From LQWiki

OpenBSD is a BSD version, forked from NetBSD, that focuses on being secure, clean, and "correct". The lead developer is Theo DeRaadt. It runs on many platforms. It has SMP support for i386 and amd64 merged into main release since 2004.

OpenBSD is arguably the most secure operating system "out of the box", which means that the base install doesn't require a lot of tweaking to be secure; it already is pretty well hardened. Although one should never assume that a default install of any OS is enough to be truly secure, OpenBSD, like any piece of modern software, needs to be kept updated with patches, and the services configured on it need to be conscientiously configured.

The slogan on the OpenBSD web page states that "Only two remote hole in the default install, in more than 10 years!". It features a revered stateful packet filtering application called pf that boasts a simple syntax and incredible flexibility and power. The httpd and named services are chrooted by default.

OpenBSD is also noted for exceptional documentation and a community that expects its users to have read the documentation before asking any technical questions. Because of this, some feel that the OpenBSD community is a lot less user friendly than some Linux user communities.

External links

• OpenBSD.org (www.OpenBSD.org)
• BSDForums.org (www.bsdforums.org)
• Undeadly.org (undeadly.org)

  OpenBSD Journal

• OpenBSD - introduction (www.distrowatch.com)
• OpenBSD 4.1 release - (About) (www.openbsd.org)