So, I will be addressing one problem I see with many potential hackers. The reason alot of potential hackers turn into skids is because they don't use GNU/Linux! Why Linux you ask??!! Well, Linux is superior over windows. First please read here: http://www.whylinuxisbetter.net/ A main reason it is crucial to use Linux is because it forces you to think. Windows spoon feeds you everything and treats you like a retard who doesn't know how to do shit. Linux is open source and free, meaning you don't have to pay 300$ for an OS. Also, Linux does not have any viruses at all! If you ask any good hacker in the planet which OS is better do you know what they will say? LINUX of course! There are many flavors of Linux available for free download. Lets name a few 1.Ubuntu 2.Fedora 3.Linux Mint 4.Gentoo 5.Debian
Those are just 5 of the many Linux flavors available for free download.
History of GNU/Linux: Alright, First let me rant about Unix. Unix was created in 1969 by AT & T and is still very much alive today. Unix was entirely written in machine language(Also known as ASM or Assembler). Later, in 1973, Unix was re-written in the programming language C by Dennis Ritchie. Unix quickly grew and became widely adopted by academic institutions and businesses. Linux was created by a man named Linus Torvalds. He is the famous author of the Linux kernel.
GNU The GNU project was first created by Richard Stallman in 1983. He had the idea of creating a "complete Unix-compatible software system" as he said, composed entirely of free software. Later, in 1985, Stallman created the Free Software Foundation and wrote the GNU General Public License (GNU GPL) in 1989.
Current Development Today, Linux and Unix is still greatly alive. Many hackers and tech-savvy people use Linux/Unix.
Design The design is nothing like Windows. Here is an image of the GNOME desktop. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/Gnome-2.28.png GNOME is one of the many used desktop environments for Linux/Unix. Here is a screenshot of KDE environment http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/KDE_4.png/800px-KDE_4.png There are LXDE, Xfce and many more you can use as a desktop environment. Well that's all I have at the moment. Please +REP me if you found this article helpful. EDIT: Theres more! Installing Linux Half the users reading this guide may be Linux noobs. In that case you may want to start with the Linux beginner OS, Ubuntu. There are several ways to install Ubuntu successfully on your Windows machine. The first, and easiest method is using a program called "Wubi" You can download Wubi from: http://wubi-installer.org In that case now all you need to do is partition your hard drive. Windows vista+ has a built in partition manager. To get to it navigate your start button like so: Start>Right-click My Computer>Manage Now you should be in the computer management system built in. Now just hit the "Disk management" tab on the left pane. From here you should see all of your disks and plugged in removable devices. Right-Click your C: drive(System root drive where windows is installed) and hit "Shrink volume". From this pop-up menu you resize your C drive accordingly. You generally want to split it so you still have enough space on your C drive for your files but still enough space on your new Linux drive. While the C drive volume is shrinking open Wubi. Select your settings like so: http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/3415/ubunt.png Now make sure you have all of your settings correct and hit that shiny install button :) NOTE: You may also change your desktop environments. I prefer Xubuntu but that's just me. While Ubuntu is installing go grab a cup of coffee or entertain yourself as the installation may take well over 30 minutes to an hour. Once the installation is done just reboot and in the NT boot loader just select Ubuntu 8-) ------------------------------------------------------------- Setting it up Setting your shiny new amazing Linux OS up is extremely easy. With Ubuntu you can install packages through the Synaptics GUI installer but I prefer using the Linux terminal (See commands down below). On the top bar you can play around with your settings and install packages you want. Linux is extremely customizable too. Many themes are available online and just take some terminal work to get your new Ubuntu looking sexy as hell. -------------------------------------------------------------- Simple shell commands This section is not a list of all the commands available from the Linux terminal. Here i will list a few, there simple usage and what they do. Lets start from the basics shall we? NOTE: The commands are written in quotes. When putting the commands in the terminal please exclude the quotes.
