Developer | The Tails project |
---|---|
OS family | Unix-like |
Working state | Current |
Source model | Open source |
Initial release | June 23, 2009; 9 years ago |
Latest release | 3.13.1[1] / March 23, 2019; 57 days ago |
Latest preview | 3.6 RC 1 / March 2018; 1 year ago[2] |
Marketing target | Personal computers |
Update method | Tails Upgrader[3] |
Package manager | dpkg |
Platforms | x86-64[4] |
Kernel type | Monolithic |
Userland | GNU |
Default user interface | GNOME 3 |
License | GNU GPLv3[5] |
Preceded by | Incognito |
Official website | tails.boum.org |
Tails or The Amnesic Incognito Live System is a security-focusedDebian-based Linux distribution aimed at preserving privacy and anonymity.[6] All its incoming and outgoing connections are forced to go through Tor,[7] and any and all non-anonymous connections are blocked. The system is designed to be booted as a live DVD or live USB, and will leave no digital footprint on the machine unless explicitly told to do so. The Tor Project has provided financial support for its development.[8]
- 2Bundled software
History[edit]
Tails was first released on 23 June 2009. It is the next iteration of development on Incognito, a Gentoo-based Linux distribution.[9] The Tor Project has provided financial support for its development.[8] Tails has also received funding from the Debian Project, Mozilla, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation.[10]
Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald, and Barton Gellman have each said that Tails was an important tool they used in their work with National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.[11][12][13]
As of release 3.0, Tails requires a 64-bit processor to run.[14]
Bundled software[edit]
- GNOME desktop
Networking[edit]
- Tor with: Stream isolation, regular, obfs2, obfs3, obfs4, and ScrambleSuit bridges support.
- NetworkManager for easy network configuration
- Tor Browser, a web browser based on Mozilla Firefox and modified to protect anonymity with:
- Torbutton for anonymity and protection against JavaScript with all cookies treated as session cookies by default;
- HTTPS Everywhere transparently enables SSL-encrypted connections to a great number of major websites
- NoScript to have even more control over JavaScript
- uBlock Origin to remove advertisements.
- Pidgin preconfigured with OTR for end-to-end encrypted instant messaging
- Thunderbird email client with Enigmail for OpenPGP support
- Lifereafeed aggregator
- Aircrack-ng for Wi-Fi networks auditing
- Electrum, an easy-to-use bitcoin client
Encryption and privacy software[edit]
- LUKS and GNOME Disks to install and use encrypted storage devices, e.g. for USB sticks
- GnuPG, the GNU implementation of OpenPGP for e-mail and data encryption and signing
- Monkeysign, a tool for OpenPGP key signing and exchange
- PWGen, a strong random password generator
- Shamir's Secret Sharing using gfshare and ssss
- GNOME virtual keyboard as a countermeasure against hardware keyloggers
- MAT to anonymize metadata in files
- KeePassXpassword manager
- GtkHash to calculate checksums
- Keyringer, a command line tool to encrypt secrets shared through Git
- Paperkey, a command line tool to back up OpenPGP secret keys on paper
- DeepOnion wallet, an anonymous cryptocurrency using Tor network
One may choose among a large number of languages and keyboard layouts when the system is booted.
Release history[edit]
Old version Latest version Future release |
Release history | |||
---|---|---|---|
Version[15] | Release date[15] | Notes | |
Old version, no longer supported: 0.1 | June 20, 2009 |
| |
Old version, no longer supported: 0.2 | June 23, 2009 |
| |
Old version, no longer supported: 0.3 | November 26, 2009 | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 0.4 | February 5, 2010 | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 0.4.1 | February 6, 2010 | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 0.4.2 | February 7, 2010 |
| |
Old version, no longer supported: 0.5 | April 30, 2010 |
| |
Old version, no longer supported: 0.6 | October 20, 2010 |
| |
Old version, no longer supported: 0.6.1 | December 24, 2010 | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 0.6.2 | January 19, 2011 | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 0.7 | April 6, 2011 |
| |
0.8, 0.8.1, 0.9, 0.10, 0.10.1, 0.10.2, 0.11, 0.12, 0.12.1, 0.13, 0.14, 0.15, 0.16, 0.17, 0.17.1, 0.17.2, 0.18, 0.19, 0.20, 0.20.1, 0.21, 0.22, 0.22.1, 0.23 | |||
Old version, no longer supported: 1.0[16] | April 27, 2014 |
| |
1.0.1, 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.1.2, 1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.3, 1.3.1, 1.3.2, 1.4, 1.4.1 | |||
Old version, no longer supported: 1.5[18] | August 10, 2015 |
| |
1.5.1, 1.6 | |||
Old version, no longer supported: 1.7[18] | November 3, 2015 |
| |
1.8, 1.8.1, 1.8.2 (last version to fit 2GB flash drive) | |||
Old version, no longer supported: 2.0[19] | January 25, 2016 |
| |
2.0.1 | |||
Old version, no longer supported: 2.2[18] | March 7, 2016 |
| |
2.2.1, 2.3 | |||
Old version, no longer supported: 2.4[18] | June 6, 2016 |
| |
