Porteus Kiosk 4.7.0 released

The Porteus team has announced the release of Porteus Kiosk 4.7.0, latest stable release of custom GNU/Linux distribution optimized for embedded systems like display boards, ATM devices, ..etc. This Porteus Kiosk 4.7.0 release comes with a collection of updated packages and other improvements to provide a secure & smooth user experience. This release also brings the fix for Spectre vulnerability with updated microcode.

Other highlights from Porteus Kiosk 4.7.0 release includes:

• Its possible to explicitly set the shutdown options which should be present in the kiosk shutdown menu. You can allow the users to e.g. reboot the kiosk or restart the session but they wont be able to shutdown the PC fully.
• Added support for refreshing browser webpage with defined time interval. This is useful for digital signage purposes.
• Screen rotation function has been split from more complex 'screen_settings' parameter. Handy if you want to just rotate the screen on different kiosk setups and want to avoid providing other screen attributes like vide output name, screen resolution, refresh rate or position.
• Enabled "DRI3" and "TearFree" features on Intel DDX driver by default which should result in a smooth video playback and scrolling on rotated screens.
• USB devices (e.g. smart cards) are redirected to Citrix session by default.
• 'Wake On LAN' function should also wake the kiosks which are in different subnets than Porteus Kiosk Server.
• Implemented 'Send notification' action in the server's Administration Panel so its possible to send a message to multiple clients.
• Added 'History' function to the 'Send custom command' action in the Administration Panel so its possible to easily rerun previously executed commands.
• Other bugfixes and improvements.

For more information, see Porteus Kios 4.7.0 release announcement published in project's website along with the detailed change logs. You can also read about Porteus GNU/Linux in our gallery page.

Porteus v4.0 RC4 released with added firmware to aid smoother experience

After a while, the Porteus team has announced the availability of another Porteus v4.0 release candidate 4 for testing. Despite the RC4 in version number, this release is actually first release candidate of Porteus made available to the public. It includes several new firmware and other base packages to provide a smoother and solid user experience.

What is Porteus?

Porteus is a small sized, yet complete general purpose GNU/Linux distribution based on Slackware. Porteus is well known for it's customizability and optimization for portable devices. Porteus is optimized to boot from a wide range of portable devices like pen drives, compact disks, hard drive and other bootable storage devices. It can boot & start funcitioning in a small amount of time.

For more information on Porteus GNU/Linux, you can checkout our gallery project.

What are the highlights in Porteus v4.0 RC4?

Porteus v4.0 RC4 is a development release of upcoming Porteus v4.0 stable release. This release candidate is bigger comparing to previous release candidate. It is caused due to the inclusion of extra packages and firmware to provide stable, reliable and smoother user experience.

Some of the main highlights in Porteus v4.0 RC4 release includes:

• Kernel 4.15.2
• Based on Slackware current
• Provides 7 desktop environments to choose from.
• New configuration file at porteus/porteus-v4.0-x86_64.cfg which replaces the .sgn file and can hold cheat codes. One per line.
• New update-browser feature to update or download your preferred browser (available in GUI)
• Support for EFI (using syslinux for both BIOS and EFI boots) Only one config file now exists for both methods: /mnt/sdXY/boot/syslinux/porteus.cfg
• New Porteus update feature built in to update the base modules
• Intel microcode available in boot folder (load with initrd=/boot/syslinux/intel-ucode.cpio,/boot/syslinux/initrd.xz in boot line)

Where can I download Porteus v4.0 RC4?

Porteus v4.0 RC4 is available in both 32 bit and 64 bit variations. You can find these images in official mirrors of Porteus GNU/Linux. Following are Porteus mirrors active at the moment (16th Feb 2018)

http://ftp.vim.org/ftp/os/Linux/distr/porteus/
http://ftp.nluug.nl/os/Linux/distr/porteus/
http://mirrors.dotsrc.org/porteus/
http://ftp.cc.uoc.gr/pub/linux/porteus/
http://www6.frugalware.org/mirrors/linux/porteus/
http://ftp.riken.jp/Linux/porteus/
https://ftp.heanet.ie/mirrors/dl.porteus.org/
http://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/dl.porteus.org/
http://linux.rz.rub.de/porteus/

For further information, see Porteus v4.0 RC4 release announcement published in projects forum.

