Recently, the Raspberry Pi developers announced in a blog post the...Official release of Raspberry Pi OS 6.2, the second major update based on the Debian Trixie branchThe operating system implements an adjustment that will alter the daily routine of thousands of users: the execution of commands with superuser privileges will require, by default, the administrator's password.
This measure, combined with a thorough cleaning of obsolete audio components and the integration of the Linux 6.12.75 kernel, makes for a release focused on protecting the environment against external threats without completely sacrificing the ease of daily use on these development boards.
Main new features of Raspberry Pi OS 6.2
Historically, the Raspberry Pi OS installations were configured to prioritize speed and ease of use. This learning vulnerability allowed any regular user to elevate their privileges by running the `sudo` command without needing to enter credentials. However, given the sophistication of the attacks and the use of these boards in production environments, this vulnerability has been permanently disabled. Starting with this version, any attempt to write to restricted directories or modify critical parameters will require a password. of the current user, both in the command terminal and through dialog windows in the Control Center's graphical interface.
To mitigate friction in the developer workflow, the sThe system will maintain active authorization during a five-minute grace window. after the first successful admission.
Those who prefer to prioritize absolute agility over system protection and wish to recover classic behavior, You can reverse this measure from the System tab in the Control Center or using the classic text-based configuration utility. It is important to note that existing installations that are upgraded to this version will retain their old configuration by default in order not to disrupt established working environments.
Restructuring of the system interface and menus
The redesign is not limited to security, but also includes a reorganization of the desktop interface. The development team has retired the veteran freelance menu editor «alacarte» to integrate a tab dedicated exclusively to organizing the main menu directly into the Control Center options. Software launches now rely on the standard graphics libraries through the gtk-launch utilityWhile the classic options for shutdown and manual execution have ceased to be coded in the menu itself to become external and independent applications, facilitating their maintenance.
The taskbar also receives visual and functional improvements with the addition of new to-do list add-ons and a A launcher that finally allows you to rearrange your icons simply by dragging and dropping them with your mouse. In addition, the general settings panel now allows you to decide whether to display the entire home directory directly on the user's desktop, replacing the traditional view that limited this display to only the documents folder.
Optimized navigation and native Pipewire
In terms of multimedia and web browsing, the default experience offers a significant improvement for devices with limited resources. The browser Chromium includes pre-installed extensions vital for smooth browsingA heavy load blocker and a plugin that forces video decoding in hardware-optimized formats to avoid overloading the processor. To complement this, the The system integrates desktop security libraries that link to the password manager. from the browser directly using the operating system credentials. Regarding print management, the network printer discovery service no longer runs continuously consuming resources in the background, but is started and stopped manually as needed by the user.
The transition to modern architecture is completed with the Permanent removal of PulseAudio from the base image and its legacy configuration options. The system now manages sound natively and directly through the Pipewire serverintegrating its essential controls from the initial setup wizard on first boot. Everything This runs on the solid foundation of the Linux kernel 6.12.75 and the latest firmware for the board, accompanied by an extensive stack of patches that fix everything from visual scaling issues in mouse cursors and problems with touch screens, to critical file manager collisions when switching between virtual terminals.
Finally, if you are interested in knowing more about it, you can consult the details in the following link
Download and/or update Raspberry Pi OS 6.2
As with previous versions, this update offers several options for users. If you're not yet a user of the distribution and would like to try it on your device, you can obtain the system image by going to the project's official website, where you'll find the downloads section.
Once the image is downloaded, You can use Etcher to burn it to a pendrive and thus booting the system from your SD card. Alternatively, you can use NOOBS or PINN to ease the installation process. Download link
For those who already have the system installed and you want to receive the news of this new version, you just have to execute the following commands in the terminal:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get dist-upgrade
During the update, you may see messages asking for confirmation about changes to configuration files. In most cases, simply answer "Y" to accept.