New KNOS Operating System released by Kevin and Nancy

[Kevin McAleavey]

Greetings, all!

You might remember us? Kevin and Nancy, known for our NSClean, IEClean and BOClean software over the years? We're back again with "The KNOS Project" and we've just released a personal-use version of our complete operating system and desktop environment called KNOS. KNOS is designed for ordinary computer users who simply want an operating system that cannot be infected and works reliably without any effort or technical expertise on their part. With KNOS, people can surf wherever they want without worries about security or privacy or maintaining their computer. KNOS is the perfect environment for travel, letting kids surf or even using public computers since KNOS can be used anywhere, and it's completely stand-alone in its unique and secure design. KNOS just works. Pop it in and use it right away. Anywhere.

KNOS is based on the BSD operating system (not Linux) and requires no installation, configuration or setup. It does not replace or interfere with the existing operating system and doesn't write to the existing hard disk. It comes with a complete set of applications and features that you would expect on any regular machine. KNOS is delivered on a DVD or you can burn your own, and from the KNOS disk you can even install KNOS on a USB memory stick and boot from that if you wish. This allows you to take KNOS anywhere and use it on other machines. Just pop KNOS into the machine and use it *instead* of your regular operating system for complete safety on the internet. When you're done, just turn it off and KNOS leaves no trace that it was ever used, and the machine is never touched in any way. A one year subscription with updates and upgrade replacements is just $34.95.

Recent story about us in a report about Cloud Computing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAUpRTVta78 (can't seem to get the url to "stick here")

If you'd like to know more about KNOS and how it can help restore some sanity, come visit our site: http://www.knosproject.com

---

(I wasn't quite sure of where to put this since the "Unix" board seems to be only about Linux, and we're not Linux, so hopefully this is the right place)

[Page42]

KNOS screenshots would be neat. :)

On 2nd thought, I guess there are plenty of them here (http://www.knosproject.com/screenshots.html).

[Mr.PC]

-{ Quote: "You might remember us? Kevin and Nancy, known for our NSClean, IEClean and BOClean software over the years?" }-Hi! Kevin! :thumb:
You brought back good memories! (BOClean).

[SweX]

-{ Quote: "On 2nd thought, I guess there are plenty of them here (http://www.knosproject.com/screenshots.html)." }-

Thank you for that link :thumb:, I wasn't able to find some screenies myself.

[Kevin McAleavey]

-{ Quote: "KNOS screenshots would be neat. :)

On 2nd thought, I guess there are plenty of them here (http://www.knosproject.com/screenshots.html)." }-

Well ... as long as you caught me on my way out, here's a fresh one. :)

[Kevin McAleavey]

-{ Quote: "Hi! Kevin! :thumb:
You brought back good memories! (BOClean)." }-

Thanks! I think we've outdone ourselves here, completely eliminating the need for security software and all. We recognized that the battle was lost back in 2007, all I can say is wowsers as to how bad it's gotten in the world of Windows.

Kind of sad that what BOClean had in its engine and design never made it into what we got bought for. Even sadder what happened to our former customers and us as well.

[SweX]

I really think this OS have the potential to become something as big as Linux, at least. But I really don't like the name "KNOS", sounds more like a gaming console to me. Is KNOS=Kevin Nancy Operating system?

I wish you Kevin and Nancy the best of luck with this OS and keep us @Wilders updated :thumb:

[SweX]

-{ Quote: "Fast correction on those "system requirements" ... we're still in the process of fixing our pages on the web site - mention is made there of "This beta release" and that dates back to our beta testing before our release candidate amongst our loyal and faithful testers. That'll be fixed later today." }-
I understand.
I delete my post, and you can post the new requirements in this thread when you got them updated, it's easier that way.

[Kevin McAleavey]

-{ Quote: "I understand.
I delete my post, and you can post the new requirements in this thread when you got them updated, it's easier that way." }-

Here we go with a replacement. Nancy will see to it that the page is changed later, but since people will want to know, here's my rewrite of it:

-{ Quote: "KNOS System requirements:

Intel Pentium Pro or AMD Athlon "686" type CPU's (1998 or more recent)
1 GigaByte or more memory (RAM)
Ethernet or Wifi internet (dialup modems not supported)
Mouse and keyboard (any type)
Video card and monitor (4:3 or widescreen)


KNOS64 System requirements:
Intel or AMD 64 bit CPU, core duo or multicore
1 GigaByte or more memory (RAM)
Ethernet or Wifi internet (dialup modems not supported)
Mouse and keyboard (any type)
Video card and monitor (4:3 or widescreen)

32 bit KNOS will run on any recent computer including dual or multicore 64 bit CPU's, 64 bit KNOS *requires* a 64 bit computer and cannot run on a 32 bit computer. For use on other machines, we recommend the 32 bit version. On your own 64 bit machine, the 64 bit version of KNOS is recommended. The 32 bit version is more "portable" when travelling as one cannot assume that "public computers" will be 64 bits. KNOS is extremely "portable."