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Porteus Kiosk 4.5.0 released with Linux 4.12.x, Firefox 52.x ESR and Chrome 60.x

The Porteus Kiosk team has anounced release of Porteus Kiosk 4.5.0, latest stable update of Gentoo based, specialized GNU/Linux distribution for embedded systems like display boards, ATM installation ..etc. Considering the continues requirement for security updates, this release ships various updated packages like Linux Kernel 4.12.10, Firefox 52.3.0 ESR and Google Chrome 60.0.3112.113. It also includes other package updates tagged with revision 20170901.

Important highlights in Porteus Kiosk 4.5.0 release can be summarized as:

• Added support for EAP over LAN (802.1x) authentication on wired connections.
• VNC and SSH daemons can be limited to listening on localhost interface. This is useful from security point of view as nobody can access the kiosk on public network interface. Mind that you'll have to use another service: Porteus Kiosk Server, Guacamole, NoVNC, etc in order to tunnel VNC or SSH traffic to kiosk's localhost interface.
• Its possible to calibrate multiple touchscreen devices which are connected to kiosk.
• Cloud and ThinClient systems no longer expose shutdown options by default. Its required to explicitly enable shuttdown menu in kiosk configuration in order to allow restarting or powering off the PC by the users.
• WPA supplicant will run on all available wireless network interfaces and not only the first one. This is handy if primary wifi card does not work properly (hardware failure, unstable connection, mising driver/firmware) and you want to use wifi dongle as replacement.
• Tunneling service to Porteus Kiosk Server is started as a daemon rather than a script. When demonized the tunelling process can survive Xorg session restart and system runlevel change.
• Added support for email notifications to Porteus Kiosk Server. For now the only supported notification is when client goes offline for specific time period.
• Its possibe to sort client list by categories (system/kernel version, browser, last connected time, etc) in the view settings of the Administration Panel.
• Other bugfixes and improvements.

For more information, read release announcement, detailed change log and change documents.

Porteus KIOSK 4.3.0 released with Linux Kernel 4.9.14 and Google Chrome 55.0.x

Mr Tomasz Jokiel, leading developer at Porteus project has announced release of Porteusk 4.3.0, latest updated snapshot of lightweight GNU/Linux distribution specially designed for embedded systems. This release includes numerous updated packages and improvements to make the system more resistant to attacks and to make it more convenient for users.

Major updated packages shipped with Porteus KIOSK 4.3.0 includes Linux Kernel 4.9.14, Xorg Server 1.19.2, Mozilla Firefox 45.8.0 ESR, Adobe Flash 24.0.0.221 and Google Chrome 55.0.2883.87. Even though the release features both google chrome and firefox, users can configure the system to boot into either of the browsers. Also, other packages has been updated as per 20170311 snapshot in userland repository.

Official release announcement for Porteus Kiosk 4.3.0 summarizes significant highlights in this release.

• Configuration paramter 'client_id=automatic' will automatically asign client ID to the kiosk - no need for manual configuration per device. This parameter makes client installation easier and faster especially for large deployments.

  Serial backend for the CUPS printing service has been enabled by default. Some usb printers still require it for direct usb connection.

  If system installation fails then debug info will be displayed in order to help identifying the problem, e.g. I/O errors on target device.

  OpenDNS is used as a secondary DNS server in the installation wizard for static IP configurations.

  Added backup and restore utilities to Porteus Kiosk Server which allows to create and restore system snapshots.

  Administration Panel of the server allows to hide offline clients or filter them by specific string: hostname, browser, kernel version, etc.

  Client logs are displayed on the top of the monitoring window rather than bottom.

  Archived (rotated) client logs can be viewed directly from the Administration Panel.

  Other bugfixes and improvements.

For more information, you can see complete change log in projects website.

