUSE, and numerous cloud platforms, its ubiquity across enterprise environments, Kubernetes, IoT, and edge environments amplifies the threat surface significantly," warned Qualys senior manager, Threat Research Unit, Saeed Abbasi in an advisory.

What Linux users need to know about "CrackArmor"

Dubbed “CrackArmor”, the vulnerabilities are confused-deputy flaws that allow unprivileged users to manipulate security profiles via pseudo-files, bypass user-namespace restrictions, and execute arbitrary code within the kernel.

The flaws facilitate local privilege escalation to root through complex interactions with tools like Sudo and Postfix, alongside denial-of-service attacks via stack exhaustion, and Kernel Address Space Layout Randomization (KASLR) bypasses via out-of-bounds reads.

"Consequently, these findings expose critical gaps in our reliance on default security assumptions," said Abbasi. "It fundamentally undermines system confidentiality, integrity, and availability globally, extending the vulnerability exploitation window for legacy deployments."

Qualys said it has developed Proof of Concepts (PoCs) demonstrating the full exploitation chain for the CrackArmor vulnerabilities. These, along with working exploits, have been shared with the security team to work on immediate remediation.

While the firm is withholding the public release of the exploit code for the time being, the technical nature of the flaws allows for independent validation by the security community, it said.

There are no CVEs as yet, which can take a couple of weeks longer for upstream kernel issues. However, Abbasi warned enterprises shouldn’t underestimate the potential risks.

"Don’t let the absence of a CVE number downplay the significance. If you’re running affected versions, treat this advisory seriously and update accordingly."

What can enterprises do?

The CrackArmor vulnerabilities align directly with the operational playbook of state-sponsored threat actors whose campaigns consistently prioritize destruction over espionage.

These groups have ramped up attacks on the energy, water, healthcare, and defense sectors in recent years.

"CrackArmor drastically lowers the barrier for catastrophic disruption," said Abbasi.

"An attacker no longer needs administrative credentials or lateral movement to cause severe damage; any routine initial access vector that yields an unprivileged local account is now sufficient to instantly weaponize the host, triggering a kernel panic or denying all traffic."

As such, organizations should treat this as a priority patching event. Qualys also outlined a series of steps for security teams to take. These include:

• Apply vendor kernel updates immediately
• Scan for exposure using detection QIDs
• Implement monitoring on /sys/kernel/security/apparmor/ for unauthorized profile modifications

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Data center energy consumption could be cut by up to 30% simply by changing a few lines of code, according to new research.

Most data centers around the world use the open source operating system Linux, and researchers from Canada's University of Waterloo said this can create efficient data flows, thereby causing energy consumption to increase.

"Information arrives at data centers in ‘packets,’ and then the data center’s front-end, kind of like a receptionist at a front desk, figures out where to send those packets," said professor of computer science Martin Karsten, who led the research.

Karsten noted that through a small change to the Linux kernel, researchers were able to speed up this process and create a more efficient flow.

"We didn’t add anything," he said. "We just rearranged what is done when, which leads to a much better usage of the data center’s CPU caches. It’s kind of like rearranging the pipeline at a manufacturing plant, so that you don’t have people running around all the time."

Karsten teamed up with Joe Damato, distinguished engineer at Fastly, to develop a small section of code – a non-intrusive kernel change of just 30 lines – that would improve Linux’s network traffic processing.

The solution rearranges operations within the Linux networking stack, improving the efficiency and performance of traditional kernel-based networking. The change can in some cases increase throughput by up to 45% without compromising tail latency, researchers found.

A feature called ‘interrupt request suspension’ balances CPU power usage with efficient data processing. By reducing unnecessary CPU interruptions during high-traffic periods, this enhances network performance while maintaining low latency during quieter times.

All told, the team claims this could reduce the energy consumption of data center operations by as much as 30%.

The team has tested the solution’s effectiveness and submitted it to Linux, with the code now published as part of Linux’s newest kernel, release version 6.13.

Data center energy consumption is a serious problem

According to a report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) last year, data centers currently account for between 2% and 4% of total electricity consumption around the world. In Ireland, it's 20%, placing significant strain on the country’s energy grid.

The IEA also warned that data center electricity usage is expected to rise from 460TWh in 2022 to between 650TWh and 1,050TWh by next year - though it noted that a lack of transparency from the companies makes demand estimates difficult.

"All these big companies – Amazon, Google, Meta – use Linux in some capacity, but they’re very picky about how they decide to use it," said Karsten.

"If they choose to ‘switch on’ our method in their data centers, it could save gigawatt hours of energy worldwide. Almost every single service request that happens on the internet could be positively affected by this."

Insufficient security on individual developer accounts maintaining some of the most popular packages poses a significant threat to the open source community and beyond, according to a report from the Linux Foundation.

The Linux Foundation Census is the third report of its kind looking into the widespread use of free and open source software (FOSS), aggregating data from over 12 million observations of FOSS libraries used in production applications at over 10,000 companies.

The report argued that FOSS has become a critical part of the modern economy, citing estimates that 96% of codebases include FOSS, and as a result the security of the developers maintaining these projects needs to be reassessed.

A significant proportion of the top 500 packages identified in the investigation are hosted under individual developer accounts, according to the Linux Foundation.

The foundation warned that the implications of this fact may not be fully appreciated in the software community.

“The consequences of such heavy reliance upon individual developer accounts must not be discounted. For legal, bureaucratic, and security reasons, individual developers accounts have fewer protections associated with them than organizational accounts in a majority of cases.”

For example, the report noted many individual accounts fail to even have the most basic security protections, like multifactor authentication (MFA), leaving them vulnerable to attack.

In addition, the granularity of permissioning and other publishing controls often found on organizational accounts are lacking on most accounts.

developer accounts are significantly easier to make. Further, a related issue could occur if the individual developer went on a long hiatus, or was hit by the proverbial bus, preventing updates to the code from occurring,” the report added.

Compromised developer accounts pose “significant” threat

The threat posed by lax security is not hypothetical, however, with the report warning that developer account takeovers are increasing in frequency, both on platforms such as GitHub as well as in repositories including PyPI.

One popular method used to infiltrate accounts detailed in the report is backdooring, where hackers insert malicious code into popular packages that give them an easy entry point once the package is installed on systems.

The report cited an example in 2019 an account of a Ruby developer was compromised and used to insert backdoors in eleven packages.

The Linux Foundation noted that while account takeovers remain a significant risk to software security, there are other less obvious issues concerning individual developers maintaining packages that are widely depended upon.

For example, developers that decide to remove or ‘delete’ their projects can cause serious disruption, such as in the case of the ‘left-pad’ package, which left the internet ‘broken’ for several hours after being removed in 2015.

The disgruntled developer responsible for the package removed their code in protest, which broke hundreds of downstream packages that depended on the “seemingly minor piece of code”.

The report also referred to the more recent case of XZ Utils, which it described as an even more serious problem, where a developer intentionally subeverts the software they maintain

In February 2024, a malicious backdoor was introduced into the popular data compression library, used across a number of major Linux distributions that put potentially millions of systems at risk.

The threat actor responsible for the attack, known as Jia Tan, conducted a years-long social engineering campaign to gain the trust of the utility’s original author Lasse Colin using fake GitHub accounts to flood him with requests and pressure him into making Tan a co-maintainer of the project..

It was only due to the keen eye of a Microsoft developer Andres Freund, who spotted the backdoor and reported it to the Openwall Project’s security mailing list, bringing the issue to the attention of a number of major software vendors and preventing the incident from spiralling out of control.

The report concluded that in the context of both security and general risk management, it is critical that developer accounts are better understood and strongly protected.

Moving towards this goal, the Linux Foundation encouraged the use of MFA tokens and also suggested that some individual accounts hosting critical projects should be transitioned to organizational accounts with added layers of security.

The answer we are looking for here is essentially quite straightforward; the best Linux server distros are, generally, the ones that make setup and management of server hosting a doddle. Windows is, without a doubt, the most used operating system in the world, particularly on desktop PCs, but when it comes to web server OS, it's Linux, hands down.

Which Linux distro your business uses is largely down to need. Different distros do different things, and within that are quality, value, and budgetary considerations to mull over. It isn't as simple as picking the best of the best, regardless – ITPro, however, is here to help.

The best server distros

When it comes to production servers, the important thing to remember is that you need to prioritize stability, with solid servers that need as little maintenance as necessary. And, unless you have specific hardware and or software requirements, you need long-term security updates, which include any repo packages you use, as they're crucial.

It is for those reasons that it is generally best practice to use distros that offer stable, long-term support versions, responsive security updates, and that are familiar so that troubleshooting is a breeze. For this, Ubuntu and Red Hat are particularly good and popular choices.

Ubuntu Server

Canonical has positioned Ubuntu as the enterprise-ready server distro for all kinds of businesses and budgets. It's incredibly easy to roll out a wide range of secure and fully functional servers from its packages.

It's also free and conspicuously quick when it comes to security updates. Long Term Support versions get five-year security, an extra five years of extended security maintenance (ESM) guarantees for Ubuntu Pro subscribers, plus an extra couple of years of legacy support.

Ubuntu remains free for everyone, but you'll notice adverts in your package manager for Ubuntu Pro. As well as ESM, Ubuntu Pro, which is free for up to five systems, adds extra repositories to Ubuntu. These include Ubuntu Security confirmed fixes for packages in the broad universe repository (all main and restricted packages for Ubuntu already get this for all users).

Ubuntu Pro is intended for server use, and while many admins will be happy to periodically upgrade versions, this 10-12-year lifespan makes it a useful alternative to Red Hat Enterprise Linux's maintenance and extended life phase periods.

Canonical also offers commercial support contracts. The distro's popularity means that it's widely supported by third-party support firms and community forums, and the Personal Package Archive (PPA) system means that developers are able to easily ship the latest versions of their software to the platform.

Not that, although Ubuntu PPAs can't be used with Debian, from which Ubuntu is forked, they will work with most downstream distros based on Ubuntu.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is synonymous with big business, not least because it comes with a significant subscription cost. For your money, you get rigorous testing, fast security updates, and 10+ years of extended support.

Although RHEL's source code is technically open, the company uses significant non-free, trademarked, and proprietary elements, as well as restricting customers from distributing its source code in a move that's been heavily criticized by the open source community.

You need a subscription to access RHEL repositories and updates. Red Hat emphasizes security, hands-on subscriber support, and regulatory-compliant technologies and certification. Its developers also put a lot of effort into its enterprise-grade GUI, which can be more comfortable for those who'd rather not do all their configuration at the command line.

The now-discontinued point release version of CentOS, a community distro sponsored by and affiliated with Red Hat, used to be the first choice for consumers seeking a free and fully open alternative to RHEL. However, it's been discontinued, and Red Hat's increased restriction of access to its source code means that proposed alternatives such as Rocky Linux and Alma Linux face challenges in maintaining feature equivalence with RHEL.

The nearest free alternative is now Red Hate blessed CentOS stream, a "midstream" distro that takes features from Fedora, upstream of it, and feeds them into RHEL, downstream of it. However, it's a rolling release rather than an LTS point release distro, which has adverse implications for long-term consistency and stability in production environments.

All this leaves RHEL itself as the best option for consistent, long-term stability for anyone who requires a Red Hat-based Linux distribution for business use. Fortunately for SMBs, the no-cost version of RHEL has been expanded to compensate for the loss of traditional CentOS, allowing individual developers and small teams with up to 16 production systems to get a free subscription, providing access to the distro's update repositories. However, that's a hard limit, that growing businesses should bear in mind.

Amazon Linux

Amazon's own Amazon Linux – the version at the time of writing, in mid-2024, is Amazon Linux 2023, is designed to work optimally on the cloud service provider's platform. It supports all features of Amazon's EC2 instances and its repositories include packages designed to seamlessly integrate with AWS's many other services. Long Term Support versions are available, making it an appealing CentOS replacement, as long as you're happy moving your machines to the AWS cloud.

The previous LTS version, Amazon Linux 2, remains available for compatibility with existing deployments, although some comparatively outdated features and characteristics, including a hard dependency on Python 2.7, mean that you should use the latest version of AL2023 wherever possible.

Although its VM image and containerized versions are designed first and foremost for deployment on AWS, you can download VM images for on-premises use if you want them.

While the first generation of Amazon Linux was based on CentOS, current versions are now built on Fedora but respecced as a server distro.

Best security distros

Some people use Linux because it's free, or because it's fun to tinker with, or because they don't like being beholden to a large corporate entity. Others use Linux for security: either to maintain it or to test it. There are a number of distros designed for those who want to lock down their privacy and security at all costs, as well as distros built for infosec professionals who need to make use of more specialized tools.

Kali Linux

Built for penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, and other red-team-oriented security tasks, Kali is definitely not an appropriate choice for an everyday desktop distro. That doesn't mean it lacks quality-of-life features, though. It's based on Debian and includes the lightweight Kali Linux Desktop environment (based on the Xfce window manager) by default, with GNOME and KDE Plasma versions also available.

Nice though the UX is, it's the ready-to-go security tools that Kali's users are here for. A wide range of 32- and 64-bit images for a range of platforms and use cases are available, from password cracking to VoIP research and RFID exploitation. Kali ships with up to 600 security tools, but there are vanishingly few use cases that will call for all of them. Specialist hardware support includes Kali NetHunter for Android devices and a range of ARM images.

There's a guide to help you work out which you need, and storage requirements range from 2GB to 20GB. If you opt for a minimal install, you can use metapackages to pull down exactly the toolkit you require. Paid-for customer support is also available from developer Offensive Security, which also provides courses and technical certification.

How we test

Our expert reviewers immerse themselves in each review they undertake to assess the quality of each product fully. For a desktop distro, this means a full installation of the software and a specific period of use. Only then can we arrive at a comprehensive assessment of quality. When reviewing a distro, we look at installation and setup, design, features, pricing, and comparisons with similar products.

FAQs

Employers in the tech industry rank experience above all else when assessing new hires according to new research, though up-to-date knowledge and fresh perspectives are still desired.

The Linux Foundation’s 2024 ‘Tech Talent’ report has pointed to the lessening value of degrees, citing the relative importance of real-world experience and, to a lesser extent, certifications.

The report, which surveyed those responsible for “hiring and training IT professionals”, found that the most crucial characteristic to a prospective employer is “hands-on experience from previous employment”.

71% of the surveyed respondents described this quality as either extremely important or very important, while the importance of “showcasing a portfolio” of previous achievements was cited by 58% in the same criteria.

By contrast, degrees came under fire in the report, with only a third (30%) of respondents describing the possession of a degree as important to a hirer and just 16% describing it as extremely important.

Certifications also ranked above university degrees in the report, with 32% describing the possession of certification as very important and 23% describing it as extremely important.

“Another important accelerating trend is the acceptance of real-life experience and certifications as proof of knowledge and skills for non-degreed candidates across the IT spectrum,” the report stated.

Although candidates without experience may “demonstrate their capabilities through university degrees or certificates, research shows that focusing on skills during hiring is five times better at predicting job performance than hiring”, the report adds.

Though the data suggests a preference for real-world, practical experience, there is a sense that this contradicts the practical reality of recruitment. The report points to the fact that 69% of computer programmer positions and 95% of mobile application developer positions still require a degree as per research from Boston Consulting Group.

Building experience as a job seeker in tech

While certifications and degrees have their pros and cons, they do offer those fresh to the industry an opportunity to gain experience and develop their skills. For those with prior experience or limited budgets, certifications could be the way to go, while those seeking a more comprehensive grounding in a particular area may wish to focus on a degree.

Degrees often offer ‘year-in-industry’ functions that allow students to put their knowledge to use in a practical IT environment, making the degree a middle ground between education and experience.

There is also the increasingly popular route of apprenticeships, which combine on-the-job training with technical learning to offer a strong mix of relevant experiences.

In the Linux Foundation’s report, other desirables are referenced that lend themselves to staff who have had the more well-rounded experience of a university degree or apprenticeship.

For example, 51% of those surveyed said that one of the key benefits of hiring technical staff was their ability to bring “fresh perspectives and innovative approaches” to a team.

These sorts of perspectives and approaches, while less readily found in an IT veteran who’s spent decades in the industry, may be much more common in the mindset of a newly graduated IT worker.

Linux has just dodged a serious security threat in the form of a mysterious backdoor added to a key library found in many distributions.  

The backdoor was found in the XZ Utils library and could have allowed an attacker to compromise SSHD authentication, granting unauthorized access to the entire system remotely. Fortunately, however, it was spotted before it had been widely incorporated.

XZ is a data compression format present in nearly every Linux distribution which helps compress and then decompress large file formats for sharing via file transfers.

“With a library this widely used, the severity of this vulnerability poses a threat to the entire Linux ecosystem,” the Kali Linux team explained in an advisory. “Luckily, this issue was caught quickly so the impact was significantly less than it could have been”.

The backdoor is quite complex, according to analysis from Akamai. Instead of pushing parts of the backdoor to the public git repository, these were only included in source code tarball releases.

“This caused parts of the backdoor to remain relatively hidden, while still being used during the build process of dependent projects,” it said.

It’s not clear who added the backdoor into the library or why, but it seems to have been a very sophisticated attempt to introduce malicious code. It appears that a developer joined the project and contributed to it for two years and took on more responsibility before their account was used to introduce the rogue code.

In this case, the backdoor was found relatively quickly after another developer spotted some odd behavior around liblzma (part of the xz package) and decided to do a bit of digging.

After posting his findings online, the Linux distributions affected by the backdoor also issued warnings.

OpenSUSE said the rolling release distribution openSUSE Tumbleweed and openSUSE MicroOS included the affected version of the XZ / liblzma library between March 7 and March 28.

RedHat also revealed its Fedora Linux 40 beta had contained two affected versions of xz libraries, and the vulnerability affected Kali Linux between March 26 to March 29.

Meanwhile, Debian said compromised packages were part of the Debian testing, unstable and experimental distributions, with versions ranging from 5.5.1alpha-0.1 (uploaded on 2024-02-01), up to and including 5.6.1-1.

The package has since been reverted to use the upstream 5.4.5 code.

CISA recommended that developers and users downgrade XZ Utils to an uncompromised version - such as XZ Utils 5.4.6 Stable - and hunt for any malicious activity.

“This backdoor almost became one of the most significant intrusion enablers ever,” said Akamai, because if widely implemented the flaw would have given attackers access to any Linux machine running an infected distro.

“This obviously raises a lot of concerns. We got lucky,” Akamai added. “If this backdoor was not detected by a curious engineer, how long would it have remained active? And perhaps even more concerning: What if this has happened before?”

XZ Utils incident highlights the pros and cons of open source

It's an incident which reflects the complicated nature of open source development - and how the actions of a small group of developers can have an outsized impact across the software supply chain. 

The Open Source Security Foundation said situations like this “remind us all that we need to remain vigilant within the open source software ecosystem”

“Open source is about well-intentioned humans donating their time and talents to help solve problems, and sadly this can be compromised,” the foundation added.

However, the open nature of open source stopped the bad code from getting very far, the foundation noted.

“The nature of open source software allowed this vulnerability to be discovered, reported, and addressed in a short period of time due to the diligence and oversight of the community.

Beyond that, the way that open source packages cycle from “experimental” to “stable” releases meant that the compromised packages were contained to a narrow distribution.”

As many will recall from XKCD, all modern digital infrastructure is underpinned by the maintainers of obscure software projects that few people know about, but on which everyone relies.

This latest incident, which many are warning could have turned out far, far worse, is just the latest reminder of that.

The use of Linux as a desktop operating system has hit a new high, according to new data from Statcounter.

The open source operating system has appeared on just over 4% of desktops worldwide for the first time – up from just under 3% a year ago. It might not seem like much, but for a niche operating system like Linux it’s quite a big step.

So what’s driving this? Looking at the Statcounter data a little more closely, one reason for the overall rise is a big jump in the use of Linux in India – up from 8% in February last year to 15% last month.

Usage in the United States has also grown, albeit rather less dramatically from 2.5% a year ago to 3.85% last month.

Linux is free to install and can be a good way of reusing older hardware, and modern distributions are easier to work with than previously, all of which is perhaps fueling demand.

Measuring market share for operating systems is often a tricky business, and there are other sources that don’t show the same breakthrough. Gaming platform Steam reports for example that just 1.6% of the devices its customers are using are running Linux.

Data from the US government’s Digital Analytics Program shows that the Linux operating system is found on about 2.2% of the devices that access its official websites. 

But as over half of the devices going to these sites are mobile (57%), the actual proportion of PCs running Linux will be much higher - and probably more in line with the Statcounter data.

The Linux Foundation’s own research shows that the operating system is in fine health. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of the companies it surveyed said they use it.

However, Linux is popular for everything from web servers to cloud computing – the desktop is one of its more niche uses.

Developers are one of the main groups that are still using desktop Linux – Stack Overflow’s 2023 developer survey found that 27% of developers used Ubuntu for personal and professional use, 16% said they used Windows Subsystem For Linux, and 8% said they used Debian.

There was a time when open source enthusiasts believed that desktop Linux could be a rival to Windows. However, a hugely fragmented marketplace (there are a lot of different flavors of Linux) plus the steep learning curve needed by the average user who wanted to install it, meant that challenge rather fizzled out.

That didn’t stop cries of ‘this is the year of the Linux desktop’ that lasted for a few years.

Linux is growing, but Windows can relax

As such, Microsoft can probably relax a little bit – even if the current rate of Linux growth was maintained it will still take decades for overturn Windows' market share.

In any case, the PC is now just one part of the overall computing market which encompasses smartphones, tablets, and wearable devices too.

In the broader computing ecosystem, open source is doing fine. Android – built on the Linux kernel – remains the world’s most popular operating system.

Windows is getting its own version of the popular Linux sudo tool. Sudo for Windows is a new way for users to run elevated commands - as an administrator - directly from an unelevated console session on Windows, Microsoft said.

Sudo (‘su do’ or ‘superuser do’ depending on your point of view) is a tool that allows a system administrator to give users the ability to run commands as root or as another user, on a per-command basis. It’s a well-known and handy feature for Linux users but hasn’t been a part of Windows until now.

“Windows now has a built-in Sudo command. So you can run elevated tools directly from Terminal, without having to right-click and select ‘run as admin’ and start a new session. With this you can do file operations like deleting a protected file, invoking elevated commands, or opening up a new command shell,” Microsoft partner development manager Cory Hendrixson explained.

The new feature – for Windows at least – is coming with the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build 26052. Sudo for Windows isn’t available for Windows 10, but may be in the future, Microsoft said.

“It is an ergonomic and familiar solution for users who want to elevate a command without having to first open a new elevated console,” said Windows Developer Platform product manager Jordi Adoumie.

Adoumie also said Microsoft is going to open source the project on GitHub, and suggested anyone looking for extra functionality beyond that offered by sudo for Windows should look to Gerardo Grignoli’s gsudo, which has a number of additional features and configuration options and describes itself as ‘the missing piece in Windows’.

Getting started with Sudo for Windows

Microsoft said to enable Sudo for Windows, you have to navigate to the Settings > For Developers page in Windows Settings and toggle on the “Enable Sudo” option. 

Sudo for Windows currently supports three different configuration options. 

The configuration can be set from the Settings > For Developers menu or programmatically, using the command line.

The configuration options are:

In a new window (forceNewWindow)

The forceNewWindow configuration option is the default configuration option for Sudo for Windows. 

You can use sudo in this configuration to run the command in a new window. This is similar to the behavior of the runas /user:admin command.

Input closed (disableInput)

The disableInput configuration option will run the elevated process in the current window, but with the input handle closed. Microsoft said this means that the elevated process will not be able to receive input from the current console window. 

That is useful when you want to run a command as an administrator, but do not want to allow the command to receive input from the current console window.

Microsoft said this option provides some of the convenience of the inline configuration option while mitigating some of the associated security risks.

Inline (normal)

The normal configuration option is most similar to how sudo behaves on other operating systems, and will run the elevated process in the current window and the process will be able to receive input from the current console session.

“This configuration option provides the most convenience, but you should only choose this option if you are familiar with the associated security risks,” Microsoft said.

How to use Sudo for Windows

To use Sudo for Windows, add sudo to the front of the command you want to run as an administrator. For example, to run netstat -ab as an administrator, you would run sudo netstat -ab in your console window. 

Because sudo elevates the targeted process to run with administrator-level permission, a prompt will open asking you to verify that you want to continue.

What about the security risks?

Microsoft noted that there are some risks associated with running sudo in the Input closed (inputClosed) or Inline (normal) configurations. The inline configuration option runs the elevated process in the current window and the process is able to receive input from the current console session. 

An unelevated process can send input to the elevated process within the same console windows or get information from the output in the current windows in this configuration.

The inputClosed configuration option mitigates risk by closing the input handle.

It's also worth noting that Windows does have an existing runas command. While sudo allows you to quickly elevate a command as administrator from your current unelevated command line context, the runas command offers a way to run programs as any user, including administrator. Right now, the sudo command on Windows does not support running programs as other users.

“You should consider your particular use-case and plan to use the command that best meets your needs. You should also consider the security implications of running sudo in the inputClosed and normal modes,” Microsoft said.

“The default forceNewWindow configuration option is recommended unless you are familiar and comfortable with the risks associated with the other sudo configurations.”

Security company Qualys has warned of “significant” vulnerabilities it has discovered in the GNU C Library, a key building block of applications in Linux environments.

The GNU C Library project provides the core libraries for the GNU system and GNU/Linux systems, as well as many other systems that use Linux as their kernel. Qualys explained that the GNU C Library – known as glibc – is an essential component of virtually every Linux-based system, serving as the core interface between applications and the Linux kernel.

“The recent discovery of these vulnerabilities is not just a technical concern but a matter of widespread security implications,” said Saeed Abbasi, product manager in the Threat Research Unit at Qualys.

He said the vulnerabilities identified highlight a critical aspect of software security, that even the most foundational and trusted components are not immune to flaws. “The ramifications of these vulnerabilities extend far beyond individual systems, affecting many applications and potentially millions of users worldwide,” he said.

The first vulnerability identified – CVE-2023-6246 – is described by the security company as a “significant security flaw” in the GNU C Library’s __vsyslog_internal() function, affecting syslog() and vsyslog().

It’s a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability that was inadvertently introduced in glibc 2.37 (back in August 2022) and subsequently backported to glibc 2.36. Qualys said that it had confirmed Linux distributions including Debian versions 12 and 13, Ubuntu 23.04 and 23.10, and Fedora 37 to 39 were vulnerable.

Qualys said the buffer overflow issue poses a significant threat as it could allow local privilege escalation, enabling an unprivileged user to gain full root access through crafted inputs to applications that employ these logging functions.

“Although the vulnerability requires specific conditions to be exploited (such as an unusually long argv[0] or openlog() ident argument), its impact is significant due to the widespread use of the affected library,” Abbasi said, noting a similar issue was reported in December 1997 in an older Linux libc version.

While looking into the function affected by CVE-2023-6246, the company’s security researchers also spotted two additional “albeit minor” vulnerabilities. These were CVE-2023-6779 which involves an off-by-one heap-based buffer overflow in the function, and CVE-2023-6780, an integer overflow issue in the same function. Qualys noted however that triggering these two minor vulnerabilities appears to be more difficult and exploiting them effectively is likely to be more complex.

Qualys also identified another vulnerability which it described as involving a “subtle yet dangerous flaw” in glibc’s qsort() function. However, the researchers acknowledge that real-world examples of vulnerable programs have not been identified. They said the glibc developers have already addressed this problem in a recent update.

“These flaws highlight the critical need for strict security measures in software development, especially for core libraries widely used across many systems and applications,” Abbasi said.

It’s not the first time Qualys has found vulnerabilities in the GNU C Library: in October 2023 its researchers discovered a buffer overflow vulnerability in GNU C Library’s dynamic loader’s processing of the GLIBC_TUNABLES environment variable. This was a local privilege escalation that grants full root privileges, which it dubbed at the time ‘Looney Tunables’.

Linux users are set to get their own version of the dreaded Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) as part of a new update to the operating system. 

The latest release of systemd for Linux will now generate the error message across a number of distributions, Phoronix reported yesterday. Systemd is a software suite used in a number of Linux operating systems, including Ubuntu, Red Hat, Debian, and Fedora.