"ls" - List's the current directory. Usage: "ls" "ls ../" "ls ./" "ls /home" "cd" - Changes directory to wanted directory. Usage: "cd /" "cd /etc" "cat" - Reads whats in a file. Usage: "cat /etc/shadow" "cat /home/desktop/lol.txt" "halt" - Shuts down compter. Usage: "halt" "aptitude" - Built in package manager in Linux(May need to be run as root(See below as to what root is)). Usage: "aptitude update" "aptitude search finch" "aptitude install finch" "aptitude" "apt-get" - Another command line package manger. Usage: "apt-get install finch" "apt-get search finch" "cfdisk" - Partition manager in Linux. Usage: "cfdisk /dev/hda1" "chmod" - Changes access permissions. Usage: "chmod +x /etc/shadow" "chmod 777 /etc/shadow" "clear" - Cleares terminal text. Usage: "clear" "echo" - Display a written message. Usage: "echo Chroniccommand == win" "exit" - Exits the shell session. Usage: "exit" "help" - Displays Linux shell help text. Usage: "help" "ifconfig" - Configure a network interface. Usage: "ifconfig" "logout" - Exits a login shell. Usage: "logout" "mv" - Move or rename files/directories. Usage: "mv test.txt /etc/test.txt" "mkdir" - Makes a directory. Usage: "mkdir /home/desktop/test" "passwd" - Modify a users password. Usage: "passwd" "reboot" - Reboots your system. Usage: "reboot" "rmdir" - Removes directories. Usage: "rmdir /etc/" "su" - Substitue user. Usage: "su" "whoami" - Check your username. Usage: "whoami" "rm" - Remove file. Usage: "rm /home/desktop/test.txt" ----------------------------------------- Thats all the commands I have posted ATM. If any more pop into my head or if anybody suggests them I will add them to the list. For a better list please check: http://ss64.com/bash/ -------------------------------- A bit of info on Root Root means you have full super user access. You can modify and delete anything you want and have near to complete control over the system. A root user always has the User ID(UID) of 0. Thus UID = 0 means the user is root. ----------------------------------------------------- --------------\\ Kernel First let me explain what a kernel is before I ramble onto its functions. A "Kernel" is a core component in most computer systems that acts as a bridge between applications and the actual data processing done at the hardware level. he kernel's responsibilities include managing the system's resources (the communication between hardware and software components). Operating system tasks are done differently by different kernels, depending on their design and implementation. Take a look at this image (Courtesy of wikipedia) for a better view of kernels: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Computer_abstraction_layers.svg/200px-Computer_abstraction_layers.svg.png As you can see the order goes 1.Hadware 2.Firmware 3.Assembler 4.Kernel 5.Operating system and Apps --------------------------\\\ GNU Core Utilities To understand more about GNU/Linux you will need to know about the GNU Core Utilities. The GNU Core Utilities or "coreutils" is a package of GNU software containing many of the basic tools, such as cat, ls, and rm, needed for Unix-like operating systems. It is a combination of a number of earlier packages, including textutils, shellutils, and fileutils, along with some other utilities that may be needed. For a more clear understanding on GNU Core Utilities please read this page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Core_Utilities ---------------------\\\ Desktop Environment{DE} A Desktop Environment, Abbreviated DE, is a major part of any OS. The DE is the GUI(Graphical User Interface) of an Operating System. A desktop environment typically consists of icons, windows, toolbars, folders, wallpapers,shortcuts, widgets and more. An example of a DE would be.. well.. your desktop. For GNU/Linux you can have different DE's. Some include but are not limited to: 1.Gnome 2.KDE 3.LXDE 4.Xfce
You can install these via the apt-get or Aptitude ------------------\\ Quick note on Aptitude Let me make a quick point on Aptitude. Aptitude is only for GNU/Linux OS's that use the Debian management system -----------------\\ Hope this paper/tutorial clarifies on what Linux/Unix is. If you need any help at all please as me through PM or reply here and I or any other Linux user/expert will try to clarify things with you and help you understand more about the wonderful OS Linux. NOTE: This was a tutorial for noobs. If you are a Linux expert please dis-regard or give some feedback.