Linux (everything)

In this article, you will get to know what is Linux, what are its applications, and 10 ways in which Linux is better than its competitors.

If you have been wanting an operating system with a lot of stability and performance and privacy, the answer to all these questions is Linux based operating systems

So let’s start by understanding what exactly is Linux

What is Linux

What is Linux ?, Linux is a family of open-source operating systems based on Linux kernel, such as Ubuntu, android, Kali Linux, etc.

A kernel is a part of an operating system which can control anything in the system, kernel helps in providing a link between hardware and software

A kernel can control how much ram can an application use, how what permissions are given to an application and everything an application wants from the hardware is in the control of the kernel.

For example- a camera application wants permission to access the camera which is a part of the hardware, it will have to ask the kernel to provide permission to access the camera, without permission, it won’t be able to access the camera.

7 ways in which Linux is better than its competitors

1 performance and stability

Windows operating system has created a monopoly in the operating system market that’s why generally its share is more than 70% in the market but it does have a very big flaw which is performance

A solution to this problem is apple’s mac os, but if you don’t wish to spend huge sums of money then Linux is probably the best option for you if you want performance and stability

The performance offered by these distributions is simply unmatched with the windows operating systems

2 freedom

Since Linux is a FOSS (free and open-source software), you don’t get to see the licenses that you would often see in its paid alternatives, which means you can use it the way you want, without any obstruction.

As its open-source, its source code is available to everyone, and anyone can point out the flaws in it and make it more efficient by making changes in the source code.

3- more secure

As said above that, anyone can point out at the loopholes in the Linux distribution’s source code and make it more efficient and secure by removing the vulnerabilities

Developers and white hat hackers regularly look up for loopholes and fix them

As a result, there are way more viruses that attack Linux as compared to windows

Moreover, security experts have also tested and confirmed that it is harder to penetrate it as compared to windows

Since there is a small userbase of people using it, hackers are themselves not interested in hacking it, hence its even less vulnerable to attacks and hacks.

In fact, in terms of security it is ranked even above apple’s mac os, for knowing more details and insights, click on the following link

https://www.computerworld.com/article/3252823/why-linux-is-better-than-windows-or-macos-for-security.htm

4- verity

There are hundreds of operating systems based on Linux kernel, you can choose from, so if you are bored with your current operating system, you can simply choose the one that suits you.

There is a distribution that is close to the windows operating system, and if you are a fan of apple mac os then there is even distribution for that.

There are a lot of such distributions which are very close to the look and feel of the mac os

For example- elementary OS, GMAC, etc.

The following article is about 5 MAC os lookalike distributions

5 linux distributions close to mac

5- less power more efficiency

Linux requires less power to run. In other words, you can even run it on older computers, because the kernel very efficient

It does not require high-end specks to provide a smooth performance

6- free-

One of the major advantages of this operating system is using it would cost nearly nothing

As mentioned above that it is a free and open-source operating system software (FOSS), meaning that it is absolutely free of cost and its source code is available to everyone

It is very simple to install it on your computer, you just have to download it from their official website, and follow a few simple steps

Step-1-

download a Linux OS

You can choose an operating system that suffices your need and fits your liking

Step-2-

Create a bootable CD/DVD or USB flash drive

Step-3-

Boot that media on the destination computer, customize the installation according to your installation

The following article gives you a detailed step by step procedure on how to install Linux

stepts to install linux

7- long term support

Some of the Linux distribution gives very long term support and this support can be as long as 10 years, probably none of the competitor operating systems come even close that huge amount of support

For example- the current version of ubuntu ( a very popular operating system for cloud computing) will get supported up till 2025

This support can even be extended further up till 2030 if someone is willing to pay for that.

To know more about ubuntu, check out this post- ubuntu

What is Linux used for-

Applications of Linux are enormous, you just have to look around and chances are that you will find that device using Linux, most probably you are using it right now but you don’t know you are using it.

You will find Linux everywhere, starting right from the biggest network, the internet to small networks used in corporate offices and homes

The performance and stability this kernel offers at a very low cost is one of the biggest reasons, it is used in the majority of web servers used today

If the mobile phone you are using to read this article runs on android, then knowingly or unknowingly you are also using it because the android operating system is also based on Linux kernel

Automation is another big use of this kernel, in fact, majority of automated appliances and gadgets that we use in our day to day life use Linux in some or the other way

Linux is used in a very popular operating system which is probably the first choice of security experts and hackers, Kali Linux

Kaili Linux

Kali Linux is just an operating system like mac os and windows os, but what makes it different and special is that it provides a very easy way to test the security of an operating system or a network.

If you want to test the security of a network or an operating system, you will have to write a lot of codes as you have no base, it will be very difficult to even initiate this process, this is where Kali Linux comes handy

Kali Linux has a lot of preinstalled tools and utilities (nearly 500-600) which makes the task of penetration testing, reverse engineering, finding vulnerabilities in a system a lot easier, in fact, you can use it even on your android smartphone

For example- brute-force attack

Some hackers can find passwords by brute-force attacks, in a brute force attack various combinations of passwords are entered and tested to find the correct password, and most interestingly kali Linux has tool dedicated to this task only

You can even have some customizations by coding and giving commands, with saying that let’s proceed and see some of the basic Linux commands

Some basic Linux commands-

Although Linux has a lot of options and utilities, what if you want to get even more out of that.

Forgetting even more, and for having customizations you need to know Linux commands

We enter these commands in a black window known as Linux shell or terminal and get the output.

Here we will be covering some of the very basic Linux commands for beginners, so let’s start.

1-pwd

This command helps you find your present directory

2- ls

This command tells you about the files present in your current directory, by providing a list in your terminal

3- cd (case sensitive)

This is a case sensitive command and helps you to change your current directory, you just have to type the directory name where you want to go,

For example cd “directory name”

After reaching in that directory, you can even check that by using the “pwd” command

But, there is one small problem with this command, and that is if your folder (or directory) name has space, you need to use a backslash, otherwise, the output will be “directory not found”

For example- cd my\folder

4- mkdir

This command is used to “make directory” at your current location, after writing mkdir you simply have to write the name of the directory(or folder) which you want to create.

For example- mkdir folder1

5- rmdir

This one helps in “removing a directory”, simply give a space and type the name of the directory that you want to remove

For example- rmdir folder1

6- touch

This is used to create an empty file in your current location

For example- touch abc.txt (for an empty txt file or touch pqr.zip (for an empty zipped file)

7- locate -i

If you want to know the location of a file, but you don’t know its complete name or know only a few words in its name, you can use this command.

For example- locate -i my file or locate -i *my*personal (if you know 2 words of the file name, separate them by asterisks)

8- uname -a

If you want to know more about your computer, like what’s your processor, which distribution you are using, etc., you just have to type this command and press ‘enter’

9- ping

This is used to check whether your system is connected to the internet or not, just give space and type the website name where you want to reach.

The time is taken to reach that site and other details will be displayed after execution

For example- ping yahoo.com

10- sudo halt and sudo reboot

As clear by the name, this is used to turn off your computer (sudo halt) or to restart your computer (sudo restart)

11 exit

Now we are done with some of the basic commands so let’s exit the terminal, and for doing that you need to type exit and press enter, your terminal will be closed.

technology and science

Search This Blog