Making a single recommendation for an easy-to-use version of Linux is not as easy a proposition as it may sound. There are a large number of good choices. I will recommend some that I have found to be useful from first-hand experience. Assuming that you are really looking for desktop operating systems, here are the solutions I would recommend...
A Canada-based security company is looking to target the Linux community with a security product offering two-factor authentication.
Two-factor authentication systems requests something in a user's possession (a smart card, for example) and something they know (such as their PIN), before the user is allowed to access a system.
It's quite possible that Linus Torvalds didn't realise what he was starting when he first honed the concept of open source software into a suggested operating environment called Linux.
If that wording seems obtuse, it's because of the particular rigours of discussion about Linux and open-source software in public. For example, "What is Linux?" would seem a simple question with a simple answer: it's an operating system.
POSSIBLY STUNG by accusations that Linux may not after all have the edge over Windows in the security stakes, the open source platform's backers seem to be doing all they can to talk up its "trustworthy" credentials.
Colorado-based developer Jonathan Corbet used Australia's annual Linux wonkfest this week to assure security-minded users in the business community that the next release of the platform's kernel will include support for trusted computing.
In a three-part series of articles, IBM's Mario Eberlein, Rene Auberger, and Wolfram Andreas Richter explain both the theoretical and practical sides of Linux system security. The series educates on security fundamentals while explaining how to secure a Linux system step-by-step -- from planning to maintaining fully configured systems.
The first article in the series is an introduction defining such core concepts as security, integrity, and confidentiality in the context of system security.
As virtualization has made significant strides over the past couple of years, companies have been embracing it as a cost-effective means of running multiple environments on a single server. Microsoft made its big entry into the market in early 2003 when it purchased virtual machine expert Connectix. However, the company made it clear early on that it wasn't interested in supporting Linux or Unix on its virtual machines. So when Virtual Server appeared, it was officially Windows only. As is the case with their Virtual PC product, if it's not Windows, you're on your own.
A recent survey carried out by Evans Data Corporation has revealed that development managers have more faith in Linux as an operating system to guard them against internal attacks than they have in Windows.
Over 6,000 development managers were interviewed in the Evans Data Corporation's new Spring 2005 Linux and Development survey. They considered open source software to be more secure with client operating systems; web servers; server operating systems and components and libraries.
You can quit proclaiming Linux the Windows killer. Linux is established and has a niche that, as various pendulums swing, will grow and shrink. Show me charts and stats and benchmarks that prove Linux superior to Windows in every measure and I'll not argue with you. But no matter how much money and dedication is poured into Linux, it will never put a dent in Windows' mind share or market share because Linux is an operating system, a way -- and probably the best way -- to make system hardware do what it's told.
Linux is losing momentum among medium sized enterprises, according to a survey by Canadian research firm Info-Tech Research Group.
After years of increased interest in the open source operating system, IT managers from medium sized businesses have come to a conclusion that open source is not for them.
The findings point to a rift between large enterprises that are increasingly embracing open source and smaller businesses that opt for a Microsoft-centric world.
Security concerns are the main reason IT managers consider switching from Windows to Linux on the desktop - but the cost of migration and compatibility issues remain significant barriers, according to a new study.
Concerns about Windows security vulnerabilities and the high cost of keeping Windows secure were named as the top motivations for moving away from Microsoft's ubiquitous operating system in the online survey of nearly 1,700 IT professionals by analyst house Quocirca.
