The Best Linux Distros for Beginners: A Comprehensive Guide
Discover the best Linux distros for beginners, including Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and more, to start your Linux journey with confidence.
Independent · Linux · Open source · Privacy
Serious coverage of the systems you actually run.
CrunchBangLinux is a publication for people who live in a terminal: Linux, open source, privacy, self-hosting and security — tested on real hardware, sourced to primaries, dated, and written by named people.
Guides
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How to check which Linux kernel you are running
A 30-second check from the terminal — and what the numbers after the version actually mean.
Set up a basic firewall on Linux with UFW
A sensible default firewall in four commands — deny inbound, allow what you need.
Create and enable a systemd service
Turn any long-running command into a managed service that starts at boot and restarts on failure.
News
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Mainline, stable, and LTS: how Linux kernel releases work
The words distributions throw around — mainline, stable, LTS — describe a simple, predictable pipeline.
What reproducible builds are, and why they matter
If anyone can rebuild a binary bit-for-bit from its source, nobody has to simply trust the person who shipped it.
Privacy
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Harden your DNS: encrypted lookups and why they matter
Plain DNS leaks every site you visit to your network. Encrypting it is a quick, high-value win.
De-Google your phone without flashing a custom ROM
You can cut most of Google out of daily use with app choices alone — no unlocked bootloader required.
Start here
Eight ways in
However you got here, there’s a section for what you do — from the daily news desk to original research, deep guides, and honest reviews.
01
News
Distro and kernel releases, security advisories and governance — sourced to primaries.
Enter News → 02Research
Original investigations: package ecosystems, telemetry audits, supply-chain and FOSS health.
Enter Research → 03Guides
Deep, versioned how-to guides. Every one states what it was tested on, and when.
Enter Guides → 04Reviews
Hands-on only — VPNs, password managers, backup, hosting and hardware, tested on Linux.
Enter Reviews → 05Tools
Free, client-side utilities. Nothing you enter is ever transmitted.
Enter Tools → 06Privacy
Threat models for real people: encryption, hardening, de-Googling, self-hosting.
Enter Privacy → 07Opinion
Signed analysis on licensing, governance and the sustainability of free software.
Enter Opinion → 08Heritage
The history of Linux and free software, told properly — the people, projects and turning points.
Enter Heritage →Free tools · no sign-up
Utilities that never phone home
Every tool runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is transmitted, logged, or stored — for a privacy publication, that’s the whole point.
Why trust us
The standard, in the open
We publish our methods, not just our conclusions. Every policy below is public — and we hold ourselves to it.
Methodology
How we test
Every guide states the distro, kernel, desktop and versions it was tested on — and the date. Nothing is transcribed untested.
IntegrityHow we review
Hands-on only. Rankings are independent of commission — stated, and true. Every review names what's wrong with the product.
AccountabilityEditorial standards
Real named authors, primary sources linked, a visible corrections log. Written by people, not machines.