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 Latest News and Updates |
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| A d v e r t i s e m e n t |
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| 2007-08-22 |
Distribution Release: SmoothWall Express 3.0 |
| SmoothWall Express 3.0, a free firewall distribution that includes its own security-hardened GNU/Linux operating system and an easy-to-use web interface, has been released: "Express 3.0 is our latest version of the long running and successful SmoothWall Express firewall. Headline new features relative to 2.0: supports a 4th network card for Wireless Access Points; 64-bit support; based upon Linux 2.6 kernel; new realtime traffic graph shows traffic bandwidth usage over time (AJAX); per-IP address traffic statistics collection in all traffic stats pages; Instant Messenger proxy with logging and filtering abilities; SATA and SCSI support; streamlined installer and setup; outbound filtering; new update mechanism which can download and install all pending updates with a single click...." Read the comprehensive release notes for full details. Download (MD5): smoothwall-express-3.0-i386.iso (68.9MB), smoothwall-express-3.0-x86_64.iso (70.3MB). |
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| 2007-08-07 |
Development Release: SmoothWall Express 3.0 RC1 |
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| The first release candidate of SmoothWall Express 3.0 is ready for testing: "Express 3.0 is our latest version of the long running and successful SmoothWall Express firewall. This is a release candidate release, code name 'Sammy'. This means that this build will become the final version of SmoothWall Express 3.0, assuming no problems are found. New features and fixes relative to the previous Express 3.0 beta, Degu: final changes to the theme graphics to incorporate the polar bear silhouette, including the boot screen; added missing page descriptions; added support for empty hostnames in Dynamic DNS pages; MySmoothWall integration; build system now uses hosts resolv.conf instead of makefile variables; runtime kernel now has DMA support for all supported IDE chipsets...." Read the comprehensive release notes for further details. Download (MD5): smoothwall-express-3.0-sammy-i386.iso (68.5MB), smoothwall-express-3.0-sammy-x86_64.iso (70.0MB). |
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| 2007-05-16 |
Development Release: SmoothWall Express 3.0 Beta "Degu" |
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| The first beta release of SmoothWall Express, a popular firewall distribution, is ready for testing: "SmoothWall is pleased to announce the much-awaited release of the beta, feature-complete version of Express 3.0. Code-named 'Degu', 3.0 is the latest version of our successful and long-running express firewall software and incorporates a number of new features and improvements. Designed to be easier to install and configure, the new version (based upon the latest Linux 2.6 kernel) is a big advance beyond Version 2. Significant new features include: a much improved user interface; additional 'purple' network interface; additional support for newer hardware (including 64-bit processors); improved VPN subsystem...." Read the rest of the release announcement for further details. Download MD5: smoothwall-express-3.0-degu-i686.iso (65.6MB), smoothwall-express-3.0-degu-x86_64.iso (67.5MB). |
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| 2006-12-22 |
Development Release: SmoothWall Express 3.0 Alpha "Koala" |
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| A new development build of SmoothWall Express 3.0 has been released for public testing: "Express 3.0 is our latest version of the long running and successful SmoothWall Express firewall. This is an alpha release, code name "koala". This means that although this build is working and usable, it is not feature-complete." Some of the new features relative to version 2.0 include: "Based upon the latest 2.6 kernel; brand new theme; includes many new NIC drivers; brand new update system; NTP service for the local network; local hosts list that can be served through the DNS proxy; replacement traffic stats page; SIP NAT support; many internal changes to make the code more organised and easier to work with...." See the release announcement and release notes for further details. Download: smoothwall-express-3.0-koala.iso (48.1MB). |
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| 2005-09-02 |
Development Release: SmoothWall Express 3.0 Alpha "Grizzly" |
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| The first development release of the all-new SmoothWall Express firewall has arrived: "On the fifth anniversary of the first SmoothWall firewall, Internet security specialist SmoothWall Limited is pleased to announce the availability of the first test version of SmoothWall Express 3, the latest version of the world’s most popular firewall appliance software. Express 3 is based on the latest Linux 2.6 kernel and features a new open architecture designed to make it easy for software developers to produce their own security components for SmoothWall. This is intended to foster the development of new and improved open source software, to the benefit of the open source movement as a whole." Read the release announcement and release notes for further details. Download: smoothwall-express-3.0-grizzly.iso (45.8MB). |
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| 2003-11-22 |
Development Release: SmoothWall 2.0 RC 1 |
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| After 7 beta releases, the first release candidate of SmoothWall 2.0 is available: "It's beta time again ... SmoothWall Express 2.0 RC1, codenamed "deltic", is available now! Critical changes in this release candidate include: replaced ipac with RRDtool for nicer network usage graphs; custom DynDNS works once more; some changes to the web user interface; updates list location changed; more bugs corrected." See the distribution's Beta Programme page and release notes for further details. Download: smoothwall-2.0-deltic.iso (33.3MB).
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| 2003-10-24 |
Development Release: SmoothWall 2.0 Beta 7 |
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| The seventh beta on the road to SmoothWall 2.0 is now available. From the release notes: "Security fixes for openssh and openssl; fixed graphs for png; fixed .htaccess bug; fixed snort log rotation, after a long period of use, it was possible for snort to fail to start due to a full logging directory; fixed gettime.pl bug whereby time not saved to cmos because of bad path to hwclock binary; advanced networking features (ping, igmp, etc); IP blocking (including from firewall log); fixed DHCP client problem whereby a network restart would not kill the dhcpcd process; backup and restore of configuration to floppy or floppy image; updated BeWAN driver - this allegedly fixes a problem when the card is on a shared IRQ..." Download: smoothwall-2.0-pendolino.iso (32.9MB).
