The latest FreeBSD releases are availablehere. Before you begin, please carefully readtheinstallationinstructions

• TheFreeBSD HandbookandFrequentlyAsked Questions (FAQ) are the main documents for FreeBSD.Essential reading, they contain a lot of material for newbies aswell as advanced users. For users interested in installing a GUI,see theXWindows chapter.

• Manual pagesare good for reference but not always the best introduction for anovice. They generally provide information on a specific command,driver or service.

• Join the FreeBSD-Questions mailing list to see the questions youwere too afraid to ask, and their answers. Subscribe by filling outthe following form:https://lists.FreeBSD.org/subscription/freebsd-questions.You can look up old questions and answers via thesearch page.

• The FreeBSDForumsoffer another support channel. Many users have written varioustutorials and lots of new users receive help there.

• You cansearch the Handbook and FAQ,the whole web site, or the FreeBSD mailing list archives.

• TheSupport page contains a wealthof information about FreeBSD, including mailing lists, user groups,web sites, release information, and links to some sources of UNIX®information.

FreeBSD is widely used as a building block for other commercialand open-source operating systems. Some of the most widely used andpublicly available systems are listed below.

• TrueNAS is a NetworkAttached Storage (NAS) software that shares and protects data frommodern-day threats like ransomware and malware. TrueNAS makes iteasy for users and client devices to access shared data throughvirtually any sharing protocol.

• GhostBSD is derived fromFreeBSD, GhostBSD uses the GTK environment to provide a beautifullooks and comfortable experience on the modern BSD platformoffering a natural and native UNIX® work environment.

• NomadBSD is a persistent livesystem for USB flash drives, based on FreeBSD. Together withautomatic hardware detection and setup, it is configured to be usedas a desktop system that works out of the box, but can also be usedfor data recovery, for educational purposes, or to test FreeBSD’shardware compatibility.

• MidnightBSD is aBSD-derived operating system developed with desktop users in mind.It includes all the software you’d expect for your daily tasks:mail, web browsing, word processing, gaming, and much more.

• pfSense is a FreeBSD basednetwork security solution. pfSense software, with the help of thepackage system, is able to provide the same functionality or moreof common commercial firewalls, without any of the artificiallimitations. It has successfully replaced every big name commercialfirewall you can imagine in numerous installations around theworld.

Everyone has something to contribute to the FreeBSD community,even newbies! Some are busy working with the new advocacy group andsome have become involved with theDocumentation Project as reviewers. OtherFreeBSD newbies might have particular skills and experiences toshare, either computer related or not, or just want to meet newnewbies and make them feel welcome. There are always people aroundwho help others simply because they like to.

Friends who run FreeBSD are a great resource. No book canreplace chatting on the phone or across a pizza with someone whohas the same interests, enjoys similar accomplishments, and facesthe same challenges. If you do not have many friends who useFreeBSD, consider creating FreeBSD install media and introducingnew users to your favorite operating system.

User groups are good places tomeet other FreeBSD users. If there is no one nearby, you mightconsider starting one!

For more information on getting involved in the community, seetheContributingto FreeBSD article.