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RIP Bill Atkinson
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 08 Jun '25

08 Jun '25

This article <https://daringfireball.net/linked/2025/06/07/bill-atkinson-rip> reports the death of legendary Apple Macintosh pioneer Bill Atkinson, at the age of 74, from cancer. Atkinson is known for, among other things, the “QuickDraw” graphics engine, which was at the core of how those early Macintoshes could manage graphics drawing at interactive speeds, on a processor running at a nominal 8MHz clock speed, with no hardware acceleration. He also created the MacPaint application, to show off the artistic capabilities of the Macintosh -- and its ease of use. There is a video somewhere of Atkinson’s 2-year-old daughter using MacPaint, her tiny fist barely big enough to cover the mouse, otherwise being quite comfortable figuring out the drawing tools. And later, he created HyperCard, which was one of those forays into “end-user programming” which was perhaps more successful than most. Atkinson is named on Apple’s patent for the “region” structure, which was a compact way of representing arbitrary regions of pixels, which might have holes in them or even consist of entirely disjoint pieces. These structures were heavily used in QuickDraw for clipping graphics drawing (particularly for dealing with overlapping windows), though they could be rendered as graphics objects in their own right. Apple’s patent meant that nobody else could use that structure. For example, X11 had to use a less efficient way of representing pixel regions. The patent did finally expire around 2004, I think it was.

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KDE Targets Windows 10 'Exiles' Claiming 'Your Computer is Toast'
by Peter Reutemann 05 Jun '25

05 Jun '25

'Linux desktop darling KDE is weighing in on the controversy around the impending demise of Windows 10 support with a lurid "KDE for Windows 10 Exiles" campaign. KDE's alarming "Exiles" page opens with the text "Your computer is toast" followed by a warning that Microsoft wants to turn computers running Windows 10 into junk from October 14. "It may seem like it continues to work after that date for a bit, but when Microsoft stops support for Windows 10, your perfectly good computer will be officially obsolete." Beneath a picture of a pile of tech junk, including a rotary telephone and some floppy drives, KDE proclaims: "Windows 10 will degrade as more and more bugs come to light. With nobody to correct them, you risk being hacked. Your data, identity, and control over your device could be stolen."' -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/06/04/186206 The exiles page: https://kde.org/for/w10-exiles/ Cheers, Peter

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Meta and Yandex Are De-Anonymizing Android Users' Web Browsing Identifiers
by Peter Reutemann 04 Jun '25

04 Jun '25

'"It appears as though Meta (aka: Facebook's parent company) and Yandex have found a way to sidestep the Android Sandbox," writes Slashdot reader TheWho79. Researchers disclose the novel tracking method in a report: We found that native Android apps -- including Facebook, Instagram, and several Yandex apps including Maps and Browser -- silently listen on fixed local ports for tracking purposes. These native Android apps receive browsers' metadata, cookies and commands from the Meta Pixel and Yandex Metrica scripts embedded on thousands of web sites. These JavaScripts load on users' mobile browsers and silently connect with native apps running on the same device through localhost sockets. As native apps access programmatically device identifiers like the Android Advertising ID (AAID) or handle user identities as in the case of Meta apps, this method effectively allows these organizations to link mobile browsing sessions and web cookies to user identities, hence de-anonymizing users' visiting sites embedding their scripts. This web-to-app ID sharing method bypasses typical privacy protections such as clearing cookies, Incognito Mode and Android's permission controls. Worse, it opens the door for potentially malicious apps eavesdropping on users' web activity. While there are subtle differences in the way Meta and Yandex bridge web and mobile contexts and identifiers, both of them essentially misuse the unvetted access to localhost sockets. The Android OS allows any installed app with the INTERNET permission to open a listening socket on the loopback interface (127.0.0.1). Browsers running on the same device also access this interface without user consent or platform mediation. This allows JavaScript embedded on web pages to communicate with native Android apps and share identifiers and browsing habits, bridging ephemeral web identifiers to long-lived mobile app IDs using standard Web APIs. This technique circumvents privacy protections like Incognito Mode, cookie deletion, and Android's permission model, with Meta Pixel and Yandex Metrica scripts silently communicating with apps across over 6 million websites combined. Following public disclosure, Meta ceased using this method on June 3, 2025. Browser vendors like Chrome, Brave, Firefox, and DuckDuckGo have implemented or are developing mitigations, but a full resolution may require OS-level changes and stricter enforcement of platform policies to prevent further abuse.' -- source: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/06/03/205251 Cheers, Peter