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| 2003-09-25 |
Development Release: SmoothWall 2.0 Beta 6 |
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| A new beta version of SmoothWall 2.0 -- beta 6, code name "Voyager" -- is now available. From the release announcement: "Critical changes include: 2.4.22 kernel; core build distribution updated to updated Red Hat 8.0; support for BeWAN PCI ADSL card; portforward ranges; the https admin port is now 441 instead of 445. Specifications include: 2.4.22 kernel, new user interface, ext3 filesystem, iptables, increased support for ADSL devices, including Thomson/Alcatel USB Speedtouch, U.S. Robotics USB SureConnect Fujitsu/Westell (USB ECI chipset devices, including Zoom, Eicon Diva, Solwise SAR100/EA100, and Xentrix), and BeWAN (PCI device)." Full details on the distribution's beta programme page. Download: smoothwall-2.0-voyager.iso (33.1MB).
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| 2003-08-12 |
Review: SmoothWall Corporate Server 2.0 |
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| Besides the GPL edition, SmoothWall, Ltd also produces an enterprise level SmoothWall Corporate Server. Richard Drummond: "SmoothWall Corporate Server builds on the strengths of the free SmoothWall to create a more scalable product. The increased hardware support, the more flexible networking tools - such as the support for multiple sub-nets - and the modular, extensible architecture will certainly widen its appeal to larger businesses. I have two main worries. One is that SmoothWall is based on a 2.2 kernel and so support for newer hardware isn't as good as it might have been had it had been based on a 2.4 kernel (I know the system was originally meant for redundant hardware, but scaling up to larger networks requires more horsepower, after all.) My second concern is the lack of any automated tools for firewall monitoring." The complete review, published in an earlier edition of Linux Format is available here.
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| 2003-07-02 |
Development Release: SmoothWall 2.0 Beta 5 |
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| The SmoothWall project has released the 5th beta (code name "Orient") of SmoothWall 2.0: Orient is the fifth beta for the 2.0 series SmoothWall GPL. Changes since Mallard - there have been quite a few, spread over the last couple of months. The items that spring to mind are: 2.4.21 kernel; NTP time syncing (of the SmoothWall time, not a NTP service for GREEN, which will come later), time zone now set in the UI not in the setup program; updates lists can now be retrieved through a proxy, if your ISP blocks all outgoing 80s, no facility to pass a password through to this server as yet; tweaks to the UI; misc. other items." See the complete list of changes in the release announcement. Download: smoothwall-2.0-orient.iso (22MB).
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| 2003-01-23 |
Development Release: SmoothWall 2.0 Beta4 |
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| A new SmoothWall beta is out: "We are pleased to announce the release of SmoothWall GPL 2.0 beta 4, codename 'Mallard'. After the successful releases of betas 1 ('metro') and 2 ('bullet'), beta 4 includes major updates to the networking capabilities of SmoothWall GPL. Lawrence has slaved over a hot keyboard, and melted many a modem to improve the support for the U.S. Robotics SureConnect USB ADSL modem, and also USB ADSL modems based on the ECI chipset, such as the Fujitsu FDX310. Feedback is especially sought for ECI-based modems, so if you connect using one, please let us know, whether you have successful connections or not! Users with the new-style USB Home Highway ISDN connections from BT will now be able to connect their USB-enabled SmoothWall GPL 2.0 directly to the wall socket, thanks to the sterling work of Alan Hourihane." The announcement, release notes and download: smoothwall-2.0-mallard.iso (22.7MB).
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| 2002-08-29 |
SmoothWall GPL 2.0 Has Arrived |
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| The first beta of the new SmoothWall 2.0, code named "metro" has been released for public testing: "Metro is the first public beta for the 2.0 series SmoothWall GPL. It is the first new release since 0.9.9 was released back in late September 2001. We imagine that the beta period will take some weeks, during which time we are also seeking translators. Please see the website for more information if you think you can help!" All information related to this beta can be found on the distribution's Beta Programme page and SmoothWall 2.0 beta1 page. Download it here: smoothwall-2.0-metro.iso (23MB) or from one of the mirrors.
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| 2002-01-10 |
Distribution Review: SmoothWall GPL |
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| c't magazine: "When a group of developers want to successfully distribute a good product, they are usually interested in feedback, in order to improve their product. My concrete indications of security problems within SmoothWall found sheer disinterest with Richard Morrell, developer and project initiator. 'That doesn't matter' was about the politest of all comments. Trust in the developer's competence and integrity is a basic prerequisite for the usage of security relevant software. Morrell has thoroughly destroyed mine." Read the full review by the c't magazine here and join the Slashdot discussion (which includes a response given by a lead developer at SmoothWall) on the subject of this highly negative review. For more information about SmoothWall and links to other reviews, please visit our SmoothWall page.
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| September 2009 |
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At one point or another gamers can hit the wall when using other OS systems such as Linux and Mac, as Windows has always been renowned as the OS of choice for the gaming community. In a lot of cases this has changed somewhat over the last few years with the use of virtualization software that helps to bridge that gap, and it can be quite successful to a point. Of course, when you virtualize another OS you can lose some of the performance, than say running a game natively, and with slowdowns and bugs comes frustration. We have listed a few resources that we think are worth a mention for different types of gamers, both online multiplayer and single player, see what you think:
- World of Goo. This is a great puzzle game that will keep you busy for hours, there's also a free playable demo version.
- If you're a online poker enthusiast we can recommend you check out the pokerlistings.com Linux poker page, it has a list of poker apps that are compatible with your OS.
- For the MMORPG (massively multiplayer online role-playing game) crowds you could always take a look at Vendetta online, "thousands of people can play together, at the same time, in a single, persistent universe", sounds great!
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