The OpenBSD community is not trying to be the most popular operating system — just the best at it what it does

The developers know exactly who their target market is: themselves. If you can use their work, that’s great. If not, go away until you can.

OpenBSD exists to meet the needs of the developers, and while others are welcome to ride along, the needs of the passengers do not steer the project.

Absolute OpenBSD: UNIX for the practical paranoid / Michael W. Lucas.

The way to really test an operating system is to push it to its limits

The only way to really find those limits is to exceed them.

Absolute OpenBSD: UNIX for the practical paranoid / Michael W. Lucas.

The BSD License

BSD code is available for anyone to use under what is probably the most permissive license in the history of software development. The license can be summarized as follows:

• Don’t claim you wrote this.
• Don’t blame us if it breaks.
• Don’t use our name to promote your product.

“Security” means your stuff is safe, and other folks can’t get it

Confidentiality

This means that secret data should remain secret. Your private information must not get into the public eye. That Eastern European kiddie porn syndicate should not get your credit card number.

Integrity

This means that data on the system should not be changed without authorization. Your records should remain intact. That intruder should not change the shipping address on an order, making your staff ship a crate of really expensive stuff to an abandoned warehouse in Detroit.

Availability

This means that the system keeps running. If your business depends on your website, losing the website means losing business. Someone who can take your website down can starve your company. And all kinds of people are willing to shut you down, either to compete or just for laughs.

If you’re not paranoid on the Internet, you’re in trouble

It’s not that everyone on the Internet is trying to attack you, but there’s always someone who wants to break into your system. Even if you think you have nothing of value, someone wants to own your computer. And you won’t realize the value of what you have until someone else has it. That’s just human nature.

Absolute OpenBSD: UNIX for the practical paranoid / Michael W. Lucas.