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Date:      Thu, 6 Dec 2001 16:28:24 -0600
From:      Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org>
To:        "Robert M. Gerlach" <ShAdOWmoNkX@hotmail.com>
Cc:        questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: BSD Question
Message-ID:  <15375.61704.766549.538506@guru.mired.org>
In-Reply-To: <92353756@toto.iv>

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Robert M. Gerlach <ShAdOWmoNkX@hotmail.com> types:

Sorry 'bout the extra copy you got. I'm in the midst of retraining my
fingers for a different window manager.

> This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
> 
> ------=_NextPart_000_0017_01C17DF8.4E6CF750
> Content-Type: text/plain;
> 	charset="iso-8859-1"
> Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

First comment - this list works best if you send one copy of the plain
text of a question. Not, as you did, two copies, one HTML and one
plain text.

> it, not a programmer, and hate command-line stuff (yes, I'm an Offical =
> Windows Drone and I appreciate GUI's as it makes things faster)

Second comment: GUI's only make things faster while you're learning
them. After you've learned them, the command line is faster, because
you don't waste time moving your hand back to the graphics input
device, moving it to click, then moving your hand back.

> First, what are the diffs between OpenBSD and FreeBSD?  How does =
> TrustedBSD fit in?

OpenBSD tends to audit the code more carefully than FreeBSD, and has a
default install that's more secure. FreeBSD is more concerned with a
stable, fast server. There are people who commit to both trees, and
code moves in both directions between them. If you're going to run a
server, the out of the box edge probably goes to OpenBSD because of
the extra auditing. If you want a desktop machine, it would go to
FreeBSD because of the extra ported - and audited - applications.
TrustedBSD is a set of extensions to FreeBSD aimed at a government
trusted computer certification of some sort. For completeness, NetBSD
concentrates on portability, and runs on more platforms than the other
two put together. I'm contemplating ordering the Playstation2 version
on CDROM.

There are people who commit to two or three of the projects, and both
code fixes and good ideas from any one usually migrate to the other
two.

> Honestly, I seek the most secure OS available, period, end of story.

Then turn your computer off :-). Seriously, it isn't the OS that's
secure or insecure, it's the installation. The OS helps by providing
tools that let you secure a system or parts of the system in various
ways. This is what the TrustedBSD project is all about - providing the
tools required by said government criteria. It takes about 20 seconds
of thoughtless work to make the most secure Unix system around
completely open.

> Secondly and lastly, I'm curious as to what I should know/read/etc. =
> before getting myself into more trouble than I can handle.  After all, =
> moving from Windoze is a BIG THING considering that I'm "pretty good" =
> with Windows NT/2000/XP -- which is obviously harder to administrate =
> than the Home User crap.  Not to say I'm a SysAdmin or anything... =
> although I'd love my knowledge level to be that of an expert!

The web site for whichever system you choose is the best place to
start. Not only will you have answers for many questions that you may
have, you should find handbooks, and pointers to dead tree
publications on that system for new users and similar things.

	<mike
--
Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org>			http://www.mired.org/home/mwm/
Independent WWW/Perforce/FreeBSD/Unix consultant, email for more information.

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