July 2014 - wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

LibreSSL PRNG Vulnerability Patched
by Peter Reutemann 16 Jul '14

16 Jul '14

'The OpenBSD project late last night rushed out a patch for a vulnerability in the LibreSSL pseudo random number generator (PRNG). The flaw was disclosed two days ago by the founder of secure backup company Opsmate, Andrew Ayer, who said the vulnerability was a "catastrophic failure of the PRNG." OpenBSD founder Theo de Raadt and developer Bob Beck, however, countered saying that the issue is "overblown" because Ayer's test program is unrealistic. Ayer's test program, when linked to LibreSSL and made two different calls to the PRNG, returned the exact same data both times. "It is actually only a problem with the author's contrived test program," Beck said. "While it's a real issue, it's actually a fairly minor one, because real applications don't work the way the author describes, both because the PID (process identification number) issue would be very difficult to have become a real issue in real software, and nobody writes real software with OpenSSL the way the author has set this test up in the article."' -- source: http://linux.slashdot.org/story/14/07/16/1950235 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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Only a few days old, OpenSSL fork LibreSSL is declared “unsafe for Linux”
by Peter Reutemann 16 Jul '14

16 Jul '14

'The first "preview" release of OpenSSL alternative LibreSSL is out, and already a researcher says he has found a "catastrophic failure" in the version for Linux. Update: A few hours after this article was published, OpenBSD founder Theo de Raadt emailed Ars and wrote: "It is way overblown. This will never happen in real code." The vulnerability, cataloged as CVE-2014-2970, already has been patched, with modified code located here.' -- source: http://bit.ly/WgjO57 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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New Raspberry Pi “B+” uses less power, has more USB ports
by Peter Reutemann 15 Jul '14

15 Jul '14

"The updated "B+" model has the same Broadcom BCM2835 processor as the original and still has 512MB RAM, but it uses less power, has more connectivity options, and features other upgrades over the previous Raspberry Pi Model B." -- source: http://bit.ly/1mcQvoS 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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WebODF: JavaScript Open Document Format Editor Deemed Stable
by Peter Reutemann 02 Jul '14

02 Jul '14

"WebODF (an Open Document Format editor written entirely using Javascript and natively rendering the XML document using CSS) 0.5.0 has been released, and the developers are declaring this release stable enough for every day use." -- source: http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/07/02/1349208 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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Automotive Grade Linux Released For Open Source Cars
by Peter Reutemann 01 Jul '14

01 Jul '14

'The Linux Foundation and its partners have released the first version of Automotive Grade Linux, the open source platform for use inside connected cars. "AGL is building the industry’s only fully open automotive platform, allowing automakers to leverage a growing software stack based on Linux while retaining the ability to create their own branded user experience. Standardizing on a single platform means the industry can rapidly innovate where it counts to create a safe and reliable connected car experience. Open collaboration within the AGL community means support for multi-architectures and features to bolster the in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) experience." Further details and source code are available from the official website.' -- source: http://linux.slashdot.org/story/14/07/01/1929217 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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Fwd: [NZLUG] Computer whiz whips Windows - Technology - NZ Herald News
by Peter Reutemann 01 Jul '14

01 Jul '14

Apologies for cross-posting. The correct project URL is http://www.nos.net.nz/. Cheers, Peter ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: DL Neil <...> Date: Tue, Jul 1, 2014 at 6:49 PM Subject: [NZLUG] Computer whiz whips Windows - Technology - NZ Herald News To: NZ Linux Users Group <nzlug(a)lists.nzoss.org.nz> Computer whiz whips Windows By Vaimoana Tapaleao 5:00 AM Tuesday Jul 1, 2014 A love of computer gadgets and being overly curious about how things work have proven to be a winning recipe for one Auckland teenager. Isaac Mercer, 14, has been shortlisted in the Google Science Fair 2014 competition. ... http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=11284… I think it is less a "computer operating system" and more a Windows-alike distro, but haven't seen it in-the-wild. If http://www.nos.co.nz/ is the correct web site, there's only an index page. However there is a project in SourceForge: nOS | Free software downloads at SourceForge.net The Fast and Easy to Use Operating System That Can Run on Any Computer Brought to you by: nosadmin http://sourceforge.net/projects/nos/ Hope he does well! -- Regards, =dn _______________________________________________ NZLUG mailing list NZLUG(a)lists.nzoss.org.nz http://lists.nzoss.org.nz/mailman/listinfo/nzlug -- 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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