The Unix/UNIX OS

[Tomy]

Hello guys,

I searched the Web but did find useful matters that exactly answer these questions:
1- In Windows we have 7, 8.1, 10 etc. in Linux, Ubuntu, Redhat etc. but what about the Unix? Is there any specific Unix OS for installing on a machine?
2- When someone says "my OS is Unix" what does he/she mean by that?
3- How to download and install a Unix OS? Is it free or not?

Thanks.

 

[LNCPapa]

1 - Yes, there are several Unix distros available - and as far as I've ever seen they are not free.
2 - You can mostly think of someone having a Unix OS installed being extremely similar to someone having a linux OS installed. If you can get around on one you can get around at least OK on the other.
3 - Here is a good list of Unix distros - http://www.crucialp.com/resources/tutorials/dedicated-server/unix-flavors-flavours-distributions/ - I used Solaris for 8 years though never really got very proficient with it. I ran a few services and had a Sparc Ultra 30 mostly rotting on my desk for some time. I also ran IRIX on my SGI O2 for a couple of years but I was even less capable with that machine.

 

[DelJo63]

FreeBSD was derived from BSD (Berkeley Standard Distribution) which owned Unix for a long while. We use to say BSD 4.3 > System V (internal nerdy quip). FreeBSD is also the base from which Mac OS X was derived - - but that has nothing to do with the Mac GUI - - just the underlying OS it self.

Regardless of the distribution you choose, you must be aware that Unix is normally used as a server, not a client system and thus doesn't default to have a desktop GUI configured. The user interface is built upon X terminal and the GUI comes from another component.
see this desktops.

 

[Tomy]

Thank you both very much.
So the Unix is just like Linux in that respect that as there is not a Linux but its flavors (Ubuntu, Debian etc.) there is not also a Unix but its distros. That is when someone says, "my OS is a Unix" we should ask "what distro of it?" Right?

My goal is becoming a hacker. Please keep in mind that I don't mean a cracker.
For that aim, which distro is good enough to start with?
I have FreeBSD installed as a virtual machine on Windows. Is it fine to be familiar with Unix and obtain that goal using it?

 

[LNCPapa]

When I went through the CEH track we used the BackTrack linux distro. I believe it has since been abandoned so you might want to search for "linux distros for penetration testing". It would also be worth considering the CEH track itself - http://www.eccouncil.org/Certification/certified-ethical-hacker

 

[DelJo63]

I have FreeBSD installed as a virtual machine on Windows. Is it fine to be familiar with Unix and obtain that goal using it?

That's a good start for a client-GUI environment. However, all the real machine configuration issues will not be available.

 

[Tomy]

However, all the real machine configuration issues will not be available.

What do you mean by that please?

 

[DelJo63]

What do you mean by that please?

A Virtual Machine is much like using a browser which implements the Sandbox concept - - code running there can only access the resources made available to it.

As you know, all systems use some kind of 'driver' to control real devices, eg USB, monitor, NICs, keyboards, printers. With a VM, there are two ways that can be done:

1. just map the VM interfaces directly to the host machine drivers.
2. install special VM support per device.

Unix (or Linux) have special interfaces to control the boot process and another to launch services as needed. Depending upon the distribution, startup is controlled by the /etc/rc.d/* scripts and services by inetd

[btw: linux / unix doc is in manpages and accessed using man -k subject
Your first access should be man man]

As the VM intercepts every access to resources, what may be a perfectly good api call, may get altered by the VM. Thus the conclusion

all the real machine configuration issues will not be available.

 

[Gilonni]

Thank you both very much.
So the Unix is just like Linux in that respect that as there is not a Linux but its flavors (Ubuntu, Debian etc.) there is not also a Unix but its distros. That is when someone says, "my OS is a Unix" we should ask "what distro of it?" Right?

My goal is becoming a hacker. Please keep in mind that I don't mean a cracker.
For that aim, which distro is good enough to start with?
I have FreeBSD installed as a virtual machine on Windows. Is it fine to be familiar with Unix and obtain that goal using it?

Perhaps this article can help you: Differences – Unix and Linux

As far as the distro for a hacker, you might want to try Kali Linux.