Dubbed ‘systemd-bsod’, the new component will be displayed in the event that a user has a “LOG-EMERG” emergency condition.

This is intended specifically to alert users in the case of a boot failure, and was developed as part of Outreachy 2023, an open source development internship scheme, according to Phoronix.

In the event that users encounter the Linux blue screen of death, a QR code will also be displayed to provide additional information on the cause of the error and offer remediation tips.

GitHub changelogs note that this feature is still very much in its infancy, and could be changed in due course.

“A new component in “systemd-bsod” has been added, which can show logged error messages full screen, if they have a log level of LOG_EMERG log level,” the changelog reads. “This component is experimental and its public interface is subject to change.”

This wouldn’t be out of the ordinary given that Windows has tinkered with the BSOD repeatedly in recent years.

The BSOD changed to a ‘black screen of death’ for Windows 11 following its launch in 2021. However, this was subsequently reverted back to the original color scheme.

QR codes were added to Windows 10 in 2016 to provide users with crash report details.

What is the Blue Screen of Death?

The infamous blue screen of death is an error that appears when a Windows operating system - such as Windows 10 or Windows 11 - encounters an unexpected fault. 

This halts all critical processes and is used to prevent unintended damage to the operating system in the event of a fault.

Windows users have long lamented the blue screen of death as a major inconvenience. However, it plays a vital role in preventing unintended damage to the operating system in the event of a fault.

The BSOD halts all critical processes, including networks, applications, and platforms.

Blue screen errors typically appear after a major update or installation of a new application.

Linux was once the standard but only partially helpful answer when asked what to do with an old computer.

For many, it was an academic exercise: something you tinkered with when you'd moved to a new machine and could afford to corrupt your old workhorse. There was no guarantee that a Linux machine would play nicely with your existing data, sharing files with friends and family could be difficult, and the overall process could often have been a lot more user-friendly. None of that is true today.

Five things to consider when switching to Linux Mint: It's familiar

Let's be blunt: there's no reason why Linux shouldn't be your primary operating system. Most of your data is platform agnostic, many apps run in the browser, and Linux itself is as friendly and easy to use as Windows.

Ubuntu might be the best-known distribution, but Linux Mint (linuxmint.com), which is based on Ubuntu, is where many Windows switchers end up. Where Ubuntu uses the Gnome desktop environment, Mint uses Cinnamon by default, but can also work with MATE or Xfce. Cinnamon retains many Windows constructs that Gnome lacks, including the taskbar, applets, and desklets (reminiscent of Windows' desktop gadgets).

We also recommend checking out Zorin OS (zorin.com), particularly if you'd be happy to pay £39 for the Pro edition. This includes one of the best Windows 11 desktop themes you'll ever encounter.

Long term support

Linux may only command around 3% of the market for desktop operating systems, but the community that uses it is active and supportive. You'll have no trouble finding help when you need it, nor in keeping your system secure. Linux checks for patches and downloads them as required – just like Windows Update. The latest release of Linux Mint, version 21.1, Victoria, is based on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, so will receive support until April 2027. That makes it a great choice for long-term deployments.

Using Linux once required familiarity with the command prompt, but that's rarely the case today. You can install software without touching the keyboard, thanks to built-in app stores, and comprehensive Setting applets make configuration easy. Nor do you need to relearn your Windows muscle memory. Well-established keyboard shortcuts carry across, so you already know 90% of what you need to get started.

Mint comes bundled with LibreOffice, which offers broad compatibility with Microsoft's Office document formats. Linux distributions don't have access to the Calibri or Cambria fonts used in Office, but alternatives are available. Carlito and Caladea were designed to be metrically equivalent to Calibri and Cambria, and Microsoft has made other fonts available for installation using Terminal. On a Debian operating system like Linux Mint, the necessary command is: sudo apt install ttf-mscorefonts-installer The package includes Arial, Times New Roman, Georgia, Courier New, Impact, and Verdana.

Linux is environmentally friendly 

Linux Mint requires 2GB of RAM, 20GB of disk space, and a 1,024 x 768 display. Compare that to Windows 11, which needs double the RAM, 64GB storage, an HD (720p) display, and, crucially, Trusted Platform Module version 2 (TPM 2). If you want to keep older hardware running into the future without compromising security, Linux is your best bet. It can also help reduce your contribution to the world's e-waste mountain. 

Access to Windows apps

Switching to Linux doesn't necessarily mean losing access to the apps you rely on. Mainstream Windows apps such as Inkscape, DaVinci Resolve, and Thunderbird have Linux equivalents, others run in a browser, and many older programs can be run using WINE (winehq.org). WINE is a Linux environment that acts as a Windows layer on top of the Linux OS. It isn't installed by default, but you can set it up through the Terminal.

WINE supports 30,000 Windows apps, including Photoshop CS6, Excel 2016, and WordPerfect X3. When browsing the list (appdb.winehq.org), favor apps with Platinum or Gold ratings, as these are considered to work without issue. You'll need your old installation media to set them up. 

Linux Mint alternatives 

So far we've presented the arguments for Linux Mint, but some might ask why not run Ubuntu instead. You'll receive updates sooner and there will be fewer links in the dev chain as your OS won't be an adaptation of an existing operating system. And you will notice that I only say "some" Windows apps work. Not all. 

If you need to run specific versions of apps there's often no option but to stick with Windows or switch to macOS, where equivalent versions exist. In this case, if your hardware doesn't have the specs required by Windows 11, check out Tiny11.

This content originally appeared on ITPro's sibling magazine PC Pro. For more information and to subscribe, please visit PC Pro's subscription site. 

The world used to divide sharply into two tribes – you were a Windows person or an Apple person, and that was it. Today, that barrier has all but dissolved. Plenty of people are mixing and matching hardware, working with a mix of PCs, Macs, and mobile devices, as suits the context or task at hand. Your choice of computer has never been less important: all that really matters is that you can access and work with your data.

Even in these enlightened times, however, that isn’t something you can always take for granted. Different file formats and ways of working can trip you up as you hop between platforms.

If you’re running Windows 11 and macOS side-by-side, or working alongside someone on a different platform, here’s our run-down of recommendations for working on PCs, Macs and Linux.

Which productivity tools should you use?

The easiest way to work across platforms is to use an online office suite, such as Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Zoho Office or the iCloud versions of Apple’s Pages, Numbers, and Keynote applications.

That’s not your only option, however. Microsoft Office is available for both Windows and macOS (plus iPadOS), and can conveniently synchronize documents via OneDrive. As a free alternative, LibreOffice also works on the Mac, PC, and Linux, and integrates with cloud storage services like Google Drive to simplify managing and accessing your documents.

If you don’t want to entrust your data to Google, you may prefer to set up your own WebDAV server for convenient document storage and sharing. This can reside on a commercial web host or on your own hardware – an easy way to set it up is via the Nextcloud collaboration framework, which is included in the DietPi OS distribution for the Raspberry Pi and other single-board computers.

Now enter the location of your WebDAV server in the Host field (for Nextcloud this would be the address of your server). In the Root field, enter the address of your user folder, which is /nextcloud/remote.php/dav/files/USER/, replacing USER as appropriate. 

The first time you establish a remote connection, LibreOffice will ask you to create a master password to protect it. Enter this twice and make sure you remember it for future use. You should only need to enter it once per session.

How to plug the OS exclusivity gap

Things get a little trickier if you’re using applications only available on one platform – for example, Microsoft Publisher and Access are missing from Mac editions of Office. So, if you rely on either, it’s worth looking for replacements.

For desktop publishing, Adobe InDesign is the industry standard, but the monthly fee is steep for non-professionals. Affinity Publisher 2, from Serif, is a powerful and affordable solution that works seamlessly across Windows, Mac, and iPad. 

You can share your work between all three, leaving off on any one of them and picking up again on either of the other two, and it costs a very reasonable £69.99 for either Windows or Mac – less than the price of four months of InDesign. You can also buy a Universal Licence for the whole Affinity Suite, which includes the Photo and Designer tools and allows cross-installation on Windows, Mac, and iPad.

If you’re making the switch, though, be aware that Affinity Publisher 2 can’t import Microsoft Publisher files. Anything that’s been created in Publisher will need to be recreated, or exported as a PDF and edited from there.

As for Microsoft Access, the natural alternative is LibreOffice Base, which is included in the free LibreOffice suite. Although it’s not possible to directly open an Access database in LibreOffice Base, there are several ways to migrate your data.

One is to export your databases from Access in XLS format, and import them from there into new LibreOffice databases. Another is to use the Microsoft Access Runtime, which includes the Access Database Engine. This can be used to grant access to the data itself or facilitate its transfer. Alternatively, the Java-based UCanAccess driver allows JDBC database programs (including LibreOffice Base) to connect directly to Access databases. 

Synchronize files across Mac, Windows and Linux

When you’re working across multiple devices, the most fundamental requirement is retaining access to all your files. You could use a cloud provider like Box or OneDrive, but these only offer limited space unless you pay for a premium service. 

You may prefer therefore to provision your own centralized storage across your local network, by repurposing an old computer as a file server, or as a NAS using TrueNAS Core. This gives you ongoing control and oversight over your shared storage, and complete freedom to expand it over time. 

If you don’t have any hardware you can recycle, the open-source FreeFileSync tool can be set to watch specified folders and automatically synchronize them across all your different machines. It’s an excellent free alternative to paid-for cloud syncing services – but note that doesn’t keep cloud copies or older versions of your data, and it only works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with no support for mobile phones or tablets.

Other synchronization options include Syncthing, Syncplicity and GoodSync. If you’re already paying for web hosting, you could also set up WebDAV in your web space, and make use of any spare capacity you have in your hosting account.

Share your bookmarks across Mac, Windows and Linux

Sharing bookmarks across devices is automatic if you’re using the same browser on each platform. But what if you want to use, say, Safari on the Mac and Edge on your PC?

The answer is a bookmark synchronization add-on such as xBrowserSync, which allows you to choose where your bookmarks are stored and access them from any device logged into the same account. There are synchronization servers in the UK, Canada, and Germany; for total control of your data, you can install your own xBrowserSync service from Github.

If you’ve already set up Nextcloud or a WebDAV server, you could alternatively try Floccus, which synchronizes bookmarks across devices while keeping them on your own infrastructure. You can also grab Floccus add-ons for Firefox, Edge, Chrome, iOS, and Android.

Research your backup options

The more devices you use, the more it makes sense to back up to the cloud. This ensures backups are regularly updated, without your having to bother with connecting and transporting drives between different systems.

Most online backup solutions support both Windows and macOS, so it’s up to you which you choose. Make sure though that whichever you select has sufficient space to accommodate all of your data, and allows simultaneous logins from every machine in your arsenal. See below for indicative prices and capacities for five popular options.

Sharing peripherals between operating systems

If you’re using multiple computers on the same desk, you’ll want to share peripherals where possible. This can be confusing in some cases: in particular, keyboard layouts are subtly different across Windows and macOS, with the positions of some keys, including @. 

Switching to a multiplatform keyboard like the Logitech K780 can help. This wireless keyboard has combined Start/Alt, and Alt/Cmd keys to suit different platforms, and can instantly switch between three separate Bluetooth hosts at the touch of a function key – so you can easily share it between PC, a Mac and a tablet. The Logitech M720 mouse can likewise pair with three devices and switch between them as required.

If you want to share a single display across your Mac and PC, you can simply plug two cables into different inputs at the rear of your monitor. If yours only has a single socket, a simple HDMI switch is the answer: you can buy an entry-level switch capable of supporting two 4K inputs for less than $10.

If your main computer is an iMac you won’t be able to use it as a display for a Windows laptop; likewise, many all-in-one Windows PCs don’t support external video signals. However, there are ways to work around this. If your PC is running a Professional edition of Windows 10 or 11, you can use Microsoft’s Remote Desktop tool to access it from the Mac desktop. Connect using your PC’s IP address, and your Windows username and password.

To access your Mac from Windows, open the macOS System Settings – called System Preferences on older versions of macOS – click through to the Sharing pane, and turn on the switch beside Screen Sharing. Now click the “i” followed by Computer Settings, and make sure both of the tick boxes on the following screen are ticked, and that you’ve supplied a password. You can then use a free VNC client to connect to the Mac across your network.

If these methods don’t suit you, another tool you can try is Chrome Remote Desktop, which is a free add-on for Chrome-based browsers. Install it on both devices. Once installed, you’ll be prompted to give each computer a unique name, and create a PIN of six or more digits to secure it. Now when you visit the web page on one machine, you’ll be able to access and use the other one – as long as they’re both logged into the same Google account.

Why not just switch to the web?

The complications of working across multiple platforms can be solved by simply using web apps. As we’ve mentioned, Google Workspace is a viable alternative to Microsoft Office or LibreOffice; you can also use Adobe Photoshop in a browser and lay out documents using Canva. So why do you need to go to the trouble of installing software on your local machine?

One possible answer is connectivity. Online software requires a reliable internet connection: slow or patchy broadband makes online working an unsatisfying experience at best. 

Web apps are also generally less customizable than their desktop equivalents. For example, you can’t tailor their toolbars to place your most commonly used features in prominent positions, resize interface elements to cope with visual impairments, or tweak shortcuts, to make your software work the way you want it to. Native applications may lack the convenience of cloud services, but they almost always provide a better experience.

Security researchers have issued a warning over a “never before seen” Linux backdoor vulnerability being exploited by Chinese government-linked threat actors. 

Dubbed ‘ SprySOCKS’, Trend Micro threat researchers Joseph C Chen and Jaromir Horejsi said the strain’s execution routine and strings indicate that it likely originates from the Trochilus Windows backdoor.

It also appears to inherit features from other backdoors. Its command and control (C2) infrastructure, for example, shows similarities with the RedLeaves backdoor, a remote access trojan (RAT) that also targets Windows and is thought to be based on Trochilus.

Looking at previous Linux backdoors, researchers also spotted similarities between SprySOCKS and earlier strains such as Derusbi malware which is believed to have provided inspiration for the latest version.

Those behind the latest Linux strain appear to have taken some of the core features of the Windows versions on which it’s based and re-engineered them to target Linux.

The function for collecting machine information (CollectInfo), for example, bears similarities to the CLIENT_INFO_Structure function found in Trochilus, in some cases sharing parameter names.

Functionalities of the SprySOCKS malware strain target a number of areas, Trend Micro said. This includes collecting system information, such as operating system details, memory, IP address details, and CPU information. 

Similarly, the backdoor also enables threat actors to observe and list network connections, as well as upload and download files. 

Other “basic file operations”, such as the creation, renaming, and deletion of directories were also highlighted by researchers.

The malware’s makeup suggests the attacker’s goals are to establish long-term access to its target machines. 

Analysis of the malware showed that, once installed, it attempts to exploit known and already-patched vulnerabilities - known as n-days - on the victim’s servers. 

Successful exploitation of the vulnerabilities led to web shells being dropped and Cobalt Strike’s installation to grant attackers more capabilities for movement around and access to the victim’s environment.

Researchers made note of the fact that SprySOCKS contains a marker that refers to the malware’s version number. During the analysis, researchers found two different version numbers which they said suggest the malware is still under development.

China-linked attacks

SprySOCKS appears to be playing an extensive role in the activity of a threat actor tracked by Trend Micro as ‘Earth Lusca’. Other organizations also note that the group has overlapping activity with the group tracked as TAG-22 - believed to also be a China state-linked threat actor.  

“Earth Lusca remained active during the first half of 2023, with its attacks focusing primarily on countries in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Balkans,” researchers said. 

“The group’s main targets are government departments that are involved in foreign affairs, technology, and telecommunications.”

Trend Micro further warned that the group is now “aggressively targeting” public-facing servers of its victims. As such, the firm advised organizations to “properly manage” their attack surfaces to minimize potential entry points and prevent a breach. 

“Businesses should regularly apply patches and update their tools, software, and systems to ensure their security, functionality, and overall performance,” researchers said. 

Roger Grimes, data-driven defense evangelist at KnowBe4, told ITPro that the emergence of SprySOCKS should serve as a “wake-up call” for organizations running Linux systems. 

“Every victim is someone who essentially didn't do any patching or didn't do patching well, at least on their Linux systems” he said. 

“It's a wake-up call for anyone with Linux systems that they still have to make sure they are patched.”

“Just because they aren't Microsoft Windows computers doesn't mean you can neglect normal computer security policies and procedures. Running a Linux system doesn't make you magically unhackable. In fact, as this story shows, it can make you a leading candidate for exploitation,” he added.

The chair of AlmaLinux has revealed the reason why the foundation isn’t part of the Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA) is because it was never asked. 

Despite the organization being a major part of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) ecosystem, benny Vasquez, chair at AlmaLinux, said she believes the notable omission was due at least in part to the foundation operating on a non-profit basis. 

Vasquez also said the motivations of AlmaLinux and the companies that comprise the OpenELA are “different”.  

The likes of SUSE, Oracle, and CIQ  - the entity behind Rocky Linux - are all commercially driven firms, meaning their end goal of subverting RHEL’s restrictions would be to continue turning a profit themselves. 

While unconfirmed, the fact that AlmaLinux was omitted from the OpenELA could be due to the differences in the organization’s financial approaches. 

"We're not here because we want to make a profit on Alma," Vasquez told ITPro. "We're here because we were users of CentOS, and we want to see it continue to live as it was. And also, not even just as it was - just be the type of operating system that we wished it was back in the day. That's where we're going to end up focusing".

Regarding the commotion and flurry of announcements from the OpenELA trio - which culminated in the formation of the association, Vasquez said: "Enterprise Linux used to be really boring, and right now it’s where all the drama is". 

Vasquez also said Red Hat was most likely aware that the move to restrict RHEL’s source code would attract negative attention but probably wasn’t concerned due to the commercial upside it promised. 

"You’ve got to remember, [Red Hat is] a business making business decisions. And I keep calling this out. No matter how much pushback you get, no matter how much public outcry you get, a business is looking at dollars, and if they make a change, and people bitch about it on the internet, but then suddenly, the dollars get bigger then they don't care".

AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux were launched in the wake of Red Hat’s discontinuation of CentOS - a community-supported free version of RHEL. Red Hat’s decision to restrict access to RHEL source code has created challenges for both organizations. Their reaction has, however, differed markedly. 

Rocky Linux swiftly announced that it was considering a number of options for getting hold of the source code. One was to leverage pay-per-use cloud instances. Another was through the usage of UBI container images based on RHEL. 

AlmaLinux took a little longer to consider the way forward. Vasquez said: "We spent the extra time, did a lot of deep digging, did our due diligence before we made any decisions, and then made a decision that we were very confident in. And now we get to stick with it". 

The approach was to target ABI and API compatibility rather than chasing 100% binary and bug-for-bug compatibility, something that has also been adopted by OpenELA, a spokesperson confirmed to ITPro. 

The furor surrounding Red Hat’s decisions will continue over the coming months and years. As for consequences, Vasquez said: "We're going to see fragmentation". 

"What ends up happening in the next five to ten years is anyone’s guess, right? Things keep happening and popping up every day, everything from Oracle getting involved to SUSE going private." 

"Fragmentation in this context, I think, is going to be good for everybody. When we’re not all beholden to one specific thing then we’re going see more innovation, we’re going to see more excitement".

Veteran Linux distribution developer SUSE is once again going private as its majority shareholder announced plans to delist the company from the Frankfurt stock exchange.

According to the company, the deal “will allow SUSE to focus fully on its operational priorities and execution of its long-term strategy”.

SUSE’s majority shareholder, Marcel LUX III SARL, currently holds 79% of the company’s shares.

The offer price per SUSE share to be paid by Marcel has been set at  €16.00, less the gross amount per share of an interim dividend due to all shareholders. €16.00 represents a premium of just over two-thirds (67%) on the XETRA closing share price of €9.605 on 17 August 2023.

The company’s stock was nearer €20.00 earlier this year.

An acceptance period of at least four weeks is expected for the offer, and settlement of the offer - if accepted - is expected in the first half of October 2023. An extraordinary general meeting of SUSE will then be held and result in SUSE’s delisting from the Frankfurt stock exchange.

Why take SUSE private?

Other than a desire to focus on its operational priorities and the execution of its long-term strategy, SUSE has given little detail regarding its motivations.

Nader Henein, VP analyst at Gartner, told ITPro the move would enable SUSE to place a greater focus on development revenue. 

By going private, Henein said: “You’re less exposed to market fluctuations, you’re less at the whim of shareholders”.

“A lot of organizations go private to be able to grow, rather than have to deal with quarter on quarter - being successful, making money,” he added.

According to the analyst, a public company would likely see its stock price suffer if it were to announce a significant increase in development, for example, while a private company was not so beholden to market pricing and was not required to make its plans public. 

The company has also waded into the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) furor, first with plans to invest over $10 million into a fork of RHEL and, most recently, by forming the Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA) with Oracle and CIQ.

The timing of SUSE’s move is therefore interesting, although unlikely to be directly caused by the events of the last few months. 

However, Henein noted that “if anything, the timing of the Red Hat announcement probably accelerated the process”.

That said, the timescales involved in both setting up the OpenELA and planning to take SUSE private were likely in parallel and therefore involved a fair amount of coincidence.

“Nobody just wakes up in the morning and says, ‘I’m going to take this company private,’” Henein said.

The analyst also noted that having two flavors of Enterprise Linux - SUSE maintains the SLES distribution - could result in one moving to end-of-life in the coming years as customers transition to the new platform.

“You do not maintain two Enterprise Linux distributions unless they serve two very different purposes,” he said.

A spokesperson for SUSE told ITPro: "SUSE remains committed to SLES".

SUSE is no stranger to going in and out of private ownership. It was sold by Micro Focus in a deal worth $2.5 billion, which closed in 2019. It was acquired by Novell in 2004.

The company has also had an active few months. In May, it appointed a new CEO, Dirk-Peter van Leeuwen, named Ian Halifax as its CFO, and Frank Feldmann was hired as CSO in August. Feldmann had also served more than 15 years in various senior roles at Red Hat.

While SUSE did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding its future, one possibility is another public offering after it has had time to regroup and restructure. The advent of OpenELA and the agreement with Oracle could mean a refocus in the near future. 

A new alliance called the Open Enterprise Linux Association (OpenELA) has been formed with the goal of providing an open and free Enterprise Linux (EL) source code that’s compatible with RHEL, which recently had its source code restricted.

CIQ, Oracle, and SUSE announced plans to form the OpenELA last week. It’s a trade body aimed at promoting the importance of Red Hat Enterprise (RHEL)-compatible distributions.

The initial focus will be on RHEL 8 and 9 - the group said it might also consider RHEL 7 - but the goal is to ensure the continued availability of OpenELA sources indefinitely. The source will be available “starting later this year”.

In its initial announcement, OpenELA did not disclose how it would maintain compatibility with RHEL, saying only that it would be encouraging the development of compatible distributions. 

Before Red Hat’s recent restriction of RHEL source code, 1:1 compatibility at a binary level was relatively simple to achieve. Assured compatibility is essential for organizations accustomed to running applications on RHEL, or another compatible distribution.  

Demonstrating that OpenELA is capable of creating and maintaining code that enterprises can trust to run third-party applications is therefore critical to the association’s success. 

What have OpenELA’s members said about compatibility?

The association’s members have made differing public statements in the past regarding their interpretation of what ‘compatible’ means, despite OpenELA’s avowed intention to provide 1:1 compatible sources. 

“Rocky Linux and Oracle Linux have stated that they will continue to be 1:1 and bug-for-bug compatible,” OpenELA told ITPro.

Rocky Linux - backed by CIQ - currently claims to be 100% binary compatible and regards itself as the successor to CentOS, which was axed by Red Hat in favor of CentOS Stream. 

The team behind Rocky Linux posted that it intended to maintain access to Red Hat Enterprise Linux source via UBI container images and pay-per-use cloud instances.

At the time, Matt Yonkovit, head of open source strategy at Scarf, told ITPro that he felt that Red Hat would work to close the loophole.

Gunnar Hellekson, vice president and general manager of RHEL at Red Hat, noted that the source code was available but said Red Hat expects all subscription service users to abide by the enterprise agreement. 

He also stressed that the enterprise agreement “does not supersede the GPL but acts in parallel with it".

Oracle - whose Oracle Linux is a RHEL-compatible distribution - has warned of a greater chance of compatibility issues as time passes in an earlier blog post. However, Wim Coekaerts, head of Oracle Linux development at Oracle, told ITPro that the company’s ultimate goal remained fixed on full compatibility. 

“There are multiple ways to keep the code base the same or similar enough – while Red Hat no longer publishes the source code, the code is provided under the GPL or other open source licenses,” he said.

The Oracle approach, according to Coekaerts, is to ensure a compatible userspace application binary interface (ABI) and API is present. He said: “For applications to be compatible, an exact source code match doesn’t have to exist”. 

However, Coekaerts acknowledged that, where possible, source code compatibility would be maintained. This would only apply to code covered by the GPL with license requirements by which IBM and Red Hat must abide. 

Coekaerts also pointed out that the Linux kernel used by Oracle’s Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) was substantially different to RHEL’s, “yet every single application that runs on RHEL runs on Oracle Linux with UEK”.  

“So, in terms of application compatibility, we are not concerned even if IBM adds more restrictions.” 

Alma Linux, absent from SUSE’s announcement, supplies another RHEL-compatible distribution and plans to be Application Binary Interface (ABI) compatible rather than binary or, as the group describes it, be held to “bug-for-bug compatibility”.

Although Alma Linux is not part of the association, OpenELA said it was welcome to join and, regardless of any decision, Alma Linux would also be welcome to make use of OpenELA’s source code.

An invitation to join OpenELA was also extended to Red Hat. While such a move by Red Hat would seem unlikely, its presence would address any concerns over compatibility. 

What is OpenELA and will it succeed?

“Today's announcement marks the beginning of a new era for EL,” said Gregory Kurtzer, CEO at CIQ in a joint statement. 

“With OpenELA, CIQ, Oracle, and SUSE join forces with the open source community to ensure a stable and resilient future for both upstream and downstream communities to leverage Enterprise Linux."

Coekaerts said the company had been approached by “many large organizations” highlighting their views on the matter and the importance of open, community-driven source code for EL. 

Red Hat’s decision to restrict access to RHEL source code has triggered a furor within the open-source community and those companies that depended on access to it for their own distributions.  

The restriction of access could be seen as a nudge for customers to sign-up for a Red Hat subscription rather than considering alternatives. RHEL compatibility is vital in reassuring administrators that business-critical applications designed for RHEL will work as expected and be supported.

OpenELA has the tagline of “No subscriptions. No passwords. No barriers. Freeloaders welcome”, which will appeal to open source enthusiasts. However, businesses selecting an enterprise-level Linux distribution will be more conservative when it comes to protecting their existing investments. 

Mike McGrath, vice president, core platforms at Red Hat, told ITPro that, in the company’s view, ‘Enterprise Linux’ was not an implementation standard. Instead, it went beyond to encompass the expertise, support and engineering behind the operating system.

“This is what makes Red Hat Enterprise Linux an enterprise-level Linux product,” he said.

After highlighting Red Hat’s efforts in driving open source innovation, he added: “We have always welcomed ongoing contributions to the broader Linux community, whether personally motivated or from companies like Oracle and SUSE, that actually move enterprise-level Linux forward rather than replacing one logo with another”.

SUSE itself announced plans in July 2023 to invest more than $10 million into a fork of the publicly available RHEL and maintain a compatible distribution “available to all without restrictions”. 

There have been marked differences in approach within the community since Red Hat announced the RHEL source code restrictions. OpenELA, arguably an evolution of SUSE’s plans, is a step towards creating a standardized Enterprise Linux on which other downstream distributions can be based. 

However, the association does not yet include key players, such as Alma Linux. Maintaining complete 1:1 and bug-for-bug compatibility with RHEL will also present a challenge without access to all the source, despite Oracle’s contention that: “An exact source code match doesn’t have to exist”. 

OpenELA must ensure it remains compatible with RHEL. Without that, there is a danger of it being something more for enthusiasts rather than enterprises. And without more factions in the post-RHEL world onboard, it also runs the risk of falling victim to fragmentation as Enterprise Linux alternatives proliferate. 

