Technical Aspects of free software:

Since you have access to the source code, you can alter it in order to improve the software and to customize it. You can verify for yourself that the software is secure, that it contains no viruses or backdoors, that its not spying on you and sending information to the government (if you live in a country where you can't trust the government) or to anyone else.

• Linux and UNIX are very similar. From a user's perspective there is hardly any difference, so virtually everything you learn in this talk can be applied to both Linux, UNIX, and any of the BSD systems. This talk will focus mainly on Linux, and the UNIX environment we use at the CIS department.