Old version, no longer supported: 2.5[21] | July 31, 2016 | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 2.6[22] | September 20, 2016 | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 2.7[23] | November 13, 2016 | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 2.7.1[24] | November 30, 2016 | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 2.9.1[25] | December 14, 2016 | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 2.10[26] | January 24, 2017[26] | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 2.11[27] | March 7, 2017[27] |
| |
Old version, no longer supported: 2.12[28] | April 19, 2017[28] | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 3.0[29] | June 13, 2017[29] | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 3.1[30] | August 8, 2017[30] | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 3.2[31] | October 3, 2017[31] | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 3.3[32] | November 14, 2017[32] | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 3.4[33] | January 9, 2018[33] |
| |
Old version, no longer supported: 3.5[34] | January 23, 2018[34] | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 3.6[35] | March 13, 2018[35] |
| |
Old version, no longer supported: 3.7[36] | May 9, 2018[36] | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 3.8[37][38] | June 26, 2018[37] | ||
Old version, no longer supported: 3.9[39][40] | September 5, 2018[40] |
| |
Old version, no longer supported: 3.9.1[41] | October 3, 2018[41] |
| |
Current stable version: 3.10.1[43] | October 23, 2018 |
| |
Version | Release date | Notes |
In mainstream media[edit]
On 3 July 2014, German public television channel Das Erste reported that the NSA's XKeyscore surveillance system contains definitions that match persons who search for Tails using a search engine or visit the Tails website. A comment in XKeyscore's source code calls Tails 'a comsec mechanism advocated by extremists on extremist forums'.[44][45]
On 28 December 2014, Der Spiegel published slides from an internal NSA presentation dating to June 2012 in which the NSA deemed Tails on its own as a 'major threat' to its mission, and when used in conjunction with other privacy tools such as OTR, Cspace, RedPhone, and TrueCrypt was ranked as 'catastrophic,' leading to a 'near-total loss/lack of insight to target communications, presence..'[46][47]
Tails Partners[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^https://tails.boum.org/news/version_3.13.1/index.en.html.Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - ^'Call for testing: 3.6~rc1'. March 23, 2019. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
- ^design documentation
- ^Tails - System requirements
- ^'Tails 0.11 incognito live system released', The H, April 30, 2012, retrieved August 12, 2012
- ^Vervloesem, Koen (April 27, 2011), 'The Amnesic Incognito Live System: A live CD for anonymity', LWN.net, retrieved August 12, 2012
- ^'Anonym im Netz' [Anonymous on the Net], TecChannel (in German), February 6, 2012, retrieved August 12, 2012
- ^ ab'Finances'. Tails. April 4, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
- ^Gray, James (September 16, 2011), 'The Tails Project's The Amnesic Incognito Live System (Tails)', Linux Journal, retrieved August 12, 2012
- ^'Tails report for May, 2014'. Tails. June 14, 2014.
- ^Timm, Trevor (April 2, 2014). 'Help Support the Little-Known Privacy Tool That Has Been Critical to Journalists Reporting on the NSA'. Freedom of the Press Foundation. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
- ^Finley, Klint (April 14, 2014). 'Out in the Open: Inside the Operating System Edward Snowden Used to Evade the NSA'. WIRED. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
- ^Condliffe, Jamie (April 15, 2014). 'Try the Super-Secure USB Drive OS That Edward Snowden Insists on Using'. Gizmodo. Retrieved April 15, 2014.
- ^'Tails - Tails 3.0 is out'. tails.boum.org. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
- ^ abcdTails Developers (n.d.). '[no title]'. Tails. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
- ^ abcdMurphy, David (May 1, 2014). 'Secure OS Tails Emerges From Beta'. PC Magazine. Ziff Davis. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
- ^'version 0.5'. Tails. n.d. Archived from the original on June 25, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
- ^ abcdefghijHoffman, Chris (June 9, 2016). 'Tails, the anonymity-focused Linux distribution with deep Tor integration, reaches version 2.4'. PCWorld. IDG. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
- ^ abPaul, Ian (January 27, 2016). 'The ultra-secure Tails OS beloved by Edward Snowden gets a major upgrade'. PCWorld. IDG. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
- ^'Tails 2.4 is out'. Tails. June 7, 2016. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
- ^'Tails 2.5 is out'. August 2, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
- ^'Tails 2.6 is out'. September 21, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
- ^'Tails 2.7 is out'. November 15, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
- ^'Tails 2.7.1 is out'. November 30, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
- ^'Tails 2.9.1 is out'. December 14, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2016.
