Free online magazines dedicated to GNU/Linux and Open Source

These are a collection of my links pointing to free online magazines dedicated to Linux and Open Source. If you look around, a lot of effort is being expended, many of those on a voluntary basis to keep alive the spirit of Linux, Open source and Freedom. The links below highlight a slice of those efforts.

• Linux Journal - One of the foremost Linux magazines around, this magazine carry articles which are suited to a more technically oriented crowd. This magazine is made available in both print and online format. Many of the articles on its website are freely accessible but to read the most recent articles, you need to enroll in a paid subscription.


• PClinuxOS Magazine - This is a magazine launched by PCLinuxOS enthusiasts, which is freely made available in both PDF and HTML format. PCLinuxOS is a very interesting Linux distribution which caters to those who crave for a much more complete Linux experience on the desktop. Even though the magazine has the PCLinuxOS name, it carries articles relevant to all Linux distributions.


• Free Software Magazine - This is yet another freely available online magazine which contains articles related to GNU/Linux, open source and Free software.


• Gnome Journal - is an online magazine devoted to everything surrounding the GNOME Desktop. The rate of new articles are a bit far and in between but then that is expected from a magazine dedicated to a narrow subject.


• Linux Productivity Magazine - This was a magazine which used to provide a number of interesting articles on Linux. It has been discontinued since. You can find all the archives of previous issues here.


• Linux-Mag - This is a magazine in print but their website has a number of news items related to Linux.


• Linux Gazette - A purely voluntary effort, this is an online magazine which provides a number of interesting articles related to Linux and Free software on a regular basis.


• Linux Focus - This is another freely available online magazine maintained exclusively through volunteer effort. The USP of this magazine is that you can read the articles featured here in multiple languages. At present, apart from English, it provides the magazine in 10 other languages including the Chinese language.


• Insecure Magazine - This is a freely available digital security magazine discussing some of the hottest information security topics not necessarily all based on Linux. The magazine is available only in a PDF format.


• Linuxformat.co.uk - This is a UK based print magazine but their website also contain relevant news and tips related to GNU/Linux.


• RedHat Magazine - One might wonder why a major Linux distribution vendor like RedHat will bother to bringing out a magazine. But the fact is RedHat does publish an online magazine where you get a monthly dose of tips, howtos and news related to Linux, err... Red Hat Linux that is.


• Tux Magazine - I especially like this online monthly magazine. It is geared towards the new Linux crowd rather than the experienced Linux users and it sends a copy of the magazine in PDF format to ones mailbox. Or rather, it used to send the PDF magazine. As of now its future is in limbo as the magazine owners have found it difficult to sustain their efforts in bringing out the magazine. Hopefully they will find some way to keep this very good magazine alive.


• Full Circle Magazine - This is an independent magazine for the Ubuntu community available in PDF format for free download every month.


• OpenBSD Journal - This is not a magazine per se, its more like a Slashdot style blog. But this is the closest you can get to a magazine dedicated to OpenBSD - arguably the most secure operating system on this planet.


• O3 Magazine - This is a FREE electronic publication distributed in PDF format. The focus of o3 is on the use of Free and Open Source (FOSS) software in Enterprise Data Networking environments.

Note to readers: When ever I come across interesting websites related to Linux, I usually bookmark them for future reference. Over a period of time, I have built up an eclectic collection of links related to GNU/Linux or Unix which provide good information. Earlier, I had featured a slice of those links on the right hand column of this blog. I couldn't feature all the links there due to lack of space. Now, with a revamp of this site design, I decided to move them to their own individual pages. This post is the continuation of a series of such posts.

This article will be updated as and when I come across free online magazines related to GNU/Linux, open source and free software.

(IN)Secure Magazine - a free security magazine in PDF format

One thing which any operating system worth its name should take seriously is the concept of security. In this internet age when more and more people are getting access to always-on broadband, security is all the more important.

I read in one article in a mainstream media that credit card fraud is becoming rampant and is on the rise. The fraudsters hack into vulnerable machines and access confidential data. While some operating systems struggle to contain the security threats, many others fare better in this department. Linux is inherently considered to be more secure. But the most secure operating system is by far OpenBSD which has seen only two vulnerabilities in its code in 10 years.

(IN)Secure is a magazine which is dedicated to discussing security related aspects of Operating systems. It is a monthly magazine which is freely made available for download in a PDF format. Mirko Zorz is its Chief Editor. The magazine carries security articles related to all operating systems. In the latest (11th edition) of the magazine, you may read an article on iptables titled - "IPtables : An introduction to a robust firewall". I may add that the article was contributed by me and so if you do read the article and find any faults, you may let me know about it rather than troubling Mirko ;-). You can download the 11th issue of the (IN)Secure magazine here (PDF file).