The Linux distribution Porteus Kiosk 5.3 is a specialized operating system that is designed solely for the use of the two browsers Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. Based on Linux 5.10 LTS, which will be provided with support and updates until December 2026, Porteus Kiosk runs in so-called “kiosk mode”.
Firefox or Chrome and nothing else
Porteus Kiosk is essentially based on the long-established distribution Gentoo Linux, but has been significantly thinned out and limited to the use of a single type of application – the browser. Traditionally, this is Mozilla Firefox, the current version 91.2 ESR; Google Chrome 93.0 is also available as an alternative.
Porteus Kiosk automatically boots into the so-called “kiosk mode”, which only enables the use of one of the two browsers. All other functions that an operating system usually offers are deactivated, which among other things saves resources and turns old computers into pure surfing stations.
With the update on Porteus Kiosk 5.3 is accompanied by the following changes, according to the official release notes.
- Libinput has become our default input driver as it provides native touch gestures support for the Firefox browser. Touchscreens which were calibrated under Porteus Kiosk version 5.2.0 or below will continue using the & apos; evdev & apos; driver in order to preserve compatibility with existing configs.
- Virtual keyboard extension can be enabled for Firefox and Chrome.
- Added an option to enable experimental hardware video decoding feature for both browsers.
- Onscreen buttons can be relocated to a different position on the kiosk screen.
- Removed Adobe Flash plugin from the system. Flash standalone applications can be still supported through our “customized builds” service.
- Updated & apos; dns_server = & apos; parameter to work also for DHCP configurations.
- Added 'sound open firmware' package which allows using an alternate sound driver on selected hardware.
- Updated Administration Panel in Porteus Kiosk Server variant & quot; Basic & quot ;.
- Other bugfixes and improvements.
Porteus Kiosk 5.3 – Release Notes
The basis is now the latest snapshot from Gentoo Linux, the LTS kernel Linux 5.10.73 as well as Mozilla Firefox 91.2 and Google Chrome 93.0. 4577.82. Further information is available from the distribution's official package list.
A fresh system after every restart
The operating system, limited to Firefox and Chrome, is configured by default in such a way that all caches are emptied and temporary files are deleted when the user shuts down or restarts the system. This means that every session has a fresh system for surfing the Internet.
The 134 MB system image Porteus Kiosk 5.3 (ISO), which is optimized for AMD64, can now be downloaded and can be written to a USB storage medium with an appropriate tool such as Rufus or Ventoy.