OpenBSD Archive

pbrowser (pbrowser = PortsBrowser) is a free implementation of a graphical frontend for the ports(7) system for OpenBSD. It allows for easy browsing through the ports(7) tree and offers search facilities to a certain extent. It is also possible to install and or delete ports and packages with pbrowser. You can rate the application here.

In order to better understand why OpenBSD has decided this is important, KernelTrap approached Theo de Raadt with a few questions. In reply he fully explains the issue, talking about how successful this form of activism has been for OpenBSD in the past, and offering specifics on exactly what they are trying to accomplish. He summarizes, "the open source community has support for all the ethernet chipsets, all the scsi chipsets, all the raid chipsets, so why should we not have support for all the wireless chipsets?"

Ryan McBride requests the help of the OpenBSD community in convincing Texas Instruments to change the license of their firmware for the ZCX100 802.11b chipset. Theo de Raadt makes a similar request directed at Intel. A success story from Theo de Raadt in using this tactic on Adaptec. This is also important for Linux and the rest of the BSDs. I had to "pirate" my Prism's firmware files in order to make the pcmcia card work with my Linuces. I don't see the point of keeping these firmware files bound.

Winter has ended in Melbourne but I'm not the sort to venture out without at least a sweater. However, the cold doesn't seem to bother Theo de Raadt as Sam Varghese sit in the lobby of the city's Duxton Hotel, a day after the end of the annual summit of the Australian Unix and Open Source User Group.

OpenBSD supports several authentication methods besides a simple password. Here are some ways you can keep your systems safe. Also, the new song for the next OpenBSD was released but Theo says that CD sales are very dissapointing.

With security the focus of this year’s Australian Unix Users Group (AUUG) conference, OpenBSD founder and project lead Theo de Raadt was invited to speak on exploit mitigation techniques. In an exclusive interview with Computerworld's Rodney Gedda, the man behind an operating system that lays claim to only one remote exploit in the default install in seven years, reveals where we are headed – and how far we have to go – in the search for more secure software

UnDeadly notes that the CVS' log message now reads: "move to 3.6-beta".

OpenBSD creator Theo de Raadt recently announced that support for the SGI O2 architecture was soon going to be imported, primarily in an effort to hunt down and fix bugs in the OpenBSD codebase.

In the following article, DistroWatch explores OpenBSD, an operating system built from the ground up with security in mind. Though not suitable for every taste, OpenBSD will no doubt save many system administrators gray hairs. Even for those not running a server, this is a very stable and powerful OS and you don't necessarily need to be paranoid (though it helps) to enjoy using it.

OpenBSD now has SMP support for amd64. Learn more about it here.

"I'm busy and want to sleep soundly and not with one eye on my internet-exposed hosts. Therefore I picked OpenBSD 3.5 as the operating system for the firewalling router handling my new home office connection." Read the article at ComputerWorld.

A recent thread on the OpenBSD project's misc@ mailing list discussed why OpenBSD has chosen to stick to a purely monolithic kernel, instead of trying to optimize performance by using kernel modules. As described in the OpenBSD FAQ, the OpenBSD team only supports the GENERIC kernel that is provided with the distribution. Numerous reasons were provided, including security, the ability to fully test, and simplicity.

In my recent article reviewing OpenBSD 3.4, I ran into a few issues. First off, a few days after my OpenBSD 3.4 article went up, OpenBSD (without bothering to consult me) went and released OpenBSD 3.5. I hope no one noticed.

USB 2.0 support on OpenBSD is here, you can try out the latest snapshots for the new code.