What is Debian?
Debian 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 over 15490 packages, precompiled software bundled up in a nice format for easy installation on your machine.
Getting Started
The latest stable release of Debian is 3.1. The last update to this release was made on September 1st, 2006. Read more about available versions of Debian.
If you'd like to start using Debian, you can easily obtain a copy, and then follow the installation instructions to install it.
If you're upgrading to the latest stable release from a previous version, please read the release notes before proceeding.
To get help in using or setting up Debian, see our documentation and support pages.
Users that speak languages other than English should check the international section.
People who use systems other than Intel x86 should check the ports section.
News
[01 Sep 2006] Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 updated
[03 Aug 2006] Debian GNU/Linux adopted in Extremadura
[24 Jul 2006] Upcoming Release of Debian GNU/Linux 4.0
[19 Jul 2006] Dzongkha Version of Debian GNU/Linux 3.1 launched
[13 Jul 2006] Debian Server restored after Compromise
[04 Jun 2006] Debian IRC Network moves to OFTC
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 Advisories
[15 Sep 2006] DSA-1177 usermin - programming error
[15 Sep 2006] DSA-1160 mozilla - several vulnerabilities (new revision)
[13 Sep 2006] DSA-1176 zope2.7 - programming error
[13 Sep 2006] DSA-1175 isakmpd - programming error
[13 Sep 2006] DSA-1161 mozilla-firefox - several vulnerabilities (new revision)
[11 Sep 2006] DSA-1174 openssl096 - cryptographic weakness
[10 Sep 2006] DSA-1173 openssl - cryptographic weakness
[09 Sep 2006] DSA-1172 bind9 - programming error
[08 Sep 2006] DSA-1159 mozilla-thunderbird - several vulnerabilities (new revision)
[07 Sep 2006] DSA-1171 ethereal - several vulnerabilities
[06 Sep 2006] DSA-1170 gcc-3.4 - missing sanity check
[05 Sep 2006] DSA-1169 mysql-dfsg-4.1 - several vulnerabilities
[04 Sep 2006] DSA-1168 imagemagick - several vulnerabilities
[04 Sep 2006] DSA-1167 apache - missing input sanitising
For older security advisories see the Security Page. If you would like to receive security advisories as soon as they're announced, subscribe to the debian-security-announce mailing list.