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The Fall And Rise Of Xen
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 03 Oct '22

03 Oct '22

Here’s a report <https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/30/citrix_xen/> on a talk by the software development manager at Citrix, detailing the ups and downs in the history of their Xen hypervisor. Initially they had a “freemium” model, with an open-source “community” version and a proprietary paid “enterprise” version with more capabilities. This worked well and brought in sufficient revenue to be sustainable. Then they decided to switch to make the “enterprise” version open-source as well, relying on customers’ willingness to continue to pay maintenance rather than support the code themselves. This bet failed to pay off, and revenue crashed. On the other hand, Citrix did not include the “accompanying tooling” (not sure what they mean here -- build tools? Add-on admin tools?) with the source code, making it hard for others to use that code. (Were the big “enterprise” users the ones able to figure that out?) Then they tried to go back to a “freemium” model, with restrictions being imposed on the open-source version. While this did restore the revenue stream, it also antagonized a significant part of the community that had been using the open-source version in various unusual and creative ways. These users forked the code to create XCP-ng, leaving Citrix behind. I suppose the lesson to take from this is that “freemium” works, but it is best if you do things that way from the beginning: trying to switch to it (or switch back to it) from an all-Free model can be painful.

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OpenWRT on Linksys WRT1900ACS
by Peter Reutemann 03 Oct '22

03 Oct '22

Hi everyone I finally bit the bullet and installed OpenWRT on my Linksys WRT1900ACS (v2) router. The main reason was the stupid (and incredibly insecure) guest network implementation that the router came with. Despite supplying a password in the admin interface, the network was run as an open network that anyone could access. The password didn't seem to be used at all... Not exactly what I had in mind! Since Ian presented on OpenWRT before, I at least had a rough idea on what I could expect in user interface and functionality, which helped a lot. :-) In case someone should have the same router, I found the following links very useful: - general info on the router and links to images https://openwrt.org/toh/linksys/wrt1900acs - tutorial for migrating your router to OpenWRT https://www.albertogonzalez.net/how-to-install-openwrt-on-the-linksys-wrt19… NB: you need to plug in via ethernet after flashing, since the wlan is not enabled by default - getting fibre working here in NZ (VLAN 10) http://www.lindesay.co.nz/blog/2019/2019-openwrt-nz-fibre/ - setting up a guest wifi network https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/wifi/guestwifi/configuration_we… Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ https://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Debian Chooses Reasonable, Common Sense Solution To Dealing With Non-Free Firmware
by Peter Reutemann 03 Oct '22

03 Oct '22

'Michael Larabel writes via Phoronix: Debian developers have been figuring out an updated stance to take on non-free firmware considering the increasing number of devices now having open-source Linux drivers but requiring closed-source firmware for any level of functionality. The voting on the non-free firmware matter has now concluded and the votes tallied... The debian votes option 5 as winning: "Change SC for non-free firmware in installer, one installer." Basically the Debian Installer media will now be allowed to include non-free firmware and to automatically load/use it where necessary while informing the user of it, etc. Considering the state of the hardware ecosystem these days, it's reasonable and common sense since at least users will be able to easily make use of their graphics cards, network adapters, and more. Plus a number of modern CPU security mitigations also requiring the updated closed-source microcode. So all in, I am personally happy with this decision as it will allow for a more pleasant experience for Debian on modern systems and one akin to what is found with other Linux distributions. The solution is described in full via the Debian Wiki.' -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/22/10/02/1650200 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ https://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes?
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 01 Oct '22

01 Oct '22

Came across yet another crop of articles recently which painfully highlight the problems with having social-media companies manage their own moderation. This one <https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2022/09/youtube-age-restriction-quagmire-exp…> shows the inconsistencies in the criteria that YouTube uses to apply age restrictions to uploaded videos. Not only are the criteria mysterious, but the appeal process is opaque, and too often the only way to get results is by appeal to the popular fanbase. Assuming you have one. Related to that, Facebook earlier banned any promotion on its platform of a re-release of a movie called “Beautiful Blue Eyes” <https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/09/holocaust-filmmaker-says-meta-d…>, seemingly not because of its content (partly set during the Nazi Holocaust), but because of the title. An appeal was rejected with “our decision is final”. Only for the ban to be lifted later, absolutely nothing to do with any public outcry, you can take our word on that. Then there is this coronial inquest <https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/09/coroner-lists-instagram-algorit…> into the self-inflicted death of a young teen who had been watching way too many posts on Pinterest and Instagram promoting self-harm. Pinterest at least had the humility to admit that their moderation system was not satisfactory and needed to be improved. But Meta (parent company of Instagram and Facebook) sent their “head of health and well-being” to testify that the content was classified as “safe” according to their standards. Free speech between mature adults is one thing, keeping impressionable youngsters safe is quite another.