NOTE: Some Broadcom wifi cards are not supported at this time due to lack of drivers from the manufacturer. Atheros, Intel and numerous other wifi cards are well-supported. Bluetooth devices have only limited support at this time but will be in a future release once drivers are available from the various manufacturers.

KNOS can be booted from as little as 768 Megs of memory, but performance will be poor and spontaneous reboots as a result of exhausted memory are to be expected as normal. We *cannot* recommend using KNOS on less than 1 GB of RAM. The more memory you have, the better KNOS can perform. KNOS has no hard disk requirements since KNOS is never written to the hard disk of a computer at any time. KNOS uses RAM memory for operation and thus the higher requirements for memory for KNOS to "live in."

KNOS will run on any Intel or AMD-based machines, including Macintoshes. Mac users are recommended to use an external USB mouse to facilitate right clicks. Mac system right clicks are handled through OSX itself, which KNOS is unable to support currently." }-

Thanks for helping me SPOT that! :)

[Acadia]

-{ Quote: "Hi! Kevin! :thumb:
You brought back good memories! (BOClean)." }-
Indeed! I still miss that flashing vacuum cleaner.

Good luck Kevin with this new Operating System. As soon as I can find some free time, PLAY TIME! 8)

Acadia

[Victek123]

-{ Quote: "

KNOS is designed for ordinary computer users who simply want an operating system that cannot be infected and works reliably without any effort or technical expertise on their part. " }-

Can you say more about what makes this OS impervious to infection? In terms of security how is it different/better than booting a version of Linux from an optical disk?

[pidbo]

Congratulations to Kevin and Nancy on the new operating system.
Do you provide a lifetime licence?
I don't really like the mention of "cloud" and "service", that makes me feel uncomfortable, will I have to pay again and again like rentware/leaseware and not have full control/ownership from my pc? I prefer to be the director of my own affairs and that the central repository for my important stuff is essentially my pc.
Maybe I've not grasped the concept of the "cloud" but I've noticed over the last number of years is that there seems to be a concerted effort being made (by business/government, money/power monsters etc) to disempower/exploit the individual. Hardware that by bad design needs constantly upgrading, software that you never really own and has to be re-"bought", your important life matters hijacked "out there" "Face Space" ""Oogle" profiling and milking every detail of your life. Terms and conditions changing all the time in these organisations to leave users in a state of complete bemusement and impotence. Internet users have been mauled and raped, exploited time and time again and a breath of fresh air is needed.

[dw426]

@Pidbo:The "cloud" reference, if I read the website correctly, is a reference to cloud customers, not necessarily meant as the OS itself being a cloud OS.

My questions are, for once, of course, what does make this "impervious to infection?" What does it allow/not allow to be able to say this? Nothing, ever, is 100% secure (I really hate marketing something as foolproof, but, that's marketing for you). Just because it doesn't write to disk doesn't make it impervious to infection, so, I'd like more information, please (perhaps being BSD makes it so? Even then, it's still not 100%). To me, so far, and I'm not trying to "poo-poo" the product at all, it sounds like another VM.

[Searching_ _ _]

How well does it support dual monitors?
I plug my laptop into my 32" big screen when at home.

P.S. There is some type of issue posting Youtube links for financial gain or security. Clickthrough?
The Mods would be able to answer in detail if you ask them.

[Longboard]

Hello K & N :)
So, good to go..

List of apps ?
No commit/save changes pathway ?
Boot in a VM ok ??
USB boot and save changes ?

What extensions for FF: eg scripting, AdBlockers, tab mgt ?

trial ?
Am I making sense ??

regards.

Hey mods >>> "All Things Unix" ??

[andyman35]

-{ Quote: "Can you say more about what makes this OS impervious to infection? In terms of security how is it different/better than booting a version of Linux from an optical disk?" }-
Very good question.

I want to know what are the 'must-have' features of this OS that separate it from the myriad of free live Linux distros?