- ^ ab'Tails 2.10 is out'. January 24, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
- ^ ab'Tails 2.11 is out'. January 6, 2017. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
- ^ ab'Tails 2.12 is out'. April 19, 2017. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
- ^ ab'Tails 3.0 is out'. June 13, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2017.
- ^ ab'Tails 3.1 is out'. August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
- ^ ab'Tails 3.2 is out'. October 3, 2017. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
- ^ ab'Tails 3.3 is out'. November 14, 2017. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
- ^ ab'Tails 3.4 is out'. January 9, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
- ^ ab'Tails 3.5 is out'. January 23, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
- ^ ab'Tails 3.6 is out'. March 13, 2018. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
- ^ ab'Tails 3.7 is out'. May 9, 2018. Retrieved May 9, 2018.
- ^ ab'Tails 3.8 is out'. June 26, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
- ^DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 770, 2 July 2018
- ^'Tails - Tails 3.9 is out'. tails.boum.org. Retrieved September 6, 2018.
- ^ abc'Tails - Calendar'. July 17, 2018. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
- ^ ab'Tails - Release notes'. tails.boum.org. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
- ^'Tails - Tails 3.9.1 is out'. tails.boum.org. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
- ^'Tails 3.10.1 is out'. tails.boum.org. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
- ^Jacob Appelbaum, A. Gibson, J. Goetz, V. Kabisch, L. Kampf, L. Ryge (July 3, 2014). 'NSA targets the privacy-conscious'. DasErste.de.CS1 maint: Multiple names: authors list (link)
- ^Bruce Schneier (July 3, 2014). 'NSA Targets Privacy Conscious for Surveillance'. Schneier on Security.
- ^SPIEGEL Staff (December 28, 2014). 'Prying Eyes: Inside the NSA's War on Internet Security'. Der Spiegel. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
- ^'Presentation from the SIGDEV Conference 2012 explaining which encryption protocols and techniques can be attacked and which not'(PDF). Der Spiegel. December 28, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Amnesic Incognito Live System. |
- Tails at Tor project website
- Tails at DeepOnion Website
- Tails at DistroWatch
They bring together several different Linux kernel facilities to create an environment in which a process can believe that it knows what the filesystem looks like, and it believes that it knows what its user-id is, and it believes that it can become root when it wants to. And so on. But, none of this is actually the truth.
The container occupant's 'rose-colored glasses' view of the world is actually mapped onto the actual environment of the Linux host, but the container occupants can't see that.
Processes running outside of the container environment can perceive the processes that are running in 'container mode,' but not the other way around.
So what this gives you is .. 'good isolation, cheaply.' You don't have the overhead of a virtual machine. You do have the isolation that you need. Although it isn't the same kind of isolation that a VM provides, it is very often good enough. (The overhead of a virtual-machine environment is quite noticeable when you don't have it.)
As a good for-instance, I often build (or, re-build) websites and such that run on VMWare. At one time I would build-out a bunch of small virtual machines. But I since learned to use containers, instead, with very capacious virtual machines. The exposure to VMWare's behaviors – which I typically have little or no control over – is sharply curtailed. Now, I have control over the environment. There are, of course, now 'container hosts' which do not use a visible VMWare layer at all: they run honkin' big Linux boxes, and they run your containers directly on them.
