Is there a base version of Drupal that is minimal and secure, yet has an easy editing function?

As with any open source software Drupal is not spared from regular security issues with the core software and modules. However, possibly due to the large number of commercial companies active in Drupal space, the Drupal community acts reliably and fast on this challenge. There is an established security team of core contributors that send out notifications about new security issues and coordinate the development and test of fixes.

This also means that, as an administrator of a Drupal site, you must keep your installed base up-to-date with the latest security patches. Drupal makes this easy with its strict separation of core system and contributed modules. The page /admin/reports/updates in the administrative area of a Drupal installation informs you about available patches and updates for your installed core system and modules.

Current information about known security issues is listed on the security page on drupal.org. This page also explains how to subscribe to the security newsletter.

The Drupal core does not offer a WYSIWYG editor. You have to install one as a module. I prefer a markup language and trade editorial flexibility with consistency in the appearance of my Drupal sites. I like the combination of Markdown with the BU editor module for this.

For me, in addition to the Drupal core, most minimal installations have at least the following modules:

* http://drupal.org/project/image
* http://drupal.org/project/pathauto
* http://drupal.org/project/views - for lists
* http://drupal.org/pr.../backup_migrate