about IPCop

IPCop is a Linux distribution which aims to provide a simple-to-manage firewall appliance based on PC hardware.

IPCop is a stateful firewall built on the Linux netfilter framework.

Originally a fork of the SmoothWall Linux firewall, the projects are developed independently, and have now diverged significantly.IPFire, another firewall distribution, has been forked in 2005 because of stagnant development of the IPCop project.

IPCop includes a simple, user managed update mechanism to install security updates when required.

Development

IPCop is developed, in traditional open source style, by a diverse development group spread across the Internet at large. CD-ROM images for the installation CD are distributed via a network of mirrors. Support websites are maintained in English, French, German and Dutch. IPCop's user interface is available in 35 languages.

Version 1.4.0 was released in 2004, based on the LFS distribution and a 2.4 kernel, offering an updated user interface and a number of additional language options. This version is no longer supported with updates or bugfixes.

The current stable branch is 2.1.X, released in 2014, after three years of development. There is a new installer, and a new User Interface, with a number of former addons incorporated into IPCop itself. The new features and changes are outlined here. The latest (Feb 23, 2015) version of IPCop, 2.1.9, is based on kernel 3.4-3 (3.4.101).

Although not an official part of IPCop, there are many addons, some based on the addon server, that add additional functionality to IPCop, such as advanced Quality of Service (QoS), e-mail virus checking, traffic summary, extended interfaces for controlling the proxy, and many more.