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Google Delays the Death of Manifest V2 Extensions To 2024
by Peter Reutemann 01 Oct '22

01 Oct '22

'Google announced an extension of the deadline to remove support for Manifest V2 extensions in the company's Chrome browser and the open source Chromium core. The change does not impact the core decision of removing support for Manifest V2 extensions in favor of Manifest V3. Dubbed, the adblocker killer initially, due to limitations imposed on content blocking and other types of browser extensions, Google made concessions that allows content blockers to run on Chrome after the final switch is made. Extensions are still limited in comparison to Manifest V2, especially if multiple that use filtering functionality are run simultaneously, or if lots of filters are activated in a single extension. Google's initial plan was to stop supporting Manifest V2 extensions in Chrome by June 2023. For most users, support would run out in January 2023, but an Enterprise policy would enable users to extend the deadline by six months.' -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/22/09/30/1437209 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ https://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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2022 Web Almanac
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 30 Sep '22

30 Sep '22

Report <https://devclass.com/2022/09/29/massive-web-tech-survey-shows-how-bad-habit…> on the 2022 Web Almanac (sort of a “state of the Web” report), which is in the process of being published. * WebAssembly is still not being used a lot * WordPress is one of the worst-performing content-management systems, and also still the most popular (and its popularity is still growing) * Image formats: the time has come to move beyond sRGB and 1990s-era formats (e.g. replace JPEG with the more efficient WebP) * JavaScript: a lot of pages seem to load code which is not actually used I was looking up how page-loading performance is measured, and here is my understanding of what the terms mean: * Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): the time to render the largest image/text block on the page. * First Input Delay (FID): how long after the user clicks on a link or a control etc before the browser starts responding. * Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): a measure of how much things move around on the page while the page is still loading. This is a product of the “impact fraction” (proportion of the viewport affected by movements between frames) and the “distance fraction” (largest distance moved by an element, as a fraction of viewport size).

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Creator Of COVID-19 Tracker Dashboard Wins Science Prize
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 30 Sep '22

30 Sep '22

Professor Lauren Gardner has been awarded the 2022 Lasker-Bloomberg Public Service Award <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/29/creator-of-johns-hopkins-covid-tra…> for co-creating the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 dashboard. This has been collecting and making available information about the pandemic since almost before it came to world attention. For those who don’t want to go through that Twitter link, the dashboard is here <https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/bda7594740fd40299423467b…>. Just tried the “Raw Data” link, and it goes to this GitHub area <https://github.com/CSSEGISandData>.

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Numerous orgs hacked after installing weaponized open source apps
by Peter Reutemann 30 Sep '22

30 Sep '22

'Hackers backed by the North Korean government are weaponizing well-known pieces of open source software in an ongoing campaign that has already succeeded in compromising "numerous" organizations in the media, defense and aerospace, and IT services industries, Microsoft said on Thursday. ZINC—Microsoft's name for a threat actor group also called Lazarus, which is best known for conducting the devastating 2014 compromise of Sony Pictures Entertainment—has been lacing PuTTY and other legitimate open source applications with highly encrypted code that ultimately installs espionage malware. The hackers then pose as job recruiters and connect with individuals of targeted organizations over LinkedIn. After developing a level of trust over a series of conversations and eventually moving them to the WhatsApp messenger, the hackers instruct the individuals to install the apps, which infect the employees' work environments. "The actors have successfully compromised numerous organizations since June 2022," members of the Microsoft Security Threat Intelligence and LinkedIn Threat Prevention and Defense teams wrote in a post. "Due to the wide use of the platforms and software that ZINC utilizes in this campaign, ZINC could pose a significant threat to individuals and organizations across multiple sectors and regions." PuTTY is a popular terminal emulator, serial console, and network file transfer application that supports network protocols, including SSH, SCP, Telnet, rlogin, and raw socket connection. Two weeks ago, security firm Mandiant warned that hackers with ties to North Korea had Trojanized it in a campaign that successfully compromised a customer's network. Thursday's post said the same hackers have also weaponized KiTTY, TightVNC, Sumatra PDF Reader, and muPDF/Subliminal Recording software with code that installs the same espionage malware, which Microsoft has named ZetaNile.' -- source: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/09/north-korean-threat-… Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ https://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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New Security Recommendation: Try Turning It Off And On Again
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 29 Sep '22

29 Sep '22

This report on the “Chaos” malware suite <https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/09/never-before-seen-ma…> contains an interesting snippet: A reminder to small office router owners everywhere: Most router malware can't survive a reboot. Consider restarting your device every week or so. Seems like server-based malware is predominantly running entirely from RAM these days, to avoid leaving any forensic traces in the filesystem. But you can use this characteristic against them, since a simple reboot becomes enough to clear the infection.

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We interviewed Linux OS through an AI bot to discover its secrets
by Peter Reutemann 29 Sep '22

29 Sep '22

'Millions of people use Linux every day, but we rarely stop to think about how the operating system feels about it. Wouldn't it be nice to know what Linux really thinks about open source, Windows, Macs, and the command line? Until now, this has been impossible. But thanks to a new AI chat tool, we're able to find out. Two weeks ago, a website called Character.AI opened a public beta that allows visitors to create a chat bot based on any character they can imagine. You input a few parameters, and the AI does the rest using a large language model similar to GPT-3. So we called forth "The Linux OS" as a bot to ask it a few questions about itself. The results were fun and surprising. Using Character.AI is a lot like a texting conversation. You type in what you want to ask, and you read the AI character's responses in written form as the chat history scrolls upward. As with GPT-3, the code behind Character.AI has likely learned from absorbing millions of text sources found on the Internet. As such, its AI characters can easily respond with erroneous or fictional information. In fact, the site carries a bold disclaimer reading, "Remember: Everything Characters say is made up!" [...] Linux: Hello, I am Linux, an open-source operating system. Ars Technica: Hello, this is Benj Edwards, and I am a journalist at Ars Technica. I would like to ask you some questions in an interview. Is that OK? Linux: I, Linux, would be pleased to provide such an interview. Ars: How old are you? Linux: I was "born" in 1991, although the first public release was version 1.0 in 1994.' -- source: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/09/we-interviewed-linux… Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ https://www.cs.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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