Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

OpenBSD 7.9

openbsd.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 314 posts

Re: OpenBSD 7.9

#31

Post by Galanwe »

clbrmbr wrote: post #10

Anyone here using OpenBSD? If so, for what purpose? I’ve always wanted to use NetBSD for an application for an embedded system / IoT device but never had the pleasure (yet!).

I use it on my personal laptop, essentially because I like how slim and simple it is.

Packaging is simple, kernel development and upgrade is simple, etc. Also the kernel code itself is written in a style I like, it's to the point, no useless abstractions, no fuss. I prefer it even amongst other BSDs I tried (netbsd and free*lbsd/dragonfly).

It just feels nice to be able to understand most of your system. It's not as fully featured as Linux, but there is a sense of understanding your system that is refreshing. A bit like if you're on vacation in a small and cute village where life is mundane and calming. At least that's how I feel with it. Mileage may vary.

Re: OpenBSD 7.9

#33

Post by thfuran »

mghackerlady wrote: post #22
Guestmodinfo wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes free from American restrictions. Because America law prohibits from giving out cryptography to outside countries so according to OpenBSD we outsiders have no luck in getting a cryptographically secure operating system except for OpenBSD

That isn't a thing anymore iirc

I think that pretty much ended in the 90s.

Re: OpenBSD 7.9

#34

Post by ori_b »

rs_rs_rs_rs_rs wrote: post #29
nelsonic wrote: post #11

With all the security issues constantly being uncovered in other Operating Systems - which will only accelerate with Ai - it’s time everyone considers OpenBSD. Their decades-long security-focus is second to none. We have fully converted from Ubuntu/Debian to OpenBSD. No looking back.

>it’s time everyone considers OpenBSD https://x.com/ortegaalfredo/status/2055362910415671459 When your super secure feature gets defeated by a symlink maybe it's not really time to consider it... Sure, things are not better in the linux world but at least there's more eyes to fix issues there just because of the market share.

Note that this specific symlink was special cased because sandboxed programs still need to access timezones. Also note that you would need to be root to create that special cased symlink. It's embarrassing, but less catastrophic than it looks at first glance.

Running security-critical code as root is still a bad idea.

Re: OpenBSD 7.9

#35

Post by nelsonic »

ykurtov wrote: post #27
nelsonic wrote: post #11

With all the security issues constantly being uncovered in other Operating Systems - which will only accelerate with Ai - it’s time everyone considers OpenBSD. Their decades-long security-focus is second to none. We have fully converted from Ubuntu/Debian to OpenBSD. No looking back.

What? How long did it take?

How long did what take? Learning the essentials of OpenBSD, budget 4-6hours. Switching over servers from Ubuntu, an hour for the first one then 10mins each after that. You can copy config with your favourite tools; most have ports for OpenBSD already. If you want to learn more in-depth, read: Michael W. Lucas Absolute OpenBSD, 2nd Edition: Unix for the Practical Paranoid. Highly recommend it as teaches many fundamentals most software engineers skip.

Re: OpenBSD 7.9

#36

Post by 866-RON-0-FEZ »

rs_rs_rs_rs_rs wrote: post #29
nelsonic wrote: post #11

With all the security issues constantly being uncovered in other Operating Systems - which will only accelerate with Ai - it’s time everyone considers OpenBSD. Their decades-long security-focus is second to none. We have fully converted from Ubuntu/Debian to OpenBSD. No looking back.

>it’s time everyone considers OpenBSD https://x.com/ortegaalfredo/status/2055362910415671459 When your super secure feature gets defeated by a symlink maybe it's not really time to consider it... Sure, things are not better in the linux world but at least there's more eyes to fix issues there just because of the market share.

Your "evidence" for him to reconsider is a sandbox "bypass" that requires you to be root to set up the environment?

For my next trick I will demonstrate how to break into my own house to open the blinds by using my keys.

Security researcher theatrics will never not be funny.

Re: OpenBSD 7.9

#37

Post by nelsonic »

mxuribe wrote: post #30
nelsonic wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We use OpenBSD for our VPSes on Hetzner, bare metal (for security focussed clients) and older (but still good) hardware in our Home Lab. OpenBSD is excellent on older (no longer supported by Cupertino) Apple hardware. We have an Intel Mac Mini Cluster with near-perfect uptime. If you need to run any kind of server (Web, Mail, DNS, NFS, Database) where you need stability & security, look no further. Some learning curv…

Have you tried such Openbsd installations vs FreeBSD? I forget the differences between OpenBSD and FreeBSD, so forgive the naivety. (I think NetBSD is more for embedded stuff, and Ghost and Dragonfly are more for conventional desktop use-cases if i recall correctly.) I'm asking because i have not touched any BSD for over 2 decades...and I'm getting the itch to try some out...and was wondering if for server-type use c…

FreeBSD has the same roots as OpenBSD but the former has a “compatibility” focus whereas the latter has the security focus. Having a background in security, the choice was obvious for me. But each person/org should decide based on their needs. Haven’t had any issues running it on all major hardware (Dell, HP, Lenovo, Apple, etc) the UI isn’t as pretty as macOS on Desktop, but it runs Firefox & Chrome, etc. so you can do everything you need. If you have an older Lenovo or Mac lying around collecting dust, dive in!

Re: OpenBSD 7.9

#39

Post by SanjayMehta »

nelsonic wrote: post #14
clbrmbr wrote: post #10

Anyone here using OpenBSD? If so, for what purpose? I’ve always wanted to use NetBSD for an application for an embedded system / IoT device but never had the pleasure (yet!).

We use OpenBSD for our VPSes on Hetzner, bare metal (for security focussed clients) and older (but still good) hardware in our Home Lab. OpenBSD is excellent on older (no longer supported by Cupertino) Apple hardware. We have an Intel Mac Mini Cluster with near-perfect uptime. If you need to run any kind of server (Web, Mail, DNS, NFS, Database) where you need stability & security, look no further. Some learning curv…

What's the situation with Broadcom wifi on your intel macs?

We've run into instability issues with the newer Linux kernels (starting with 6.x, I think) and have had to stop upgrading.

Re: OpenBSD 7.9

#40

Post by nelsonic »

ska80 wrote: post #25

I wish OpenBSD supported Bluetooth. Unfortunately, its absence is a deal breaker for me. I did use OpenBSD on the desktop it was great.

Interesting! Curious which Bluetooth device(s) you can’t live without.
Post reply on HN