Porteus v3.2.2 Final released with Porteus Kiosk 4.2

Mr broken man of Porteus community has informed release of Porteus v3.2.2 Final and Porteus Kiosk 4.2, latest stable releases of Slackware based general purpose and special purpose GNU/Linux distributions respectively.

Porteus 3.3.2 desktop edition is coming with option to choose from 4 different desktop environments. These desktop environments includes Xfce4, MATE, Cinnamon and KDE5. While users preferring a lightweight, minimal edition of Porteus can make use of Kiosk edition which is mainly meant for embedded systems.

There has been multiple changes in Porteus Desktop edition since release of version 3.1. These changes can be summarized as:

• Linux Kernel 4.9
• Updated pulseaudio package.
• eudev
• consolekit2
• more complete 000-kernel firmware
• Other updates inherited from upstream project(Slackware).

For more details, see release announcement published in Porteus community website.

Download Porteus v3.2.2

Porteus-CINNAMON-v3.2.2-x86_64.iso

Porteus-KDE-v3.2.2-x86_64.iso

Porteus-MATE-v3.2.2-x86_64.iso

Porteus-XFCE-v3.2.2-x86_64.iso

Other download options 

Porteus Kiosk 4.2.0 released

Mr Tomasz Jokiel of Porteus Kiosk development team has announced release of Porteus Kiosk 4.2.0, latest updated release of special purpose GNU/Linux distribution developed for embedded systems like ATM systems, display boards, digital advertisements ..etc. This release of Porteus Kios comes with updated packages like Linux kernel 4.4.36, Xorg Server 1.18.4, Mozilla Firefox 45.5.1 ESR and Google Chrome 54.0.2840.100. Other package updates are tagged on 3rd december 2016.

In official release announcement, Porteus Kiosk team has published a change log which lists notable highlights in this release.

• All files utilized by the clients (wallpaper, screensaver slideshow images, browser preferences, proxy pac config) can be hosted directly on Porteus Kiosk Server - no need to use 3rd party web hosting service anymore.
• If multiple browser tabs were set during instalaltion then its possible to toggle between the tabs at specific time interval. This is useful for digital signage purposes.
• Screensaver slideshow can display images in random order instead of alphabetic order.
• Recompiled xf86-video-intel driver without DRI3 support as it causes issues on older Intel Alviso (gen3) GPUs.
• 'C++' and 'C--' keyboard shortcuts are deactivated when 'disable_zoom_controls=yes' parameter is used.
• Added conky application to monitor Porteus Kiosk Server resources: CPU, RAM, storage and network utilization.
• Server logs can be rotated more than once in a day.
• Remote config can be edited directly on the Server through the Administration Panel.
• Other bugfixes and improvements.

You may also see a detailed change log shared in projects website.

Download Porteus Kiosk 4.2.0 64 BIT

Porteus Kiosk 4.1.0 released with cloud and thinclient variants

Mr Tomasz Jokiel of Porteus team has announced release of Porteus Kiosk 4.1.0, latest stable update of Gentoo based, special purpose GNU/Linux distribution targeting embedded systems like ATM, display panels and advertisement displays.

The Porteus 4.1.0 introduces two new spins which are cloud variant and thin client variant. The purpose of thin client variant is to provide an operating system which can work as a client for existing shared/virtualized desktop infrastructure. This variant offers improved security, simple maintenance activities, reduced hardware cost and reduced energy usage. This is possible because all desktop applications are hosted on a virtualized server. While, the cloud variant of Porteus Kiosk allows to access web based applications and services like Google Apps for Education, Jolicloud, OwnCloud or Dropbox.. etc out of the box. This variant also includes easy configuration options such as bottom panel, volume manager, device mounting utility ..etc.