The Canonical Kernel Team is abandoning its update cadence in favor of a four-week cycle, and will add an additional update every two weeks for the most urgent fixes.

A move to a four-week cycle with a midpoint update will result in regular upstream stable updates, including security patches, bug fixes, and feature requests coming every four weeks. Critical fixes that can’t wait will arrive on a two-week cadence.

In the past, the Canonical team worked to a three-week kernel update cycle. This, according to Kleber Souza, Linux kernel engineering manager at Canonical, made for reasonable responsiveness but was “prone to interruptions from urgent CVEs, urgent customer requests and regressions found in -updates or during testing.”

The result was that the cycle tended to be extended, and delivering CVE fixes promptly was challenging.

Souza noted that OEM kernels would follow a more flexible schedule in terms of their deadlines for the acceptance of new patches.

Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distributions, and the changes will interest engineers charged with maintaining fleets of hardware running the operating system - on-premises or in the cloud - in light of the pace of vulnerability discovery and patching.

The move was described by one user on the company’s forums as “ambitious” and comes in the wake of a relatively easy-to-exploit privilege escalation vulnerability disclosed recently.

The vulnerability in the OverlayFS module used in Ubuntu was documented in CVE-2023-2640 and CVE-2023-32629 and was exclusive to the operating system following changes made by the Canonical team in 2018.

CVE-2023-2640 permits an unprivileged user to set privileged extended attributes on mounted files. CVE-2023-32629 is a local privilege escalation vulnerability where permission checks are skipped.

Those changes only became an issue in 2020 when a security vulnerability patched in the Linux kernel did not make it into Ubuntu due to the earlier changes.

One report stated that the vulnerability could affect 40% of Ubuntu cloud workloads. Ubuntu fixed the vulnerabilities on 24 July 2023, and users were instructed to update their kernels.

With the revised cycle schedule, Souza said: “The Canonical Kernel Team is expecting to deliver more predictable updates with quicker turnaround for time-sensitive fixes”.

Windows is by far the most popular operating system in the world – but for developers and power users, it's often helpful to be able to switch to a Linux environment. In the past, this meant dual-booting or installing your chosen distribution in a virtual machine. But since 2016 there's been a better way: the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is an optional OS component that provides a fully working, officially supported Linux environment right inside Windows.

The major limitation of WSL, when it was first introduced, was that it was a text-only interface. You could run scripts and command-line programs, but graphical applications were off the menu. That's no longer the case. All desktop editions of Windows 10 and 11 now support WSLg – an updated version of WSL, where the "g" stands for GUI. It enables you to run graphical Linux applications directly on the Windows desktop, with minimal configuration. It's a huge boon for anyone who works across multiple platforms, or who just wants to try out applications and tools that aren't available for Windows.

WSLg isn't installed by default, but it's not hard to set up. Here's our guide to installing it and running your first Linux app on Windows. We're using Windows 11, but the same instructions will work for Windows 10; in either case, just make sure you're using the latest version of the OS, so that all the relevant modules are installed.

Installing WSL and setting up your Linux account 

You can install WSL from the Microsoft Store, but most of the setup process is carried out at the command line, so we may as well start there. We'll use a PowerShell session with administrator privileges – an easy way to open one is right-click the Start menu and select "Windows Terminal (Admin)", then click Yes to allow changes to your system. Once the window appears, the actual process of installing WSL could hardly be easier. Just enter: wsl --install

You may be asked again if you're happy for changes to be made; click Yes and the installation will complete automatically. By default, this command will install not only the Linux subsystem, but a core Ubuntu Linux distribution, to support Linux apps and services. If you'd prefer to use a different version of Linux, see "Installing additional Linux environments". Reboot your PC once the process completes.

Since Linux doesn't use the same user account and security systems as Windows, the next step is to set up your login for the Linux environment. To do this, launch Ubuntu from the Start menu and wait for it to complete some background housekeeping. 

Eventually, you'll be asked to "Enter new UNIX username": this can be the same as your Windows username, but it doesn't have to be – it's a completely separate credential.

Once you've supplied that, you'll be prompted to enter a new password (it's best practice to use a different one to your Windows password). When you've confirmed your new Linux password, you'll find yourself looking at a Linux shell prompt. You can end your Linux session by simply entering "exit" – but don't do that yet.

Updating Linux

Just as with a fresh installation of Windows, job number one for your new Linux installation is to check for updates. Like most distributions, Ubuntu uses the apt package manager, and you can tell it to check for updates by entering: sudo apt update

You'll be prompted for your password; Ubuntu will then check its repositories for updated versions of any of the installed packages and tell you how many it's found.

In our case, it found 74, which we then downloaded and installed by entering: sudo apt upgrade. When asked if you want to continue to install the updates, press "y". If you're familiar with Linux you'll already know that "sudo" is short for "super user do" (or "substitute user do", depending on who you ask). It tells the operating system to execute a command with elevated user privileges, in much the same way that we launched Windows PowerShell as administrator.

Installing Linux Applications 

Now that your Linux installation is up to date you can start installing and running Linux applications. As an example, let's install Shotwell, an open-source photo cataloging tool that replicates some aspects of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. At the Linux terminal prompt, enter: sudo apt install shotwell. 

As before, Ubuntu will check its online repositories for the necessary files; when it's located them, it will tell you how much disk space the program will consume and check that you want to proceed with the installation. At the time of writing, Shotwell weighed in at 406MB – so it's not too huge, and because WSL runs inside the native OS you don't need to worry about dividing up space between your Windows and Linux software.

If you're happy to proceed and install Shotwell, press "Y", then hit Return. Ubuntu then downloads all the necessary files, unpacks and installs them. This can take a few minutes; once it's done, Shotwell will appear in the Windows Start menu alongside your regular Windows apps.

Like all newly added programs, Shotwell will initially appear in Windows 11's Recommended panel; when it disappears from here, you'll find it by opening All Apps and expanding the menu beside Ubuntu (or your alternative distribution if you're not running Ubuntu). You don't need to keep the WSL shell open to run the program: when launched from the Start menu it will appear in its own floating window, just like a native Windows app.

Working with Linux files WSL provides quite seamless integration between Windows and Linux software – but once you start working inside the Linux environment, you may find that life is complicated by the way in which Linux apps don't use the same default personal folders as Windows (such as Desktop, Documents, and Downloads).

If you want to access your Linux files from Windows Explorer, simply scroll down the sidebar to the list of volumes: you'll see a new entry below your network drives labeled "Linux". Expand this, open the Ubuntu folder inside it, and open the "home" folder to find your Linux user folder. In the screenshot on the left, you can see that my user folder is called "nik", since that's the name I provided when setting up my account in step two. Files whose names start with a dot are visible in Windows but normally hidden in Linux. 

An easier way to get to your Linux files is to install a native file manager, such as Nautilus. Do this by typing the following at the Linux terminal prompt and pressing Return: sudo apt install nautilus -y Adding the "-y" switch to the end of the command tells Linux to automatically answer "yes" when asked whether we want to continue, making the installation process slightly more streamlined. Once it's installed, Nautilus will appear as an app called Files in your Windows Start menu.

Setting up Snaps and installing Firefox If you want to do any useful work in Linux, it will probably help to have a Linux-based web browser. Firefox is a popular choice, but when you try to install it you'll run into a small hurdle. This particular application is distributed in the form of a "Snap", a bundle of files that contains everything required to run a program across a wide range of OS versions and configurations.

Snaps sound ideal for our purposes, but they rely on a low-level Linux component called "systemd", which isn't enabled in WSL by default (because core functions are handled by the Windows OS instead). Happily, recent releases of WSL have retrofitted systemd as an option, so we can enable it quite simply by editing a system configuration file.

To do so, enter the following at the Linux terminal prompt: sudo nano /etc/wsl.conf  

 Slackware, the world’s oldest maintained Linux distribution, has reached the milestone of turning 30 years old. 

Slackware’s first release predates the Linux kernel reaching version 1 and was an introduction to the operating system for many IT professionals.  

It was created by Patrick Volkerding, with version 1 emerging 30 years ago while the most recent major release, 15, was made available in 2022. 

The space between releases has increased over the years. Almost six years passed between version 14.2 and the current release, version 15.0. Well over a year later, and the next release is still pending. 

Volkerding said of the lengthy gaps between releases: “Another too-long development cycle is behind us after we bit off more than we could chew and then had to shine it up to a high-gloss finish”. 

“Hopefully we've managed to get the tricky parts out of the way so that we'll be able to see a 15.1 incremental update after a far shorter development cycle.”

Users were nostalgic about the distro. One, after recently installing it on a VM for old times’ sake, appeared delighted to note that Slackware’s approach remained unchanged. 

“[It] felt like the old days of UNIX in a good way, just as FreeBSD does too, and which other Linux distros increasingly don't anymore”. 

They went on to say that despite the feeling of nostalgia that Slackware brings, there are more modern distros, such as Debian, that serve every purpose better than Slackware itself. 

The announcement of the milestone was made in a changelog published on Sunday by Volkerding, thanking all of the project’s “dedicated contributors, loyal users, and those who have helped us to keep the lights on here”.  

“It's really been a remarkable journey that I couldn't have anticipated starting out back in 1993.” 

What is Slackware? 

The project’s aim is to be the most “UNIX-like” Linux distribution and is highly simplistic in its approach. 

There is no graphical installer available for Slackware; users are faced with a command-line interface following set-up but do have the option of installing a graphical desktop if desired.  

The distribution has been referred to as “old school” Linux, which is not intended as a criticism. Rather, it is software that aims to promote a wide range of user-configuration options. 

According to Slackware: “We have always considered simplicity and stability paramount”. 

However, while “ease of use” is also a priority, Slackware’s approach to purity may dissuade less-experienced users.

Despite its longevity, Slackware remains relatively popular. That popularity has, however, slipped over the decades, according to Linux information website Distrowatch.  

According to the site’s figures, Slackware’s popularity peaked in 2002, when it ranked 7th, but in the last 12 months it has dropped to 33 in the page hit rankings.  

Since the operating system itself does not send telemetry back to headquarters - although some of the packages might - calculating the actual usage of the core product is impossible. 

However, the approach taken by Distrowatch of measuring interest by counting page visits is a useful indicator of interest. 

AlmaLinux has dropped its aim to be 1:1 compatible with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and will instead target application binary interface (ABI) compatibility.

The move follows Oracle’s announcement of a way forward for its own distribution which, while critical of IBM and Red Hat’s decision to restrict access to RHEL source code, will also result in a loss of binary compatibility.

The company insisted that the decision would mean “very little change in [customers’] use of AlmaLinux”. 

It also said that Red Hat-compatible applications would continue to run and the security updates would continue to flow.

However, by dropping the binary compatible aim it is difficult to see how a guarantee of all compatible applications continuing to run can be made, even with the ABI promise. 

AlmaLinux also noted that users might also encounter bugs not in Red Hat, but not being bound to Red Hat’s release cycle means the distro can release fixes as expeditiously as it needs to.

What is application binary interface compatibility?

While 1:1 binary compatibility of the operating system is achieved through use of the source code - something Red Hat is discouraging through its restrictions - ABI refers to how an application works with the underlying operating environment.

Red Hat defines ABI as “a set of runtime conventions that interact with a compiled binary representation of a program”.

Applications that are ABI-compatible should therefore continue to work on AlmaLinux. However, applications that are not - or make use of features outside of the ABI - might not function correctly. 

It is also worth noting that at this point, ABI compatibility is presently an aim. As AlmaLinux says itself: “ABI compatibility in our case means working to ensure that applications built to run on RHEL - or RHEL clones - can run without issue on AlmaLinux”.

What does this mean for customers?

The fate of RHEL clones such as AlmaLinux has been in the balance since Red Hat’s decision to restrict access to the RHEL source. 

Today’s announcement by AlmaLinux, and the earlier Oracle post, is an indicator that if a customer needs full RHEL binary compatibility, then a Red Hat subscription will likely be required.

Alternatives, such as Rocky Linux, still exist and intend to make use of UBI container images and leverage pay-per-use cloud instances in order to obtain the source and maintain 1:1 compatibility. 

However, observers such as Matt Yonkovit, head of open source strategy at Scarf, told ITPro that Red Hat would likely find a way to close the loophole being exploited by Rocky Linux.

What has the reaction been?

The user community has mostly reacted positively to the news, mainly due to the removal of uncertainty over what AlmaLinux would do to deal with Red Hat’s decision. However, while there is empathy for AlmaLinux’s position, some users regarded the dropping of 1:1 compatibility as a “blow”.

“As much as I like Alma, the whole point of installing it for me was to be 1:1 with the RHEL I support at work. Warts and all.”

Another described AlmaLinux’s decision as “a very well thought out response to the changes”.

The furor surrounding Red Hat’s decision to restrict access to RHEL sources is set to continue despite the clarification given by AlmaLinux thanks to the differing approaches taken by distributions seeking to fill the space left by CentOS.

Oracle has waded into the Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) source code furor in a stunning turn of events, claiming it’s “committed to Linux freedom”. 

Oracle’s words will doubtless cause users who remember OpenSolaris to raise an eyebrow or two. Organizations dealing with the pain arising from Oracle’s changes around Java licensing – the introduction of the Java SE Universal Subscription – will also be taken aback by the company’s championing of open and free principles. 

Still, as far as Linux is concerned, Oracle’s intervention comes in the form of a blog post headlined “Keep Linux Open and Free”. It’s reaffirmed, over the last quarter of a century, its goal has been to “help make Linux the best server operating system for everyone, freely available to all, with high-quality, low-cost support provided to those who need it”. 

In fact, Oracle’s principal goal over the last 25 years has been driving shareholder value. Oracle Linux – itself derived from RHEL – exists only to drive revenues. Furthermore, seeing the words “low-cost” and “Oracle” in the same paragraph will come as a novelty to users faced with calculating the cost of their licenses. 

Like other RHEL-compatible distributions, such as Rocky Linux and Alma Linux, Oracle Linux has been affected by Red Hat’s decision to stop publicly releasing the RHEL source code.  

While both the former distributions have devised ways to remain compatible, Oracle has cast doubt on where its own distribution stands, saying Oracle Linux “will continue to be RHEL-compatible to the extent we can make it so”. It also warned after version 9.2, there may be “a greater chance for compatibility issues to arise”. 

Paying developers and supporting coders 

Oracle was quick to blame Red Hat’s owner, IBM, for the current debacle and pointed out the excuse for not releasing source code – somebody has to pay RHEL developers – did not really hold water. After all, Red Hat had managed to do so for many years before IBM’s $34 billion acquisition. 

However, Oracle has a chequered history when it comes to supporting developers and it’s difficult not to consider the company’s behavior with regard to Java.

In 2010, Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems and, over the following decade, introduced paid licensing options. In 2019 it declared that security updates for Java 8 couldn’t be downloaded without a subscription. 

This year saw the firm introduce the controversial Oracle Java SE Universal Subscription. It could result in an organization having to purchase a license for the entire employee population, even if Java is only required for a single user or server.  

As such, Oracle’s critique, particularly the line about “more revenue opportunity for IBM”, is a little on the nose considering its own revenue-raising moves. One must also consider the fate of OpenSolaris. After it acquired Sun Microsystems in 2010, the firm discontinued in-house development of the open source OpenSolaris operating system – although a fork, OpenIndiana, continued. Oracle instead focused its efforts on the proprietary Oracle Solaris. 

Oracle’s “Keep Linux Open and Free” line is all the more of an about-face. 

What about the competition? 

Alongside Oracle’s pronouncements, the veteran Linux distribution SUSE has thrown its chameleon into the ring. Unlike Oracle’s blustering, SUSE has come up with some concrete proposals: fork RHEL, maintain a RHEL-compatible distribution without restrictions, and invest $10 million into the project. 

SUSE introduced Liberty Linux last year, aimed at customers needing CentOS and RHEL support, but insisted it remained fully committed to SUSE Linux Enterprise, the Adaptable Linux Platform, and openSUSE. “Becoming more proprietary should not be the basis for competition between open source companies,” CEO Dirk-Peter van Leeuwen said. 

SUSE’s move has been welcomed by Gregory Kurtzer, CEO of CIQ and founder of Rocky Linux, with Kurtzer saying SUSE “has embodied the core principles and spirit of open source”. He went on to commend the collaboration opportunities afforded by SUSE’s move. 

Oracle, on the other hand, has been quick to criticize IBM and Red Hat’s actions while painting itself as one of the custodians of Linux freedom. Developers who remember its history, and recent activities, will find the company’s newfound fervor around open source operating systems hard to take. 

Customers wondering where to go next for their RHEL-compatible needs must also pay attention to the lack of detail in Oracle’s post beyond the fact its software will continue to be developed and tested on Oracle Linux, not RHEL. 

Oracle has warned that compatibility issues might arise, but it’s also laid the blame for problems at the door of IBM and Red Hat. And, of course, its own software will carry on working anyway. Regardless of how noble Oracle’s intervention may be, it will always have its own revenues to worry about.  

The team behind Linux distro Fedora has proposed the collection of telemetry data to improve services, sparking anger across its user community.

Described as “privacy-preserving Telemetry for Fedora Workstation”, the proposal from the Red Hat Display Systems Team would enable the collection of anonymous Fedora Workstation usage metrics.

While the exact metrics have yet to be determined and the approval of the community is also required, Fedora did give a flavor of the type of data that would be sought, in a post on Thursday.

Examples given include being able to know which IDEs were most popular and which runtimes were used to create containers. Knowing the hardware in use would also be useful - for example, checking if the primary storage was a spinning disk or SSD - as well as collaborating with hardware vendors.

“[The] purpose of all of the above metrics is to inform specific design decisions, not to build tracking profiles,” said the team behind Fedora.

However, the word ‘telemetry’ has sparked anger among many in the Fedora community, with one commenter to the proposal post claiming “there must be an internal contest at Red Hat to see which group can generate the most negative press and/or piss off the most people”.

More were blunter still, with another user stating “the only privacy-preserving way is no telemetry”.

Not all users have been in agreement, with some recognizing the need for collection.

“We need to gather insights over some data,” said one user. “Making it opt-in means that no one will enable it, so it’s best to have it enabled by default, and improve the experience as much as possible”.

Opt-in versus opt-out

The plan would be to deploy the Endless OS metrics system in Fedora, but not the eos-phone-home component. The underlying system would be off by default until the user completes the privacy page.

This is significant because the toggle in gnome-initial-setup will default to being enabled, even though the underlying setting would still be off. Collection of metrics would still occur, but no uploading would happen until the user finishes the privacy page with the toggle still enabled.

“This is to ensure the system is opt-out, not opt-in,” said the Fedora team. “Few users would opt in, and these users would not be representative of Fedora users as a whole. We are not interested in opt-in metrics.”

That said, metrics uploading would be opt-in for upgrading users as there is no mechanism to ask existing users for permission after an upgrade in the same way as for new installations. Local collection would still occur, but not be uploaded.

Fedora is not the first to seek telemetry

Metrics have long been collected by vendors, ostensibly to improve products. However, privacy campaigners and regulators have tended to react negatively to the technology.

Microsoft, for example, has faced allegations of breaches of privacy over what its operating systems and applications send back to the company’s servers.

“This change proposal will likely be compared to the Ubuntu spyware complaints from a decade ago, when Ubuntu desktop users’ search queries were sent to Amazon by default,” the Fedora team added. “Let’s not do that.”

What are the next steps?

The change proposal is currently just that: a proposal. It still requires review and approval by the community-elected Fedora Engineering Steering Committee (FESCo) before implementation. Based on the reaction so far, the proposal will probably require some modification.

“It is very common for developers to wish to know something about how Fedora software is used, and we will finally have a way to answer such questions," the Fedora team said in the post.

“Occasionally, Red Hat might need to collect specific metrics to justify additional time spent on contributing to Fedora or additional investment in Fedora.”

With the current shortage of skills, there are plenty of career opportunities for people interested in cybersecurity. Luckily, there are plenty of tools too. One of the most respected is Kali, a secure Debian Linux-based distribution specifically targeting penetration testers and digital forensics experts. The company that makes it, Offensive Security (Offsec), unveiled it in 2013. It recently released the tenth-anniversary edition of the distro, 2023.1, so we thought it was time we took a look. 

You don't need to use Kali for penetration testing. It's essentially Debian with a collection of third-party tools, all of which you can install yourself from elsewhere. However, this distro offers some distinct advantages. 

The first is convenience. Offsec has bought hundreds of tools together in this OS, organizing them neatly in a thoughtfully designed menu system. 

Another advantage is Kali's focus on its own security. It uses a minimal, trusted set of repositories to host additional programs. It also has a customized version of the kernel, fitted with a patch to support wireless injection for pen testing, along with support for many external wireless cards. The default installation also comes with network services disabled so that you don't accidentally announce yourself to your target network when you turn it on. 

Kali is also a rolling release distribution, meaning that its developers work with a single code branch, delivering frequent regular releases with updated versions of the software. This contrasts with many other distributions, which work on less frequently released discrete versions in different code branches. At the time of writing, Offsec had already dropped 2023.2, just ten weeks after 2023.1. 

Kali Linux review: Installation

Kali has a comprehensive set of installation options. It offers pre-based VMware and VirtualBox virtual machine images with configuration taken care of. Offsec has already released version 2023.2, adding a pre-baked VM image for Microsoft's Hyper-V. 

We installed the VirtualBox VM for testing purposes, but this popular specialist distro is becoming increasingly appropriate as a bare-metal installation for IT pros. Offsec removed root privileges from the default Kali account in the 2020.1 release as it became the primary OS for more users. 

If you're running in a virtual machine, you might want to set the network adapter in your VirtualBox settings to connect in bridge mode rather than NAT mode, so that you can conduct ARP-based sessions on your local network. The same goes for Metasploitable. This is the target OS that we'll use for testing out Kali Linux's hacking capabilities. 

Kali Linux review: Design

Kali looks great out of the box, with a series of 2023 wallpapers. Here's the default: 

However, you can change the desktop environment to suit your needs. The VirtualBox image comes with XFCE by default, but you can also use KDE, Gnome, or Mate, among others. If you want to get more esoteric, Kali's repositories offer a pre-cooked version of i3, which dispenses with the traditional desktop metaphor altogether, focusing instead on tiled windows and keyboard-intensive operation. 

Kali also comes with a fun tool out of the box: a stealth mode for hackers in the field. If you're on-site with a client trying to gain access, you can type kali-undercover into the terminal. Voila! Kali's interface switches to look like a Windows box to avoid drawing attention. Just re-enter the command to switch back. 

Kali Linux review: Tools

007-style UI gadgets aside, the tools are what's really important in Kali. They're why we're here – and this OS has oodles of them. They cover the standard stages of a penetration test – reconnaissance, scanning, exploitation, maintaining access, and reporting. Some menu categories like information gathering and reporting map directly to these, but you'll need to find other tools in different menu categories, like Web Application Analysis, Wireless Attacks, Database Assessment, and Forensics. Some tools, like the Swiss Army knife of target enumeration, Maltego, appear in multiple categories. 

You won't find all of the available tools out of the box unless you download the behemoth 10Gb 'everything' installer in Kali's download section, but this isn't available as a VirtualBox image. No matter, though; Kali offers metapackages in its repositories that allow us to install different groups of add-in components for the OS. These are grouped into categories like the aforementioned desktop environments, along with tool categories like Bluetooth hacking programs. 

We can install the lot with sudo apt install kali-linux-everything. Only do this if you've a fast connection and time to spare. Now go make a cuppa and watch Kali install some fun tools like the Active Directory enumeration package Bloodhound, and the NSA's open-sourced Ghidra reverse engineering package. 

Even after installing this mega-collection you might miss one or two tools that are in the latest editions of the OS and don't seem to have made it into the 'everything' metapackage. For example, the 2023.1 release bought us access to several new goodies, including the Arkime package capture program, and a set of browser-based data manipulation tools called CyberChef. It also introduced DefectDojo, an open-source platform that helps security pros to track vulnerabilities and assign tasks to fix them via third-party collaboration tools. Another package is Redeye, a tool from the US Department of Homeland Security for managing pen test data. 

2023.2 which bought even more toys. Notable among them were Evilginx2 (a framework to run manipulator in the middle attacks), the GoPhish open-source phishing toolkit, and TheHive, a security incident response platform. You might have to install some of these manually depending on your installation choices, but it only takes a single command. 

The menu system subdivides into even more categories. For example, Information Gathering subdivides into menus like OSINT (open-source intelligence) analysis, DNS analysis, and route analysis. 

Kali Linux review: The network

We're looking for Metasploitable, the training VM for pen testers that we're running on our network. We could identify it by switching to it and typing ifconfig, but let's do it from Kali. 

The Information Gathering menu is where you'll find some of the enumeration tools that you'll use early on in your pen test projects. For example, Netdiscover enables you to quickly and quietly find out what's on your local network. A lot of tools, such as this one, have no GUI but instead throw you straight into a terminal displaying their help file. 

We can use Netdiscover for a quick enumeration of our network: 

Note that this command still requires sudo access, but Offsec has been loosening restrictions for key services. The tenth anniversary edition no longer required root access to the kernel logs via dmseg, for example, and it also gives you access to privileged ports (those below 1024) without root. That's useful, given that some tools you'll run in non-root modes, like Metasploit, often need access to those ports. 

We've redacted the IPs and devices on the test network (even though they're internal), leaving just one result: a system supposedly from PCS Systemtechnik GmBH. 

There's a strange story here. The OUI - the first three octets of a device's MAC address – identifies the organization that registered that address. Netdiscover uses this to find out who made the device. Innotek, the company that originally produced VirtualBox before Sun Microsystems acquired it in 2008, never got around to registering a MAC address for the product. Instead, Sun was going to do it, but apparently didn't. 

For years the OUI belonged to a company called Cadmus Systems until 2016, when it switched to PCS. Neither of these companies have anything to do with VirtualBox, which is now an open-source project maintained by Oracle. However, this OUI – 08:00:27 – is the default for VirtualBox, so assuming that an admin doesn't change it, looking for PCS is a handy way to quickly spot likely candidates for VirtualBox VMs on the network. 

Other than the Kali VM we're operating, this is the only VirtualBox VM operating in our lab, so it must be Metasploitable. Let's drill down on that IP address and see which services are running on that target VM. We'll use Nmap for this with the -sV modifier, which tells it to list the services and their version numbers running on each port. It delivers a handy list:  

Good admins shut down services that aren't needed, but Metasploitable is designed for training pen testers, meaning that it's intentionally configured with more holes than a slice of Gruyere. Let's try the first service we find. Nmap tells us what software is running on this open FTP port, along with the version number. 

Kali Linux review: Metasploit FTW 

At this point, we can break out one of the most useful tools in Kali: Metasploit, the open-source tool originally developed by H.D. Moore 20 years ago and now owned by Rapid7 (which also publishes Metasploitable). It is a framework containing hundreds of known exploits, enabling you to launch them against controlled targets. We'll start it using msfconsole and then search for the server's FTP tool, vsftp: 

We get two exploits in our results. Both were disclosed long before Kali was even released, and should have been patched by any competent admin. Note that these are compatible with the version number of the software that this vulnerable server is using. 

We can use Metasploit to attack this software. We won't show the specific steps involved because we don't want to teach bad-faith actors how to hack boxes that they don't own, but here's the shell that Metasploit gave us when it was done. Note that the IP address in the shell is the target system's, and we have root status. 

This fun piece of script-kiddery shows how quickly Kali can yield results, but it barely scratches the surface of what's available. This friendly, functional system offers so many possibilities that would take months, if not years, to fully understand all of the tools on offer. 

Kali Linux review: Purchasing

Kali isn't just one product; it's a whole family. There's Kali Purple, a collaborative system for red and blue teams to work together on system hardening, and Kali NetHunter, a version of Kali for Android phones. It's a great free resource for those interested in a career defending networks. 

Don't let Kali's smooth operation and attractive desktop fool you: it isn't intended for beginners. It's a pared-down system with security in mind, meaning that you won't find as much software as you might in the sprawling Ubuntu or Arch repositories. 

If you're new to Linux or just want an alternative to Windows, start with another distro. You can still install all of the Kali tools on alternative systems as you need them, and then switch to Kali when you've developed some basic Linux chops. 

