This document describes how to install the GNU/Linux GPL IPCop firewall and create a small home office network. In the second installment we cover creating a DMZ for hosting your own web server or mail server and the Copfilter proxy for filtering web and email traffic.

Is a distro a distro a distro? Why would anyone care?

So, what do you do if there's no distro which meets your specific needs? Or, what if you want a distro that doesn't bother you with any pesky prompting but just sets itself up exactly how you like it? In these cases - or even just for the fun of it - you can always make your own distro. And here's how.

You want proof there's a Linux distribution for absolutely every possible application? Here's one for you: Hikarunix, a distro dedicated to Go players and based on the ever-versatile Damn Small Linux (DSL).

Just about every Linux distro comes with a variety of programming tools. Some automatically get installed when you install Linux, and others are available in the distro's package repositories. But, what if the development tools that come with your distro don't do the job for you?

PacketProtector is an embedded Linux distribution based on OpenWRT, the first popular distribution designed to run on a number of wireless routers commonly found in SOHO settings. Like X-Wrt, which we reviewed earlier this year, PacketProtector extends OpenWrt by offering additional functionality to enhance network security right out of the box.

Back in November of 2008 I attempted to migrate to KDE. That migration proved to be a lesson in futility. Today I installed Kubuntu Kubuntu 9.10 on three different computers to see how much progress this once awesome distro has made in a year. This is what I found...

I might as well just stop blogging right now, because it might be over. I've found the perfect distro for me, and it was right under my nose the whole time. I'm writing this from Mandriva 2008, and so far, I don't see any reason to look beyond it (at least, for me to look beyond it) for a main distro.

Ultraportable laptops – netbooks such as the Eee PC – are becoming increasingly popular. The distro that comes pre-installed might not be the best one for you, and there's a massive number of distros available that are aimed at netbooks.