In addition to this, following are some notable highlights of Porteus Kiosk 4.1.0 release:

• Kiosk config can be hosted directly on Porteus Kiosk Server - no need to use 3rd party web hosting service anymore. Clients must be configured with 'kiosk_config=' parameter and utilize 'server://config_name' protocol.
• Its possible to define custom persistence level for the guest's home folder.
• Password manager allows remembering logins and passwords to the websites.
• Default search engine for the browser has been changed to the Google. Its still possible to set DuckDuckGo engine if privacy is a top priority.
• Linux kernel used in our system can be tweaked with the help of additional kernel parameters.
• Its possible to control the slide duration (time between loading new image) for the screensaver slideshow.
• Improved 'managed bookmarks' function allows to define the bookmark name.
• DMPS is no longer forced to turn off the monitor after 10 minutes of inactivity and you may set the time after which the monitor goes off.
• Session idle parameter will restart whole session (Xorg) for the variants Cloud and ThinClient.
• Added option to preserve persistent partition, perform a quick format or completely erease the hard drive before the installation is started.
• Enabled bootsplash for the post installation ISO.
• Many other bugfixes and improvements.

You can find additional information in release notes and change logs published in projects website.

Porteus 3.2 RC3 is available for testing

The Porteus developers has announced availability of Porteus 3.2 RC3, third development release for upcoming stable Porteus 3.2, for testing. Porteus is Slackware/Salix based live cd distribution that comes in 4 different flavors.

Porteus 3.2 RC3 is coming with some updated packages and few bug fixes. One of the major highlight of this release candidate is Linux Kernel 4.6.1.

We are jubilant to announce the release of the next lightweight portable Porteus-v3.2rc3. This release includes a move to the 4.6.1 kernel, various minor bug fixes and package upgrades from rc2. You can download the 32bit or 64bit ISO files now. A full ChangeLog and any bug reports can be found here along with some basic instructions of added scripts. Thank you to our testers, you have done a great job and a special thanks to all donators. These donations will ensure the continued development of Porteus. You can make a donation here. Every little bit helps.

A brief release announcement for Porteus 3.2 RC3 is available in Porteus forum.

Download Porteus 3.2 RC3

32 BIT | 64 BIT

Porteus Kiosk 4.0.0 released

Mr Tomasz Jokiel of Porteus project has announced release of Porteus Kiosk 4.0.0, latest stable release of special purpose GNU/Linux distribution for embedded systems like ATM machines, display boards, advertising boards ..etc. This release of Porteus Kiosk combines the effort spent by development team in past three months.

Porteus Kiosk 4.0.0 comes with several bug fixes and security updates. A customized version of Linux Kernel 4.4.11 is used in this release. Also firefox web browser is updated version 45.1.1 ESR and Google Chrome is updated to 50.0.2661.102. Some special URL patterns in google chrome are black listed to prevent possible vulnerabilities.

Following are important highlights of Porteus Kiosk 4.0.0:

• Added support for setting default microphone in case you have multiple capture devices in the system.
• Its possible to download screensaver slideshow ZIP archive every X minutes. This is useful if you need to update the slideshow often and want to do this quickly without rebooting the kiosk.
• Import certificates function has been extended to support also Citrix Receiver certificates.
• Added 'launch network wizard' applet to the first run wizard which allows to cancel waiting on the connection and repeat network setup procedure.
• /media location is displayed in the filepicker left side panel so its easier to find where removable media were mounted.
• Fallback to 'uvesafb' driver for boot splash when native framebuffer driver is not available.
• Fixed installation on SD cards which broke after switching to the GRUB bootloader.
• Disabled 'horizontal overscroll' in Chrome as this feature may cause privacy concerns.
• Many other bugfixes and improvements.

More details can be found in release announcement published in Porteus Kiosk website.

Porteus Linux 3.2RC2 released

The Porteus GNU/Linux team announced immediate availability of Poretus Linux 3.2RC2 for download. This is latest development release of Slackware based, lightweight, Live GNU/Linux distribution that offers options to generate custom ISOs using built customizer tool.

Currently, Porteus 3.2RC2 offers 4 different desktop environments which are Xfce4, MATE, Cinnamon and KDE 5. Packages in Porteus base system are bigger comparing to previous releases, however, they'll ensure better compatibility.

Porteus has got significant changes since release of Poretus 14.1. These changes includes:

• Linux Kernel 4.5.3
• pulseaudio
• eudev
• consolekit2
• more complete 000-kernel firmware

For more information, see official release announcement published in official forums.

Download Porteus 3.2RC2

32 BIT | 64 BIT