Kernel 4.4.0-143 in 2019?

9 réponses [Dernière contribution]
Danrobi
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 06/24/2019

Hi
I just tried Trisquel-mini In virtualbox to test it
First of, im not a PC engineer, im actually very noob im PC's. However, im just trying to find a private and secure distro
So, i saw the kernel version was at 4.4.0-143
I see other distro's with Kernel at 4.18 and above.
So, is anybody would like to explain to me how the 4.4.0-143 can be secure?
I see some activities in the forum, thats good. And, how's the developement/maintenance for Triquel in 2019?
Thank you

Beformed
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 01/12/2017

Hello Danrobi,

In the case of the kernel version, Trisquel is a Point release distro, that means it releases a versions of the OS and then it just pushes security updates. Version 8 of Trisquel is based on ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Long Term Support) which has support to 04/2021. So I agree the kernel is old but that doesn't mean we don't get security updates. 4.4.0.143 was released this year if I remember correctly (someone can correct me). In summary, it is secure because that is the intention of that version, security updates.

In the case of development, you can check the irc channel (I don't have the link just now) and the development page devel.trisquel.info. I'd agree development is not the fastest thing of the Trisquel project.

I hope this helps, and I know others would be happy to correct or increase the information I gave.

Magic Banana

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Hors ligne
A rejoint: 07/24/2010

Version 4.4.0-143 was indeed released this year. According to APT's logs on my system, I had it installed on March 20th. As chaosmonk explained, it is the 143th security update of the 4.4.0 version, which was released in 2016, and there will be such updates until the end of the support of Trisquel 8.

andyprough
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 02/12/2015

4.4 is 3 1/2 years old, meaning old native drivers. And no security updates for the past 3 months is not great in the current (in)security era.

Personally, I would recommend adding jxself's libre-linux kernel repository and getting something more up to date. But, that's just me. Obviously, if you need extreme stability, then sticking with 4.4 is probably best.

jxself
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 09/13/2010

Would it be helpful if I had 4.4 in my kernel repository too so as to match versions? Currently the oldest one in there is 4.14.

I mean, 4.4 is already available in a way by being in the separate extended-term support (ETS) repository since it's supported for 6 years. But no one seems interested to subscribe to the ETS repository; should I just move it into the regular one for free? Or if no one's interested in 4.4 at all I could just drop it and maintain the newer ones.

andyprough
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 02/12/2015

I'm not sure. I grab your weekly updated kernels for a couple of my systems. I like having the latest version, and it's wonderful not having to compile them all the time. Is that what most of your subscribers do?

Danrobi
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 06/24/2019

Hi andyprough
Thank you for your recommendation
Im now running the 5.1.15-gnu kernel ;)

andyprough
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 02/12/2015

> Hi andyprough
Thank you for your recommendation
Im now running the 5.1.15-gnu kernel ;)

Don't thank me, thank jxself. That's a lot of work to push all those kernels out, and he provides an always up-to-date repository. Even when I compile my own, his is usually available faster.

chaosmonk

I am a member!

I am a translator!

Hors ligne
A rejoint: 07/07/2017

> So, i saw the kernel version was at 4.4.0-143 I see other distro's
> with Kernel at 4.18 and above. So, is anybody would like to explain
> to me how the 4.4.0-143 can be secure?

Trisquel 8's kernel is based on Ubuntu 16.04's kernel (Trisquel removes
the proprietary blobs). Ubuntu's 4.4.0 kernel receives security updates
and will continue to do so until 2021. Note the "-143" in the version
number. That means that Ubuntu's 4.4.0 kernel has been modified 143
times for bug and security fixes since Linux 4.4.0 was released.

The advantage of a newer kernel is support for newer hardware. If some
of your hardware needs firmware that didn't exist when 4.4.0 was
released, then it is worth upgrading to a newer kernel version.
Otherwise you should be fine sticking with the default.

> I see some activities in the forum, thats good. And, how's the
> developement/maintenance for Triquel in 2019? Thank you

Trisquel 9, based on Ubuntu 18.04, is under development. I'm testing it
on several machines. I haven't run into any noticeable bugs, presumably
because most upstream bugs have been caught and fixed in the year since
Ubuntu 18.04 was released. However, not all packages are installable, as
some work needs to be done on the package helpers that fix freedom and
branding issues with some Ubuntu packages, and the default MATE desktop
environment needs work. There is also some work being done on Trisquel's
build system, and Trisquel 9 will add support for some non-x86
architectures. There is no set release date for Trisquel 9 at this time,
but progress is being made. Developers meetings are Fridays at 16:00 UTC
on the #trisquel-dev IRC, if you'd like to stop by and see how things
are going each week.

Danrobi
Hors ligne
A rejoint: 06/24/2019

@Beformed @chaosmonk
Very generous answers
Thanks to both of you