Debian GNU/Linux -- The Universal Operating System

Debian GNU/Linux is a free operating system (OS) for your computer. An operating system is the set of basic programs and utilities that make your computer run. Debian uses the Linux kernel (the core of an operating system), but most of the basic OS tools come from the GNU project; hence the name GNU/Linux.

Debian GNU/Linux provides more than a pure OS: it comes with more than 4250 packages, precompiled software bundled up in a nice format for easy installation on your machine.

News
Weekly News

Distribution
  Installation Instructions
  Release Info
  Debian Packages
  Download FTP
  Debian on CD
  Debian Books
  Port Specific Pages

Support
  Documentation
  Security Information
  Bug Tracking System
  Mailing List Archives
  Mailing List Subscription

Developers' Corner   People
  Constitution
  Policy
  Joining
  Website

This page is also available in the following languages:
Русский
عربية
中文 (GB)
中文 (Big5)
日本語
한국어
Dansk
Deutsch
Español
Esperanto
Italiano
Nederlands
Portuguese
Românã
TurkCe
français
hrvatski
magyar
norsk
polski
suomi
svenska

How to set the default document language

Getting Started

The latest release of Debian is 2.2. It was released on August 14th, 2000. Release information is available; there you can find information about what's new in Debian 2.2, notes on how to upgrade, and an Installation Manual, suitable for new users.

To get help in using or setting up Debian, see our support and our documentation pages.

News

[15 Aug 2000] Debian GNU/Linux 2.2, the "Joel 'Espy' Klecker" release, is officially released
[26 Jul 2000] Test Cycle Three Has Officially Begun
[23 May 2000] Version 2.2 scheduled for Test Cycle 2
[21 May 2000] Debian upgrades main FTP server
[03 May 2000] First official Test Cycle for Debian GNU/Linux 2.2 started
[09 Apr 2000] Debian at Multimedia Market 2000

For older news items see the News Page. If you would like to receive mail whenever new Debian news comes out, subscribe to the debian-announce mailing list. Debian Weekly News is an in-depth summary of what's happened in the world of Debian.

Security Alerts

[11 Sep 2000] libpam-smb -: remote root exploit
[10 Sep 2000] xpdf -: local exploit
[10 Sep 2000] imp -: remote compromise
[02 Sep 2000] screen -: local exploit
[02 Sep 2000] glibc -: local root exploit
[01 Sep 2000] netscape navigator/communicator -: remote exploit

For older security alerts see the Security Page. If you would like to receive security alerts as soon as they're announced, subscribe to the debian-security-announce mailing list

Software in the Public Interest, the non-profit umbrella organization that manages Debian's assets, is dedicated to making sure the hardware on your machine can be used with any operating system.
Please see the Open Hardware Certification Program.

See the Debian contact page for information on contacting us.