Applications running in different security domains | |
Developer | Invisible Things Lab |
---|---|
OS family | Unix-like |
Working state | Current |
Source model | Open source (GPLv2)[1] |
Initial release | September 3, 2012; 6 years ago[2] |
Latest release | 4.0.1[3] / January 9, 2019; 4 months ago |
Available in | Multilingual |
Update method | Yum (PackageKit) |
Package manager | RPM Package Manager |
Platforms | x86-64 |
Kernel type | Microkernel (Xen Hypervisor running minimal Linux-based OSes and others) |
Userland | Fedora, Debian, Whonix, Microsoft Windows |
Default user interface | KDE, Xfce |
License | Free software licenses (mainly GPL v2[4]) |
Official website | www.qubes-os.org |
Qubes OS is a security-focused desktop operating system that aims to provide security through isolation.[5]Virtualization is performed by Xen, and user environments can be based on Fedora, Debian, Whonix, and Microsoft Windows, among other operating systems.[6][7]
On February 16, 2014, Qubes was selected as a finalist of Access Innovation Prize 2014 for Endpoint Security Solution.[8] Ultimately, the prize was awarded to Tails, another security-focused operating system, with Qubes and Open Whisper Systems being named runners-up.[9]
- 2System architecture overview
Security goals[edit]
Qubes implements a Security by Isolation approach.[10] The assumption is that there can be no perfect, bug-free desktop environment: such an environment counts millions of lines of code and billions of software/hardware interactions. One critical bug in any of these interactions may be enough for malicious software to take control over a machine.[11][12]
In order to secure a desktop, a Qubes user should take care of isolating various environments, so that if one of the components gets compromised, the malicious software would get access to only the data inside that environment.[13]
In Qubes, the isolation is provided in two dimensions: hardware controllers can be isolated into functional domains (e.g. network domains, USB controller domains), whereas the user's digital life is decided in domains with different levels of trust. For instance: work domain (most trusted), shopping domain, random domain (less trusted).[14] Each of those domains is run in a separate virtual machine.
Qubes is not a multiuser system.[15]
System architecture overview[edit]
Xen hypervisor and administrative domain (Dom0)[edit]
The hypervisor provides isolation between different virtual machines. The administrative domain, also referred to as Dom0 (a term inherited from Xen), has direct access to all the hardware by default. Dom0 hosts the GUI domain and controls the graphics device, as well as input devices, such as the keyboard and mouse. The GUI domain runs the X server, which displays the user desktop, and the window manager, which allows the user to start and stop the applications and manipulate their windows.
Integration of the different virtual machines is provided by the Application Viewer, which provides an illusion for the user that applications execute natively on the desktop, while in fact they are hosted (and isolated) in different virtual machines. Qubes integrates all these virtual machines onto one common desktop environment.
Because Dom0 is security-sensitive, it is isolated from the network. It tends to have as little interface and communication with other domains as possible in order to minimize the possibility of an attack originating from an infected virtual machine.[16][17]
The Dom0 domain manages the virtual disks of the other VMs, which are actually stored as files on the dom0 filesystem(s). Disk space is saved by virtue of various virtual machines (VM) sharing the same root file system in a read-only mode. Separate disk storage is only used for userʼs directory and per-VM settings. This allows software installation and updates to be centralized. It is also possible to install software only on a specific VM, by installing it as the non-root user, or by installing it in the non-standard, Qubes-specific /rw hierarchy.
Network domain[edit]
The network mechanism is the most exposed to security attacks. To circumvent this it is isolated in a separate, unprivileged virtual machine, called the Network Domain.
An additional firewall virtual machine is used to house the Linux-kernel-based firewall, so that even if the network domain is compromised due to a device driver bug, the firewall is still isolated and protected (as it is running in a separate Linux kernel in a separate VM).[18]
Application Virtual Machines (AppVM)[edit]
AppVMs are the virtual machines used for hosting user applications, such as a web browser, an e-mail client or a text editor. For security purposes, these applications can be grouped in different domains, such as 'personal', 'work', 'shopping', 'bank', etc. The security domains are implemented as separate, Virtual Machines (VMs), thus being isolated from each other as if they were executing on different machines.
Some documents or applications can be run in disposable VMs through an action available in the file manager. The mechanism follows the idea of sandboxes: after viewing the document or application, then the whole Disposable VM will be destroyed.[19]
Each security domain is labelled by a color, and each window is marked by the color of the domain it belongs to. So it is always clearly visible to which domain a given window belongs.
Receptions[edit]
Jesse Smith wrote review of Qubes OS 3.1 for DistroWatch Weekly:[20]
I had a revelation though on the second day of my trial when I realized I had been using Qubes incorrectly. I had been treating Qubes as a security enhanced Linux distribution, as though it were a regular desktop operating system with some added security. This quickly frustrated me as it was difficult to share files between domains, take screen shots or even access the Internet from programs I had opened in Domain Zero. My experience was greatly improved when I started thinking of Qubes as being multiple, separate computers which all just happened to share a display screen. Once I began to look at each domain as its own island, cut off from all the others, Qubes made a lot more sense. Qubes brings domains together on one desktop in much the same way virtualization lets us run multiple operating systems on the same server.
Kyle Rankin from Linux Journal reviewed Qubes OS in 2016:[21]
I'm sure you already can see a number of areas where Qubes provides greater security than you would find in a regular Linux desktop.
See also[edit]
- Subgraph (operating system), a Linux distribution which approaches security through sandboxing
References[edit]
- ^'Qubes OS License'.
