July 2016 - wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

How Windows Handles Pathnames
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 08 Sep '16

08 Sep '16

A Google engineer has published a detailed exposé on how Microsoft Windows handles file and directory pathnames (as opposed to how it is documented to handle them) <http://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-definitive-guide-on-win32…> (found from <http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/03/01/windows_path_hacks/>). Most of it, it could be argued, makes some sort of sense from a backward-compatibility rationale. Except for the reserved device names (PRN, NUL, CON etc): Now if just specifying these paths explicitly was all that this process handled it would be annoying but not the end of the world. However it’s much worse. The conversion process actively tries to convert any path with the device name last, even if the path is a Drive Absolute path. To make matters even worse the device name can have arbitrary trailing characters as long the trailing characters are separated from the device by a dot or a colon. The name can then also have trailing spaces. ... Why it does the check is beyond me as it seems to serve no actual purpose. Also note the removal of trailing suffixes, which can come in handy if something is actively trying to guard against this behavior. For example, if an application was mindful and was checking for a filename that matched one of the reserved names you can just bypass that check by appending an arbitrary suffix.

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Linux Grabs More Than 2% of Desktop Market Share
by Peter Reutemann 02 Aug '16

02 Aug '16

'W3Counter's stats for June 2016 are in, and Linux desktop accounts for 2.48% of all web visits from tracked websites... (Android is counted separately from "Linux desktop.") Meanwhile, NetMarketShare shows Linux with a 2.02% share of the desktop market. And StatCounter shows a more detailed breakdown of the top 7 operating systems, with Windows 7 at 42.02%, Windows 10 at 21.88%, OSX at 9.94%, Windows 8.1 at 8.66%, Windows XP at 6.5%, and another 4.06% for "Unknown" (which is roughly tied with "Other") -- beating Windows 8.0 at 3.52%. In May they also reported another thought-provoking statistic: that Firefox's browser usage had surpassed that of IE and Edge combined for the first time.' -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/16/07/02/184229 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Microsoft Brings ChakraCore to Linux and OS X
by Peter Reutemann 01 Aug '16

01 Aug '16

'A few days ago I wrote about Microsoft's revival of Skype for Linux. I called it "a big deal" -- less because of Skype itself and more because it signified Microsoft's recognition that Linux is a platform worth supporting... Now the company has done it again. At Node Summit this week, Microsoft announced the availability of ChakraCore for Linux. ChakraCore is the core part of the Chakra JavaScript engine that powers Microsoft Edge and Universal Windows Platform. With this move, Microsoft is putting one of its core technologies on a competing platform. This, more than any other Linux-friendly move the company has made, is a clear departure from the Microsoft of Gates and Ballmer that used its technologies to lock users into Windows... While Ubuntu is the primary Linux distribution that Microsoft is using to showcase its ChakraCore technologies, the company said that the support should easily translate to other modern Linux distributions. ' -- source: https://apple.slashdot.org/story/16/07/31/151240 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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New Site Checks Your Browser's Fingerprint
by Peter Reutemann 01 Aug '16

01 Aug '16

'"Does your web browser have a unique fingerprint? If so your web browser could be tracked across websites without techniques such as tracking cookies..." warns a new site created by the University of Adelaide and ACEMS, adding "the anonymization aspects of services such as Tor or VPNs could be negated if sites you visit track you using your browser fingerprint."' -- source: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/16/07/31/1357234 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Onion Debian Services Are Now Available
by Peter Reutemann 01 Aug '16

01 Aug '16

'"I just set up a lot of Onion Services for many of Debian's static websites," announced Debian sys-admin Peter "weasel" Palfrader on Friday. "You can find the entire list of services on onion.debian.org. More might come in the future.' -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/16/07/31/0017225 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Earth-friendly EOMA68 Computing Devices
by Peter Reutemann 01 Aug '16

01 Aug '16

Interesting concept: 'A new crowdfunding campaign by Rhombus Tech "introduces the world's first devices built around the EOMA68 standard," which separates a "modular" CPU board from the rest of the system so that it can be easily used in multiple devices and upgraded more simply. Rhombus Tech is now offering a 15.6-inch laptop, a laser-cut wooden Micro-Desktop housing, and two types of computer cards, both using A20 dual-core ARM Cortex A7 processors. The cards are available with four flavors of the GNU/Linux operating system, and they're hoping to receive RYF certification from the Free Software Foundation. "No proprietary software," explains their campaign's video. "No backdoors. No spyware. No NDAs." They envision a world where users upgrade their computers by simply popping in a new card -- reducing electronic waste -- or print new laptop casings to repair defects or swap in different colors. (And they also hope to eventually see the cards also working with cameras, phones, tablets, and gaming consoles.' -- source: https://news.slashdot.org/story/16/07/31/0323255 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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meeting suggestion
by Peter Reutemann 30 Jul '16

30 Jul '16

Hi everyone William suggested a topic for our next meeting in August: "An introduction to Linux - features, history, examples of popular flavors (Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat etc). Advantages and disadvantages to Windows." Meetup link: http://www.meetup.com/WaikatoLinuxUsersGroup/events/232676239/ He volunteered to cover a bit of the history (if I remember correctly), but we need others as well to fill in the rest! What do you think? Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 858-5174 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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meeting suggestion
by rowan schischka 29 Jul '16

29 Jul '16

When are these meetings and how can i help? -- Kind Regards Rowan Schischka

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Dark Patterns: User Interfaces Designed To Confuse
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 28 Jul '16

28 Jul '16

Ever come across websites that seem designed to trick you into paying for things you might not want? <http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/07/dark-patterns-are-designed-to-trick…>

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NIST Says Two-Factor Auth Via SMS Is Not A Good Idea
by rowan schischka 26 Jul '16

26 Jul '16

Regarding two factor sms authentication; I wonder if new Zealands mobile providers are able to be tricked into sending out replacement Sim cards

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