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Rediscovering RISC-V: Apple M1 Sparks Renewed Interest in Non-x86 Architecture
by Peter Reutemann 11 Jan '21

11 Jan '21

'"With the runaway success of the new ARM-based M1 Macs, non-x86 architectures are getting their closeup," explains a new article at ZDNet. "RISC-V is getting the most attention from system designers looking to horn-in on Apple's recipe for high performance. Here's why..." RISC-V is, like x86 and ARM, an instruction set architecture (ISA). Unlike x86 and ARM, it is a free and open standard that anyone can use without getting locked into someone else's processor designs or paying costly license fees... Reaching the end of Moore's Law, we can't just cram more transistors on a chip. Instead, as Apple's A and M series processors show, adding specialized co-processors — for codecs, encryption, AI — to fast general-purpose RISC CPUs can offer stunning application performance and power efficiency. But a proprietary ISA, like ARM, is expensive. Worse, they typically only allow you to use that ISA's hardware designs, unless, of course, you're one of the large companies — like Apple — that can afford a top-tier license and a design team to exploit it. A canned design means architects can't specify tweaks that cut costs and improve performance. An open and free ISA, like RISC-V, eliminates a lot of this cost, giving small companies the ability to optimize their hardware for their applications. As we move intelligence into ever more cost-sensitive applications, using processors that cost a dollar or less, the need for application and cost-optimized processors is greater than ever... While open operating systems, like Linux, get a lot of attention, ISAs are an even longer-lived foundational technology. The x86 ISA dates back 50 years and today exists as a layer that gets translated to a simpler — and faster — underlying hardware architecture. (I suspect this fact is key to the success of the macOS Rosetta 2 translation from x86 code to Apple's M1 code.) Of course, an open ISA is only part of the solution. Free standard hardware designs — with tools to design more — and smart compilers to generate optimized code are vital. That larger project is what Berkeley's Adept Lab is working on. As computing continues to permeate civilization, the cost of sub-optimal infrastructure will continue to rise. Optimizing for efficiency, long-life, and broad application is vital for humanity's progress in a cyber-enabled world. One RISC-V feature highlighted by the article: 128-bit addressing (in addition to 32 and 64 bit).' -- source: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/21/01/10/2020208 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 577-5304 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Wasmer 1.0 Can Run WebAssembly 'Universal Binaries' on Linux, MacOS, Windows, Android, and iOS
by Peter Reutemann 11 Jan '21

11 Jan '21

'The WebAssembly portable binary format will now have wider support from Wasmer, the server-side runtime which "allows universal binaries compiled from C++, Rust, Go, Python, and other languages to run on different operating systems and in web browsers without modification," reports InfoWorld: Wasmer can run lightweight containers based on WebAssembly on a variety of platforms — Linux, MacOS, Windows, Android, iOS — from the desktop to the cloud to IoT and mobile devices, while also allowing these containers to be embedded in any programming language. The Wasmer runtime also is able to run the Nginx web server and other WebAssembly modules... Wasmer was introduced in December 2018, with the stated goal of doing for WebAssembly what JavaScript did for Node.js: establish it server-side. By leveraging Wasmer for containerization, developers can create universal binaries that work anywhere without modification, including on Linux, MacOS, and Windows as well as web browsers. WebAssembly automatically sandboxes applications by default for secure execution, shielding the host environment from malicious code, bugs, and vulnerabilities in the software being run. Wasmer 1.0 reached "general availability status" with its release on January 5, and its developers are now claiming "out of this world" runtime and compiler performance. "We believe that WebAssembly will be a crucial component for the future of software execution and containerization (not only inside the browser but also outside)."' -- source: https://news.slashdot.org/story/21/01/10/0242244 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 577-5304 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Linux Mint 20.1 Long-term Support Release Is Out
by Peter Reutemann 10 Jan '21