- ^'Introducing Qubes 1.0!'. September 3, 2012.
- ^Marczykowski-Górecki, Marek (January 9, 2019). 'Qubes OS 4.0.1 has been released!'. Qubes OS. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
- ^'License Qubes OS'. www.qubes-os.org.
- ^'Qubes OS bakes in virty system-level security'. The Register. September 5, 2012.
- ^'Qubes OS Templates'.
- ^'Installing and using Windows-based AppVMs'.
- ^'Endpoint Security Prize Finalists Announced!'. Michael Carbone. February 13, 2014.
- ^'2014 Access Innovation Prize winners announced at RightsCon'. Michael Carbone. March 11, 2014.
- ^'The three approaches to computer security'. Joanna Rutkowska. September 2, 2008.
- ^'Qubes OS: An Operating System Designed For Security'. Tom's hardware. August 30, 2011.
- ^'A digital fortress?'. The Economist. March 28, 2014.
- ^'How Splitting a Computer Into Multiple Realities Can Protect You From Hackers'. Wired. November 20, 2014.
- ^'Partitioning my digital life into security domains'. Joanna Rutkowska. March 13, 2011.
- ^Rutkowska, Joanna (May 3, 2010). 'Google Groups - Qubes as a multi-user system'. Google Groups.
- ^'(Un)Trusting your GUI Subsystem'. Joanna Rutkowska. September 9, 2010.
- ^'The Linux Security Circus: On GUI isolation'. Joanna Rutkowska. April 23, 2011.
- ^'Playing with Qubes Networking for Fun and Profit'. Joanna Rutkowska. September 28, 2011.
- ^'Qubes To Implement Disposable Virtual Machines'. OSnews. June 3, 2010.
- ^DistroWatch Weekly, Issue 656, 11 April 2016
- ^Secure Desktops with Qubes: Introduction | Linux Journal
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Qubes OS. |
- Trusted Computing Technologies, Intel Trusted Execution Technology, Sandia National Laboratories, January 2011, by Jeremy Daniel Wendt and Max Joseph Guise
Developer | Klaus Knopper |
---|---|
OS family | Unix-like |
Working state | Current |
Source model | Open source |
Initial release | September 30, 2000; 18 years ago |
Latest release | 8.5.0 / March 16, 2019; 2 months ago |
Available in | German and English |
Update method | APT (front-ends available) |
Package manager | dpkg |
Kernel type | Monolithic (Linux) |
Userland | GNU |
Default user interface | LXDE (previously KDE) |
License | Free software licenses (mainly GPL)[1] |
Official website | www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html |
KNOPPIX (/ˈknɒpɪks/KNOP-iks)[2] is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD (Live CD) or a USB flash drive (Live USB), one of the first of its kind for any operating system. Knoppix was developed by, and named after, Linux consultant Klaus Knopper. When starting a program, it is loaded from the removable medium and decompressed into a RAM drive. The decompression is transparent and on-the-fly.
Although KNOPPIX is primarily designed to be used as a Live CD, it can also be installed on a hard disk like a typical operating system. Computers that support booting from USB devices can load KNOPPIX from a live USB flash drive or memory card.
There are two main editions: the traditional compact-disc (700 megabytes) edition and the DVD (4.7 gigabytes) 'Maxi' edition. Each main edition has two language-specific editions: English and German.
KNOPPIX mostly consists of free and open source software, but also includes some proprietary software, as long as it fulfils certain conditions.[3]
Knoppix can be used to copy files easily from hard drives with inaccessible operating systems. To quickly and more safely use Linux software, the Live CD can be used instead of installing another OS.
- 6Versions
- 7Derivatives
- 7.2Other variations
- 9Notes
Contents[edit]
More than 1000 software packages are included on the CD edition, and more than 2600 packages are included on the DVD edition. Up to nine gigabytes can be stored on the DVD in compressed form. These packages include:
- LXDE, a lightweight X11desktop environment; default since Knoppix 6.0 and later
- MPlayer, with MP3 audio, and Ogg Vorbis audio playback support
- Internet access software, including the KPPP dialer and ISDN utilities
- The Iceweasel web browser (based on Mozilla Firefox)
- The Icedove e-mail client (based on Mozilla Thunderbird)
- GIMP, an image manipulation program
- Tools for data rescue and system repair
- Network analysis and administration tools
- LibreOffice, a comprehensive office suite
Hardware requirements[edit]
Minimum hardware requirements for Knoppix:[4]
- Intel/AMD-compatible processor (i486 or later)
- Minimum RAM memory requirements:
- 32 MB for text mode;
- Live environment with no swap:
- 512 MB for graphics mode with just LXDE
- 1 GB to use the web browser and productivity software
- 2 GB recommended
- Bootable optical drive:
- DVD-ROM for current versions;
- CD-ROM for version 7.2 and older, or a boot floppy and standard CD-ROM (IDE/ATAPI or SCSI)
- Standard SVGA-compatible graphics card
- Serial or PS/2 standard mouse, or an IMPS/2-compatible USB-mouse.
