14 DAY TRIAL // The Linux distributor is about to release the next version of the operating system, which includes important security, updates AMD full support for the 2.6 Linux kernel. The latest version of the Linux kernel was released early this month by creator and open-source maven Linus Torvalds. The "Woozy Numbat", the 2.6.10 kernel includes a long list of minor fixes and changes to the operating system.
The biggest fix since 2.6.10-rc3 is probably the CIFS [Common Internet File System] update and the switch-over to the new DVB front-end driver world order. There are also fixes that make some USB and MMC devices compatible with the system, and this latest kernel release includes also ARM updates as well. Red Hat is still using an earlier kernel in its Enterprise editions, although it plans to move to 2.6 with Enterprise Linux 4 in the first quarter of 2005.
All Linux suppliers, Red Hat, Novell SuSE and Mandrakesoft have worked together to issue security patched against flaws in their Linux distributions. Red Hat recently issued three patches, while Mandrakesoft has issued two patches, and Novell SuSE one, all meant to fix several security breaches of the OS. Among these there are openings for denial-of-service attacks, buffer overflow attacks, and the use of graphics and Adobe Acrobat documents to take over a user's machine.
The launch of this next Red Hat Linux distribution will take place on Valentine's Day at LinuxWorld in Boston and it will mark the biggest upgrade since October 2003. It includes changes to way the input-output system writes data to disk which should speed up applications like databases which deal with lots of information.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 is expected to fully support the latest Linux kernel and include features from the National Security Agency's Secure Enhanced Linux program.