Ubuntu

What's Free Software?:

Over the years, Unix's popularity grew. After the divestiture of AT&T, the tapes of the source code that Bell Labs provided became a proprietary, commercial product: AT&T UNIX. But it was expensive, and didn't come with the source code that made it tick. Even if you paid extra for a copy of the sources, you couldn't share with your programmer colleagues any improvements or discoveries you made.By the early 1980s, proprietary software development, by only−for−profit corporations, was quickly becoming the norm−−even at universities. More software was being distributed without source code than ever before.In 1984, while at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, hacker Richard Stallman saw his colleagues gradually accept and move to this proprietary development model. He did not accept the kind of world such proprietism would offer: no sharing your findings with your fellow man, no freedom for anyone to take a look "under the hood" of a published work to see how it worked so that one could understand it or build upon it; it would mean no freedom to improve your copy of such works, or do what you please with your copy−−including share it with others.So instead of giving in to the world of non−free computing, Stallman decided to start a project to build and assemble a new Unix−like operating system from scratch, and make its source code free for anyone to copy and modify. This was the GNU Project ("GNU's Not Unix").The GNU Project's software would be licensed in such a way so that everyone was given the freedom to copy, distribute, and modify their copy of the software; as a result, this kind of software became known as free software.Individuals and businesses may charge for free software, but anyone is free to share copies with their neighbors, change it, or look at its source code to see how it works. There are no secrets in free software; it's software that gives all of its users the freedom they deserve.Proprietary software strictly limits these freedoms−−in accordance with copyright law, which was formulated in an age when works were normally set and manipulated in physical form, and not as non−physical data,which is what computers copy and modify.Free software licensing was developed as a way to work around the failings of copyright law, by permitting anyone to copy and modify a work, though under certain strict terms and conditions. The GNU Project's GNU General Public License, or GNU GPL, is the most widely used of all free software licenses. Popularly called a "copyleft," it permits anyone to copy or modify any software released under its terms−−provided all derivatives or modifications are released under the same terms, and all changes are documented.
For more:

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free−sw.html

What's Open Source? :

The term open source was first introduced by some free software hackers in 1998 to be a marketing term for "free software." They felt that some people unfamiliar with the free software movement−−namely, large corporations, who'd suddenly taken an interest in the more than ten years' worth of work that had been put into it−−might be scared by the word "free." They were concerned that decision−makers in these corporations might confuse free software with things like freeware, which is software provided free of charge, and in executable form only. (Free software means nothing of the sort, of course; the "free" in "free software" has always referred to freedom, not price.)
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) was founded to promote software that conforms with their public "Open Source Definition," which was derived from the "Debian Free Software Guidelines" (DFSG), originally written by Bruce Perens as a set of software inclusion guidelines for Debian. All free software−−including software released under the terms of the GNU General Public License−−conforms with this definition.But some free software advocates and organizations, including the GNU Project, do not endorse the term "open source" at all, believing that it obscures the importance of "freedom" in this movement.Whether you call it free software, open source software, or something else, there is one fundamental difference between this kind of software and proprietary, non−free software−−and that is that free software always ensures that everyone is granted certain fundamental freedoms with respect to that software.

 

Can You Stop Worrying About Viruses? : Well, you can (and should) always worry about the security of any computer connected to the Internet. At the moment, however, you are probably less likely to get a virus from infected e-mail or untrusted Web sites with standard e-mail clients and Web browsers that come with Linux systems than you would with those that come with the average Microsoft Windows system.The most commonly cited warnings to back up that statement come in a report from the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) regarding avulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer (www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/713878):
While the note also recommends keeping up with patches from Microsoft to reduce your risks, it seems that the only real solutions are to disable Active scripting and ActiveX, use plain text e-mail, and don’t visit sites you don’t trust with Internet Explorer. In other words, use a browser that disables insecure features included inMicrosoft products.This announcement apparently caused quite a run on the Mozilla.org site to download a Mozilla or Firefox browser and related e-mail client.Versions of those software projects run on Windows and Mac OS X, aswell as on Linux. Many believe that browsers such as Mozilla are inherently more secure because they don’t allow non-standard Web features that might do such things as automatically download unrequested software without your knowledge.Of course, no matter what browser or e-mail client you are using, you need to follow good security practices (such as not opening attachments or downloading files you don’t trust). Also, as open source browsers and e-mail clients, such as those from Mozilla.org, become more popular, the number of possible machines to infect through those applications will make it more tempting to virus writers. (At the moment, most viruses and worms are created specifically to attack Microsoft software.)

