- Linux is an open source Operating System (O.S.)
- Can be downloaded for free
- Wide variety of distributions
- An OS manages resources such as CPU time, memory, storage space, etc.
- Linux is, at its most basic, just the Kernel of the OS
- the always running core at the lowest level of the operating system
- A Linux distro is the Linux kernel combined with all the software necessary for an OS, like:
- desktop environment (GUI)
- applications
- package managers
- philosophy and goals of the distro developers
- Other operating systems are similar to Linux (e.g. Mac OS)
📌 Check the Linux Distributions Timeline for more in depth information.
- Debian - a Free Operating System.
- Ubuntu - Debian-based modern distro with updated free software for the widest audience and platforms. Ubuntu Flavors offer different desktop environments and specific intended use cases.
- Linux Mint - derivative of Ubuntu and Debian, "doing less to do better" and "works Out of The Box" philosophy.
- Fedora - derivative of Red Hat Linux, for personal use, workstations, servers, IoT and plenty of "spins" and "labs", versions of Fedora with different software bundles.
- Kali - Debian-based distro, geared towards various Information Security tasks (Penetration Testing, Security Research, Computer Forensics, Reverse Engineering).
- ParrotOS - Debian-based distro designed for Information & Cyber Security operations (Red Team and Blue Team), provides "Hacking tools at your fingertips".
- Suse - one of the oldest Enterprise-quality Linux distributions, with a secure foundation for a broad range of datacenter and cloud environments and industries.
- Arch Linux - a general purpose, lightweight and flexible distribution.
📌 Check ready-to-use Linux guest operating systems from OSBoxes