Top New Distros 2025 – 08: HydraPWK. And about Exherbo!
Today, August 12, 2025, as has become customary month after month, we offer you a new publication in our current series of publications called “Top New GNU/Linux Distros”, which is the eighth publication (part 08) of this year. In it, we'll cover two more innovative, interesting, and little-known alternatives to free and open source distributions (operating systems) within the vast Linux universe, the names of which are: HydraPWK and Exherbo.
And remember that, many of the *Linux, *BSD Distros and other independent ones, addressed in this series of publications, They await their fair recognition within the DistroWatch website, to then be disseminated as modern, complete, stable and successful projects within it, such as the HydraPWK GNU/Linux Distro. While we sometimes mention some that are already listed on DistroWatch, but are very little known within many communities of the Linuxverse, such as today is the case of ExherboSo, if you're interested in learning about new, free and open source alternatives to operating systems, or other lesser-known ones, we invite you to continue reading this post.
Top New Distros 2025 – 07: Shanios and Royal Linux
But, before starting reading this publication about said new «Top of new GNU/Linux Distros to be recognized in 2025: Part 08 » with the Distributions “HydraPWK and Exherbo”, we recommend our previous related post with this series of publications for further reading:
“Shanios is an operating system capable of Maintain two full copies of the system and switch between them atomically, thereby eliminating the possibility of broken updates and keeping the user experience simple and intuitive. For more details, It employs a blue-green deployment strategy using Btrfs subvolumes. This enables the system to deliver atomic updates via a custom deployment tool (shani-deploy), maintaining system integrity with read-only root partitions and providing enhanced security via AppArmor profiles, firewalld configurations, and full-disk encryption. Finally, it is important to note that since its first release in March 2025, Shanios has proven that unchanging reliability and ease of use are not mutually exclusive.". About Shanios
New Distros in and out of DistroWatch for 2025: Part 08
Top New Distros 2025 – P08 art
HydraPWK GNU/Linux 2025.01.6.5.250806258
- Official Web site
- Official repository: GitHub / SourceForge.
- Latest version available: HydraPWK GNU/Linux 2025.01.6.5.250806258, released on August 11, 2025.
- Base:Debian.
- País de origen: Global.
- Supported architectures: x86_64, aarch64 and Android TvBox.
- Desktops (DE/WM):XFCE.
- General description: According to its developers, this free and open source project is designed primarily for Hacking and Pentesting tasks, such as Network and IT infrastructure penetration testing, as its default tools easily allow for information gathering, scanning, stress testing, exploitation, cracking, rollback, forensic analysis, and drones. Therefore, like other similar distributions such as Kali and Parrot, HydraPWK is not recommended for daily use. Last but not least, this GNU/Linux distro is open source in all its packages (many packages/tools) and is licensed under multiple licenses, such as DFSG, GPLv2+, GPLv3, GPLv2, and Apache.
"HydraPWK GNU/Linux It is an operating system based on Debian and of global origin for Hacking and Pentesting tasks, whose main or most notable features are the use of a Linux RT (Real Time) Kernel, more specifically one called
xhydrapwk-rt1-antihacker, which is largely due to the fact that the project seeks to focus on real-time hardware hacking (physical hardware penetration testing), and this requires low latency to effectively communicate with the target to be attacked. In addition, its Kernel includes said RT module integrated and enabled by default, so it is not necessary to load the module manually; it will always load automatically at boot. Finally, this project currently offers ISO images for computers, and for TvBox and mobile devices that are in full development; and includes a disposal unit, which executes the clearing node caches every time the operating system is shut down and restarted". About HydraPWK GNU/Linux
Exherbo 2025-05-17
- Official Web site.
- Official repository: GitLab.
- Latest version available: Exherbo 2025-05-17, released on May 17, 2025.
- Base: Gentoo.
- País de origen: Unknown.
- Supported architectures: x86_64.
- Desktops (DE/WM):XFCE.
- General descriptionAccording to its developers, this free and open source distribution project is a highly adaptable software solution, designed for developers and advanced users. Therefore, it is designed with principles of simplicity, flexibility, and consistency, and offers a unique set of tools and package management system, called Paludis, which allows for deep customization and fine-grained control over the system.
"Exherbo It is a Gentoo-based operating system of unknown origin that is Designed for people who want complete control over their operating system. Its main objectives include offering maximum flexibility to adapt to the needs of advanced users and developers, achieving an excellent level of maintainability to facilitate management and constant system updates, and achieving the highest possible level of performance to allow for software customization and the configurations necessary for working.". About Exherbo
Other new distros, on and off the DistroWatch Waitlist
And as of today, when we write this publication (16/07/2025), I take this opportunity to mention and describe A noble and interesting project, which is still little known within the Linuxverse (mainly within the websites of «DistroWatch OS.Watch and FossTorrents»), and whose name is Royal Linux.
[Hacking and Pentesting + Online Privacy and Anonymity]
- Athena OS: Based on NixOS.
- BackBox: Based on Ubuntu.
- BlackArch: Based on Arch.
- Bugtraq BlackWidow: Based on Ubuntu, Debian and OpenSUSE.
- Caine: Based on Ubuntu.
- CSI Linux: Based on Debian.
- Demon: Based on Debian.
- DracOS Linux: Based on Debian.
- Fedora Security Lab: Based on Fedora.
- Time: Based on Debian.
- Parrot: Based on Debian.
- Pentoo: Based on Gentoo.
- Predator OS: Based on Debian.
- Samurai Web Testing Framework: Based on Ubuntu.
- Sherlock Linux: Based on Debian.
- WiFisLax: Based on Slackware.
- ArchStrike: Based on Arch.
- clearOS: Based on Fedora/Red Hat.
- gnoppix: Based on Arch Linux.
- Kodachi: Based on Ubuntu.
- Qubes OS: Based on Debian and Fedora.
- Securonis: Based on Debian.
- Septor: Based on Debian.
- SubgraphOS: Based on Debian.
- Tails: Based on Debian.
- Whonix: Based on Debian.
Summary
In summary, we hope that the Free and Open Distribution projects addressed today and whose names are “HydraPWK and Exherbo”, have formed a new, interesting and useful «Top new GNU/Linux distros to be recognized and known» during this period of August de 2025. And may this publication continue to contribute to the dissemination and popularization of the various projects that seek to make their way and achieve a worthy position in the Linuxverse. It will be in the next publications of this series that we will learn about many other new or little-known projects.
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