 

Will Linux Crush Microsoft? :

Linux doesn’t seem to be trouncing Microsoft, although the rhetoric from Microsoft has targeted Linux as a particular threat in the server area. Microsoft is still the most popular desktop operating system in the world, holding more than 90 percent of the desktop market, by most accounts.Major in-roads into the desktop market by Linux systems are expected to be slow in coming. However, an area where desktop Linux systems are making the greatest gains are in low-end, mass-market computers. For less than $300, you can buy a decent computer with Linspire Linux pre-installed from Wal-Mart, PC Clubs, or several other retailers. Because it is Linux, the system comes with a boat-load of applications as well (not Microsoft Office, but OpenOffice.org).So far, most of the market share that Linux has gained has been taken from other UNIX systems, such as those from Sun Microsystems. Apache Web servers running on Linux are already considered the world’s most popular Web server. With efforts underway from the likes of IBM, Oracle, Red Hat, and Novell, major pushes into the Enterprise market are already taking place. But Linux is still some distance from crushing Microsoft.

 

Tux the Penguin:

Tux the penguin is the official mascot of the Linux kernel. In 1996, Tux was created by Larry Ewing after much debate about what the mascot should be.The controversy was quickly put to an end by an e-mail that read, “Linus likes penguins.” The name Tux has been rumored to be an acronym for “Torvalds’ UniX,” but many state that the name is simply short for “Tuxedo.”Tux appears on most web sites dedicated to Linux and has been dressed in many different costumes by users who freely manipulate the artwork.

 

Some security terms described: • Botnet:
A collection of computers (zombies) controlled by another computer or user. Usually, this is done by using a virus or other type of malware.

• Cracker
A person who enters a computer system without permission.

• Exploit
A software bug that is taken advantage of by crackers and malicious
hackers to gain access to a computer system or network.

• Firewall
A software or hardware package whose purpose is to prevent unauthorized access to a computer system or network.

• Hacker
A person who uses skill and ingenuity to solve complex computer problems.

• Malware
The term “malware” is short for “malicious software.” Basically, it is any software that can harm your computer system. Examples are viruses, Trojans, and worms.

• Pharming
A technique where the DNS entries of a web site are changed so that a person is redirected to a fraudulent web site instead of the site they intended
to visit. This is often used to collect banking and other personal data from unsuspecting users.

• Phishing
A technique where an e-mail, or instant message, is sent to a user falsely claiming to be a legitimate entity such as a bank or service. The message usually asks the user to send their account information and passwords to resolve a problem with their account. These messages may also contain links to fraudulent web sites where the user is asked to enter this information to be collected by criminals.

• Rootkit
Malware that allows an attacker to have root ccess to a GNU/Linux machine. In Microsoft Windows, the attacker would gain administrator access.

• Social engineering
A high-tech version of a con game. A method of tricking
users into giving information that may lead to “authorized” access to a computer system or network.

• Trojan
Short for “Trojan horse,” a computer program that is installed under the guise of another program. This piece of malware then allows an attacker in through a back door it creates.

• Virus
A piece of software that can copy itself to infect a computer without the operator knowing about it. Viruses can destroy or alter data on the computer they infect.

• Vulnerability
A weakness in a computer system, procedures, or network
defense that can be exploited by crackers to gain access.

• Worm A piece of malware that can replicate itself to spread over computer networks.

• Zombie A computer infected by a virus that allows someone else to control it.

 

More are coming soon:

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