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Beware of the Browser-in-the-Middle Attack: What It Is and How to Protect Yourself
by Peter Reutemann 04 Jun '25

04 Jun '25

'A new security threat called the browser-in-the-middle (BITM) attack has recently been uncovered, exposing users—especially those using Apple’s Safari browser—to potential exploits that could compromise their privacy and security. Reports from BleepingComputer and GBHackers highlight how attackers can take advantage of browser fullscreen features to trick users into revealing sensitive information. [...] A browser-in-the-middle attack is a phishing-like technique that leverages the browser’s fullscreen mode to impersonate legitimate websites or system dialogs. By forcing the browser to enter fullscreen mode, attackers can overlay fake login screens, pop-ups, or security warnings that look authentic but actually capture user input such as passwords, credit card numbers, or other personal data. Unlike traditional man-in-the-middle attacks that intercept communications, BITM attacks manipulate the user interface itself to create convincing illusions. Because fullscreen mode hides browser UI elements like the address bar or tabs, users may be unaware they are interacting with a fraudulent page. According to the reports, Safari’s fullscreen API is particularly vulnerable to BITM attacks. Attackers can use JavaScript to force fullscreen without user consent or notification and then display spoofed content that mimics trusted websites or system alerts. This makes Safari users a prime target, although the risk isn’t limited to this browser alone.' -- source: https://cyptd.com/beware-of-the-browser-in-the-middle-attack-what-it-is-and… Cheers, Peter

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OpenSnitch: The Must-Have Application Firewall for Linux
by Peter Reutemann 29 May '25

29 May '25

'When it comes to protecting your Linux system from unwanted network connections, having a good firewall is essential. While most Linux users rely on traditional firewalls like iptables, firewalls, or ufw, these usually work at the network level and don’t give detailed control over which applications can connect to the internet. This is where OpenSnitch comes in, a GNU/Linux application firewall designed to give you control over your outgoing connections on a per-application basis. In this article, we will explore what OpenSnitch is, how it helps secure your Linux machine, and guide you through simple installation and usage steps.' -- source: https://www.tecmint.com/opensnitch-linux-application-firewall/ Cheers, Peter

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Thousands of Asus routers are being hit with stealthy, persistent backdoors
by Peter Reutemann 29 May '25

29 May '25

'Thousands of home and small office routers manufactured by Asus are being infected with a stealthy backdoor that can survive reboots and firmware updates in an attack by a nation-state or another well-resourced threat actor, researchers said. The unknown attackers gain access to the devices by exploiting now-patched vulnerabilities, some of which have never been tracked through the internationally recognized CVE system. After gaining unauthorized administrative control of the devices, the threat actor installs a public encryption key for access to the device through SSH. From then on, anyone with the private key can automatically log in to the device with administrative system rights.' -- source: https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/05/thousands-of-asus-routers-are-bein… Cheers, Peter

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SUSE Is Giving YaST the Dodo Bird Treatment
by Peter Reutemann 26 May '25

