Linux offers you a series of advantages that no other operating system offers you today.. This is due, in principle, to the open source philosophy that exists in this OS. The fundamental pillar for GNU / Linux to be accepted by a large number of users is the possibility of accessing free to updates constants offered by developers.
These versions arise due to the detecting errors or problems with codes or system components. So, in order for you to have all the benefits that GNU / Linux offers you, you will have to have the operating system updated.
In this article we will talk about the advantages of updating Linux and how you should proceed, with very simple steps, to install the latest version of a distribution.
Why should you always have the latest version of my Linux OS? Benefits
When you install Linux as the operating system of your computer what you are looking for is to have as much freedom as possible to carry out tasks that with other OS you could not get it, or you should pay a lot of money for it. This is generated thanks to the open source system provided by the operating system, in which there are a large number of developers who constantly seek to solve problems detected by users or by themselves.
Before starting, you should be aware that there are different kinds of updates. You'll find kernel-related versions, which are considered pre-release and are aimed at developers. You will also have a release of the main tree, which is directly maintained by the creator of the OS, Linus Torvalds.
In turn, when the main lines are corrected, what interests you will come into force, which are the corrections made that are considered stable, which have a very short launch frequency. Clarified this, it is necessary that you have update an OS distribution, for the following reasons:
- Each update incorporates security improvements operating system.
- On many occasions have Linux updated will allow you not to restart the computer when errors appear in the operating system. This is mainly because runtime errors are eliminated.
- The packages that you incorporate when you carry out this process, correct elements like audiofile, overflow or directly the base-files are updated.
- You can also find as a result, enhancements to features like Bluetooth or in important programs like LibreOffice, Apache, Putty and Thunderbird.
Don't forget that an update decreases incompatibilities between hardware and software of the system.
How to know if there is a new update available in Linux?
As we indicated before, having the latest version of an updated GNU / Linux distribution on your computer is an important security measure for the operating system and for all the other components that surround it.
What is necessary at this time is to know if there is a new version available of the Linux kernel or a distro. In our case, to exemplify the situation, since to update the kernel more advanced processes are needed in terms of user knowledge, we will do it through Debian Linux. But you can do it for any version of another distribution.
The first thing you will have to do is enter the Debian official site and then look in the section "Last News" all available updates. For example, for 2019 the latest was Debian 10, version 10.2. In the case of the kernel, you will have to visit the official page of the operating system kernel.
Steps to update Kali Linux to the latest available version fast and easy
The first thing you have to do is see what is the installed version you have of Kali Linux. To do this, you will have to enter your command line and write:
- lsb_release -a
- uname -mrs
This will return the version of Kali Linux you have installed. Next, you will have to update the system with superuser permissions. You should execute:
- sudo apt update && sudo apt -y full-upgrade -y
You will see information about the process where the program will indicate that you will need to read the list of packages, create a dependency tree and calculate the update. Then it will tell you that some packages were installed automatically and are no longer needed. Because of this, you will have to use a command to remove them:
- sudo apt autoremove
Then it will indicate that new packages will be installed and others that you already have installed will be updated. Now, you will have to write:
- And it is
The system will start to install automatically. After this, you will have to restart your computer to be able to see the new installed version.
If you want to check if you have done the process well and see the latest version, write these commands:
- grep VERSION / etc / os-release
- VERSION = "2019.4"
- VERSION_ID = "2019.4"
- join me
It will appear:
- Linux kali 4.19.0-kali2-amd64 # 1 SMP Debian 4.19.10-2kali1 x86_64 GNU / Linux
If you prefer, you can directly download the new version of this Linux distro from the Internet. You will have to go to the official website and you will find the ISO image you need.