Oh, and the mandatory warning applies: Kali is intended for training, and for testing systems to which you have authorized access. It is not for breaking into other people's stuff. Attempting to use it in this way is dangerous to the target, and will also likely land you in jail. Use this hacking powerhouse for good, not evil – and forge yourself a career in cyber security while you're at it. 

Despite the increasing dominance of instant messaging and collaboration tools, email remains an essential pillar of professional communication. Its ability to facilitate detailed discussions and serve as a reliable record of correspondence ensures that email continues to play a vital role in business and personal productivity.

While mainstream options like Outlook and Apple Mail are not natively available on Linux, the open-source community and third-party developers have created a robust ecosystem of email clients tailored for Linux users. Whether you need advanced features, seamless desktop integration, or a simple interface, there’s a solution to fit every workflow.

To help you in making an informed decision, we have evaluated a range of email clients, including Evolution and Kontact, which serve as the default options for the GNOME and KDE desktop environments, respectively.

What to look out for when choosing an email client

When evaluating Linux email clients, compatibility is a top priority. All the clients featured here support IMAP, ensuring smooth integration with most major email providers. Many also offer POP or Exchange support, so you can connect to a wide range of services without issue. Some clients are more specialized: for example, Hiri is designed exclusively for Exchange accounts (including Microsoft 365, Hotmail, and Outlook.com), while Hey only works with its proprietary Hey.com service. If you’re unsure which protocol your provider uses, you can either check with them directly or simply try logging in with your chosen client; most paid apps offer a free trial, so there’s no risk in testing compatibility.

Once set up, it’s important that your client not only manages incoming messages but also maintains a searchable archive. Evaluate each client’s search capabilities and choose one that matches your workflow. For instance, Thunderbird offers multiple search tools, such as Quick Filter, which some users rely on exclusively, while others might prefer scrolling through a sortable inbox or disabling threaded conversations for a more traditional view.

While premium email clients often include advanced features, many users will find that free options like Thunderbird, Evolution, and KMail provide all the essentials, plus extensive customization through add-ons or plugins. Paid clients such as Mailspring and BlueMail offer additional productivity tools, but for most home and small business users, free versions are more than sufficient. Thunderbird, in particular, stands out for its flexibility and robust feature set, which can be further expanded to suit individual needs.

The best email clients for Linux

BlueMail

Blue by name, blue by nature. There's a definite theme here, although you can dress it up in one of 18 different accents if you prefer. You can even color-code your mail accounts to make them easier to distinguish. Everything else is conventional: a sidebar and preview pane, a unified inbox if you set up multiple accounts, the option to turn off 'conversations' (aka threads) application-wide, and a built-in calendar and contacts. You'll quickly feel at home.

Triaging your email is easy, courtesy of the Later Board. This has its button at the top of your inbox, which, when clicked, sweeps away your message preview to reveal a table of three columns, for Today, Later, and Done – you can add other columns if you need them. Drag emails from your message list to the appropriate column, and when their allotted time arrives, a notification pops up. By default, dragging into the Today column sets an email's due date as two hours hence. But, drag it into Later and it will throw up a dialog through which you can set a specific time and date, use a more vague 'this evening', 'tomorrow morning', and so on, or delegate it to 'someday', in which case it will be stashed for safekeeping without a specific due date. If you've ever used a Kanban system like Trello, the workflow will be immediately familiar.

Meanwhile, the clever cluster feature acts like a slightly blunt thread tool. Turn it on (it's an option) and it automatically groups all emails from a particular sender, not just the emails from a particular conversation. Then, when a new email arrives from that sender, the whole cluster jumps to the top of the list. Only your new message is displayed when you click on the cluster, but a chip below the sender icon indicates how many other messages the cluster contains. Clicking it reveals them. It's an effective way to reduce clutter in your inbox without you manually dragging messages into subfolders.

BlueMail’s core features are available for free, including unified folders, integrated calendar, clusters, customizable interface accents, and dark mode. For advanced functionality, such as full theme customization, desktop email backup, and access to GemAI (BlueMail’s generative AI assistant, which uses ChatGPT) for context-based email replies, you’ll need the BlueMail Plus plan, which is priced at $5–$6 per user per month depending on the provider. The Business Pro plan, at $12–$13 per user per month, adds a corporate management dashboard, policy and device management, app integrations, advanced corporate configuration, video conferencing, and priority support. Most individual and home users will find the free tier more than sufficient, while business features are reserved for the paid plans.

Most home users will manage well with the free tier, which offers a fully featured email client with some nifty features. The highlight for us is the Later Board, which takes much of the effort out of sorting and dealing with email in a timely manner.

Evolution

If you're using the Gnome desktop environment, you may already have Evolution in your dock. It might even be ready to roll without you having launched it. That's because it refers to the account logins you can specify when first starting Gnome, or add through the Online Accounts section of the Settings app.

This isn't the only way it's integrated with the desktop environment, either: reminders appear in the notifications drop-down when you click the Gnome clock, and incoming messages populate the same panel. If you're comfortable working through Terminal, you can even tweak some of its settings by writing to Gnome variables. If you aren't, don't worry: pretty much anything you'd want to do is also accessible through dialogs.

There are no Pro or Plus versions as there are with BlueMail and Mailspring, and it's not extensible like Thunderbird. However, it is a competent if no-frills personal information manager for handling email and calendaring tasks, managing a contacts list locally or online, and subscribing to feeds. If you maintain a local address book, you can even expose its contents as a data source for use in LibreOffice, which could be useful when running a mail merge. The built-in calendar supports iCalendar, WebDAV, CalDAV, and Google Calendar, while the address book can sync with CardDAV, LDAP, and Google Contacts. This makes Evolution especially appealing for users who need more than just email management.

You can quickly filter your inbox using the Show menu, with direct access to unread messages, messages with attachments, messages marked as important, and so on, and tag your messages with color-coded labels. There are five default labels, including to-do, later, and personal, but you can add your own and specify a preferred color for each. You can then apply them manually or use rules to automatically tag matching messages.

There's a quick search box for subjects and addresses immediately above the inbox, which is supplemented by a more flexible Advanced Search dialog. This lets you specify multiple conditions across a wide range of variables, like headers, size, and status, or perform regex matching to target a defined subset of messages.

Evolution supports IMAP, POP, and SMTP protocols out of the box, with secure connections via SSL, TLS, and STARTTLS. For Microsoft Exchange, Evolution provides robust compatibility through the evolution-ews extension, which enables full Exchange Web Services (EWS) support for modern Exchange servers. For older Exchange environments, additional plugins such as evolution-mapi or evolution-exchange may be required. This makes Evolution one of the most versatile Linux email clients for users needing enterprise or corporate email integration.

Evolution includes support for PGP/GPG and S/MIME encryption, providing secure messaging for both personal and professional use. It also offers automatic spam filtering (via SpamAssassin or Bogofilter), search folders, and markdown email formatting. Additional plugins enable features like RSS feed reading and news aggregation, further extending its capabilities.

Evolution feels like a very workaday email client that, thanks to sharing the Gnome design principles, integrates smoothly with the operating system – assuming, of course, that Gnome is your desktop manager of choice. It might not have the eye candy of BlueMail or Mailspring, but it's certainly not an app you'd object to spending time in during your working day.

Incoming server compatibility: IMAP, POP, Exchange

Kontact

As Evolution is to Gnome, so Kontact is to KDE. They'll each run in either desktop environment, but it makes sense to pick matching applications.

Kontact is KDE’s integrated personal information management suite, bringing together email (KMail), calendar (KOrganizer), contacts (KAddressBook), notes (KNotes), news feeds (Akregator), and more into a unified interface. While each component can be run individually, using Kontact provides a seamless experience for managing all your communications, scheduling, and information in one place, with deep KDE Plasma integration for notifications, password management (KWallet), and system-wide search.

Kontact’s interface may feel somewhat dated compared to more modern clients like Newton and Mailspring, with certain design choices, such as the vertically oriented button for toggling between plain text and rich text views, being less intuitive and visually appealing. While recent updates have improved usability, some aspects, like Exchange account setup, can still be cumbersome due to longstanding configuration bugs, though workarounds are available and the core functionality remains reliable.

Looks aside, Kontact has all the features you'd expect of a modern email client. Incoming messages are flagged in the KDE Notifications panel, it has unified mailboxes, and, like Thunderbird, it will spot words like 'attached' in your message body and, if you've not attached a file, check that that's not something you've overlooked. That's not the only similarity to Thunderbird: open the Find Messages dialog and it's all but identical to Thunderbird's Search Messages pane, through which you can stack multiple criteria to zero in on a handful of matching emails.

You can schedule pre-composed emails if they need to be sent when you won't be around to supervise, and, rather neatly, if you set a message to depart at a specified time, you can also set it to repeat. So, if you need to send someone a weekly reminder but don't have access to their calendar, you could delegate the task to KMail.

The template system is particularly clever. Four defaults handle new messages, reply to the sender, reply to all, and forward messages, and define how quoted content and fields should be handled within the body area. You might, for example, want to include the subject line from an original message when sending a reply, or the time the original was sent, and define an entirely different setup for use when replying to all, or to a list. This could be very useful when sending messages in-house if your team wants to include specific data in each message so they're easier to surface in a search.

The latest versions of KMail have introduced features such as improved ad and tracker blocking, direct display of OpenPGP key validity, and warnings for expiring keys. Additionally, KMail now offers optional offline and open-source AI features, including translation via the Bergamot engine and speech-to-text with vosk-api, though these are disabled by default and must be enabled in settings

KMail, within Kontact, is a sturdy email client that does everything you need and as form is generally less important than function, criticizing its looks does feel somewhat shallow. The powerful template system, layered search tool, and recurring emails are all welcome, and the fact that it's free and so closely tied to the desktop manager – assuming you use KDE – is a boon.

Incoming server compatibility: IMAP, POP, Exchange

Mailspring

Mailspring is a modern, cross-platform email client available for Linux, Windows, and macOS. Built on the foundation of the discontinued Nylas Mail, it stands out for its sleek interface, flexible layout options, and a focus on productivity-enhancing features

Search is well handled, and the way it's been implemented will be immediately familiar if you're switching from Gmail's web interface. It indexes your mail on a wide range of variables, so you can use prefixes like 'from:', 'subject:', and 'to:' in the search box to strip down the results. And these are just for starters. If you want to find emails that arrived in January, use 'before:' combined with the first date of February. Or, for emails that arrived this week, 'since Monday'. 'in:' lets you search folders or tags, while 'has:' lets you find messages with attachments. You can even combine multiple variables using OR and AND to precisely target an email you remember but can't immediately locate.

The free version of Mailspring includes a unified inbox, customizable themes, a powerful signature editor, language detection for spell check, translation for both incoming and outgoing messages, and efficient filtering and labeling tools. Most productivity features, such as email templates, scheduling (send later), reminders, and email tracking, are now available in the free tier, with some limitations on usage volume.

Mailspring Pro, priced at $8 per month, unlocks unlimited access to advanced tools including rich contact profiles, unlimited snoozing, advanced templates, unlimited send later, follow-up reminders, and detailed read receipts and link tracking. Pro users also benefit from enriched contact information and more granular analytics for sent messages.

Mailspring supports IMAP and Microsoft Exchange accounts but does not offer compatibility with POP servers. Setting up a Mailspring ID is required for features like snoozing and reminders, as these rely on Mailspring’s own cloud infrastructure to sync metadata across devices.

Mozilla Thunderbird

Thunderbird has long been recognized for its powerful, flexible, and extensible nature, but its dated interface was a common complaint among users. That changed with the release of Thunderbird 115 “Supernova”, which delivered a substantial visual and usability overhaul. The new design introduces a cleaner, more modern look, improved iconography, and better support for high-resolution displays. Thunderbird now feels at home on Linux, macOS, and Windows, and the need for custom themes has diminished as the default experience is much more inviting.

The layout remains familiar and highly customizable: you can toggle the preview pane, suppress remote images, adjust interface fonts, and manage most features, like your calendar, settings, and messages, within a unified window. Messages open in tabs by default, supporting efficient multitasking, while composing a new message still opens a separate window, allowing you to easily reference other emails or calendar events as you write.

A thoughtful feature is the attachment reminder: if you mention words like “attach” or “attached” in your email but forget to include a file, Thunderbird discreetly prompts you before sending. This small touch helps prevent common mistakes without being intrusive.

Sorting and searching have improved, but may still require some adjustment for new users. Threaded conversations are enabled by default, but can be disabled per folder. The main search bar returns results in a list view, which some may find less intuitive, but the Quick Filter tool offers real-time, in-inbox filtering that many users find more efficient for day-to-day use.

Thunderbird is more than just an email client; it’s also a contact manager, calendar, and newsreader. Calendar integration is now built-in (formerly an add-on), and an extensive library of add-ons is available through the integrated Add-ons Manager, allowing for further customization and feature expansion.

Now over 20 years old, Thunderbird’s recent redesign and ongoing development have made it more appealing, flexible, and user-friendly than ever. Despite minor quirks with search and threading, it remains a top recommendation for Linux users and anyone seeking a robust, open-source email suite.

Incoming server compatibility: IMAP, POP, Exchange (via add-ons such as ExQuilla or Owl).

Geary

Geary is a minimalist, modern email client designed for users who value simplicity and speed over feature bloat. Developed under the GNOME project and written in Vala, Geary offers a Gmail-like conversation view, making it easy to follow and reply to email threads without clutter. Its interface is clean and intuitive, with just enough features to keep daily email management efficient and distraction-free.

Geary’s interface is focused on usability: the main window presents your inbox and conversations clearly, with desktop notifications for new messages and a straightforward setup process that works with Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook.com, and any standard IMAP server. Adding accounts is quick, and integration with GNOME Online Accounts makes it even easier for GNOME desktop users. The conversation view keeps related emails together, and a fast keyword search bar lets you find messages using familiar prefixes like from:, is: read, or has: attachment.

The feature set is intentionally basic. It supports HTML and plain text composition, desktop notifications, and a full-featured search. However, it lacks advanced filtering, server-side rules, and plugin support, making it less suitable for power users or those who need extensive customization. Security is limited to SSL/TLS for connections; there is no support for PGP or S/MIME encryption, so it’s not recommended for users with high privacy requirements. Geary only supports IMAP and SMTP, with no POP3 option, meaning all mail stays on the server by design.

Geary is exceptionally lightweight and responsive, even on older or low-spec hardware. It uses an SQLite database to cache mail locally for quick access and search, but does not store full mailbox copies offline by default. Its deep GNOME integration ensures smooth notifications and password management via GNOME Keyring.

It is ideal for users who want a simple, fast, and visually appealing email client, especially those on GNOME-based systems or who prefer a Gmail-style conversation view. It’s a great fit for casual users, students, and anyone who doesn’t need advanced filtering, encryption, or plugin support.

Incoming server compatibility: IMAP, SMTP (no POP3 support).

It's useful to be able to access a PC remotely with the minimum of effort and, ideally, for free. Chrome Remote Desktop is one of the best remote desktop software tools out there, thanks to being easy to set up and entirely free-to-use. While alternative protocols like RDP, XRDP or VNC may be more appealing for experienced users, everyone can get to grips with Chrome Remote Desktop.

Here, we look at how to set up Chrome Remote Desktop and access another computer. It's a simple process once you know how. There's no need to have advanced tech knowledge to do so. Even easier than learning how to use Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection, the process only takes a few minutes, enabling users to get on with whatever they need to do faster.

How to set up Chrome Remote Desktop: Preparation

Before you begin setting up Chrome Remote Desktop, it's important to understand you have the right remote desktop tool for your needs.

Checking out the best remote desktop software is a good place to start, but also read up on leading platforms like TeamViewer and RemotePC to check you have the right software for your business needs. Each offers different pros and cons, meaning there's rarely a one-size-fits-all solution.

Chrome Remote Desktop is best suited for a business that needs to occasionally connect to other desktops from any location. It works across all major devices, and merely requires the Chrome browser to be installed, but it can be limited when it comes to sharing functionality.

It's also not possible to reboot a system remotely using the software, which can be a major issue for some users. Some users may find it too limited, but it's ideal for quickly 'jumping' into someone's system temporarily, rather than as a permanent remote desktop setup.

Once you've settled on Chrome Remote Desktop, it's important to make sure that all computers or devices using it have Chrome installed to get the best functionality from the service. It's also important to have a Google account set up, but in the majority of cases, most users are likely to have one.

Any time that a computer or other device is powered on, it's possible to use Chrome Remote Desktop. It can be a good idea to set up relevant systems so that their power management means that they never go into sleep mode.

Step 1: Install Chrome Remote Desktop

Once you have decided which computer needs to be accessed remotely, go to its Access page. Log in to your Google account to access the page fully. Click the download button underneath "Set up remote access", followed by "Add to Chrome" to download the Chrome extension.

Once downloaded, click "Accept & Install" to install the extension. Depending on how your computer is set up, you may need to enter your computer password a couple of times throughout the process. Once installed, click "Turn On" to enable Chrome Remote Desktop.

Enter a name for your computer so it can be easily identified when connecting remotely. This is particularly important once you have numerous systems set up with Chrome Remote Desktop, as it will be easier to identify them all.

Step 2: Set up Chrome Remote Desktop

Once Chrome Remote Desktop has been installed, you'll need to complete a few set up steps before you can dive into connecting remotely.

One of the most important settings is to create a PIN to ensure your computer is secure. Enter a PIN that is at least six numbers long. For security reasons, the longer the better. Ideally, avoid using obvious-to-guess numbers such as a birthday or memorable date.

Once you have entered a PIN, your device is listed under the Chrome Remote Desktop list once you log in. From there, it's possible to rename the device by clicking the pencil icon next to it if you choose to come up with a more memorable name.

Step 3: Setting up the computer ready for access

After Chrome Remote Desktop has been set up on a system, the process on how to access another computer with Chrome Remote Desktop is fairly straightforward.

On the computer that you want to access remotely, you (or the remote user) needs to log in via the Access page, then click "Remote Support". From there, they can click "Generate Code" to create a code that can be shared with the user that wants to access the system. The code is a one-use only string of numbers, and must be used within five minutes of creation.

If you have a particularly secure firewall set up, you may also need to adjust some settings to allow incoming traffic. Google recommends allowing outbound UDP traffic, inbound UDP responses, traffic on TCP port 443 (HTTPS) and traffic on TCP and UDP on port 3478 (STUN) for it to work effectively.

Step 4: Accessing another computer

For the computer or user looking to access another system, they have two different options for how to go about it. It's possible to go to the Access page and click "Access" on a system already connected to the account. By doing so, all they need to do from there is enter the PIN previously set up for the device.

Alternatively, if connecting to a system for a one-time only arrangement, the user must go to the Support page (or click "Remote Support" from the current page), enter the access code under "Connect to another computer", then click "Connect". After a few moments, depending on your internet connection, the support session will open up.

Step 5: Adjust any relevant settings

Once connected to a system remotely via Chrome Remote Desktop, you may also want to change some settings for the experience to be more convenient.

When connected, a panel on the right-hand side offers up a number of session options. It is possible to switch to full screen mode, and scale the remote desktop to fit on your screen. Options for switching between displays is also possible if the remote device has more than one screen connected to it.

Other important settings include the ability to 'press' Ctrl+Alt+Del on the remote computer or "Print Screen", with other key mappings able to be configured. Users can also synchronise their clipboards between the two computers, meaning they can copy and paste text between the two systems.

Via the panel, users can also upload or download files between the two systems too.

Step 6: Disconnect from a session

Once you have finished using Chrome Remote Desktop, stopping a remote session is simple. Either close the browser tab to finish the session, or click "Disconnect" from the panel on the right hand side.

Once completed, the session is entirely finished, and there is no way of remotely connecting to a system again without following the above process, and informing the other user that it's happening.

In the case of one-time-only access codes, you will need to ask the other user for another code to be able to reconnect. It's a secure system, which means there's no chance of someone remotely connecting covertly.

If you want to remove a device permanently from Chrome Remote Desktop, click the trashcan icon next to the name of the device on the website. Once deleted, it's no longer possible to access that computer unless you set it up again by entering a new PIN.

How to set up Chrome Remote Desktop: Summary

Knowing how to access another computer with Chrome Remote Desktop is a useful way of providing remote support or assistance with relatively-minimal hassle for you or the remote user. It takes moments to set up, and is fairly straightforward to use, even for less tech-savvy users.

While Chrome Remote Desktop has some limitations, such as the fact you'll need your system powered on at all times to use it, it's an effective way of connecting two devices for a brief time to complete many tasks without needing to install specialist software.

Further reading on remote desktops

If you're interested in finding out more about remote desktop technology and platforms, we've got a wide range of content available for your reference. Learn more about protocols such as RDP, XRDP or VNC and what TeamViewer offers; find out how to use Microsoft Remote Desktop and how to use remote desktop on Windows 10.

If you need walkthroughs for setting up remote access via Microsoft or Apple OSs, see how to use remote desktop on Mac, how to set up Chrome Remote Desktop; and how to remote desktop from Mac to Windows.

Choosing the best remote desktop for Linux will enable you to access computers and mobile devices remotely from your Linux computer. But there are far fewer options available for Linux users than for Windows or Mac owners, and these tend to be much more difficult to use.

This can make it hard to select the right option, particularly if you don’t want too steep of a learning curve. Many Linux remote desktops are open-source and versatile, but they also require significant tech skills to install and use.

To help you find your way through the confusing jargon surrounding Linux remote desktops and select the right option for your business, we’ve put together this guide. In it, we take a close look at the leading Linux remote desktop programs available today.

Which is the best remote desktop for Linux?

With its excellent versatility and cross-platform compatibility, Remmina comes in as our clear number-one remote desktop program for Linux. Not only is it free, but it also offers support for multiple protocols, and is open-source. TeamViewer is another excellent remote desktop for Linux, and provides an option for those who are willing to pay a little more for a beginner-friendly solution.

VNC Connect and TightVNC are advanced options utilising the VNC protocol for more tech-savvy users across paid and free plans, while Chrome Remote Desktop offers users a basic, beginner-friendly option that can be used on numerous devices via the Google browser.

How much does remote desktop for Linux cost?

Like much of the software developed for Linux, many remote desktop programs are free for commercial use. Options like Chrome Remote Desktop and Remmina are excellent choices for those who require a simple solution. There are a few paid options, and prices can range from a couple of dollars a month to tens or even hundreds of dollars a month with high-end programs like TeamViewer.

The best remote desktop for Linux, compared

The best remote desktop for Linux available right now

Remmina

Best remote desktop for Linux overall

SPECIFICATIONS

• File transfer: Yes
• Integrated chat: No
• Unattended access: Yes

REASONS TO BUY

• Supports numerous operating systems
• Open-source and free
• Different remote access protocols supported

REASONS TO AVOID

• Technical knowledge required
• Limited extra features

Score: 4.5/5

Remmina is one of the most versatile remote desktop programs we’ve used, and it’s well-deserving of its position as the leading remote desktop for Linux. It supports the most common connection protocols, including RDP, VNC, Spice, and SSH, and it can be used on numerous operating systems and distributions.

On top of this, Remmina is completely open-source, and its code is available to edit. This won’t be a major factor for most, but it’s excellent news for anyone who wants to customise their remote desktop program.

Alongside the base program, Remmina also offers loads of plugins and add-ons. Among these is a neat file transfer tool, although you won’t get anything too fancy. Many of the add-ons are related to security and performance rather than the user interface.

TeamViewer

Best remote desktop for Linux for beginners

SPECIFICATIONS

• File transfer: Yes
• Integrated chat: Yes
• Unattended access: Yes

REASONS TO BUY

• Quite easy to use
• Excellent additional tools
• A focus on security

REASONS TO AVOID

• Very expensive
• Security features can be complex for small teams

Score: 4.5/5

TeamViewer is a strong contender for the top spot on our list of best remote desktop software, thanks to its versatility and robust security features. TeamViewer is cloud-based and works seamlessly across virtually all operating systems. 

While the cost might be a hurdle for some, with individual plans starting at $24.90  per month and multi-user business plans starting at $50.90 per month, a 14-day free trial is also available for customers looking to test the system out.

TeamViewer prioritizes data security with end-to-end AES encryption to ensure your data is protected at all times. We also found TeamViewer had one of the most user-friendly options for a Linux remote desktop access service we’ve used to date, perfect for people new to RDP services.

VNC Connect

A versatile provider of remote desktop for Linux

SPECIFICATIONS

• File transfer: Yes
• Integrated chat: Yes
• Unattended access: Yes

REASONS TO BUY

• Intuitive cloud-based remote desktop
• Excellent privacy and security
• Supports numerous operating systems

REASONS TO AVOID

• Performance can be a little poor
• Limited support for trial users

Score: 3.5/5

VNC Connect capitalizes on the popular VNC connection protocol and enhances it with a set of valuable features. Among these additions are user-friendly interface improvements, particularly noticeable compared to other Linux remote desktop options, and robust 256-bit AES encryption for enhanced security.

Unlike traditional VNC programs, VNC Connect does require a subscription. However, with the most expensive yearly plan costing approximately $55, it remains a cost effective option. White a 14-day free trial allows you to explore the software, it’s important to note that limited support is available during the trial period.

Another minor drawback is VNC Connect’s potential for lag under scenarios with heavy screen activity. But its advanced security features, including built-in encryption and multi-factor authentication (MFA), provide a strong shield for your remote connections. 

Read our full VNC Connect review.

TightVNC

A remote desktop for Linux with excellent additional features

SPECIFICATIONS

• File transfer: Yes
• Integrated chat: No
• Unattended access: Yes

REASONS TO BUY

• Native Java viewer
• Built-in file transfer tool
• Great for advanced users

REASONS TO AVOID

• Quite difficult to use
• Limited support resources

Score: 3/5

TightVNC offers a robust remote desktop solution for Linux users, particularly those facing limited bandwidth or unreliable connections. Notably, it’s completely free to use. While boasting a Java viewer and various features, TightVNC prioritizes efficiency, making it ideal for basic remote access tasks. This focus on efficiency comes at a cost in terms of speed, however, rendering it unsuitable for demanding applications such as remote gaming.

An important caveat to consider is the lack of built-in security features in TightVNC. Data transmissions are not encrypted by default, leaving them vulnerable to potential interception. While this might not be a major concern for advanced users who can implement additional security measures like VPNs, it’s a crucial factor for others to keep in mind.

Read our TightVNC review.

Chrome Remote Desktop

A versatile, platform-independent option

SPECIFICATIONS

• File transfer: No
• Integrated chat: No
• Unattended access: Yes

REASONS TO BUY

• Can be used on any device with the Chrome browser
• Very easy to set up
• Completely free forever

REASONS TO AVOID

• Limited features
• Chrome required on all devices

Score: 3/5

Chrome Remote Desktop boasts some of the best cross-platform compatibility we’ve seen. All that’s needed to use it is the Chrome browser, which means that it can be used on any device that supports this. Also, the service free-to-use and boasts excellent performance, making it an attractive option.

Simplicity comes with limitations, however. Features like file transfer and a built-in text chat are noticeably ascent.If you prioritize basic functionality, a tight budget, and broad device support, Chrome Remote Desktop emerges as a compelling choice for your Linux remote desktop needs.

Remote desktop for Linux: FAQs

Want to find out more about the best remote desktop for Linux devices? Our FAQ section is a great place to start.

Can I remote desktop from Linux to Windows?

Yes, most of the leading remote desktop programs enable you to connect between platforms. For example, TeamViewer will enable you to view and control your Windows device from a Linux host. We've also outlined how to remote desktop into Ubuntu in a step-by-step guide.

Yes, majority of many popular remote desktop programs offer the ability to bridge the gap between different operating systems. For instance, you can utilize TeamViewer to access and manage a Windows machine from you Linux computer. We’ve even provided a dedicated guide outlining the steps for setting up remote desktop access on Ubuntu, making it easier to get started.

What is remote desktop and how does it work?

Remote desktop programs enable you to remotely access one device from another. The software will establish a connection between the two devices, enabling you to use the remote device as if you were physically there.

Is remote desktop access safe?

Yes, using a reliable remote desktop program is safe. With the right security measures in place, having a remote desktop program installed presents no more risk than downloading your favourite game.