26 May '25

'An important piece of Linux history is set to go the way of the passenger pigeon or dodo bird later this year, when SUSE and openSUSE put YaST out to pasture. Widely regarded as a package manager, it’s actually more of a Swiss Army knife configuration tool that can be used to install software, configure hardware, set up networks and servers, and more. Exactly what it can do might be determined by the year in which you’re using it, as its feature set and role within the SUSE ecosystem have changed over the years. Although not very well known outside SUSE circles these days, from its first appearance in 1995 until SUSE was purchased by Novell in 2004, YaST was one of the reasons why SUSE was considered one of the crown jewels of Linux.' -- source: https://fossforce.com/2025/05/suse-is-giving-yast-the-dodo-bird-treatment/ When I was using SuSE back in the day, YaST was really great for newbies to do admin stuff Later on, I switched to webmin (https://github.com/webmin/webmin) as it was not restricted to a particular distro. Cheers, Peter

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“Microsoft has simply given us no other option,” Signal says as it blocks Windows Recall
by Peter Reutemann 22 May '25

22 May '25

'Signal Messenger is warning the users of its Windows Desktop version that the privacy of their messages is under threat by Recall, the AI tool rolling out in Windows 11 that will screenshot, index, and store almost everything a user does every three seconds. Effective immediately, Signal for Windows will by default block the ability of Windows to screenshot the app. Signal users who want to disable the block—for instance to preserve a conversation for their records or make use of accessibility features for sight-impaired users—will have to change settings inside their desktop version to enable screenshots. [...] With no API for blocking Recall in the Windows Desktop version, Signal is instead invoking an API Microsoft provides for protecting copyrighted material. App developers can turn on the DRM setting to prevent Windows from taking screenshots of copyrighted content displayed in the app. Signal is now repurposing the API to add an extra layer of privacy.' -- source: https://arstechnica.com/security/2025/05/signal-resorts-to-weird-trick-to-b… Who would have thought that DRM can be useful... :-) Cheers, Peter

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Hackers Now Testing ‘ClickFix’ Attacks on Linux Systems
by Peter Reutemann 22 May '25

22 May '25

'Security researchers have recently uncovered a new type of cyberattack targeting Linux systems — a technique dubbed “ClickFix.” Originally known for its impact on Windows environments, ClickFix is now being adapted and tested by threat actors against Linux platforms, signaling an expansion in both scope and sophistication. ClickFix is a novel post-exploitation tactic that allows attackers to interact with graphical desktop environments through simulated clicks and UI manipulations. By abusing legitimate tools like xdotool, attackers can automate interactions with graphical interfaces — such as clicking confirmation dialogs, accepting permissions, or launching malicious scripts — even on hardened systems. This type of attack can bypass traditional security mechanisms by operating at the user interface level, making it especially dangerous in environments where users assume GUI-based interactions are secure.' -- source: https://cyptd.com/hackers-now-testing-clickfix-attacks-on-linux-systems/ Cheers, Peter

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Mobile Browsers That Stick Their Noses Into Your Business
by Peter Reutemann 22 May '25

22 May '25

'Some figures hit my desk this morning about mobile browsers and the data they collect that I found interesting enough to want to pass on. Some of this won’t surprise anybody, such as the fact that Chrome is the most data-hungry mobile browser app. What might come as a surprise to many, is that Chrome is the only browser that collects financial information, such as payment methods, card numbers, and bank account details. It also collects contacts from a phone’s address book. The figures came from Surfshark, the cybersecurity folks with an eponymous VPN, which took a look at the 10 browsers it identified as the most popular. Topping the list was Chrome, which presents a somewhat mind-boggling list of privacy intrusions that includes everything from contacts and financial information to data on location, browsing and search history, content — such as photos, videos, audio recordings, uploaded files, and other stuff — usage data, identifiers — device ID, user ID, or IP address — as well as even more data that’s not identified by the study.' -- source: https://fossforce.com/2025/05/mobile-browsers-that-stick-their-noses-into-y… One thing that I wasn't aware of under Android, you will have a unique Ad ID: Settings > Privacy > Ads > Opt out of ad personalization Cheers, Peter

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