Saving changes in the environment[edit]
Prior to Knoppix 3.8.2, any documents or settings a user created would disappear upon reboot. This lack of persistence then made it necessary to save documents directly to a hard drive partition, over the network, or to some removable media, such as a USB flash drive.
It was also possible to set up a 'persistent home directory', where any documents or settings written to the user's home directory would automatically be redirected to a hard drive or removable media, which could be automatically mounted on bootup. A single file, knoppix.img, was cached on the rewritable media and used to simulate a file system into which files were written for later use. This allowed the user to transparently write to their home directory.
Union mount support was added in version 3.8.1 through UnionFS. This was later replaced by Aufs in 5.1.0 to improve stability.[5] The union mount allowed virtual updates to the data on the read-only CD/DVD media by storing changes on separate writable media and then representing the combination of the two as single storage device. The writable media could be memory (ramdisk), a hard disk, USB flash drive, etc. This means that the user could modify the software installed on the Knoppix system, such as by using APT to install or update software. The storage device containing the changes needed to be present whenever Knoppix is started, else only the original data from the disc would be used. While Knoppix would scan available storage devices for a persistent home directory by default, a user could dictate a specific location with a boot option (see below) such as:
home=/dev/hda1/knoppix.img
[6]
By carrying a Knoppix CD and a USB flash drive, a user could have the same environment, programs, settings, and data available on any computer that could run Knoppix.
This functionality was only available through Knoppix 5.1.1 (CD release) or 5.3.1 (DVD release). Subsequently, the Live CD paradigm has transformed into portable operating systems that run on external storage.
Boot options[edit]
When using Knoppix as a Live CD, one can use boot options, also known as 'cheatcodes', to override a default setting or automatic hardware detection when it fails. For example, the user may wish to boot into a plain console, or proceed without SCSI support. For this, Knoppix allows the user to enter one or more cheat codes at the prompt before booting. If the user does not enter a cheat code, or does not press any key before the timeout, Knoppix will boot with its default options. For example, to set the language to French rather than the default, one would type:
knoppix lang=fr
[6]
Title: [Wii] Biohazard Umbrella Chronicles [バイオハザード アンブレラ・クロニクルズ] (JPN) ISO Download Game Information Japanese Title: バイオハザード アンブレラ・クロニクルズ Chinese Title: 生化危机安布雷拉历代记 Publisher: Developer: Genre: Game Version: Japan CERO C (15+) Available On: Nintendo Wii Size: 4.14GB Format: ISO Players: 1 Supplier: Catalog No: RVL-P-RBUJ Realease Date: 20107-11-13 Official Website: Info: — Preview / Gameplay: Description / About This Game: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles is a brand new game in the Resident Evil franchise, with familiar locales from the entire series. Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles combines first-person, light-gun style combat with interactive pathways, multiple weapons and new enemies to create an entirely new Resident Evil experience that could only be delivered on the Wii. This action/shooter hybrid reveals the back story behind the fall of the Umbrella Corporation by exploring locations from Resident Evil 0, 1, 2 and 3 as well as new never-before-seen locations, such as Umbrella’s stronghold.
Knoppix is a 32-bitDebian Linux based distro, but recent releases (including the latest version 7.6) have also been equipped with a 64-bit kernel on the DVD edition, where it will automatically boot up for 64-bit computers, or by using the boot option knoppix64
manually in the command-line prompt, while knoppix
will boot up the 32-bit kernel. Neither PAE nor 64-bit applications are supported by Knoppix, and system memory with more than 4 GB can only be used with a 64-bit kernel.
The DVD edition of Knoppix can also be loaded onto a USB flash drive, with flash-knoppix under the Knoppix system, such that 'the KNOPPIX Live System starts and runs about factor 5 faster from USB flash disk than from CD or DVD!'.[7] Besides that, the experimental UEFI support is provided for USB flash drive rather than DVD media. 32-bit UEFI firmware can only boot up the 32-bit kernel, while 64-bit UEFI firmware can only boot up the 64-bit kernel. The text interface for UEFI is similar with it for BIOS, one can also press key F2 and F3 to access information on boot options.