How we review remote desktop for Linux

When we review remote desktop programs, we begin by scouring the platform’s website for information. Once we’ve determined what it claims to offer and how it works, we subscribe to a premium plan (if required), download the program, and test it.

During testing, we aim to understand how functional, user-friendly, and fast a Linux remote desktop program is. We look at how well it connects to other devices, including mobile devices if they are supported. We also test integrated tools such as file transfer or text messaging, and record any interesting findings.

The benefits of using remote desktop for Linux

File sharing

Most remote desktop programs enable streamlined file sharing between the host and remote devices. If you have more than one remote device connected to the same network, this will enable you to access files on any of them with little trouble.

Unattended access

Let’s say you run Linux on your personal computer and need to access your work device. With a Linux remote desktop program, you will be able to access and control everything on an unattended device from virtually anywhere.

Remote support

With the right Linux remote desktop program, you will be able to provide remote technical support to people across the world. You will be able to access their device(s) remotely, explaining difficult concepts or fixing problems yourself.

Further reading on remote desktops

If you are curious about remote desktop programs and want to find out more about the technology, we have a range of resources at your disposal. Discover the functionalities of XRDP and what TeamViewer can offer, or learn the ropes of using Microsoft Remote Desktop and Windows 10’s remote desktop capabilities.

If you need walkthroughs for setting up remote access via Microsoft or Apple OSs, see how to use remote desktop on Mac and how to remote desktop from Mac to Windows.

Dell and Canonical have made the new Dell XPS 13 Plus Developer Edition the first laptop officially certified for Ubuntu 22.04 LTS.

The move is a continuation of Project Sputnik, an initiative that started in 2012 to create high-end Dell systems with Ubuntu preinstalled, built for developers and guided by input from the developer community.

From August, developers in the US, Canada, and selected European countries will be able to buy Dell’s flagship 13-inch laptop with the latest version of Canoncial’s Linux distro preinstalled. Additionally, XPS 13 Plus owners can install the operating system from today or can wait until Ubuntu 22.04.1 LTS is released on 4 August.

“XPS is an innovation portal for Dell – from its application of cutting-edge technology to experimentation of new user interfaces and experiential design,” said Jaewook Woo, product manager of the Linux operating system at Dell Technologies. “By bringing the enhanced performance and power management features of Ubuntu 22.04 LTS to our most advanced premium laptop, Dell and Canonical reinforce our joint commitment to continue delivering the best computing experience for developers using Ubuntu.”

The Dell XPS 13 Plus Developer Edition is the latest release in this long-standing partnership. Barton George, developer community lead from Dell, said in 2017 that the idea behind the Project Sputnik programme was to create an open source based laptop that appealed to a large audience of developers. The initial offering was one system and one configuration, which then expanded into an entire line of systems. This includes devices such as the Dell Precision 5720, Dell Precision 5520, and Dell Precision 7520 laptops.

What is Ubuntu certification?

The Ubuntu certification programme ensures that all of the components in a certified computer work as expected, so users can look forward to it working out of the box. Ubuntu certified devices are based on Long Term Support (LTS) releases and receive updates for up to 10 years.

The company’s certification lab tests hundreds of certified devices to ensure they work, and continue to work, to a high standard throughout their lifecycle.

Certified devices also include specific software or drivers that differ from the default distribution where required. These are defined in a meta-package that automatically installs the optimal configuration of packages, drivers, and kernel to deliver the best experience on that device.

Ubuntu said that through Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, users will benefit from increased desktop performance with triple-buffering, more control over their power management settings, and intuitive new workspace layouts and touchpad gestures, as well as expanded customisation options.

It comes with the latest toolchains for the most popular programming languages, including Python, PHP, Ruby, Perl, GCC, Go and now Rust, as well as the latest versions of default productivity apps like LibreOffice, Thunderbird, and Firefox.

The Linux Foundation has announced a timely research series with the European community as its primary focus.

Dubbed World of Open Source, the new research initiative is backed by LF Research alongside several European distribution and research partners, including FINOS, LF Training & Certification, and LF Public Health.

“The World of Open Source series will explore the state of open source from a global perspective, focusing on government, enterprise, and non-profit initiatives,” according to Linux Foundation.

The research program is scheduled to begin on Wednesday, 18 May and will be followed by a "World of Open Source: 2022 Europe Spotlight" survey.

The proposed survey will appraise industry-wide trends including, but not limited to, the size and scope of the open-source communities in the region, the motivation for contributions to open source, opportunities and challenges in the private and public sector engagement in open source, and the landscape for consumption and adoption of open source technologies.

The‌ ‌Linux‌ ‌Foundation‌ ‌will‌ ‌announce the results of the upcoming survey at the Open Source Summit Europe, which will be held in Dublin, Ireland, from 13-16‌ ‌September.

The supporting birds-of-a-feather session will be hosted on May 19 at Valencia’s KubeCon by Gabriele Columbro (executive director of FINOS), Hilary Carter (VP of Linux Foundation Research), Astor Nummelin Carlberg (CEO of OpenForum Europe), and Matthew Dunderdale (delivery principal at Scott Logic).

"FINOS is one of the most globally distributed entities under the Linux Foundation and we are truly excited to support this deep research initiative backed by so many respected institutions across the EU, UK, and Switzerland", commented Gabriele Columbro.

"A clear European perspective will enhance how we forge deeper collaboration across the FINOS community and will shed new light on cross-border challenges like cybersecurity and sustainability that are important to the Linux Foundation and the open-source ecosystem at large," added Columbro.

Intel’s new CTO Greg Lavender has decried the overall quality of code within the open source ecosystem, arguing that the industry at large needs to get better at the contributions it makes to the Linux kernel.

“Here’s an interesting fact I’ve learned at Intel after 11 months,” he said; “there’s a huge amount of the open source ecosystem that is just poorly written. They do bad thread-locking, they do spin locks that waste CPU cycles and burn power.”

“The whole industry, I think, could contribute a lot better quality code into the open source ecosystem, and that’s what we want to do with the Linux kernel in particular, and make it more resilient to badly-written code in the application layer.”

He also committed to helping address the problem through Intel’s own development efforts. The company has been the largest contributor to the Linux open source ecosystem for several years, and Lavender has been busily hiring open source luminaries from the likes of Apple and Netflix to help achieve this.

The comments came as part of Intel Vision 2022, where the company shared updates on its strategy and roadmap with customers and partners. Along with various announcements around new data centre GPUs and a new 12th-generation workstation chip, a large part of the conference focused on Intel’s new “software-first strategy”.

As part of this effort, the chip manufacturer bought Granulate last month, a company focused on automatic optimisation of Linux-based server processes, and CEO Pat Gelsinger has promised that more acquisitions are coming.

“So I acquired [industrial Linux specialists] Linutronix back in February,” Lavender said, “but we keep them independent; still driving the open source Linux ecosystem, not polluting it. But at the same time, we want to drive more real-time Linux capabilities because for the edge and automotive industry and other places, that’s a good investment to make.”

“Our open source commitment is back. I brought it back, Pat brought it back, and you’ll see a lot more from us.”

Last year was a big year for Linux, as the operating system (OS) played a critical role in a major achievement: the first-ever powered flight on another planet. On 19 April last year, the Ingenuity drone – or “Mars Helicopter”, as NASA calls it – took to the skies of Mars. Under the hood, the on-board computer was running Linux.

Last year, we spoke with Tim Canham, the software and operations lead on the project, who shared with us details of how the helicopter works. Now, a staggering 17 successful flights later, we thought it was time to check in on the helicopter’s progress.

“The helicopter has exceeded our expectations,” says Canham. “It's lived far longer, it's been able to outperform what we thought it could and it has stayed healthy. And we're still continuing to plan these flights well into the future.”

He’s particularly pleased with the thermal performance, as the Martian atmosphere makes it harder to dissipate heat. The helicopter, though, has proven itself more resilient than expected. “The first 30 Sols [Martian days] were ‘can it actually fly under control and survive?’,” he said. “After that, [NASA’s Mars rover team] said, ‘Well, why don't you try acting like a scout for us and go ahead of us and take pictures?’.”

The helicopter is now working in tandem with NASA’s surface rover, Perseverance, to explore the Martian landscape. That’s enabling scientists to study challenging terrain in a region of the red planet called Séítah, which would be tricky for Perseverance to navigate alone.

“We did this gonzo flight,” says Canham, “It was like 700 metres or something like that. It was a three-minute flight.” This is much further and far longer than had been expected, as the team had previously estimated the helicopter might only be capable of 90 seconds of flying time at most.

Linux’s flying colours

In terms of the software, Canham is very pleased with how Linux has been performing. The only blip was last May, when the navigation software experienced an error that sent the helicopter off course, but Canham’s team were able to diagnose the problem and upload a patch.

The team has also been able to improve communications with the rover, which takes the helicopter’s data and sends it back to Earth, by using standard Linux tools. “What we've been doing is learning to take advantage of some of the Linux features,” said Canham. “One of the things that has enabled this extended mission is that modest little utility Bzip. It's a compression utility that's part of Linux and it's on the helicopter as part of the standard set of tools that we put on there.”

“After flights, we have these large engineering logs of the flight data and normally, if we just took them uncompressed and sent them over the radio to the rover, it would take a long time. And so what we've been doing… is after we generate those files, we actually just run Bzip compression on the command line and compress those files down to about half their size, and then ship them over to the rover. And that saves us a lot of time and energy that we otherwise would spend talking on the radio.”

Is this proof that Linux is ready for bigger, future missions? Could future Mars rovers and rockets use Linux too? “I don't think it's there yet,” said Canham. “JPL and NASA classify their missions and in terms of how much risk they're willing to accept, and helicopter is what they call a Class D technology demonstration, in which they're willing to accept a lot more risk. That's why they even let us in the door.”

“It's difficult to make that leap, because there's so much at stake during something like entry, descent, landing, where you're trying to land a $2 billion spacecraft.”

Canham does, however, think helicopter’s success is good news for the future of Linux in space. “I think it's definitely increased its prestige, because of the visibility of the helicopter. And the fact that it's doing as well as it has, it's definitely gotten the attention and notice of people at NASA, [so] there's a real path forward for Linux.”

The B1txor botnet, which is spreading via the Log4Shell flaw, enables attackers to get shell access to Linux systems and install a rootkit.

Chinese security company 360Netlab discovered and named the bot in February and publicly disclosed it this week. It takes the form of a backdoor for Linux that uses DNS tunnelling for its command and control (C2) communications.

The researchers observed the software propagating via the Log4Shell flaw in the Logj logging system that was first discovered in December.

The domain information that it uses to communicate with its C2 server is encrypted. Once the botnet client has decrypted it, it uses a DNS query to send its communications to the C2 domain, including stolen information and command execution results. The C2 server sends the next payload in the body of a DNS response.

The payload supports 14 instructions, which include simple beaconing to the C2 server, uploading system information, reading and writing files, forwarding traffic, opening a shell, and executing arbitrary system commands. The backdoor can also start a proxy service.

The botnet is buggy, according to the Netlab360 team, with one socket binding function rendered entirely inoperable thanks to code mistakes. Nevertheless, enough of the code works to make it a threat.

"We presume that the author of B1txor20 will continue to improve and open different features according to different scenarios, so maybe we will meet B1txor20's siblings in the future," they said in an analysis of the malware.

Linux backdoors are popular for attacking the servers that run large portions of the internet. In November, criminals were found using one to compromise e-commerce sites with a software skimmer. In August, Trend Micro reported that hackers were targeting outdated versions of the operating system to gain control of resources in the cloud.

Last month, VMware researchers identified increased ransomware attacks against Linux servers in multi-cloud operating environments and called for more countermeasures.

Raspberry Pi has announced the release of the first stable 64-bit version of Raspberry Pi OS after almost two years of development and beta testing.

The Debian-based operating system was first unveiled in 2020 alongside the 8GB Raspberry Pi 4 and even though 64-bit processor architectures go back to 2016's Raspberry Pi 3, the previous Raspbian OS was favoured due to backwards compatibility for older devices on 32-bit architectures.

The decision to move to a 64-bit operating systems was largely driven by forward-looking compatibility concerns, said Gordon Hollingworth, director of software engineering at Raspberry Pi.

"Compatibility is a key concern: many closed-source applications are only available for arm64, and open-source ones aren’t fully optimised for the armhf port," he said.

Armhf port is a Debian port for arm processors that has support for the floating point unit - a feature useful for critical accuracy requirements in computing and digital signal processing.

Hollingworth went on to say there are some performance benefits to the arm64 instructions set but these, at the moment, are only visible in benchmarking tests. That said, the assumption is that these performance increases will be more evident in real-world applications in the future.

A theoretical concern is that 32-bit architectures only allow the Raspberry Pi to address 4GB of memory. The Raspberry Pi 4 shipped with 8GB back in 2020 and so a 32-bit design would not be optimal to leverage the extra hardware's capabilities.

The Raspberry Pi 4 has been able to access the full 8GB of its memory despite running on a 32-bit operating system since launch, using the Arm Large Physical Address Extension (LPAE), but processes are limited to a maximum of 3GB of memory. Raspberry Pi reserves the top 1GB of the virtual address for the kernel.

Hollingworth noted that very few applications for the Raspberry Pi require the full 8GB of memory in a single process, with Chromium being the most memory-intensive using one process per tab.

"But some use cases will benefit from being able to allocate the entire memory of an 8GB Raspberry Pi 4 from a single process," he added.

Those looking to use their Rasberry Pi as media units will run into a stumbling block when trying to access streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ as the 64-bit version of Chromium, installed by default, has no version of the WidevineCDM library. Users will have to flicker between the 32-bit versions for streaming and back to 64-bit again after watching through terminal commands.

Ubuntu creator Canonical has announced it now offers Ubuntu Security Guide tooling as part of Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

The new tool will help enterprises comply with the Defense Information System Agency’s (DISA’s) Security Technical Implementation Guide (STIG).

A US Department of Defense security configuration standard, DISA-STIG contains guidelines for hardening systems’ security posture. The standard also doubles as a checklist for securing protocols, services, and servers to reduce attack surfaces.

Currently available for Ubuntu 20.04 or later versions, the new Ubuntu Security Guide is an easy-to-use compliance and auditing tool.

The automated configuration tooling makes it possible to audit, fix, and customize a system while also enabling system-wide configuration for compliance, benefiting multidisciplinary teams within DevOps.

“With the Ubuntu Security Guide, we extend the Ubuntu experience to ease compliance with DISA security requirements. It is now very easy for DevOps teams and administrators to follow these requirements,” said Nikos Mavrogiannopoulos, product manager at Canonical.

The Ubuntu Security Guide can be installed as part of Ubuntu Advantage and Ubuntu Pro packages via the Ubuntu Advantage Tool.

“The new automated tooling builds on Canonical’s track record of designing Ubuntu for high security and regulated workloads, powering U.S. government agencies, prime contractors, and service providers. The Ubuntu Security Guide enables agencies and organisations to comply with the most stringent security requirements by automation and at scale,” added Canonical.

Red Hat has launched its eponymous Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9 beta and promised admin and IT ops people there will be less of a need for them to learn new ways of doing things.

Red Hat said the latest beta is based on upstream kernel version 5.14 and provides a preview of the next major update of RHEL. It punted the new version as being designed for “demanding hybrid multi-cloud deployments that range from physical, on-premises, public cloud to edge”.

It also said the beta was a departure from previous major releases of RHEL. While it contains many improvements and enhancements customers asked for, it has fewer changes that require admins and IT Ops to learn new ways of doing things, said the firm. It added that anyone familiar with RHEL 8 should find RHEL 9 easy to pick up.

Among the new features are enhanced web console performance metrics that allow access to additional information that will allow admins to better identify the potential causes of performance bottlenecks. It is also now easier to export these data to analysis and reporting tools such as Grafana.

There is also kernel live patching via the web console and streamlined image building that includes the ability to build RHEL 8 and RHEL 9 images via a single build node. It also features better support for customized file systems (non-LVM mount points) and bare-metal deployments.

There are also several enhancements for security and compliance.

Users can use smart card authentication to access remote hosts through the RHEL web console (Sudo, SSH, etc.).

Red Hat also added more security profiles to help achieve compliance with standards like PCI-DSS, HIPAA, and others. When coupled with intelligence gathering and remediation services such as Red Hat Insights and Red Hat Satellite, customers now have access to powerful tools to rapidly resolve compliance issues at scale.

SSSD, the built-in enterprise single sign-on (SSO) framework, now adds more detail for events such as time to complete tasks, errors, the authentication flow, and more. New search capabilities provide admins the ability to analyze performance and configuration issues.

The OS has also integrated new OpenSSL 3 cryptographic frameworks. Built-in RHEL utilities have been recompiled to utilize OpenSSL 3 to provide organizations with new security ciphers for encrypting and protecting data.

RHEL 9 Beta also ships with cgroup2 by default and a recent release of Podman with new defaults for RHEL 9. Users will get signature and short-name (e.g.: ubi8 instead of registry.access.redhat.com/ubi8/ubi) validation by default when pulling container images. This will enable organizations to test container-based applications with the "out-of-the-box" configuration planned for RHEL 9.

RHEL 9 Beta is available for Intel/AMD64 (x86_64), ARM 64-bit (aarch64), IBM Power LE (ppc64le), and IBM Z (s390x) hardware platforms

Version 5.14 of the Linux kernel shipped over the weekend, featuring new protections against the Spectre and Meltdown attacks that threatened Intel CPU security.

A secret feature enables developers to create memory areas available only to the application that owns them, blocking even the kernel from monitoring them. This is useful to hold sensitive data, such as encryption keys.

Another secure feature is core scheduling. This makes it safer to use hyperthreading, which allows multiple programs to share a single core. Turning off hyperthreading helped prevent the 2019 side-channel attacks but carried a performance hit, which is significant for cloud service providers running thousands of servers.

Core scheduling allows admins to separate sensitive processes in hyperthreading schedules, making it less likely that one process will snoop on another.

The kernel also features improved journaling on EXT4 file systems, offering more protection against information leaks.

Security features aside, the new kernel comes with a range of extra hardware support and enhancements. These include support for Intel's Alder Lake P graphics, and Qualcomm's Adreno 660 GPU. It also features enhancements to the open source AMD GPU drivers, including the ability to hot swap them.

Linux 5.14 also includes support for hardware-based microphones and webcam kill switches on Dell laptops. Over the last few years, Dell has been a staunch Linux supporter, shipping developer versions of its laptops with preinstalled Linux and driver support.

The kernel also drops support for legacy integrated device electronics (IDE) storage interfaces, helping to offset the ongoing growth of the code base.

Linus creator, Linus Torvalds, announced the new kernel along with acknowledging the operating system's 30th birthday. "The celebrations will go on for a few more weeks yet, but you all may just need a breather from them," he said.

"And when that happens, I have just the thing for you - a new kernel release to test and enjoy. Because 5.14 is out there, just waiting for you to kick the tires and remind yourself what all the festivities are about."

Those who want early access to the latest kernel can download the source code and compile it themselves. Otherwise, Linux distributions will begin adopting 5.14 over time.

Distributions either come as time-based releases, with period increments that roll up collections of features including the kernel, or rolling releases that update more frequently with new features. Examples of the former include Ubuntu, while Arch is a rolling release distribution.

On 19 April 2021, powered flight on another world took place for the first time. When a 1.8kg drone successfully lifted 3m from Mars’ dusty surface for less than a minute, it wasn’t simply another small step for humanity exploring the universe: it was also a giant leap for open-source software. For this tiny drone is powered by Linux.

The drone’s name is Ingenuity, although NASA also refers to it as the Mars Helicopter (for reasons that become obvious once you see it). The project is highly experimental, with future flights only expected to last for 90 seconds and the mission itself slated to run for 30 days, but the technology could lead to future Mars missions that deploy drones to explore and collect samples, covering a much vaster swathe of the planet’s surface than a ground-based rover could ever manage.

The flight was the culmination of years of preparation for the helicopter team who, like everyone else, had been forced to spend much of Perseverance’s nine-month journey to Mars working from home. “It’s been a little surreal to sit here in my [home] office, where you can see me executing commands on a spacecraft that’s right on the way to Mars,” said Tim Canham, Mars helicopter operations lead at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), speaking exclusively to our sister publication PC Pro before the first flight.

“Every week or two, we would log on and basically send the commands to charge the helicopter and watch it as the battery would charge up.”

Now that the rover has landed, and the helicopter has completed its debut flights on Mars, the real work can begin.

Choosing Linux

“It was actually a fairly simple decision,” says Canham of the choice to use Linux for the craft. “We were looking for a particular processor board that would work for the helicopter. It had to be very small and compact, and have tons and tons of processing power. And so we did a big search around the web and found one that was designed by Qualcomm and built by a company called Intrinsic.”

The board was based on a Snapdragon 801 chip, as found on Earth inside older devices such as the HTC One and the Sony Xperia Z3 (released in 2013 and 2014 respectively). The age of the technology wasn’t a major concern to NASA; much more important was the fact that the whole thing was only around the size of a credit card. The craft needed to be as light and small as possible, since Mars has a much lower atmospheric density than Earth, making it harder for helicopter blades to provide lift.

The only real catch was that the proprietary VxWorks software platform used for the main rover wouldn’t work on the Qualcomm chip – so NASA was forced to look for an alternative operating system.

“Linux in some ways was selected for us, but we still like it a lot. It’s easy to work with and easy to reconfigure, and uses a lot of standard interfaces,” says Canham.

In fact, many of the required drivers and software had already been written for other open-source projects, saving JPL a lot of time and work. “There were lots of man-hours that went into developing the code before it ever got to the helicopter,” Canham explains. “We were able to just say, yeah, we know all that stuff works, we can concentrate on the part that’s specific to the helicopter and implement it.”

As a result, one of the most high-profile aspects of the $2.7 billion Perseverance mission was handled by a surprisingly small team. “At the peak of our development, we had about four or five developers working on the software,” says Canham of his helicopter colleagues.

This helicopter was also able to take advantage of commodity hardware components. “We took the cameras, which are little half-gram-square cameras that are very similar to the cameras that you find on your cellphone, and we just put them on the helicopter.” As a result, the small helicopter that’s currently on Mars can capture 13MP colour images that far outshine the 2MP main camera on Curiosity, NASA’s previous rover that landed on Mars in 2012.

Despite using tried-and-tested components, the team didn’t take reliability for granted. “We had a really extensive test programme,” says Canham. “We’ve actually been working on this particular iteration of the helicopter for almost four and a half years.”

He describes how JPL used a special pressure chamber to test spacecraft. The atmosphere inside was pumped down to Mars pressure, so the team could see if the helicopter could take off under such circumstances. “The processor and the OS really went through the wringer during that testing,” he says. “It was lots and lots and lots of testing.”

But the fact that the helicopter runs Linux definitely made life easier. When the helicopter was inside the pressure chamber, the team was able to update or tweak the software without having to remove the drone and re-pressurise. As with any other Linux machine, they could connect via SSH over Wi-Fi and make the changes required remotely.

“Really, it was just a drone development kit that you could buy and add your own drone hardware to it,” Canham explains. “So, yes, it most certainly saved us time, because we had all that code already in the bag.

“You can think of it like Tinkertoys or Lego, where you have these pieces and you know how they fit together, and you can just reuse them again and again, and not have to reinvest time and testing and all those other things,” he says. “That’s part of the strength of that whole component-based software framework.”

Landing Gear

When the helicopter takes flight, it doesn’t directly communicate with the main Perseverance rover software. To manage flight communications, it speaks to a second Linux machine on the rover, which acts as a helicopter base station. Technologically speaking, the base station is almost identical to the helicopter, with the same processor and same radio communication hardware – so that’s a second Linux installation running on Mars.

But that’s not all. There’s actually a third Linux box on Mars too, and we’ve already seen it in action. Shortly after the Perseverence rover landed on the Martian surface, NASA released a stunning video of the descent, showing multiple views of what’s famously known as the “seven minutes of terror” – the period of time when, because of the time lag in communications, NASA engineers were unable to guide or control the rover on its final approach.

First, we see a view looking upwards at the parachute deploying. Then a downward view of the Martian surface as the heat shield is detached from the lander and falls to the ground. Finally – and most spectacularly – we watch the lander deploy the “sky crane”, a system that uses rocket thrusters to dangle the now-uncovered rover below and gently deposit it on the surface of the planet.

It wasn’t the first time such a method has been used – Curiosity employed a similar system, albeit on a significantly smaller rover – but it was the first time such a landing has been captured in such detail, in such high resolution, at a frame rate comparable to normal video. And this video was captured on a Linux machine that was included for that sole purpose.

“It’s basically an Intel Atom box,” says Canham. “They wrote software that would just frantically record all these video streams to storage.”

As with the helicopter, the team responsible for the box used fairly standardised parts. The six cameras were regular USB Chameleon3 cameras, made by FLIR. Five of them capture video at 1.3MP, while the sixth goes up to 3.2MP. “They just took a ruggedised PC, stuck it on [the rover] and ran USB all over the place on the rover,” says Canham.

As another illustration of the power of standard platforms, NASA later revealed that the video footage captured during the landing was processed by the open-source FFmpeg encoder before being sent back to Earth. This is the exact same app used by millions of people for transcoding video. It’s a remarkable thought that if you’ve ever submitted an update or a tweak to the FFmpeg project then your code may have run on Mars.

Forging new discoveries

Perseverance’s helicopter and landing cameras were an open-source first for the Red Planet, but JPL has been working with open source for much longer. In fact, one of the reasons the helicopter team was so small was because the agency had already created its own open-source flight software framework, known as F Prime.

This is an open-source toolkit that anyone can download from GitHub, and it takes care of many of the technical aspects of controlling a spacecraft. Consequently, the software has already been used by a number of instruments that are already in space.

The first of these was a module housed on the International Space Station (ISS) called RapidScat, a scatterometer used to monitor ocean winds in real-time. Launched in 2014 and in use until 2016, it proved a valuable device for weather forecasters, as it helped predict the emergence of hurricanes. It also served as a proving ground for F Prime in space, enabling NASA to subsequently decommission an old wind-monitoring satellite and replace it with a much cheaper design.

The open-source software is also now being used by several different universities that are developing their own CubeSats – a class of satellite pioneered in the early 2000s that takes advantage of the same commodity parts boom as the Ingenuity helicopter. CubeSats can be built much more cheaply than a traditional satellite, are physically much smaller and are relatively standardised in terms of shape, meaning multiple units can be packed tightly together and launched from a single rocket.

In November 2021, two CubeSats running F Prime code will be blasting off as part of the Artemis 1 mission, which is NASA’s first attempt at returning to the Moon since the 1970s. Part of the mission payload will be a CubeSat called Lunar Flashlight, which will attempt to map the Moon’s South Pole and look for signs of water and ice deposits. There’s also the Near Earth Asteroid Scout, a CubeSat that will attempt to get up close with a near-earth object called “1991 VG” and determine its origins.

Ultimately, open-source software could mean that future rovers, satellites and other space technologies can be iterated and developed more quickly and efficiently. Although Linux may still struggle to find a place on the desktop on Earth, the operating system might have just found its place among the stars.

The file manager is the direct interface between the user and what’s stored on the computer. Most average users will be familiar with either Windows File Explorer or macOS Finder, which represent the preinstalled default options for the world’s two most popular desktop operating systems. The Linux ecosystem, however, offers considerably more flexibility in this regard, allowing users to pick from a range of options to find the perfect file manager.

Your needs in this department will depend on what your file management workflow actually is. If you’re an advanced user with a wide range of file management duties, you might appreciate a Linux file manager with some customisation along with specialised features.

On the other hand, if you’re setting it up for someone else, such as a non-technical user, you might prefer something with conventional looks and a stripped down interface. All this is before we even get into personal preferences for functionality and layout.

These are the issues that we’ve taken into consideration. The selection we present below are all good file managers for Linux users, but they all have their strengths and weaknesses.

Dolphin

Best for general users who want a full feature set

It’s a cliche, but ‘Swiss Army Knife’ aptly describes this file manager, and yet, it still manages to strike the right balance by being easy to use. The compromise is that a lot of the user interface features are disabled by default, and you’ll have to traverse a labyrinth of configuration menus to get the full experience of everything Dolphin has to offer.

