October 2014 - wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

5 Deadly Linux Commands You Should Never Run
by Peter Reutemann 23 Oct '14

23 Oct '14

"As a Linux user, you probably have searched online for articles and tutorials that show you how to use the terminal to run some commands. While most of these commands are harmless and could help you become more productive, there are some commands that are deadly and could wipe out your whole machine." -- source: http://goo.gl/fmIOxY I love the obscurity of the fork bomb! Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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Turn a Raspberry Pi Into a Super Cheap, Packet-Sniffing Power Strip
by Peter Reutemann 23 Oct '14

23 Oct '14

"If you have a Raspberry Pi and one of those surge protectors that also protects your network cables from voltage fluctuations, you have most of the tools you need to build a cheap network observation device, as long as you're not afraid to use a soldering iron. When you're finished, you'll have the perfect addition to your pen-testing toolkit. " -- source: http://lifehacker.com/5952327 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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How Red Hat is Transforming from a Server-Client to Cloud-Mobile Leader
by Peter Reutemann 23 Oct '14

23 Oct '14

'Red Hat has become a role model for other companies by writing a success story based on open source software and Linux, without a single proprietary component in the soup. The company continues to evolve and transform itself with the changing times to remain a leader, and not simply relevant, unlike many other software giants that are struggling in the market. Everyone is moving towards cloud and mobile; the consumer space has totally switched gears to cloud and mobile, and enterprises aren't far behind. Thomas E. Hogan, CEO of Kony Inc., said a few weeks ago, “With the number of mobile applications downloaded from app stores expected to increase by a 31.7 percent CAGR by 2017, enterprises are realizing that a mobile strategy is no longer a nice-to-have, but a must have."' -- source: http://www.linux.com/news/enterprise/case-studies/792591 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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Ubuntu 14.10 Released With Ambitious Name, But Small Changes
by Peter Reutemann 23 Oct '14

23 Oct '14

'Ubuntu 14.10, dubbed Utopic Unicorn, has been released today (here are screenshots). PC World says that at first glance "isn't the most exciting update," with not so much as a new default wallpaper — but happily so: it's a stable update in a stable series, and most users will have no pressing need to update to the newest version. In the Ubuntu Next unstable series, though, there are big changes afoot: Along with Mir comes the next version of Ubuntu’s Unity desktop, Unity 8. Mir and the latest version of Unity are already used on Ubuntu Phone, so this is key for Ubuntu's goal of convergent computing — Ubuntu Phone and Ubuntu desktop will use the same display server and desktop shell. Ubuntu Phone is now stable and Ubuntu phones are arriving this year, so a lot of work has gone into this stuff recently. The road ahead looks bumpy however. Ubuntu needs to get graphics drivers supporting Mir properly. The task becomes more complicated when you consider that other Linux distributions — like Fedora — are switching to the Wayland display server instead of Mir. When Ubuntu Desktop Next becomes the standard desktop environment, the changes will be massive indeed. But for today, Utopic Unicorn is all about subtle improvements and slow, steady iteration.' -- source: http://linux.slashdot.org/story/14/10/23/1946243 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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wlug meeting tomorrow
by Peter Reutemann 23 Oct '14

23 Oct '14

Hi there We've got a WLUG meeting tomorrow - due to Labor Day a week earlier that usual. 'Greg B.: A talk with an overview of the so-called "Crypto2.0" open source projects that are attempting to be overlays for the bitcoin network. Why does bitcoin need overlays and possible future directions in cryptofinance in general? A brief round-up of the emerging Crypto2.0 projects out there, Counterparty, Mastercoin, Bitshares, Ripple, Stellar, Next and CoinSpark. Then a more in-depth discussion of Open-Transactions (openTXS). Peter R.: Running OwnCloud on a Raspberry Pi.' http://www.meetup.com/WaikatoLinuxUsersGroup/events/212122742/ Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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BitTorrent Performance Test: Sync Is Faster Than Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox
by Peter Reutemann 22 Oct '14

22 Oct '14

"Now that its file synchronization tool has received a few updates, BitTorrent is going on the offensive against cloud-based storage services by showing off just how fast BitTorrent Sync can be. More specifically, the company conducted a test that shows Sync destroys Google Drive, Microsoft's OneDrive, and Dropbox. The company transferred a 1.36 GB MP4 video clip between two Apple MacBook Pros using two Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapters, the Time.gov site as a real-time clock, and the Internet connection at its headquarters (1 Gbps up/down). The timer started when the file transfer was initiated and then stopped once the file was fully synced and downloaded onto the receiving machine. Sync performed 8x faster than Google Drive, 11x faster than OneDrive, and 16x faster than Dropbox." -- source: http://hardware.slashdot.org/story/14/10/22/2012258 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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Raspberry Pi Founder Demos Touchscreen Display For DIY Kits
by Peter Reutemann 22 Oct '14

22 Oct '14

'Over 4 million Raspberry Pis have been sold so far, and now founder Eben Upton has shown off a touchscreen display panel that's designed to work with it. It's a 7" panel, roughly tablet sized, but slightly thicker. "With the incoming touchscreen panel The Pi Foundation is clearly hoping to keep stoking the creative fires that have helped drive sales of the Pi by slotting another piece of DIY hardware into the mix." Upton also discussed the Model A+ Raspberry Pi board — an updated version they'll be announcing soon.' -- source: http://build.slashdot.org/story/14/10/22/1532200 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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Take Control With Open Source Hardware
by Peter Reutemann 22 Oct '14

22 Oct '14

"Free and open source software are no good without open hardware. If we can't install our software on a piece of hardware, it's not good for anything. Truly open hardware is fully-programmable and replicable: OSHWA, Raspberry Pi, OLinuXino, Arduino, BeagleBoard, RepRap 3D Printer, Open Prosthetics, OpenROV Submarine, Open Source Cell Phones" -- source: http://www.linux.com/news/hardware/peripherals/792185 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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Delivering Malicious Android Apps Hidden In Image Files
by Peter Reutemann 22 Oct '14

22 Oct '14

"Researchers have found a way to deliver a malicious app to Android users by hiding it into what seems to be an encrypted image file, which is then delivered via a legitimate, seemingly innocuous wrapper app. Fortinet malware researcher Axelle Apvrille and reverse engineer Ange Albertini created a custom tool they dubbed AngeCryption, which allows them to encrypt the payload Android application package (APK) and make it look like an image (PNG, JPG) file . They also had to create another APK that carries the "booby-trapped" image file and which can decrypt it to unveil the malicious APK file and install it. A malicious app thusly encrypted is nearly invisible to reverse engineers, and possibly even to AV solutions and Google's Android Bouncer." -- source: http://mobile.slashdot.org/story/14/10/21/1325236 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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Ubuntu 16.04 Might Be The Distribution's Last 32-Bit Release
by Peter Reutemann 21 Oct '14

21 Oct '14

"Ubuntu contributor Bryan Quigley is considering a proposal to make Ubuntu 16.04 LTS the last release of Ubuntu with 32-bit installation images. Come April 2016, Intel 32-bit users might be on their last, overdue leg for upgrading their distribution. Quigley is considering a proposal to kill off the 32-bit install (ISO) images after that point while support for 32-bit applications on 64-bit Ubuntu would still be supported. The proposal would only involve Intel/AMD x86 with 32-bit ARM being unaffected given that 32-bit ARM is still very common to devices. " -- source: http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTgxOTQ Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Waikato, NZ http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ Ph. +64 (7) 858-5174

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