Popularity[edit]
Knoppix was one of the first Live CD Linux distributions to gain popularity.[8] There are several factors that contribute to the popularity of Knoppix:
- Knoppix was one of the first Live CDs available, and is known as the 'original' Debian-based Live CD
- Its extensive hardware detection allows most systems to start Knoppix without any configuration
- Its ability to automatically connect to most kinds of networks[citation needed]
- Its utilities for system repair and troubleshooting
Knoppix works on a fairly large number of PCs or laptops, but not all. The automatic hardware detection cannot cope with all hardware, and sometimes the drivers used will not be optimal. Knoppix has difficulty recognizing some cards made before 1998, or motherboards with a BIOS made before 2002. (In some cases, manual configuration with codes entered at boot time can overcome problems with automatic detection.)[citation needed]
If a PC does not have enough RAM to run KDE and other included programs, the legacy Knoppix (earlier than 6.0) boots up a very limited twm session instead. The only window running in the twm session by default is xterm.[citation needed]
Versions[edit]
Version | Release date | CD | DVD |
---|---|---|---|
1.4 | 2000-09-30 | Yes | No |
1.6 | 2001-04-26 | Yes | No |
2.1 | 2002-03-14 | Yes | No |
2.2 | 2002-05-14 | Yes | No |
3.1 | 2002-10-01 | Yes | No |
3.2 | 2003-06-16 | Yes | No |
3.3 | 2003-09-22 | Yes | No |
3.4 | 2004-05-17 | Yes | No |
3.5 LinuxTag-Version | 2004-06 | No | Yes |
3.6 | 2004-08-16 | Yes | No |
3.7 | 2004-12-09 | Yes | No |
3.8 CeBIT-Version | 2005-02-28 | Yes | No |
3.8.1 | 2005-04-08 | Yes | No |
3.8.2[9] | 2005-05-12 | Yes | No |
3.9 | 2005-06-01 | Yes | No |
4.0 LinuxTag-Version | 2005-06-22 | No | Yes |
4.0 updated | 2005-08-16 | No | Yes |
4.0.2 | 2005-09-23 | Yes | Yes |
5.0 CeBIT-Version | 2006-02-25 | No | Yes |
5.0.1 | 2006-06-02 | Yes | Yes |
5.1.0 | 2006-12-30 | Yes | Yes |
5.1.1 | 2007-01-04 | Yes | Yes |
5.2 CeBIT-Version | 2007-03 | No | Yes |
5.3 CeBIT-Version | 2008-02-12 | No | Yes |
5.3.1 | 2008-03-26 | No | Yes |
ADRIANE | |||
6.0.0 | 2009-01-28 | Yes | No |
6.0.1 | 2009-02-08 | Yes | No |
6.1 CeBIT-Version | 2009-02-25 | Yes | Yes |
6.2 / ADRIANE 1.2 | 2009-11-18 | Yes | Yes |
6.2.1 | 2010-01-31 | Yes | Yes |
6.3 CeBIT-Version | 2010-03-02 | No | Yes |
6.4.3 | 2010-12-20 | Yes | Yes |
6.4.4 | 2011-02-01 | Yes | Yes |
6.5 CeBIT-Version | 2011-03 | No | Yes |
6.7.0 | 2011-08-03 | Yes | Yes |
6.7.1 | 2011-09-16 | Yes | Yes |
7.0.1 | 2012-05-24 | No | Yes |
7.0.2 | 2012-05-30 | No | Yes |
7.0.3 | 2012-07-01 | Yes | Yes |
7.0.4 | 2012-08-20 | Yes | Yes |
7.0.5 | 2012-12-21 | Yes | Yes |
7.2.0 | 2013-06-24 | Yes | Yes |
7.4.0 | 2014-08-07 | No | Yes |
7.4.1 | 2014-09-15 | No | Yes |
7.4.2 | 2014-09-28 | No | Yes |
7.5 CeBIT-Version | 2015-03-16 | No | Yes |
7.6.0 | 2015-11-21 | No | Yes |
7.6.1 | 2016-01-16 | No | Yes |
7.7.0 CeBIT-Version | 2016-03-14 | No | Yes |
7.7.1 | 2016-10-27 | No | Yes |
8.0.0 CeBIT-Version | 2017-03-24 | No | No |
8.1.0 | 2017-09-27 | No | Yes |
8.2.0 | 2018-05-16 | No | Yes |
8.3.0 (DELUG-DVD) | 2018-06-07 | No | Yes |
8.5.0 Linux-Magazin Edition (exclusive)[10] | 2019-03-14 | Yes | Yes |
The table (to the right) shows the version history of major releases.