We consider ourselves to be power users, so our first order of business was to enable the toolbar and the menu bar, but it’s a shame that the default toolbar is so sparse once it’s switched on. It can be populated with icons manually, and that takes time. However, at this point, Dolphin starts to look a bit more suitable for a technically-minded user.

You can even add a terminal window panel that follows the current directory in the main panel - very handy when using Linux. At the flip of a toolbar button, Dolphin can be used as a basic dual panel file manager, with an optional side window which gets you the intimate details of a particular file. All of these features can be assigned to toolbar icons so that you can whip them out when you need them.

Typifying the hidden depths of Dolphin, the detail view has the option of adding quite a lot of extra fields such as the dimensions of an image or the artist name in the case of audio files. A click on the location bar switches to showing the directory path, and you can pop a network URL such as an FTP site or a shared folder directly into this, broadening the roles that Dolphin can fulfil.

Dolphin is our top choice for the technical user who isn’t ready to make the leap to the dedicated dual panel file managers.

Midnight Commander

Best for command line users who need a file manager

To some, a completely text based interface might seem intimidating, but Midnight Commander is actually pretty easy to use. The cursor keys move up and down the list of files, return executes the file under the cursor and spacebar selects. The standard file management commands are attached to function keys, and these are summarised at the bottom of the screen.

The display stretches to fit the current terminal, but obviously, you miss out on a few niceties that come with a GUI file manager such as mouse control and in-place image previews. Midnight Commander comes into its own when you’re working in text mode, and you can jump back and forth into the command line. Sure enough, we ran it over SSH on a Raspberry Pi and performance in this setting was excellent, making it our go-to tool on a text-only connection. It’s just a shame that the built-in network browser is rather limited.

Nemo

Best for users who need the standard features without extra clutter

Over the years, the Gnome project has stripped down the official file manager, Files, and as a result, we prefer Nemo, a fork that retains the features and user interface of the older generation. Don’t worry - although this is a fork, it’s well-supported as it’s part of the Linux Mint distro’s Cinnamon desktop. You’ll find it in the repository of most distributions.

Having said all of this, Nemo still is fairly minimalist, favouring a clutter-free, flat-panelled look. Giving it the first-glance test, most users will understand the layout, and the default user interface configuration is good, placing most of its features on display from the outset.

At the bottom, we have a status bar area, showing things like the free space on the drive and the size of selected files. There’s also an icon size slider here. In the main toolbar, we can switch between icon view, list view or compact views and access file search. This is also where we select between a ‘breadcrumbs’ or a traditional directory pathname for the location bar. Middle-clicking on a directory opens it in a new tab, but there is no split view at all.

Of the file managers we’re looking at, Nemo might offer the best balance of features with simplicity and ease of use. On the downside, although Nemo does everything most people will expect of it, it’s not exactly bristling with features. What you see on the outside is pretty much everything you get. As it’s derived from the Gnome desktop, it also drags in a fair few resources during installation.

PCManFM

Best for those who need file management in a constrained environment

Unsurprisingly, given its connection to the lightweight LXDE desktop environment, PCManFM features a clean layout while being light on resource usage. This means that it's snappy in terms of initial launching and in use, even on older hardware. It also means that it doesn’t drag a huge number of libraries through when it’s being installed.

Pretty much every area of normal file management is covered, even though some of the features aren’t readily apparent. For example, at first, we lamented the fact that it didn’t seem to have a network browser, but it’s in one of the menus and it can be added to the sidebar. Similarly, there was some scope for customisation but it was limited to things like enabling toolbar icons.

We were pleasantly surprised to find it supports full image previews within directories - although zooming in is done via a keyboard combo rather than a slider. Middle selecting a directory opens a new tab, and there is a split view mode.

What this adds up to is a file manager that’s worth considering when resources are tight or advanced customisation isn’t required. It’s not one for the power users who require every feature imaginable, but general users probably won’t feel blocked due to lack of features.

Krusader

Best for power users

Krusader is a dual panel file manager aimed at the power user while retaining the many of the niceties of a mouse-operated GUI. The snag with the more common, accessible style of single-window file manager is that mistakes can start to creep in when you hit a certain level of complexity and repetitiveness of workload.

Almost every area of the Krusader user interface is customisable and there is an emphasis on creating your own scripts and macros to automate jobs. One hundred percent keyboard control is also perfectly viable, which tends to add to accuracy for repetitive jobs.

As is usually the case with dual panel managers, the function key shortcuts are displayed at the bottom of the window, and this is customisable too. It also has good facilities for plugging in external tools and scripts, and the first time you run it, checks are carried out to see what tools have been detected.

Although it’s in its element when handling complicated file management jobs, we don’t want to make it sound like the learning curve is overly steep. However, it’s not a file manager aimed at the casual computer user. If you spend a lot of your time navigating through complicated collections of files and directories or you find yourself sighing every time you begin a regular file management job, taking the time to learn how to use Krusader could well be worth it.

Alternative options

There are some other Linux file managers that are worth looking at, even if the options above are better choices overall. Nemo is forked from what would become Gnome Files, but we explained our reasons for preferring Nemo. Caja is yet another fork that aims to remain featureful, and it’s the official file manager of the Mate desktop.

A common sight on low resource Linux distributions, Thunar is a lightweight file manager in the same vein as PCManFM, but we felt that its feature list is a bit slim for general use. Double Commander is a nice looking dual pane file manager, but we prefer the UI of Krusader. Worker is another solid and currently-maintained dual panel choice, and it’s inspired by Amiga software of yesteryear in terms of looks. If you’re feeling experimental, nnn has a slightly wacky take on how a text mode dual panel file manager should look and work.

Verdict

We’ve chosen Dolphin as the best overall file manager. While it's a little bit resource heavy, Dolphin is attractive and intuitive in use, and we’d struggle to find a file management situation that it couldn’t handle. It’s also a perfectly reasonable choice for beginners and casual users. The Gnome derived file manager that we looked at, Nemo, is easy-to-use but can’t match Dolphin’s feature-set and potential for expansion.

Krusader, meanwhile, carries the torch of the traditional, two-panelled file manager successfully. It has the depth if you want it, but it’s not too difficult to use for the two-panel newbie. Midnight Commander’s a handy utility if you find yourself on the command line, and PCManFM is a good choice as a front-end to the filing system on a low powered system that maintains a conventional approach.

All of the file managers we’ve looked at are worth considering depending on the niche that you’re working in. Our advice: check them out and see which one you prefer - after all, they’re all free.

Canonical has launched the premium version of the open source Ubuntu Linux kernel on Google Cloud, offering enterprise users a suite and new features and security capabilities for their deployments.

Ubuntu Pro on Google Cloud is available to all Google Cloud users, with the deployment allowing for instant access to all security patches covering thousands of open source apps, as well as critical compliance features.

This premium version of the free-to-use Linux operating system focuses on enterprise and production use, providing developers and admins with secured DevOps environments, as well as additional security tools.

Live kernel patching, for example, offers virtual machine (VM) instances increased security, while users can benefit from ten years of mission-critical support for 18.04 LTS onwards. The maintenance period of Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS is eight years.

"Enterprise customers are increasingly adopting Google Cloud to run their core business-critical and customer-facing applications,” said VP and GM for Compute at Google Cloud, June Yang.

“The availability of Ubuntu Pro on Google Cloud will offer our enterprise customers the additional security and compliance services needed for their mission-critical workloads.”

With Ubuntu Pro, alongside all standard optimisations and security updates in Ubuntu, users can also utilise certified components to allow operating environments under various compliance regimes, including GDPR and PCI.

Later in the year, additional features will be added such as certified FIPS 140-2 components, a security dashboard, managed apps, and more that haven’t yet been defined.

Google Cloud has partnered with Canonical in some capacity for many years, and the standard iteration of Ubuntu has been available to Google Cloud customers since 2014.

The two platforms have worked together on Ubuntu Pro on Google Cloud, which serves as a more secure, hardened and cost-effective DevOps environment that aims to boost customers’ cloud transformation efforts.

“Since 2014, Canonical has been providing Ubuntu for Google Cloud customers. We continuously expand security coverage, great operational efficiency, and native compatibility with Google Cloud features,” said VP of Cloud GTM at Canonical, Alex Gallagher.

“I’m excited to witness the collaboration between Canonical and Google Cloud to make Ubuntu Pro available. Ubuntu Pro on Google Cloud sets a new standard for security of operating systems and facilitates your migration to Google Cloud.”

Customers can purchase these premium images directly from Google Cloud by selecting Ubuntu Pro as the operating system directly from the Google Cloud Console.

Software company Xinuos is suing IBM and Red Hat, claiming they stole the Linux source code and pushed its own products out of the market. The move rekindles a legal spat over ownership of the original Unix source.

Xinuos, which is based in the US Virgin Islands, sells server operating systems to commercial customers. The lawsuit, filed in the US Court of the Virgin Islands, accuses IBM and Red Hat of using wrongfully copied software code and engaging in anti-competitive misconduct to corner the market in Unix and Linux server operating systems.

The complaint claims IBM stole Xinuos' intellectual property and misled the public in its SEC statements by saying a third party that owned all of the Unix and UnixWare copyrights had waived all infringement claims against it.

"Thereafter, IBM and Red Hat divided the market for enterprise clients to protect IBM's precious high-end server, software, and services business, they promoted each other's operating system products, and they granted each other special technical access and abilities that were not made generally available and from which Xinuos and others were specifically excluded," the complaint continues. "These bad acts continue to this day."

Unix has a stormy legal history. Novell purchased the rights to the program's source code in 1993, subsequently agreeing to transfer some rights surrounding Unix (including UnixWare, Novell's version of Unix) to the Santa Cruz Operation (SCO). In 2000, Caldera bought UnixWare from SCO, changing its name to the SCO Group two years later.

The SCO Group then sued IBM for infringing on its copyright by including Unix source code in Linux. Novell responded by claiming it was still the legal owner of Linux, sparking a legal response from the SCO Group, which lost its case against Novell in 2007. SCO Group then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy while it pursued an ultimately unsuccessful appeal.

A group of equity investors partnered to create UnXis, which purchased SCO Group's server operating system products, OpenServer and UnixWare, in 2011. At the time, the new company stated there was "no place for litigation in our vision or plan." In 2013, it changed its name to Xinuos and released OpenServer X based on FreeBSD while providing a migration path from the former SCO products.

The Linux Foundation has launched a free-to-use service for open source developers to cryptographically sign software to reassure users further down the supply chain that the software they’re using is legitimate.

Developed in partnership with Google and Red Hat, the sigstore project will allow the open source community to sign software artefacts including release files, container images and binaries before these elements are stored in a public log.

The aim is to make it easier for developers to sign releases and for users to verify them, with widespread uptake translating to a reduction in the threat of open source supply chain attacks. This is because one of the major issues with open source software is it’s often difficult to determine where the software came from, and how it was built.

“Installing most open source software today is equivalent to picking up a random thumb-drive off the sidewalk and plugging it into your machine,” said Google’s product manager Kim Lewandowski and product engineer Dan Lorenc. “To address this we need to make it possible to verify the provenance of all software - including open source packages.

“The mission of sigstore is to make it easy for developers to sign releases and for users to verify them. You can think of it like Let’s Encrypt for Code Signing. Just like how Let’s Encrypt provides free certificates and automation tooling for HTTPS, sigstore provides free certificates and tooling to automate and verify signatures of source code.”

Sigstore takes a unique approach to key management by issuing short-lived certificates based on OpenID Connect grants, and storing all activity in logs backed by the Trillian instant management software. This is so the team can detect compromises, and recover from them, when they do occur.

This approach has been devised in light of the fact that key distribution is “notoriously difficult”, leading developers to design away the need for a management hub by building a Root Certificate Authority (CA) which will be made available for free.

News of this project follows Google's commitment to help fund two Linux developers in their ambitions to fix kernel security problems. This responded to a need for additional work on open source software security that recent research identified.

“I am very excited about sigstore and what this means for improving the security of software supply chains,” said Luke Hinds, one of the lead developers on sigstore and Red Hat’s security engineering lead.

“Sigstore is an excellent example of an open source community coming together to collaborate and develop a solution to ease the adoption of software signing in a transparent manner.”

The team behind the sigstore project will build on this momentum in the near future with further tweaks, including hardening the system, adding support for other OpenID Connect providers, and updating documentation.

IBM business partner Log-On Software has announced Log-On Wave for IBM Z to simplify and accelerate the management and daily administration of highly virtualized Linux server environments on IBM Z and IBM LinuxONE.

“IBM Z and IBM LinuxOne are powerful, reliable and economical platforms for highly virtualized Linux environments. Significant z/VM skills are required to monitor, manage, and provision Linux instances and resources,” said Log-On.

“There is a need for solutions to simplify the operation of these virtualized environments. Log-On Wave for IBM Z (Wave) is such a solution.”

The company claims Log-On Wave for IBM Z can improve productivity by simplifying administration, configuration and management. It also promises to hide much of the complexity and instead offer an easy to use UI for managing virtualised environments, catering for less experienced admins.

IT organizations and service providers can manage workloads across all centralized processing centers (CPCs) and logical partitions (LPARs) from a single dashboard on Wave, quickly and easily clone Linux guests on z/VM, perform live guest relocation and more, the company said.

Log-On Software’s new Wave solution also complements existing Log-On solutions for IBM Z, which include QuickSelect for Db2, a plug-and-play performance accelerator for database 2 (Db2) workloads; VTFM-NewGen, a software-only virtual tape system that leverages the organization's investment in direct access storage devices; and Total Utility Control, a powerful Db2 utility automation solution that intelligently generates the right utility jobs, at the right time and for the right objects.

"We are pleased to enter this space and to offer Log-On Wave for IBM Z to our customers. We look forward to bringing new capabilities and value to the user community," said Danny Zeitouny, managing director & VP of products at Log-On. "Log-On Wave for IBM Z continues our long tradition of delivering outstanding solutions to IBM Z users."

Log-On Software plans to release Wave for IBM Z on January 2, 2021.

Windows 7 has just turned ten and, to celebrate, Microsoft ended support for its most popular operating system to date. Around a third of all computers still run it, and if yours is among them we have some bad news: there’s no such thing as safety in numbers. It’s time to consider your moving options.

In many cases, this will be an upgrade to Windows 10 but, if you’re running older hardware or are in the mood for a change, perhaps it’s time for another look at Linux.

Regular contributor Jon Honeyball has fallen for the charms of Linux Mint – and we can understand why – but Mint is far from the only flavour on offer. Each distro has a different style and skillset, with variants to suit every taste.

In this instance, we’re more interested in usability than we are in raw numbers, as this is about the computing experience as much as it’s about what you can do with each OS.

Moreover, we’ve cut each candidate greater slack than we’d usually be prepared to do. We had issues with each distro – without exception – when installing them on our current-specification laptop, spanning wobbly Wi-Fi, touchpads that stopped working, mute speakers and, in some cases, distributions that wouldn’t install at all.

This is by no means an unusual occurrence in the world of Linux, which often works on a system of trial and error. Linux has a reputation as being the sole province of hardcore tech-heads, and while that's not quite true any more, it certainly not for the faint of heart, and we'd advise anyone who's worried about using a command-line interface to turn back now.

The winner, then, isn’t so much the quantifiably “best” open-source operating system on test, but rather the one we’d be most likely to stick with if it was time to wave goodbye to Windows altogether.

A Linux operating system isn’t a single entity, but a collection of files, scripts and executables that work together to present an interface and manage the underlying environment. Together, those assets are known as a distribution, or “distro”. Whichever flavour of Linux you choose to install, it will have several recognisable components in common with its rivals.

Kernel

This is what it all comes down to. Without the kernel, there would be no Linux. It sits directly above your hardware to provide an interface between the software layer and your processor, memory, storage and so on. It can be added to on the fly as and when the system needs to access a device driver, and its similarity to Unix is what defines Linux as a Unix-like operating system, rather than simply the commands used or its look and feel.

The kernel is developed collaboratively by a distributed team of coders who adapt it for use on different architectures, including x86 and ARM. Spin-offs form the basis of similar (although not identical) operating systems such as Android and webOS.

Package manager

Packages are apps and, logically, a package manager handles installing, updating and removing them from your system. Traditionally, this would have been done at the command prompt (via the terminal), although graphical package managers, which vary between distributions, now give the process a friendly front end, and a graphical environment like that found in the Microsoft and Apple software stores. Packages are installed from software repositories.

Although Linux is used as a generic term for a collection of operating systems, they don’t all work in the same way, and one of the biggest points of difference is the workings of their package managers – and which manager their developers have chosen to implement.

As an example, the table below shows how you would perform a range of common package management tasks via terminal using apt (common in Debian-based distributions, including Ubuntu and Raspbian), pacman (used by Arch-based distributions such as Manjaro) and RPM (which you’d encounter when running Red Hat or Fedora).

Window server

The window server is what makes Linux approachable for novice users, transforming it from a text-based OS into a fully graphical environment. Effectively, it interprets the GUI, which is rendered by the window manager, and translates clicks and mouse movements into actionable commands. On Linux, the most common window server is known as X, X11 or the X Window System, which has been in active use since 1984.

Window manager and desktop environment

These are like a Linux distribution’s style book. It’s the code that defines what you see onscreen, from window borders and controls, to docks and app launchers, the way they behave, how they give feedback and so on. As with the package manager component, there are several window managers to choose from, although in this case end users frequently have greater latitude, with the option to download each distribution tailored for use with a range of different window managers.

Common desktop environments include Gnome, KDE and Xfce. Choosing between them is often a matter of preference, although some may be better suited to specific use cases. Xfce, for example, is optimised for speed and running on less powerful hardware – much like MATE, which started as a form of GNOME 2.

Applications

At this point, things become more subjective. Although applications aren’t a core part of the operating system – in that each would boot and run without apps, even though it wouldn’t be much use – distribution developers each bundle a selection of useful software to get you started. At the most basic, this usually consists of an office suite, web browser and email application, with the most common being LibreOffice, Firefox and Thunderbird respectively.

However, the distribution installers frequently give the option of standard and minimal install options, the latter of which sets up just the guts of the OS and leaves the end user to assemble their preferred software selection after first boot using the command-based package manager or graphical app store.

A lot has changed in the past 20 years. At the turn of the millennium, KDE was less than two years old, work had begun on Gnome just a few months before and Microsoft clearly saw Linux as a threat, rather than something to embrace. Today, Linux underpins macOS, Android and iOS, it’s been integrated into Windows, and pure Linux environments are as attractive, easy to use and fully featured as a “mainstream”, charged-for OS.

Moreover, the client applications, including LibreOffice and GIMP, are accomplished enough that switching to Linux should no longer be seen as a compromise. It’s different, but that doesn’t make it less suited to business use. It’s been core to IBM’s systems strategy for the past two decades, with Big Blue investing $1 billion in improving the OS, embedding its own developers within Linux teams and building servers and clients centred on the kernel. In 2019, it acquired Red Hat for $34 billion, and you don’t get much more committed than that.

What does this mean for us, the punter? Not necessarily that it’s “the year of Linux”, but that its star continues to rise, and its future looks as bright as ever. Furthermore, if you’ve been holding off, now would be the time to leap – particularly if you have a Windows 7 machine calling out for an upgrade that you’d rather not transition to Windows 10.

Finding the one

Searching for the “right” Linux needn’t cost you anything more than time. The distributions are mostly free to download and use, so if your first choice doesn’t suit, you can switch at no cost. Core applications such as LibreOffice and GIMP also run on any of them, and are easy to install.

While there are dozens of builds to choose from, they’re mainly drawn from four families: Arch; Debian, which includes the Ubuntu branch; Red Hat, which spawned ClearOS and Fedora; and Slackware, the parent of SUSE and openSUSE. Chrome OS and Chromium OS share a codebase with Gentoo, while Android uses a modified version of the Linux kernel. Although macOS, OS X, iOS, iPadOS and co are described as “Unix-like”, they’re based on the XNU kernel, developed and open-sourced by Apple but named to denote that “X is Not Unix”. The operating systems Apple builds using XNU are not open source.

If your head’s spinning, either disregard these distinctions or check out Wikimedia’s comprehensive, if complex, family tree of the Linux offspring.

At the time of writing, DistroWatch, which gauges popularity by measuring traffic to the various distributions’ content on its site, has seen MX Linux consistently top its charts over the last six months. Old hands Debian, Ubuntu and Fedora were between fourth and eighth, with a little switching around.

However, what works for some users won’t suit others, and although we enjoyed using MX Linux it wasn’t, ultimately, the distribution we went back and reinstalled for long-term use.

Satisfying specific needs

When choosing a distribution, consider not just the look and feel – which can often be tweaked – but the extras each one offers. Zorin has an education build and will soon be shipping Grid, which aims to simplify network-based administration by centralising control for a fleet of desktops in a unified cloud dashboard.

Elsewhere, big names with long histories – such as Ubuntu, SUSE and Red Hat – have specific offerings for enterprise. These come with paid support that, despite being infinitely more expensive than free alternatives, may be an easier sell at C-suite level. When you’re paying for support, you can demand a certain level of service, minimise downtime and place less emphasis on forums as a cure-all.

Where you’re running bespoke applications that can’t be ported or for which there are no Linux equivalents, make support for the Wine compatibility layer a priority, as this lets you run many Windows applications natively. See appdb.winehq.org for a list of supported software. The Wine project itself maintains binary packages for Ubuntu, Debian and Fedora, while SUSE, Slackware and FreeBSD build and support alternatives for their own distributions. Again, if you prefer to pay for a commercial implementation, you should check out CrossOver from CodeWeavers.

Windows 10 was certainly a huge leap forward when Microsoft unveiled it in 2015. At the time, users were getting increasingly frustrated with legacy Microsoft operating systems. Windows Vista, launched in 2006, was heavily criticised for its poor performance and hefty hardware requirements, while Windows 8 was dismissed for its oversimplification of user functions and mobile-focused UI.

Windows 7 remained incredibly popular until its end of life in 2020, although many raised concerns about security, particularly around changes made to user account controls.

The user interface for Windows 10 was one of the biggest shifts Microsoft users had ever seen. It was close to a complete overhaul, bringing the platform in-line with other desktop and laptop operating systems (dare we say it – macOS and, to some extent, Chrome OS). Simplified menus, new iconography, and a handful of features that really blasted the operating system into the 21st century made it a pleasure to use for the majority.

But, as is usually the case when a company launches such a significant overhaul, there were objectors. For starters, because it was such a change, a lot of applications and programs weren't supported from the outset.

For anyone that isn't happy with Windows 10, there are alternatives. While we don't recommend that users revert back to Windows 8, you do have the option of leaving the Windows platform entirely – perhaps it's time you gave Linux a go?

Selecting your Linux distribution

Unlike Windows or macOS, there's no one version of Linux. Rather it's packaged into a different 'distributions' commonly referred to as 'distros'.

These come with their own user interfaces, features and overall experience derived from the underlying Linux code.

You can choose Linux Mint for an easy start, but the likes of Zorin OS, Ubuntu, and Fedora offer difference Linux experiences, some which are similar to Windows and others far removed from the look and feel of Microsoft's OS.

Backing up Windows

Before you commit fully to a Linux OS, you might want to back up your installation of Windows 10 – that way you can revert back to it if need be.

If your computer has multiple storage drives, then you can use the backup function in Windows 10 to create a backup in one of those.

If not, you can create a backup ‘image’ of Windows 10 on a USB drive or, if you’re feeling retro, you can burn a backup to a CD. In Windows 10, this option sits in the ‘Backup’ settings menu, then under ‘Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7)' – you can use this tool to also restore files from, or revert back to, Windows 7, if you have an install disc or previous system image, but as Windows 7 is at end-of-life, we don’t recommend doing that.

The process of installing Linux on a new machine can be a little involved, and will require some specialised utilities and a little know-how. Fortunately, it's quite straightforward once you're familiar with the various functions you'll be using.

Step 1: Download Rufus

Rufus is a small, free utility that extracts ISOs onto USB drives and sets them up for booting. All of the distributions on test were installed in this manner, either from the live OS or a specific install menu that appears at boot. You don’t need to install Rufus, so download it from rufus.ie and launch it from Windows’ Downloads folder.

Step 2: Download Linux

Once you’ve chosen a version of Linux, download an ISO of its desktop, workstation or client version. Frequently, each will be available for a variety of processor architectures, so make sure you choose the appropriate distribution for your PC, which will almost certainly be marked as either x86_64 or AMD64.

Step 3: Select the distro and drive

Plug in a USB flash drive and ensure Rufus has detected and preselected it in the dropdown menu at the top of the interface. Now click the SELECT button on the row below and navigate to the ISO file you just downloaded. Once locked in, its name will appear in the left-hand “Boot selection” menu.

Step 4: Burn your USB stick

You can leave everything else as it is and click START. Rufus will warn you that any files currently on your USB stick will be destroyed, and might also ask for permission to download supplementary files from the web that the PC on which you’ll be installing Linux will require to complete the installation. Grant it permission to do so.

Step 5: Configure your BIOS

Extracting the ISO and writing it to your USB flash drive should take less than five minutes. Once the process has completed, eject the drive and then plug it into the machine on which you want to install Linux. Start or reboot it and press the button that either directs it to start from an external drive or opens the BIOS.

Step 6: Set your startup drive

If you’ve entered the BIOS, navigate through its screens, which vary depending on manufacturer, until you find an option for setting your boot device. Give priority to your USB-mounted flash drive, save any changes you’ve made and then exit. Your PC will reboot again, this time opening an options screen asking whether you want to install or start a live version of the distribution.

Step 7: Run live Linux

If you’re given the choice to either install Linux directly or boot into a live operating system without making any changes to your hard drive, you should take the latter option. But why? Because if you’re able to set up Wi-Fi in advance of installing the operating system it will be able to download updates and apply them before writing the distribution to disk.

Step 8: Install Linux

The first few screens of the installation process will ask you to specify your installation language and keyboard layout. Things will quickly become more serious, though, when you need to decide whether to install the distribution alongside your existing operating system or wipe the drive and give it over entirely to your new OS.

Step 9: Partition your drive

We chose to turn our laptop, which was running Windows 10 S, into a dedicated Linux machine, so gave permission for the installer to wipe our existing partitions entirely rather than merely resizing them. If you prefer to maintain your existing OS and run the two side by side, you’ll be able to choose between them at boot time.

Step 10: Go for it

There are plenty of opportunities to back out along the way but, if you’re happy with the decisions you’ve made, the final step is to commit to the process and install Linux on your machine. When the process has finished, click the button to reboot your PC and, unless prompted to do so earlier, remove the USB flash drive immediately after restart so that it’s not used as your boot source.

Step 11: Apply updates

Like Windows, Linux receives regular patches, and there’s a fair chance that unless you connected to Wi-Fi from the live OS and allowed it to update before installing, your operating system will already be out of date. Get online and download the latest patches to keep yourself secure. If your Wi-Fi isn’t working, connect to a smartphone using Bluetooth, or plug it in via USB and use it as a hotspot.

Step 12: Install applications

Every distribution installs a range of default applications, usually covering productivity, browsing and communications. However, they also generally ship with their own app stores, which are packed with free software and through which you can tailor your new operating system to meet your precise requirements.

Fedora is the freely distributable offshoot of Red Hat, offering versions for standalone computers, servers, cloud computing, containers and IoT devices. We opted for the first, Workstation release 31, and installed it from a live image. We’d expect this build to be supported until around November this year, by which point Fedora 33 should be ready for download. (Fedora’s typical release cycle lasts six months, with only the two latest releases supported, so each installation is “current” for around 13 months, giving one month’s grace for slow upgraders to get themselves up to date.)

It was extremely easy to install. The live system picked up our Wi-Fi hardware, allowing us to connect to our wireless network pre-installation, and the settings carried through to the version set up on the hard drive. It also handled our laptop’s sleep-wake cycle better than many of its rivals: while most locked off the touchpad when we closed and reopened the lid, Fedora only lost its two-finger scroll function, but still let us drag the pointer with a single digit. The fix was the same as it had been elsewhere: to implement a script that unloaded the touchpad driver on sleep and reinitiated it on wake.

Fedora was in a minority of distros that sported only close buttons on window title bars. While minimising them isn’t a problem (Windows+down arrow), and neither was snapping them to the screen edges (Windows+left or right arrow), the absent minimise and maximise buttons could leave switchers wanting. Fortunately, the fix is a simple one, requiring a single line of code at the command line.

