Alternatives to Kicksecure
Hardened Debian derivative with kernel hardening and exploit mitigations. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Kicksecure
Hardened Debian derivative with kernel hardening and exploit mitigations.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Kicksecure.
Qubes OS
Operating system that compartmentalises work into isolated virtual machines.
Qubes OS isolates work into separate virtual machines instead of hardening a single Debian system, with demanding hardware requirements and a strict compatibility list.
OpenBSD
A free, security-focused BSD Unix operating system that runs on many hardware platforms.
OpenBSD is a separate BSD operating system with a strong default security record, but has narrower hardware and software support than a Debian derivative.
HardenedBSD
A security-hardened fork of FreeBSD that adds exploit mitigations such as ASLR.
HardenedBSD adds exploit mitigations to FreeBSD rather than Debian, so it suits people already comfortable with FreeBSD and has sparse homepage documentation.
Kodachi
A privacy-focused Debian-based Linux distribution that routes traffic through Tor or VPN.
Kodachi is a Debian-based distribution focused on routing traffic through Tor and VPN, only partly source-available rather than fully open hardening.
Parrot OS
Lightweight security distribution with pentesting and privacy editions.
Parrot OS is a security distribution with everyday and testing editions, focused on tooling rather than default kernel hardening.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Lynis
Audit Unix-like systems for hardening opportunities.
OpenSCAP
Open source tools for scanning systems against SCAP security policies and hardening baselines.
privacy.sexy
Generates privacy and hardening scripts for Windows, macOS and Linux.
Kali Linux
Debian-based distribution preloaded with security testing tools.