[hayc59]

Way to go Kevin and Nancy and good luck!! 8)

[funkydude]

-{ Quote: "
My questions are, for once, of course, what does make this "impervious to infection?" What does it allow/not allow to be able to say this? Nothing, ever, is 100% secure (I really hate marketing something as foolproof, but, that's marketing for you). Just because it doesn't write to disk doesn't make it impervious to infection, so, I'd like more information, please (perhaps being BSD makes it so? Even then, it's still not 100%). To me, so far, and I'm not trying to "poo-poo" the product at all, it sounds like another VM." }-

I share your feelings, one of the sentences in there sounds perfectly like something Steve Jobs once said.

[Eice]

-{ Quote: "Thanks! I think we've outdone ourselves here, completely eliminating the need for security software and all." }-
You made a Linux distro. Pardon the bluntness, but... so?

[Meriadoc]

-{ Quote: "You made a Linux distro. Pardon the bluntness, but... so?" }-
KNOS is based on BSD.

[Eice]

-{ Quote: "KNOS is based on BSD." }-
I stand corrected.

But still... so?

[zfactor]

from the knos page:

Also, unlike Linux distributions, we do not ever write to the hard disk on the system it is booted on. No swap files, no ability for a virus to break out of Linux and write to the Windows disk. Most Linux distros will write a swap file and there have been a few incidents involving stuff jumping out of the browser and onto the hard disk. Can't happen with ours.

i do not use this myself just to note. i have not even had time to test it yet.

[Sadeghi85]

So how is that different from a Linux live cd? They don't mount Windows partitions by default and no swap file either, less RAM requirement too.

[InfinityAz]

-{ Quote: "...Most Linux distros will write a swap file and there have been a few incidents involving stuff jumping out of the browser and onto the hard disk. Can't happen with ours..." }-

A few incidents out of how many millions of uses of linux boot cds?

I'm guessing the frequency is statistically insignificant and will happily use existing and free distros without much worry of infecting my systems.

[Kevin McAleavey]

-{ Quote: "Can you say more about what makes this OS impervious to infection? In terms of security how is it different/better than booting a version of Linux from an optical disk?" }-
Hello once again. Wow ... looks like I've caused a firestorm over the security claims, so let me try to explain what I can as to why we're saying what we are and what it means. In Linux distributions, the kernel driver for NTFS (Windows file system) does mount hard drives found on the system in read/write mode. Permissions on those mounts can be set to read-only, but the kernel itself is still able to perform a write. That means that it is possible to write to a Windows hard disk simply because the kernel allows writes to occur. In KNOS, there is no write capability in our NTFS file system component although we can provide a custom build of KNOS if there is a desire to do so. In our retail version however, access to NTFS is read-only with no mechanism available to perform a write operation either intentionally or as the result of a security breach.

As for KNOS' own security, the obvious one is that from a read-only media such as its DVD, writes to the file system are impossible but there are additional security measures as well beyond that. While I'm not at liberty to go into the proprietary measures in detail, an overview of it is that all of KNOS' kernel functions and userland applications are compressed into special read-only modules containing all of KNOS' code. These cannot be modified or written to, and if modified in any way (perhaps with a sector editor) they will cause a load failure because they no longer will match their embedded hashes within those compressed modules any longer. There are numerous other technological protections, but they are proprietary. As a result though, a "virus," a "trojan," or even a rooting is completely unable to "stick" to the system, even if it is run from a bootable USB stick. KNOS can only read in the code we froze in place in a specific build, and no other. This is why we ship dedicated apps and libraries in KNOS, because those can neither be added to or modified either as a result of this design.

In its default design, KNOS does not store configuration information or user settings, and each time the browser is closed, KNOS automatically wipes all browser content so that when the browser is reopened, all previous session information except cookies (saved only for convenience, they can be added to the session wipe in the browser if desired too) is removed in a secure delete. And of course when KNOS is shut down, no information is retained at all. For those who do wish to save user preferences such as application settings, a mechanism is available to store those on an external USB stick and restore them to KNOS if desired but even there, executables are not stored to the archive should an end user choose to do so.

In mounting and copying from an external drive or network, the kernel prevents access to files not generated within KNOS by automatically removing group and world permissions in both directions. BSD's kernel offers more elaborate and granular security features which we make extensive use of. In addition, access to Windows shares is also provided on a read-only basis with no write capabilities available. This protects other systems by requiring the transfer of data by means of USB sticks which can be checked for any Windows malware before being mounted on a Windows box. Further, if KNOS is burned to a bootable USB stick, KNOS will not permit data writes to that stick either. A second stick must be provided for file storage and transfers, again a part of our design to ensure security.