The default installation is slim but has all of the expected components, including LibreOffice, Firefox, a text editor, weather app, music player and file manager. There’s also Boxes, a virtual machine manager, which simplifies creating a VM locally or connecting to a remote computer. You can download an OS image directly to Boxes, supply your own or use one of the default choices, which include Ubuntu, Endless, Debian and openSUSE.

If the app you need isn’t installed, you’ll probably find it in the built-in app store, or you can install it through the terminal using RPM. You can add support for Snap for any packages not in the official repository.

Like the other distributions on test, Fedora spots which apps can handle different content types and indexes them appropriately. Thus, switching default apps for email, web, media and so on is just a case of picking the appropriate option within Settings, as it is in Windows. Alt+Tab cycles through live applications, as it does in Windows.

Tapping the Windows key shrinks all of the active windows to a multitasking view so you can switch between them, while simultaneously exposing a preselected search box. Start typing and Fedora immediately works on isolating results, with “music” pointing to Rhythmbox, “spreadsheet” to LibreOffice Calc and so on, despite the terms not appearing in the application names.

Dormant apps aren’t immediately accessible once you’ve opened the app menu; they’re a further click away behind the Show Applications button. However, once you’ve found them, your most frequently used apps have a tab of their own, which is handy, making them easier to locate. There’s no taskbar in the default desktop, which uses GNOME 3.

It’s easy to connect to your online accounts, with presets for Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Exchange, IMAP and others in the Settings app, which is where you’ll also find controls for notifications, privacy, which apps’ data is included in search results, desktop backgrounds and more.

Fedora spotted our networked scanner and printer, which were ready to use without additional drivers. Clicking the Network tab within the file manager likewise spotted our NAS drive, along with a selection of Macs, PCs and Raspberry Pi devices.

Fedora was snappy throughout our tests. Apps were responsive, remote drives were quick to mount, and in Geekbench 5 it turned in scores of 1,007 and 1,869 for single-core and multicore performance. The latter puts it slightly ahead of Ubuntu.

If you’re having trouble getting your hardware working in other distributions, take a look at Fedora. It was among the simplest to get up and running with, which perhaps explains why it’s said to be the distribution favoured by Linux father figure Linus Torvalds himself.

Zorin OS is another of the many flavours of Linux based on Ubuntu. However, one of its key marketing points is its resemblance to Windows – in looks as much as anything else – and the comparison is valid; you’ll quickly feel at home if you’re switching from Windows 7. Particularly neat is the way it handles the windows of apps that stay resident when closed (Slack, for example), dropping active menus to the right of the taskbar for quickly reopening them or skipping straight to specific windows or features. Mount a few shares, and they will appear here, too, where clicking the eject button lets you skip to the one you need.

Installation was a cinch, but again we encountered problems with Wi-Fi (initially, there wasn’t any), and a touchpad that stopped working when waking from sleep. We can’t hold either against Zorin, as we had the same problems to varying degrees with every distribution, fixing the former by installing updates after connecting via an iPhone, and the latter with a script.

Builds are based on Ubuntu’s LTS releases and provide access to both Ubuntu and Zorin repositories. However, if you click download at zorinos.com you’ll be asked to cough up €39, plus VAT. That’s because the default download is Zorin Ultimate, which bundles games, support, a range of business apps and a macOS-style desktop. If you don’t need any of these, click through to Core, which is free. It’s also what we tested (build 15.1).

LibreOffice is preinstalled, alongside a calendar, file manager, media player and GIMP. There’s a handful of utilities, Firefox as the default web browser, and Evolution handling mail.

There’s also a tidy app store, visually reminiscent of the one in Mint, and you have a choice of package managers, including apt, for installing, updating and removing software through the terminal.

If you’ve installed Zorin OS Ultimate, the default bundle also includes HomeBank for managing your finances, Inkscape (vector graphics), Audacity, Kendive video editor, Mixxx DJ software and Xournal, all of which are available – gratis – through the software store if you’ve downloaded the free Zorin OS Core. Unless you want to contribute to the distro’s development by paying for your download, therefore, the most compelling reason to opt for Ultimate rather than Core is the bundled support.

You won’t get lost in Zorin. Alt+Tab cycles through running apps, the application menu is logically arranged and searchable, and its settings are easily navigated. Pressing the Windows key arranges your running apps in a multitasking view. Typing at this point neatly switches to full-screen search with live results, which is an excellent way to surface content within your files, apps, and even live information, such as the time in matching cities (type “libre”, for example, and you not only get your LibreOffice documents and direct links to the apps that edit them, but also the current time in Libreville, the capital of Gabon).

The default theme is clean, muted and logical, easily tweaked if it doesn’t suit, and easily ignored, keeping out of the way when you’re working. Less easy to ignore was the frequent spinning of our laptop’s fans.

However, we didn’t experience any lag in general office tasks, which was our main use case for each of the distros on test, and its performance was broadly in line with vanilla Ubuntu when subjected to Geekbench 5. Its single-core performance turned in an aggregate score of 1,034, climbing to 1,682 in the multicore test; almost identical to Ubuntu’s 1,044 and 1,645. Mint, which is also Ubuntu-based, turned in a multicore score of 2,099.

If you’re rolling out Zorin across a business, school (for which there’s a dedicated Education build with classroom management and control built in), or any other organisation where users won’t necessarily have full control of their own machine, the forthcoming Zorin Grid centralises management of multiple desktops. Once available, admins will be able to push updates to every machine in their fleet, track inventory, install and remove apps and change users’ desktop settings. Grid will initially run from the cloud, but work is ongoing on a locally hosted version to follow.

There’s a beautiful simplicity to Zorin. It’s uncluttered and you could be convinced you were running a test build of a lightweight Windows. If design is your thing, check it out alongside Elementary before making your final choice.

The version of Mint you’ll most likely encounter is based on Ubuntu, but there’s another branch that cuts out the middleman; this uses Debian (on which Ubuntu is based) as its starting point. Either way, Mint doesn’t look much like its parents, thanks to its distinctive desktop language, Cinnamon. It’s getting a lot of favourable attention, with many hailing it as the next “big thing”. The same is true of MX Linux.

We installed version 19.3 Tricia. As with Ubuntu, the process was fuss-free, although our Wi-Fi card wasn’t operative on first booting. This was only fixed once we’d shared a 3G connection from our iPhone and updated the OS. Mint also suffered from an unresponsive touchpad upon wake, as did several others. The fix, as it had been elsewhere, was to implement a script that unloaded the touchpad driver as our laptop went to sleep and invoked it again upon waking. Thankfully though, this is only something you need to do once.

Aside from those two issues, our hardware was well supported. Hot keys for volume, brightness and keyboard backlighting all worked as expected, with appropriate onscreen HUDs and, in the case of the volume controls, audible feedback. External drives mounted when plugged in and could be ejected via the Dock, where an Update Manager icon also advertised available patches.

Mint preinstalled LibreOffice, Firefox and Thunderbird, alongside the Pix image viewer and Rhythmbox music and streaming radio player. Other apps can be installed through the terminal using apt, or the native Software Manager. As in rival distros, this highlights editors’ picks and is easily searched for business essentials such as unofficial clients for Slack and WhatsApp, and useful add-ons such as the Microsoft core fonts package. Don’t assume that just because Mint has Ubuntu overtones, everything that’s available through the Ubuntu software installer is accessible here – or vice versa. Mailspring is a notable omission, although you can install it using Snap.

It’s a very easy OS to learn, launching with a welcome pane that walks you through your first steps, including checking that your drivers are up to date, selecting your preferred desktop layout and setting up the firewall and System Snapshots. As the name suggests, Snapshots are system images to which you can return should disaster strike.

Appearances will always be subjective, but we prefer the look of a default Ubuntu installation. Out of the box, Mint is somewhat colder and has smaller interface elements. This can be tweaked, though, and the OS offers a lot of customisation options through its Settings panel. You can go as far as installing new themes entirely – both official and third-party – one of which bills itself Ubuntu Touch.

Windows refugees will quickly find themselves at home. The app launcher is logically categorised and opens on pressing the Windows key, Alt+Tab cycles between open applications and dragging windows to the edges of the screen snaps them to occupy half of the available pixels. You can surface apps directly by typing in the menu, just as with Windows, and find settings in the same manner, even if there’s no direct correlation between what you enter and what you end up with. Typing “default”, for example, calls up the Preferred Applications settings, which is exactly what we were after.

We quickly took to its Desklets concept, which lets you add widgets to the desktop where they live beneath any active windows. Three are preinstalled, providing a floating launcher, digital photo frame and clock, but you can add others to interface with Google Calendar, show the weather and more.

Our only real concern was Mint’s keenness to run our laptop’s fans more than Ubuntu. In our Geekbench 5 test, it scored 1,040 on single-core and 2,099 when running dual core, the latter of which was a considerable improvement on what our Ubuntu install achieved on the same hardware.

Work started on Linux Mint 13 years ago, so it’s not exactly a new kid on the block, whatever the recent flurry of media interest might suggest. It’s also available with MATE or Xfce desktop environments, if you’d prefer not to take the Cinnamon challenge.

German open source vendor SUSE is well known in the world of IT for SLES, its server-focused Linux distro, but it also offers a desktop OS in the form of openSUSE. Geared towards power users, developers and sysadmins, this software is nonetheless a solid choice for Linux novices as well.

OpenSUSE has one of the best thought-out installers we’ve seen in a Linux distro. There are plenty of manual options for tweaking the defaults, most of which are self-explanatory, and our Wi-Fi was up and running in advance of the install, allowing it to trawl for updates prior to our first full boot.

We were also pleased that the touchpad didn’t clam up entirely after putting the laptop through a sleep/wake cycle, although it did lose its two-finger scroll features until a full reboot. Mouse scroll wheels continued to work fine. The other anomaly was non-functioning sound, both in and out. Plugging in a USB sound source unblocked this in both directions, so the problem was confined to our internal hardware.

openSUSE scored highly for “look and feel”. It has a Windows-style task bar and app menu, the latter of which is categorised. An opening pane shows favourites, after which come applications, computer (head here for settings and places, such as your Documents and Pictures folders), history (which covers both recent applications and files), and “leave” (a neat subsection for shutting down, switching user, hibernating and so on). You can search immediately upon opening the window and the engine underpinning it is intelligent enough to match on function rather than just name, so “music” calls up both the music settings shortcut and your audio folders, while “video” matches VLC Player.

Alt+Tab is beautifully implemented, combining full-screen previews of active apps with a clickable sidebar, allowing you to switch straight to the app you need without having to tab through everything else.

The settings app is one of the best on test, offering fine-grained control over every aspect of the system. Combine it with the YaST Control Center and you’re never more than a couple of clicks from any change you might need to make, including configuring hardware, diagnosing problems and updating drivers. Less impressively, it didn’t detect our NAS device, and neither were our network-attached scanner and printer spotted, either automatically or when we tried to add them through settings.

The software bundle is what you would expect, with LibreOffice handling productivity tasks (openSUSE is the only distribution to install version 6.4 rather than 6.3 by default), a handful of games, Firefox for browsing and Kmail for email. You can install anything that’s missing using the built-in app catalogue.

As with other distros on test, you can also easily change your default apps for specific tasks through Settings. Although you can also set up online accounts, only two are preconfigured: Google and ownCloud.

Package management is handled by YaST, ZYpp and RPM, and you can choose your preferred desktop manager at the point of installation. We opted for KDE Plasma, which appears at the top of the list, but there’s also Gnome and Xfce if you’d prefer either of those.

openSUSE is also available in several different flavours. Ignoring the charged-for retail version (which isn’t available in English), there’s Leap, which ships as a live DVD from which you can install the distro to your hard drive; Factory, which is cutting edge but unstable; and Tumbleweed, which sits somewhere between the two. We opted for Tumbleweed as it delivers the most up-to-date, stable versions of each package and pushes you towards installing it directly on your hard drive. As such, questions about support duration are moot as, effectively, you’ll be upgrading it on a rolling basis, not necessarily in big blocks. In this respect it works much like Windows does with patches rather than how Microsoft’s OS handles periodic feature updates. If you prefer more predictable fixing and patching, new releases of openSUSE Leap ship on an eight-month cycle.

Although it ran our test laptop’s fans a little more often than we might have liked, we found openSUSE to be both fast and responsive in daily use, keeping out of the way and letting us focus on any task at hand. That said, while its single-core Geekbench 5 score was a less than stellar 828, the impressive 1,759 it scored when working across all four cores more than made up for it.

Ubuntu is celebrating its 15th anniversary, during which time it’s built itself a loyal following. It isn’t difficult to see why. It’s well supported, easy on the eye and simple to install. Based on Debian, it’s available in both client and server editions.

We used Rufus to burn Ubuntu 19.10 (“Eoan Ermine”) to a USB stick and installed it directly from the boot menu, without first entering live mode. Canonical releases a new version of Ubuntu every six months, with long-term support (LTS) releases every other year. Although 19.10 is the latest release, the most recent revision with LTS is 18.04 (“Bionic Beaver”) for which mainstream support is guaranteed until at least 2023. Non-LTS versions are supported for nine months, giving a three-month grace period to upgrade to the latest revision. The version number, incidentally, is the year, then month, of its release.

Recommended system requirements for both 19.10 and 18.04 are a 2GHz dual-core processor, 4GB of system memory and 25GB of available hard drive space. As with the other distributions on test, they’ll happily coexist beside Windows if you want to repartition your hard drive, and the bootloader gives you the option to launch Ubuntu, Windows or your BIOS on startup. Support for 32-bit i386 processors was dropped after Ubuntu 18.04, but the current release continues to support some 32-bit apps.

Installation completed in less than five minutes and our laptop was ready to use immediately. However, our Wi-Fi adaptor wasn’t recognised and, as our PC had no Ethernet port, we couldn’t switch to a physical interface to download the appropriate driver. Instead, we connected to the internet via an iPhone. This wasn’t ideal: while updating the system using apt-get via the terminal retrieved around 400MB of patches, the bundle didn’t include the Wi-Fi device driver we required. Ultimately, we downloaded a generic driver from GitHub that did the trick, after which the wireless connection was stable and impressively fast.

Key-based hardware controls for volume, brightness and even keyboard backlighting worked as expected, with audible feedback from Ubuntu on every volume tweak. But putting the laptop to sleep by closing the lid, then waking it again by opening it, rendered the trackpad inoperable. Plugging in a mouse reclaimed control of the pointer but didn’t resurrect the trackpad. Rebooting brought it back into play and changing the default lid closure options in our laptop’s BIOS did initially seem to have fixed the problem. However, a few seconds after waking up the trackpad once again went AWOL.

In the end, we fixed it using a script that unloaded the mouse driver prior to sleep and reloaded it when the computer woke up. This appears to be a known issue for many users across several hardware configurations, as you’ll see if you search for “ubuntu touchpad wake”. In our case, it didn’t just affect Ubuntu, either. The moral, then, is to keep a USB mouse handy, at least until you’ve implemented an effective fix.

A small but useful collection of apps is installed by default. LibreOffice takes care of business documents, Firefox handles the web and for email it’s Thunderbird. Elsewhere, there’s a to-do app, scanning tool (which recognised and worked with our networked scanner without us manually installing it), image viewer, file manager, music player and a couple of games. If you just want a knock-about machine for getting online, keeping in touch with friends and doing some light office work, that’s all you need.

However, the built-in software store makes installing additional apps a breeze. If you’ve not used Linux in several years, and the trial of first finding, then installing, and finally keeping your apps up to date swore you off it for life, it’s time to reconsider. The repository is fully searchable, apps install with a single click and you can remove them through the same interface.

Naturally, the store includes essentials – such as GIMP, VLC, Dropbox and Slack (the latter in beta) – and we also took the opportunity to install Mailspring to replace Thunderbird. Ubuntu recognised that this was a mail handler and offered it as an alternative default app. As well as email, you can choose preferred defaults for browsing, calendar, music, video and photos, as is the case in other distributions.

The app store is separate to Software & Updates, where you’ll turn when you need to patch the OS and its components. However, even this can be avoided in most instances if you sign up to Livepatch, which checks your installed code against the latest stable releases and installs in the background any updates that don’t require a restart. This is free to anyone with an Ubuntu One account (also gratis).

If you prefer to use the command line, Ubuntu uses Debian’s DEB package format and the apt tool for installation, removal and upgrade. Despite this, while there’s considerable cross-pollination between Ubuntu and Debian packages, full compatibility still isn’t guaranteed.

There’s no denying Ubuntu looks very different to Windows, whatever version you’re running. Where once it used its own Unity UI, Ubuntu switched to Gnome 3 with version 17.10. The Dock runs up the left-hand edge of the screen, although you can move it to the bottom or right if you prefer, and there’s a Show Applications button rather than a Start Menu, which sits to the right if you’ve put the Dock at the bottom.

Alt+Tab switches between live applications, while clicking Activities at the top of the screen arranges all of your active windows without overlap so you can switch to the one you want (pressing the Windows key does the same, rather than opening the apps browser). Dragging windows to the side of the screen snaps them, as is the case in Windows, which makes lining up several applications straightforward. There are also quick picks for 100% and 200% zoom for the overall user interface, but nothing in between, and it’s sensitive to late-night workers, with a reduced blue light mode that you can set to activate between specified hours. Finally, there’s a startup dialog for tweaking what launches when Ubuntu boots.

The file manager won’t pose any problems for Windows switchers, either. Familiar libraries for photos, videos, documents and so on are all in place, as they are across the distributions, and external drives mount and show up in the window without intervention. We had no problem accessing a WD NAS drive and using it to exchange files with other computers on our network.

If you don’t like Gnome 3 or you’re running older hardware, other installs are available. Lubuntu uses the lighter-weight LXQt desktop environment, and Xubuntu employs Xfce. Kubuntu uses the KDE, while Ubuntu Mate has a more macOS-esque finish, so may be the go-to for anyone repurposing an old Mac.

Whichever flavour you go for, you quickly forget what you’re using and pay more attention to the task at hand, which we like. Ubuntu isn’t needy, it rarely displays notifications, even with all of the default notifications enabled, and it didn’t stress our PC, which rarely span its fans. It scored 1,044 on single core and 1,645 on multicore performance under Geekbench 5.

If you need to set up cloud accounts, these are neatly handled within Ubuntu’s preferences, where – alongside its own Ubuntu Single Sign On settings – there are presets for Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Pocket, Exchange, IMAP and more.

While there may be some younger head-turners on the block, Ubuntu is an elegant, mature option, which feels familiar from the off. It’s logical, easy to use and well supported, and is frequently offered as a pre-install option from Linux system integrators if you’d rather not set up your own machine.

More than most of the other distros on test, MX Linux feels like something that was put together by a loose collection of enthusiasts. It doesn’t have quite the same level of polish as something like Ubuntu or Mint, although this may be a consequence of the fact that it’s designed to be more lightweight than some of the other distros out there.

We had some trouble installing MX Linux, but it was well worth persevering. The main hurdle was that it froze halfway through booting the live USB; only by switching to the text view did we realise that it was waiting for us to log in at the command prompt. We did so, using the default root password, but then it couldn’t start the window server. An online search turned up plenty of advice (it wasn’t an unknown issue), with several forum posts suggesting that we update the kernel.

This is easy enough so long as you have a second PC to hand that can boot from your USB stick. From there, opening MX Tools lets you update the kernel on the live USB, write it back to the stick, then return the stick to your first PC and try booting again. That said, the fix didn’t work for us, so we sourced a recompiled ISO of the live OS, which booted first time using the most recent kernel.

More impressively, the live OS spotted our Wi-Fi, allowing us to get online before we even clicked install and, when we first booted the OS from our hard drive, the password we supplied in live mode was carried through, allowing us to download updates right away.

We were running version 19.1, released in December 2019. The version number before the point relates to the year at the end of which it was released, so expect MX Linux 20 to hit download servers around December this year.

Although our build used the Xfce window manager, it was set up for tap-to-click (unlike Manjaro), and two-fingered scrolling was active, although this – and even touch detection – occasionally broke after a sleep/wake cycle. More seriously, closing our laptop’s lid didn’t put it to sleep in our build’s default configuration – it simply switched off the display. We changed the power settings to hibernate the machine when the lid was closed but this didn’t rectify the issue on our hardware.

System-wide settings are well organised and split across two apps called Settings Manager and MX Tools. The latter will more often bring you into contact with tweaks that require root access, so splitting them off from run-of-the-mill options is sensible, as it’s likely to cause less confusion among new users.

Windows switchers shouldn’t get lost, even though the taskbar is vertical. You’ll get used to it soon enough, but there is an option to set it to horizontal (pick Desktop from the Panel Preferences). If you want to make more extensive changes, dip into the MX Tweak tool where you can play with themes, display zoom and behaviours.

The application menu is categorised and searchable, and there’s a package manager for installing anything that doesn’t come as standard. The default bundle includes LibreOffice, Firefox and Thunderbird; Clementine and VLC for music and video; and a range of accessories and tools. Our wireless printer and network scanner were both detected, and we had no problems connecting to and browsing our NAS.

There’s a separate updater app lodged in the taskbar, the icon for which switches between an empty wireframe box when you’re fully patched and a solid green box when updates are waiting – it’s a simple and effective touch.

It’s sprightly, too, achieving a single-core score of 1,065 in Geekbench 5, and 2,071 when running the multicore test. We ran the tests a second time to be sure that wasn’t a fluke, and while the single-core result dropped slightly, to 1,054, multicore nudged up two notches to 2,073, making it an excellent choice for any user for whom performance is a must.

MX Linux is attractive and flexible, and there’s every chance you’ll find it works perfectly on your hardware. We found that some of the other options on test were better suited to our particular setup but, as with most Linux builds, you’ll have to make allowances for the fact the operating system and whichever machine you’re installing it on weren’t necessarily designed to work specifically together.

Manjaro is ideal for those who are entirely new to the Linus ecosystem, as it’s designed explicitly for ease of use. It’s supposed to be simple, straightforward and easy to understand, without the usual configuration headaches that go along with a Linux installation.

Fittingly, the Manjaro live USB detected our wireless card right away. We didn’t need to install any drivers or write any scripts to configure it, allowing us to get online even before we’d clicked install. Once the distro was running from our hard drive, entering the Wi-Fi password for a second time made the connection permanent, and it downloaded and installed over 700MB of updates. We were fully patched and ready for business within 15 minutes of downloading the Manjaro ISO.

Our touchpad, which has been a pain point throughout these tests, didn’t stop working when we slept and woke our laptop, as happened to varying degrees with the majority of distributions on test, but it did forget how to scroll with two fingers. Bizarrely, Manjaro’s developers also seem to have overlooked the common tap-to-click function: it’s not enabled by default and there’s no way to select it through the Settings app, so we had to resort to a script to get it working (and, once we had done, this feature survived all the sleep/wake cycles we put it through).

The default bundle includes Firefox and Thunderbird but while every other distribution on test either preinstalled or gave you the option of LibreOffice, Manjaro supplemented this with FreeOffice. Initially, we opted for the latter, but found it laggy on our setup so uninstalled it and attempted to install LibreOffice using the integrated app manager. This failed twice over, so we resorted to the Snap store instead, which processed it without any further hitches.

Just as you have a choice of two office suites, you can also pick between three window managers: Xfce (which we chose), Gnome and KDE. Unofficial builds also offer Cinnamon (as used by Mint) and Mate. Xfce and KDE have been available since 2012’s build 0.8, but support for Gnome wasn’t added until build 17, the first to use the 4.9 kernel. The only thing we don’t like about the default skin, Plasma, is the start menu, but that’s aesthetics and your opinion may well vary. If it doesn’t, at least you have extensive control over its layout, opacity and contents.

Applications are installed from its built-in software manager, which separates out the most popular options so they’re easy to find. If you’re a Linux pro and prefer to use the terminal, apps are installed, updated and removed using the Pacman package manager. This works in a similar fashion to RPM and apt, but the three use bespoke commands, so you can’t transfer much of what you’ve learned on one to any of the others.

There aren’t any games installed as part of the regular bundle, but there is a Games category on the software menu in which the only installed application is Steam. So, if you have a Steam account, you should be able to shoot, fly or race as easily under Linux as you do under Windows.

Switchers shouldn’t have any trouble finding their way around. The Windows key opens Manjaro’s application menu, where you’ll find your installed software broken down into categories, a search box (which can search the web as well as your local resources if you prefix keywords with signifiers such as #), and shortcuts to log out and shut down. You can add to or remove from these shortcuts as required. As with other distros on test, the menu search function is more intelligent than it first appears, delivering results based on function as well as name. So, searching for “settings” not only points at the OS-wide Settings app, but also a range of preferences, power management tools and more.

You can tweak the menu’s information density, which spans an impressive range. At one end of the scale, you have generic names – Firefox is “Web browser”, LibreOffice Calc becomes just “Spreadsheet” and so on – while at the other it’s heading for overkill with application names sitting above short descriptions of their functions. Either of these would be ideal if you’re handing down an old PC to, for example, a less tech-literate family member, but we were most comfortable once we’d set it to use application names, larger icons, and no descriptions.

Alt+Tab cycles through running applications, with each one jumping to the front while being highlighted so you can see what you’ll switch to if you let go at that moment, but we missed the ability to snap windows to the screen edge by combining the Windows and arrow keys. It’s possible to add a shortcut for these actions via the Settings app (scroll through the Windows Manager panel’s Keyboard tab to find “tile window to the left” and “tile window to the right” and record your preferred combination) but setting these to respond to Windows+left and Windows+right didn’t work – it merely opened the applications menu again. Instead, we set them to Ctrl+Shift+1 and Ctrl+Shift+2 respectively. It was a compromise, and one we’ll soon get used to, but not ideal for switchers with robust muscle memory.

Manjaro isn’t as strict as some other distributions about only including open-source software in its bundle. Consequently, while things such as our wireless printer were generally visible from the off, regardless of the OS on test, under Manjaro we could also benefit from an HP device manager, which gave us remote feedback on supplies, settings and control, and which was absent from rival distros. For anyone who prefers not to administer hardware using a browser and internal web server, this is a boon.

Our test laptop’s supplementary buttons were fully implemented, with keyboard backlighting, screen brightness and volume controls all behaving as expected and displaying appropriate onscreen interfaces (albeit without audible feedback on the volume control).

Manjaro is based on Arch Linux. As such, it uses a rolling release cycle rather than holding back to deliver periodic feature updates, and users should, therefore, always be running the latest edition. We installed build 18.1, codenamed Juhraya (like Android, each new version is given a new name that’s one position advanced through the alphabet than its predecessor), which is both the current build and the first to give users the option of installing FreeOffice. It’s based on a long-term support build of the 4.19 kernel.

It’s up to you whether you want to run a stable system or take the latest packages as soon as they’re released. While the latter are likely to be safe, since you won’t be running alpha software, there’s a chance they could include the odd glitch as you’ll technically be an early adopter. Updates have their own tab in the software installer.

Performance was good throughout our tests. Nothing was laggy, apps installed and launched quickly, and both startup and shutdown took just a handful of seconds. But, running Geekbench 5 under Manjaro, our laptop scored 750 in the single-core tests and 1,667 when running the tests across multiple cores. Statistically, Manjaro’s results didn’t compare particularly well with its rivals but, if it’s not evident in real-world use, does that really matter?

Overall, Manjaro offers an excellent option for those that want a no-fuss introduction to the world of Linux. It’s simple to install and use, customisable without being overwhelming, and presented minimal driver issues. If you’re looking for a simple switchover, you could do an awful lot worse.

In the unlikely instance you didn’t want to reveal you were using Linux, this is the distribution you’d choose. Even without any tweaks, the Pantheon desktop is bright and welcoming, with an air of macOS. In large part this is thanks to its choice of fonts and the centralised dock (or “Plank”) that gives quick access to favourite apps and slides off the screen when you maximise a window. Elementary OS founder and CEO Daniel Foré addressed this in a myth buster posted on the Elementary blog, stating that “we have less in common with OS X than others would have you believe”.