Knoppix 4.x–5.x[edit]
As of April 2008, from version 4 up until 5.1.1, Knoppix has been split into a DVD 'maxi' edition (with over 9 GB of software), and a CD 'light' edition; both were developed in parallel.[11][12]
Up until Knoppix 5.1.1, the CD editions contained a selection of graphical environments, including the TWM window manager, and KDE 3 — a feature-complete desktop environment default in Knoppix 5.3.1 and earlier.
No further development is being done on the traditional 5.x versions.
Knoppix 6.x[edit]
KNOPPIX 6.0.1 / ADRIANE 1.1 is a CD-edition again, and a complete rebuild from scratch. LXDE was made the default desktop environment, and the edition contains a substantially reduced software collection in order to easily fit on a CD.[13]
The KNOPPIX 6.2.1 release has both CD and DVD editions, and ADRIANE 1.2 only has a CD-edition.[14]
Knoppix 6.7.1 has the last CD version with stable touchpad drivers.
Knoppix 7.x[edit]
From June 2013 on until March 2019, Knoppix 7.2 was the most recent release with a CD edition. By 2018, its software had become very outdated, as the libc6 2.17 library no longer suffices for installation of several modern packages. The 7.x version range is known for instabilities with touchpads.
As Knoppix 8.5 is a publication exclusive,[10] then version 7.2 still remains the most recent CD version of Knoppix in wide distribution.
Knoppix 8.x[edit]
Knoppix Download For Windows
The KNOPPIX 8.0.0 edition was released at CeBIT 2017.[15]
KNOPPIX 8.1.0 was released in September 2017 as the first public release in the 8.x series.[16]The version 8.0.0 has the dual boot, and a choice between three different desktops:LXDE as default option, KDE or GNOME[15].
Versions 8.2.0 and newer are available on Knoppix mirrors.
Knoppix 8.5 again includes a CD version, but that is only available as a Linux-Magazin exclusive.[10] Version 8.5 no longer includes Systemd, which was replaced by elogind. Spectre and Meltdown kernel vulnerabilities have been mitigated.[17]
Derivatives[edit]
Adriane Knoppix[edit]
Adriane Knoppix is a variation that is intended for blind and visually impaired people, which can be used entirely without vision oriented output devices. It was released in the third quarter of 2007 as a Live CD. Adriane Knoppix is named after Adriane Knopper, the wife of Klaus Knopper, the developer of Knoppix. Adriane has a visual impairment, and has been assisting Klaus with the development of the software.[18] The name Adriane is also a backronym for 'Audio Desktop Reference Implementation And Networking Environment'.
Adriane Knoppix is intended not only for the blind but also for beginners who don’t know much about computers. It uses the SUSE Blinux screen reader with a phoneme generator and speech engine for normal output.
Other variations[edit]
- Kali Linux, a live CD/USB distribution now based on Debian. It is a rewrite of BackTrack, which was based on Knoppix. Like its predecessors, Kali is designed for digital forensics and penetration testing. BackTrack itself merged the Auditor Security Collection and WHAX distros.
- Kanotix, a live distribution now based on Debian.
- KnoppMyth, a distro that attempts to make the Linux and MythTV installation as trivial as possible.
- Musix GNU+Linux, specifically for musicians.
- Poseidon Linux, a widely acclaimed distribution specifically geared for the scientific community.
- KnoppiXMAME, designed for playing MAME videogames
- PelicanHPC for clustering
- TechUSB an automated computer distro produced by RepairTech, Inc.
Unmaintained projects[edit]
- Sorted chronologically, in ascending order.
Name | Goal and notes | 1 September 2004; 14 years ago[19] | |
---|---|---|---|
Feather Linux | 128 MB image with Linux 2.4, works as a Live CD and Live USB. | 0.7.5 | 4 July 2005; 13 years ago[20] |
Auditor Security Collection | Intended to test the security of networks.[21] Merged into BackTrack by early 2007. | 200605-02 | 20 June 2005; 13 years ago[22] |
Quantian | Numerical and quantitative analysis. The most recent release is based on Knoppix 4.0.2.[23] | 7.9.2 | 1 March 2006; 13 years ago |
Kaella | The French translation of Knoppix | 3.2 | 19 September 2007; 11 years ago |
Kurumin | In Brazilian Portuguese. Poseidon Linux is a later distribution that was based on Kurumin. | 8.6 | 18 June 2008; 10 years ago[24] |
VMKnoppix | VM tools | 978-0-596-00787-4. |
Wikibooks has a book on the topic of: Knowing Knoppix |
- Knoppix at DistroWatch