Why are you (still) using OpenBSD?
6 days ago
- #OpenBSD
- #UNIX
- #Security
- OpenBSD is a free UNIX-like OS forked from NetBSD in 1995, focusing on portability and security.
- Supports 10+ hardware architectures and includes widely-used software like OpenSSH, LibreSSL, and pf.
- OpenBSD is open-source, freely available, and compatible with virtualization platforms like Qemu, KVM, and VMware.
- Security features include privilege separation, stack protector, randomization, pledge(2), and unveil(2).
- Server applications: firewall (pf), router (bgpd), bastion (sshd), DHCP/DNS (dhcpd, nsd, unbound), mail (smtpd, spamd).
- Workstation tools: xenodm, Xorg, window managers (fvwm, cwm), terminal emulators (xterm, tmux), and editors (vi, mg).
- Offers ~12,000 binary packages for amd64/arm64, including Apache, Go, MariaDB, Chromium, Firefox, and LibreOffice.
- Simple installation, comprehensive man pages, and organized filesystem (/ for OS, /usr/local for third-party).
- Package management via pkg_info, pkg_add, pkg_delete; security patches via syspatch; upgrades via sysupgrade.
- Encourages RTFM (read documentation) and provides resources like mailing lists, blogs, and tutorials for learning.