If you’re coming from Windows (or a Mac), it does have a few quirks, but you’ll likely be over them within the first hour. Tapping the Windows key doesn’t open the applications menu, but displays a shortcuts cheat sheet (you can change this behaviour via the settings app), while combining it with the arrow keys doesn’t snap a window to the screen edge, but switches between desktops.

Although it’s Ubuntu under the hood, you wouldn’t know from either its skin or the sparse software bundle it installs by default. However, like the other distros on test, it comes with a fully stocked AppCenter from which you can install the usual software, including LibreOffice, Firefox and Thunderbird. There’s no predefined office suite, but the developers have opted for the Epiphany browser and the distribution’s own Pantheon Mail application for communications.

Some downloads in the AppCenter are priced ($10 for Quilter, a distraction-free writing tool; $1 for Beemy, a BMI calculator, and so on), which is unusual. Clicking a price to download them opens a credit card payment form, which is processed through Stripe. Fortunately, the prices are merely suggestions, which can be zeroed by clicking the down-pointing arrow beside them, and they shouldn’t come as too great a surprise, as Elementary is one of only two distros on test that asks for payment up front, with the other being Zorin OS. You can choose to reduce your contribution to $0, but around 1% of users do pay, with most contributing $10.

We installed version 5.1, Hera, which shipped on 3 December 2019 and is based on Ubuntu 18.4 LTS. Elementary OS version 6, Odin, is in the works, but there’s no word yet on when to expect it. It was smooth and fast in our tests, and in Geekbench it turned in respectable scores of 1,011 and 2,001 for single-core and multicore performance respectively.

Installing Elementary OS was entirely fuss-free. We booted from a live USB, which immediately recognised our wireless hardware, allowing us to get online before we’d even installed it. It downloaded the latest patches in the background and, when it rebooted at the end of the process, the resulting OS was up to date and ready to roll… for a while. It was a refreshing experience after installing so many distributions that either couldn’t see or couldn’t use our wireless hardware until we’d found some alternative route to the web. However, the next time we rebooted Elementary, our Wi-Fi disappeared, leaving us in the same position we’d been in with its rivals.

It also lost track of the touchpad when we closed and reopened the lid – an affliction from which many of its contemporaries also suffered. We reverted to a USB mouse while we fixed the issue using a script that unloaded the touchpad driver when the lid was closed and restarted it when it was opened.

Otherwise, peripherals and external devices were handled smoothly. Our wireless printer was detected and, once we’d installed SimpleScan, so was our networked scanner. External drives popped up within a second or so of being connected, and it had no difficulty mapping folders on a NAS. Extended buttons on our keyboard – such as volume controls and brightness – as well as the keyboard backlighting worked as expected and, where appropriate, also displayed complementary onscreen overlays.

Elementary OS is possibly the best-looking distribution on test, and we only say “possibly” because it’s such a close call between it and Zorin. We avoid using words like “nice” in reviews, but here it’s justified: if you want something that’s as nice to look at as it is to use, either would be an excellent choice.

Facebook has reaffirmed its commitment to open source by joining the Linux Foundation at its highest level.

The company has been a long-standing member of the non-profit technology consortium, but has upgraded to a top-tier Platinum membership, joining the likes of Google, IBM and Microsoft.

With Facebook signing up as a Platinum member, Kathy Kam, head of open source at the company, gets a seat on the Linux Foundation’s board. Kam has 20 years of experience in open source software, and previously worked for Google and Microsoft.

“The Linux Foundation has and continues to play a crucial role in the continued success of not only Linux but also in broader open-source ecosystems as well,” Kam said in a statement. “We hope that this sponsorship will further the goal of keeping Linux and all of open source thriving for years to come.”

Facebook is one of the best-known contributors to the world of open source software. The company contributes to projects such as the React JavaScript library, the Open Compute Project, and Data for Good, a programme that enables geographic data to be shared with the aim of addressing some of the humanitarian issues including COVID-19.

Facebook also leads the development of open source projects such as GraphQL, Osquery, ONNX and Presto.

The Linux Foundation said Facebook’s sponsorship of open innovation will help support an estimated $16 billion (£12.2 billion) in development costs of the world’s 100+ leading open source projects.

"From its efforts to reshape computing through open source to its aggressive push to increase internet connectivity around the world, Facebook is a leader in open innovation," the non-profit said in a blog post.

"Perhaps more important today than ever, Facebook’s focus on democratizing access to technology enhances opportunity and scale for individuals and businesses alike. That’s why we’re so excited to announce the company is joining the Linux Foundation at the highest level."

The Linux Foundation has launched two contact tracing systems as part of a public health initiative which uses open source technology to help government agencies fight the spread of coronavirus across the world.

Two exposure notification projects, known as COVID Shield and COVID Green, have been developed based on the Google Apple Exposure Notification (GAEN) system, and aim to support all public health authorities’ contact tracing efforts.

They have been developed as part of the wider Linux Foundation Public Health (LFPH) initiative, launched in coordination with seven members including Cisco, doc.ai, Geometer, IBM, NearForm, Tencent and VMware.

"To catalyze this open source development, Linux Foundation Public Health is building a global community of leading technology and consulting companies, public health authorities, epidemiologists and other public health specialists, privacy and security experts, and individual developers," said LFPH general manager Dan Kohn.

"While we're excited to launch with two very important open source projects, we think our convening function to enable collaboration to battle this pandemic may be our biggest impact."

COVID Shield, which was developed by a team of more than 40 developers from Shopify, is currently being deployed in Canada. COVID Green, meanwhile, was developed by a team at NearForm and is being deployed as part of the Irish government’s pandemic response.

Both apps are available for other public health agencies, and their IT partners, across the world to use and customised, and will soon be joined by further open source projects hosted by LFPH.

"During this grave global crisis, I'm committed to having all parts of the Linux Foundation community support LFPH," said Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin. "Open source provides an architecture for global collaboration and that's what's needed to build, secure, and sustain critical components of our stressed public health infrastructure.”

The LFPH is positioning itself as an organisation that can support public health agencies across the world that have suffered from a lack of investment and are now being tasked with urgently scaling their operations and capabilities.

The UK, for example, has had a rough time trying to develop a functional contact tracing app, with the government initially opting to abandon a system supported by Google and Apple, before making a complete u-turn. Although a coronavirus app is now in progress, there is still no date by which a functioning app will be released, with ministers suggesting a Winter target for release.

Are you a lover of Linux? Then prepare to swoon because Lenovo is partnering with the Fedora Project to pre-install Linux on a select number of its machines. This pilot program, known as Linux Community Series - Fedora Edition, will include the ThinkPad P1 Gen2, ThinkPad X1 Gen8, and the ThinkPad P53.

While many already run a Fedora operating system on a Lenovo system, this move means that the aforementioned devices will come with the newly released Fedora 32 Workstation Linux pre-installed. For users with other devices in mind, Lenovo could expand its selection of Linux-equipped devices if demand supports it.

Per Fedora Project Leader Matthew Miller, “The Lenovo team has been working with folks at Red Hat who work on Fedora desktop technologies to make sure that the upcoming Fedora 32 Workstation is ready to go on their laptops. The best part about this is that we’re not bending our rules for them. Lenovo is following our existing trademark guidelines and respects our open source principles. That’s right—these laptops ship with software exclusively from the official Fedora repos!”

Mark Pearson, senior Linux developer at Lenovo, expanded on the company’s involvement in the project, “Lenovo is excited to become a part of the Fedora community. We want to ensure an optimal Linux experience on our products. We are committed to working with and learning from the open-source community.”

Obviously, this move is huge one for Fedora. While many tech pros are at ease when installing or replacing an operating system, this can be an issue for users who aren’t IT professionals. By installing Fedora on its machines, Lenovo makes it remarkably easy for customers to customize their machines to fit their needs.

The latest version of the open-source Linux operating system has been packaged with WireGuard virtual private network (VPN) as well as a host of improvements ranging from USB 4 support to MultiPath TCP.

Among the biggest changes in Linux 5.6 is support for Intel, AMD and Arm hardware and a fix for 32-bit systems that were expected to start counting time with negative numbers from 19 January 2038.

The kernel also has mainline support for Amazon Echo, a fix for overheating in ASUS laptops with AMD Ryzen processors, and a mainlined VirtualBox hypervisor Shared Folder driver for improved out-of-the-box VirtualBox guest support.

The addition of USB 4 support, meanwhile, is based on Intel Thunderbolt driver code.

A summary of the key changes has been provided courtesy of Phoronix.

The inclusion of WireGuard 1.0.0 serves as the main new feature, with the firm’s privacy tool recently going through stabilisation work, performance health-checks and security proofing.

WireGuard’s code has also been contributed to building Mozilla’s paid-for Firefox VPN, which began beta testing in February.

“So I'll admit to vacillating between doing this 5.6 release and doing another -rc,” Linux creator Linus Torvalds said.

“This has a bit more changes than I'd like, but they are mostly from davem's networking fixes pulls, and David feels comfy with them. And I looked over the diff, and none of it looks scary. It's just slightly more than I'd have preferred at this stage - not doesn't really seem worth delaying a release over."

Speculating over the effect of coronavirus on kernel development, Torvalds doesn’t presume that the pandemic will have a “fairly normal” 5.7 release, which is scheduled for June currently. There doesn’t seem to be any signs suggesting otherwise, but added that things could change at any moment.

Some of the features expected with the stable release of Linux version 5.7 include USB fast charge support for Apple iOS devices, improvements to the kernel’s floppy disk driver code, and better out-of-the-box touchscreen support, among others.

Networking enthusiasts descended onto the Belgian city of Antwerp last week to attend the Open Networking Summit 2019, where we were treated to talks from key figures in all avenues of the networking industry. While there were more sessions than I could ever have hoped to attend, I chose to get swept up in the edge computing side of things, a topic which thoroughly stole the spotlight for the three-day affair.

Arpit Joshipura, GM of networking at the Linux Foundation, kicked things off with his Monday morning keynote. He front-loaded the event with a very positive prediction for edge computing: that the industry's revenue will overtake cloud by 2025 and will go on to be four times bigger than the cloud industry ever was or will be.

Joshipura's prediction was perhaps the biggest takeaway from the entire event definitely the boldest and for good reason. Cloud has arguably been the biggest step-change in technology this century, so for something else to come along and blow it out of the water is huge deal indeed.

These weren't empty words, either. Linux Foundation's most recent umbrella organisation, LF Edge, has made phenomenal strides in its short tenure. Launched in January 2019, it's core aim is to drive the edge industry towards a more open approach and it's already added 75 members and launched seven projects to further its goal.

Speaking to me after his keynote, Joshipura said that before LF Edge was introduced there was a lack of motivation in the industry to drive networking to embrace openness.

"[Before the introduction of LF Edge] we had a lot of fragmented projects," he explained. "So, there's maybe a couple of projects and everyone was doing their own thing.

"It was trying to get to open source but the momentum wasn't there."

Since its launch, however, LF Edge has been instrumental in guiding key projects, with two new ones announced during the conference Baetyl and Fledge which it's hoped will make it easier for developers to build scalable apps and unify vendor APIs respectively. The foundation also made strides in the VNF testing space, which aims to bring uniformity to testing procedures and decrease the time-to-revenue for new vendor ideas.

So, the motivation is now in place but what's left is the small matter of answering the question: "What is edge?" Speakers at the event all seemed to have a slightly different take on what the edge meant to them. Jason Shepherd, CTO of IoT and Edge at Dell Technologies said it all depends on who you ask bin his mind, it's about "moving compute as close as both necessary and feasible to subscribers or devices." Others said it's more broadly about the unification of telco, cloud, IoT and enterprise.

However you define it, the fact of the matter is that everyone benefits when an open source approach is taken. Speaking to me at the event, Shepherd said: "Open always drives wins in the end. In almost all new markets - IoT, edge, whatever - they almost always start with a lock-in play. Everyone's going to like trying to lock everyone in there thinking: 'I can sell your data if you let me'. But, the reality is, you must set the data free using open technologies to make all this stuff work together."

It has taken open source much longer to hit the networking industry than it has others such as software and the industry's switch to a more open approach is still in its infancy. Experts speaking at the event heralded the progress LF Edge has made with its projects and most notably the VNF standards model, but there's no doubt that greater collaboration is needed from industry players to progress this open source revolution in networking.

When industry-wide collaboration takes place, the open source life cycle benefits hugely. Take the latest VNF testing model for example, when vendors can get their new features approved quicker by operators thanks to a uniform testing procedure, the money made from them can then be re-injected into the development of more features and the cycle repeats. With every repetition of the cycle, more money is then pumped back into the industry. The cycle moves quicker when it's open so the industry needs to open up if it wants to grow.

Yes, attempts to drive vendor lock-in will always be made and it's going to take time for everyone to play ball with this open approach, but we've seen success in every industry that's embraced open source so far and networking will surely be no exception.

With the edge industry's growth expected to greatly surpass that of cloud computing in the near future, it's only natural that those involved will want to drive it further to improve the predicted revenue beyond the trillions it's expected to soon be worth. The name change of next year's event to Open Networking and Edge Summit (ONES) is emblematic of the growth of this field and in years to come we'll surely see and hear much more about innovative edge products -- all thanks to the inevitably adopted open source approach.

With the rise of AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) in recent months and years, you might have read a lot about open source software (OSS) in the news, as companies rush to build ever more powerful models using open source models like Meta’s Llama and French startup Mistral’s models.

Over the past decades, open source components have crept into virtually every piece of technology on the planet, whether it's the Linux operating systems that power data centres and cloud services, the Android software behind some of the world's best smartphones, or enterprise development tools like Puppet and Jenkins.

The basis of open source software is that its source code is freely available for anyone to view, modify, and distribute, which can be both a pro and a con, as we will see. OSS comes with a license to use it, and there are different levels of license depending on the type of software at hand.

Developers around the world contributing to something for free, often in their own time, is one of the things that makes the internet great. But there are downsides: a Microsoft engineer recently spotted malicious code in the open source XZ Utils compression tool, likely placed by a nation-state actor, that could have caused havoc. Of course, the fact the tool was OSS made finding the vulnerability possible, so it is swings and roundabouts.

What's the definition of open source software?

Open source, as its name suggests, is a field of software development in which the source code for tools, projects, and programs is made freely available to download, modify, and share. Given it's free-to-use with no restrictions on how you do so, it has become popular among cash-strapped startups and smaller firms.

Another important characteristic is that anyone can tweak the code to suit their purposes. As a result, a thriving and active open source community has developed, with countless developers collaborating on projects and sharing ideas.

OSS harks back to the early eras of computing, when software (and ideas) were shared much more freely among programmers. The GNU Project in the early 1980s is one of the first examples of OSS, helping to set many of the core concepts behind OSS in motion. In 1998, Christine Peterson is credited with coining “open source”, although others around the same time were working on similar concepts.

Open source is sometimes difficult to define thanks to the different types of licenses, and if you are developing OSS it's definitely worth checking at each stage what flexibility you have to use the software.

Who oversees open source software?

Given the distributed nature of OSS, there is no one entity that controls the software. However, there are various entities, from big businesses to smaller, specialized groups, that oversee OSS and ensure that minimum standards are kept.

One of the most prominent organizations is the Open Source Initiative, founded in 1998 by Eric Raymond and Bruce Perens. The OSI termed the emerging software movement as “open source” in opposition to the free software movement, attempting to make a business case for using and developing OSS.

The OSI operates the The Open Source Definition, one of the most widely respected standards in OSS, and the basic principle is that OSS must allow for modification and redistribution under the same terms and all uses. There are 10 criteria to be met for approval by the OSI. Some examples are the Apache License 2.0, Mozilla Public License 2.0, and the MIT License.

Another good example is OpenUK, a non-profit organisation that supports OSS within the UK, a vital function given the UK has a lot of programmers working on various software. Founded in 2018, OpenUK works across Community, Legal & Policy, and Learning areas.

Why is open source so popular?

The most obvious answer is simple: open source software costs nothing.

Looking around, there are many cheap alternatives for popular paid products, such as Blender for 3D computer graphics or LibreOffice Writer for word processing, and in this way, open source programs are inherently more accessible.

The main driving factor behind open source is the idea that as development projects are enhanced and accelerated, the wider the pool of people involved becomes, with developers of varying skills and abilities contributing their own expertise and experience.

This principle of cooperation is helped along by the inherently international nature of projects shared on the internet, with programmers from all over the world collaborating to ensure that finished code is the result of as dedicated and diverse a team as possible.

Sharing couldn’t be simpler for most open source projects: The complete source code is usually posted publicly via code-sharing platforms like GitHub. By keeping projects openly accessible in one place, developers can ensure collaboration is as organised as possible while keeping it organic, and achieve impressive results in short timeframes.

Although allowing so many people to interfere with the source code may be seen as risky, allowing additional scrutiny in the form of an extra pair of eyes – or often enough, several pairs of eyes – boosts the chances of flagging up any bugs, as with the case of XZ Utils. Moreover, open source software lends itself to tighter security, in light of the additional help at hand to shape it or process any problems.

While having many eyes does work, the fact that the Heartbleed bug went undetected in the OpenSSL code for so long means the theory isn't exactly foolproof; it's also possible that rogue developers could use open source to spread malware.

Not everything is rosy, however, and there are a number of issues with open source development, most notably its steep learning curve. Less-seasoned developers may struggle to get to grips with open source projects, and those involved are often highly technically-minded professionals, or the most dedicated of enthusiasts.

The history of open source software

The roots of open source lie in the origins of software and of computing itself. First pioneered by scientists, researchers, and academics, the field was predicated on the free and open sharing of knowledge and information.

One of the ways in which programmers shared their code was via computing books and magazines, which featured full reproductions of source code for readers to copy and use, as crazy as that might seem nowadays. This became particularly popular with the rise of home computers like the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum, which could be used to create basic games and apps.

As software development became more commercialised, and competition amongst developers increased, the prevalence of open source code saw a decline. Despite this, hobbyists have continued in the tradition of writing open source software, even as giant software firms have dominated the sector.

As more and more computers became connected to the internet, programmers started sharing their code with each other online, which led to a substantial increase in the number of available open source projects, and eventually to the creation of the Linux kernel by Linus Torvalds, a landmark moment for OSS.

How do companies make money from open source?

OSS developers are not working for free: the existence of licenses, and other forms of monetization, help them earn a living, despite giving away software for nothing at the point of download.

While organisations that specialise in open source products don't generally make money from selling software, many will offer an enhanced version of their product that enterprises can pay to use, as is the case with Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). These commonly include greater flexibility, more features, easier management, and maintenance options, and generally better interoperability with a range of other platforms and services.

Another tactic often used by OSS vendors is to provide the software freely, but to withhold official support and other additional services from companies that haven't taken out a contract. Since business IT relies on minimising downtime as much as possible, strong support is essential making this tactic very effective.

Why contribute to open source projects?

One of the most obvious reasons developers contribute is the sense of generosity and community spirit it creates; many simply want to help build cool stuff and will contribute to projects that they think are useful and worthwhile.

However, some coders are more utilitarian about the process than others. For example, if a developer is using an open source tool in a particular project, they will often tweak or improve it over the course of their efforts. Those improvements are then circulated to the rest of the software's developers and users, resulting in gradual iterative improvements.

This also applies to companies that use open-source components, who will often contribute large amounts of code to open source projects as a by-product of their own internal development cycles. Companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft do this. Some companies will also task developers with contributing to existing open source projects out of sheer altruism, but this is considerably rarer.

What's more common is companies gifting tools they've developed internally to the open source community. Part of this is a purely practical effort to outsource the continued development and iteration of these tools to the community at large, but there's also an element of giving back to developers by giving them access to sophisticated software.

Given the extra eyeballs that can be on OSS, companies have an incentive to share as it is likely to make their own tools better and more fully-featured, while also building a good relationship with developer communities.

Is open source safe?

The short answer is: Yes, OSS is safe to use.

In theory, the more people you have reviewing code throughout a build the more likely it is that security holes and errors will be uncovered and fixed. However, no matter how many pairs of eyes the code runs past, human error can and will persist.

The problem with free and widely-shared code is that the vulnerabilities are by default also reused and shared. The most popular open source libraries are embedded into thousands of applications, and if one line of code within a library contains a vulnerability, anything that utilises it will be weakened as a result.

It’s still best practice to check over open source code, even if it’s from a trusted source and seems to work, to check for logical errors and anything else that might have been overlooked in its creation.

Even when vulnerabilities are spotted, a fix takes on average 68 days to be rolled out. Users may think that the creator or developer is responsible for fixing their code, but if the code works for the developer, it's not certain they will revise their work.

The perceived sense of security around open source software adds to the problem. Ultimately, developers who build the code aren't interested in whether their library is suitable for your business, they are concerned with the success of the library itself. Rather than blindly integrating open source code into applications, businesses must carry out their own checks to ensure code is safe.

Open source code can be safe to use with a change of perspective, shifting from the viewpoint that it's faultless and fool-proof to an approach which exercises caution and security.

More on open source

• HashiCorp's claims of code theft dubbed "embarrassing" episode for the open source community
• Just how open are the leading open source AI models?
• Open source software attacks: Everything you need to look out for

While they may be tiny, Raspberry Pi computers have had a gargantuan impact on the technology and education sectors in the short time they've existed. The original model kicked everything off in 2012 and the popularity of the wallet-sized, low-priced computer has grown every year since, with the recent launch of the third iteration of the computer, the Raspberry Pi 3, giving sales a further boost.

Although it just looks like a motherboard, the Raspberry Pi needs an operating system (OS) just like any other fully-fledged computer, which is where Raspberry Pi OS comes in.

The platform was first launched in 2012 under the Raspbian brand, and was run mainly by Mike Thompson and Peter Green with occasional input from the Raspberry Pi and Debian communities. It was originally an unofficial Debian Squeeze Wheezy distro.

Raspbian was then, in 2015, adopted by the Raspberry Pi Foundation as the official OS of the tiny PC, and rebranded in 2020 to Raspberry Pi OS. The name change was prompted by the fact that the underlying technology differed from the 64-bit OS that many commonly referred to as 'Raspbian'.

Although the OS is now known as Raspberry Pi OS, the Raspbian project that powers this deployment will continue. Much like Chromium, there's a massive community that relies on the work of a small dev team to keep a highly popular product running, so let's take a deeper dive into the intricacies of Raspberry Pi OS.

What is Raspberry Pi?

Raspberry Pi is the name of a range of highly successful microcomputers that pulls all of the essentials of a traditional PC onto a single, miniature chipboard. First launched in 2012, the Raspberry Pi has existed as a variety of models across multiple generations, starting first with the Raspberry Pi Model B.

Each Raspberry Pi is designed to function like a modern PC, only without a tower or laptop casing. Each board was built to contain a CPU, RAM, storage in the form of SDHC, visual output in the form of HDMI, dedicated audio in the form of a jack port, USBs for data transfer, an ethernet port, and a power port. Later versions also added ports for additional hardware components, such as cameras. Its creators managed to pack all of this onto a board just 86mm x 57mm in size.

The Raspberry Pi range is the work of the Raspberry Pi Foundation, a UK-based computer science charity with a mission of providing computing to everyone in the world. Its low price is a core tenet of the foundation, with the cost of each device remaining consistent at around £35. Its size also means it can be easily shipped across the world and applied to a wide variety of tasks, whether it’s used to support a child’s school project or used to power a network of CCTV cameras.

All you need to get started is an HDMI compatible monitor and a keyboard and mouse for input, although depending on how you use the Raspberry Pi, you may find you can ditch these entirely once established.

If you’re after a highly engaging, but also cost-effective, tool for introducing children into the world of coding, you won’t find anything quite as good as the Raspberry Pi.

To give you an idea of the sorts of things you can do with a Raspberry Pi device, check out our best projects hub.

Download and install Raspberry Pi OS

Being a Linux-based distro, the OS isn't limited to installs on Raspberry Pis - you can install Raspberry Pi OS on any typical computer fitted with an x86 processor. You can create a live disc, run it in a virtual machine or simply install on it a PC's hard drive.

Raspberry Pi OS can be downloaded from the Raspberry Pi Foundation's website for PC, Mac, or a range of other third-party operating systems. Those taking their first dive into the OS are encouraged to download the NOOBS package (new out of the box software) which provides an easy installer and some helpful tips.

To get the OS onto the Raspberry Pi, you'll be using an SD card. The SD card should have at least 8GB of storage or 4GB for Raspberry Pi OS Lite. There's also a third version, known as Raspberry Pi OS full, which comes pre-installed with productivity software.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation recommends an SD card rather than a USB or alternative as it's the most compatible with Raspberry Pis out of the box - unfortunately, that means you'll need an SD card reader fitted on your PC or laptop.

The class of the SD card isn't necessarily important in terms of how the OS will perform but in any case, the higher is usually better.

If using NOOBS, then the installer will do all the hard work for you, just follow the instructions. However, if you're downloading the ISO (advanced users) you will need to follow some extra steps.

Firstly, you'll need an image writing tool - the Raspberry Pi foundation recommends Etcher, which can be downloaded for free from its website.

• Download Etcher
• Insert your SD card into the PC
• Open Etcher and select the Raspberry Pi image (.img file)
• Select the SD card on which you want the OS
• Click 'Flash!' to begin writing the OS to the card

And that's it, you can then insert the SD card into your device and start exploring what Raspberry Pi OS has to offer.

The history of Raspbian / Raspberry Pi OS

Since Raspbian's inception, there have been a few different versions released by the developers behind it. Because it's a Linux-based distro, it's easy enough to make modifications to it and release periodic improvements.

Raspbian Wheezy

The very first iteration of Raspbian was largely built upon Debian Wheezy and was officially supported by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in 2015. Wheezy is an unofficial port of Debian Wheezy armhf and prior to the official support, Raspberry Pis came pre-packaged with Debian Squeeze as the official OS but was eventually replaced with Raspbian Wheezy. This is because the developers behind Wheezy realised that Squeeze was used to support less-capable ARM devices which meant the Pi's CPU wasn't performing optimally during floating point-intensive applications, such as graphics programs.

Raspbian Jessie

Along with the regular security patches and under-the-hood improvements, Jessie brought some more noticeable features in too.

In a bid to make the Raspberry Pi not just cheap computers for education, but cheap computers in their own right, the Foundation made some small changes to make it feel more like a 'real' PC. For example, LibreOffice suite and Claws Mail were installed as standard so users could use word processors, create spreadsheets and manage their email from within Raspbian. Also, instead of booting to a Linux command line, Raspberry Pis booted to a Raspbian desktop GUI by default for the first time as a result of an update to the distro.

In September 2016, Raspbian Jessie with PIXEL was made available to those who wanted a GUI desktop. Using the somewhat forced acronym PIXEL (Pi Improved Xwindow Environment, Lightweight) desktop was the first time the OS received a GUI desktop when before it was just a Linux code screen - it even received a boot splash page like a proper OS too.

Performance indicators were also added. For example, when the Pi was being overworked in older versions, red and yellow pixels would appear in the screen. This was redesigned to show a lightning bolt to indicate undervoltage or a thermometer for temperature warnings.

Raspbian Stretch

Debian releases new official distros on a two-year cycle and, as Raspbian has always been based on Debian, it does the same, kind of. Stretch was released just before the two-year anniversary of Jessie, and like its previous version, the improvements made to Stretch were supposed to go largely unnoticed by the end user.

However, one of the more noticeable upgrades was to the onboard Bluetooth audio manager. Jessie used PulseAudio, but this was scrapped in favour of bluez-alsa as the former was clumsy and didn't do a great job of encoding different audio sources.

Stretch also brought with it a change to its base code layer following the discovery of a firmware vulnerability in Pi 3 and Pi Zero W wireless chipsets.

Raspbian Buster

Released two years and one month after Stretch, Buster introduced a set of changes and coincided with the launch of Raspberry Pi 4.

The organisation admitted that "sadly" there were no significant functional changes between Buster and its predecessor, barring a number of security upgrades. However, Buster did include a host of upgrades to the overall look and feel of the OS as well as changes to elements of the user interface. This design overhaul, which brought the first major UI changes since Jessie, gave the OS a flatter and cleaner look.

Buster also introduced the Thonny Python development environment as the default Python editor, rather than IDLE. This came alongside a series of minor functionality improvements, such as only showing the 'eject' icon for removing USB devices if there are devices to eject.