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 25113 packages, precompiled software bundled up in a nice format for easy installation on your machine.
Getting Started
The latest stable release of Debian is 5.0. The last update to this release was made on February 14th, 2009. 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
[14 Feb 2009] Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 released
[10 Feb 2009] Debian GNU/Linux 4.0 updated
[08 Feb 2009] Debian Project seeks Hardware Donations
[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
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
[15 Feb 2009] DSA-1725 websvn - programming error
[13 Feb 2009] DSA-1724 moodle - several vulnerabilities
[11 Feb 2009] DSA-1723 phpmyadmin - insufficient input sanitising
[11 Feb 2009] DSA-1722 libpam-heimdal - programming error
[11 Feb 2009] DSA-1721 libpam-krb5 - several vulnerabilities
[10 Feb 2009] DSA-1720 typo3-src - several vulnerabilities
[10 Feb 2009] DSA-1719 gnutls13 - design flaw
[08 Feb 2009] DSA-1718 boinc - incorrect API usage
[05 Feb 2009] DSA-1717 devil - buffer overflow
[31 Jan 2009] DSA-1716 vnc4 - integer overflow
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.