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 18733 packages, precompiled software bundled up in a nice format for easy installation on your machine.
Getting Started
The latest stable release of Debian is 4.0. The last update to this release was made on December 18th, 2008. 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
[29 Dec 2008] Debian mourns the loss of Thiemo Seufer
[18 Dec 2008] Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 updated
[12 Dec 2008] DebConf 9 to take place in Extremadura, Spain in July 2009
[23 Oct 2008] Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 updated
[08 Aug 2008] Mar del Plata to host 8th Debian conference
[26 Jul 2008] Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 updated and support for newer hardware added
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.
Security Advisories
[07 Jan 2009] DSA-1697 iceape - several vulnerabilities
[07 Jan 2009] DSA-1696 icedove - several vulnerabilities
[02 Jan 2009] DSA-1695 ruby1.8, ruby1.9 - memory leak
[02 Jan 2009] DSA-1694 xterm - design flaw
[27 Dec 2008] DSA-1693 phppgadmin - several vulnerabilities
[27 Dec 2008] DSA-1692 php-xajax - insufficient input sanitising
[22 Dec 2008] DSA-1691 moodle - several vulnerabilities
[22 Dec 2008] DSA-1690 avahi - assert errors
[21 Dec 2008] DSA-1689 proftpd-dfsg - missing input validation
[20 Dec 2008] DSA-1688 courier-authlib - SQL injection
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.