Accessible Distros for a beginner?

[Linux for blind general discussion]

On Fri, 21 Aug 2020, Linux for blind general discussion wrote:

> Being way behind in lots of packages means security exposures galore.
> Exim was hacked by the Russians already and ssh servers world-wide have
> malware attacking them now too.

This is why you subscribe to Debian security updates, which should be 
configured by default.

>From their security page:

    Debian takes security very seriously. We handle all security problems 
brought to our
    attention and ensure that they are corrected within a reasonable 
timeframe. Many advisories
    are coordinated with other free software vendors and are published the 
same day a
    vulnerability is made public and we also have a Security Audit team 
that reviews the
    archive looking for new or unfixed security bugs.

Security fixes are provided for a year after the next stable version of 
Debian is released.  In practice, this tends to mean that a Debian 
release will get regular security fixes for three years.

Following this, LTS security updates for certain architectures will be 
provided for an additional two years or so.

You can get Debian security notices via email if you wish.

For more information, see https://security.debian.org and 
https://wiki.debian.org/LTS

Both Exim and SSh have had several security fixes applied since Debian 
Buster was released.

If you are concerned about a specific vulnerability, you can use its CVE 
number and the resources at security.debian.org to see if these have been 
fixed in Debian.

For Debian installations, you can also see which security updates have 
been applied by reading /usr/share/doc/<packagename>/changelog.debian.gz

HTH,
Geoff.