GhostBSD 24.07.1 has just been released with a promise of enhanced performance and stability, although its arrival took a bit longer than expected. This new release is significant because the developers have transitioned from using their own ports to employing FreeBSD’s PKGBSD packages. This switch is aimed at boosting the overall performance and user experience. Alongside this major change, the update also brings an improved NetworkMGR and two critical security fixes for OpenSSH.
Eric Turgeon and his team have been hard at work on GhostBSD, a FreeBSD-based operating system that uses the MATE desktop environment, although a community-driven XFCE edition is also available. GhostBSD has come a long way since its first release in March 2010, which featured GNOME 2.28 on FreeBSD 8.0.
The GhostBSD 24.07.1 update is a significant leap forward aimed at improving system reliability and performance. The transition to FreeBSD PKGBSD packages involved intensive testing to minimize bugs, delaying the release. Despite this meticulous process, users may still encounter some issues while upgrading from an older version. To avoid potential complications, a clean installation is recommended.
Besides moving to PKGBSD, GhostBSD 24.07.1 updates the underlying OS to 14.1-STABLE, refreshes several software packages, enhances NetworkMGR, and resolves two OpenSSH security vulnerabilities. Users can find a comprehensive list of changes in the official release announcement. However, for the rundown of known issues, there’s a separate page dedicated to that.
As of now, the download options for GhostBSD are available only for 64-bit systems. This restriction may be a consideration for those using older hardware or requiring 32-bit compatibility.
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Whether you’re a seasoned Unix-like OS user or just curious to try something new, GhostBSD 24.07.1 looks to be a stable and robust option worth exploring. With its notable performance improvements and enhanced security features, this release aims to deliver a smooth and reliable user experience.