Within reasonable limits, I can comment further, but I did not take my own claims for our capabilities and a very deliberate design lightly. We don't intend for KNOS to "compete" with Linux, it's intended for people who are not technically up to dealing with Linux or have tried Linux and already decided that it wasn't for them. The primary purpose of KNOS is portable use in untrusted environments and corporate use, not as a replacement for your usual operating system. Hope this helps to answer some of the questions somewhat ...

[Kevin McAleavey]

-{ Quote: "How well does it support dual monitors?
I plug my laptop into my 32" big screen when at home.

P.S. There is some type of issue posting Youtube links for financial gain or security. Clickthrough?
The Mods would be able to answer in detail if you ask them." }-
I would imagine it'll work OK, especially if it's hooked up to it when you first boot up. KNOS does all of its detections at startup and has to figure out what drivers to load at that time from its repertoire. Most laptops that have an auxiliary output handle that in a section of BIOS known as "ACPI" and provide a key toggle on the keyboard to switch the mode. If the BIOS is OK, then KNOS should follow the switch for you.

[Peter2150]

Hi Kevin

What about stuff like Nvidia Raid drivers?

Pete

PS Any idea when a trial will be available.

[Kevin McAleavey]

-{ Quote: "Hi Kevin

What about stuff like Nvidia Raid drivers?

Pete

PS Any idea when a trial will be available." }-
Sorry to keep you waiting, things have been a bit hectic here on this end. First off, we had hoped to have the "demo" available this week, it's likely to slip off to next weekend at the earliest since we're still hoping to put out a demo that includes most of what's in the retail version or at least some video so people can see what the full product contains. Keep an eye on our site, we'll let everybody know there once it's ready.

As to the NVidia raid stuff, BSD is primarily designed for server use and so RAID support is one of the major requirements of the OS itself. That said, NVidia has had some issues with open source in the past and so I can't really give you a certain answer there. It depends on how old the machine is and whether the particular NVidia RAID stuff is actually fully AHCI compliant. NVIDIA supports the AHCI standard only from MCP65. The older nVidia chipsets never really ran well on FreeBSD. The latest ones are okay though i've got a few systems running on those just fine, including onboard nvidia gigabit. Earlier chips had undocumented mechanisms for supporting NCQ, which were not implemented for BSD.

About all I can offer is update your BIOS if you encounter any problems and if that doesn't help, try playing with BIOS options. KNOS doesn't need to access RAID hard disks by design other than read-only if it can mount them, so even if there are incompatibilities, it shouldn't affect KNOS running on a system that does have a problem given that hard disks need not be involved at all. Wish I could give you a better answer, but so far no complaints on NVidia RAID that we've seen. And a few people have run KNOS on it during beta testing and with our release candidate.

[CloneRanger]

The fact that it's based on BSD and not Linux or anything else, won't make ANY difference to the target audience whatsoever :P

All they need is, something that works straight out of the box, and does what it says on the tin ;)

After all the BOclean debarcle with you know who :P i wish Kevin & Nancy great success with their new venture :thumb:

[CloneRanger]

$34.95 on here - http://www.knosproject.com/consumer.html - but jaynick says he got it for only $29.95 - https://secure.dslreports.com/forum/r25716453-Knos-os

Have they dropped the $ or ?

Anyway, he's raving about it :thumb:

[Nancy_McAleavey]

-{ Quote: "$34.95 on here - http://www.knosproject.com/consumer.html - but jaynick says he got it for only $29.95 - https://secure.dslreports.com/forum/r25716453-Knos-os

Have they dropped the $ or ?

Anyway, he's raving about it :thumb:" }-

Hi.....the total cost is $34.99, $30 for the software $4.99 subscription charge. Can't get one without the other. Updates and upgrades are important, as all operating systems are in a constant state of flux (if you don't want to believe that, we can pick up the discussion next "patch Tuesday"). You get a year of update and upgrade downloads. So Jaynick is *sort* of correct, and so are you.

[AdamL]

I sent Kevin a PM on the 3rd April requesting a trial, he promptly replied that it is Nancy who deals with this type of request and would forward my PM on to her. I did not hear from Nancy so on the 13th April I sent her a PM directly requesting a trial and have as yet not received a reply :(

Post #29 suggests a trial should be available by now.

How about an update please?

Thanks,

Adam :)