10 Jan '21

'gHacks: Linux Mint 20.1 is now available. The first stable release of Linux Mint in 2021 is available in the three flavors Cinnamon, MATE and Xfce. The new version of the Linux distribution is based on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS and Linux kernel 5.4... - Linux Mint 20.1 comes with a unified file system that sees certain directories being merged with their counterparts in /usr, e.g. /bin merged with /usr/bin, /lib merged with /usr/lib for compatibility purposes... - The developers have added an option to turn websites into desktop applications in the new version [using the new Web App manager]... Web apps behave like desktop programs for the most part; they start in their own window and use a custom icon, and you find them in the Alt-Tab interface when you use it. Web apps can be pinned and they are found in the application menu after they have been created. ' -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/21/01/09/2147228 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 577-5304 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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NVIDIA Fixes High Severity Flaws Affecting Windows, Linux devices
by Peter Reutemann 10 Jan '21

10 Jan '21

'Bleeping Computer reports: NVIDIA has released security updates to address six security vulnerabilities found in Windows and Linux GPU display drivers, as well as ten additional flaws affecting the NVIDIA Virtual GPU (vGPU) management software. The vulnerabilities expose Windows and Linux machines to attacks leading to denial of service, escalation of privileges, data tampering, or information disclosure. All these security bugs require local user access, which means that potential attackers will first have to gain access to vulnerable devices using an additional attack vector. Following successful exploitation of one of the vulnerabilities patched today, attackers can easily escalate privileges to gain permissions above the default ones granted by the OS.' -- source: https://it.slashdot.org/story/21/01/09/2139217 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 577-5304 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Firefox-based mobile browser: Iceraven
by Peter Reutemann 10 Jan '21

10 Jan '21

Hi everyone With the recent UI changes in the mobile Firefox browser, it unfortunately became pretty much unusable. I just came across the Iceraven browser: "Definitely not brought to you by Mozilla! Iceraven Browser is a web browser for Android, based on Mozilla's Fenix version of Firefox, GeckoView and Mozilla Android Components. Our goal is to be a close fork of the new Firefox for Android that seeks to provide users with more options, more opportunities to customize (including a broad extension library), and more information about the pages they visit and how their browsers are interacting with those pages." -- source: https://github.com/fork-maintainers/iceraven-browser At the moment, you have to download the .apk releases yourself and install them manually. >From an initial test, it looks promising! However, I'm still not able to have my bookmarks display on the homescreen... :-/ Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 577-5304 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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New Side-Channel Attack Can Recover Encryption Keys From Google Titan Security Keys
by Peter Reutemann 09 Jan '21

09 Jan '21

'A duo of French security researchers has discovered a vulnerability impacting chips used inside Google Titan and YubiKey hardware security keys. From a report: The vulnerability allows threat actors to recover the primary encryption key used by the hardware security key to generate cryptographic tokens for two-factor authentication (2FA) operations. Once obtained, the two security researchers say the encryption key, an ECDSA private key, would allow threat actors to clone Titan, YubiKey, and other keys to bypass 2FA procedures. However, while the attack sounds disastrous for Google and Yubico security key owners, its severity is not what it seems. In a 60-page PDF report, Victor Lomne and Thomas Roche, researchers with Montpellier-based NinjaLab, explain the intricacies of the attack, also tracked as CVE-2021-3011. For starters, the attack won't work remotely against a device, over the internet, or over a local network. To exploit any Google Titan or Yubico security key, an attacker would first need to get their hands on a security key in the first place.' -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/21/01/08/1814254 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 577-5304 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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A Crypto-Mining Botnet Is Now Stealing Docker and AWS Credentials
by Peter Reutemann 09 Jan '21

09 Jan '21

'ZDNet: Analysts from security firm Trend Micro said in a report today that they've spotted a malware botnet that collects and steals Docker and AWS credentials. Researchers have linked the botnet to a cybercrime operation known as TeamTNT; a group first spotted over the 2020 summer installing cryptocurrency-mining malware on misconfigured container platforms. Initial reports at the time said that TeamTNT was breaching container platforms by looking for Docker systems that were exposing their management API port online without a password. Researchers said the TeamTNT group would access exposed Docker containers, install a crypto-mining malware, but also steal credentials for Amazon Web Services (AWS) servers in order to pivot to a company's other IT systems to infect even more servers and deploy more crypto-miners. At the time, researchers said that TeamTNT was the first crypto-mining botnet that implemented a feature dedicated to collecting and stealing AWS credentials. But in a report today, Trend Micro researchers said that the TeamTNT gang's malware code had received considerable updates since it was first spotted last summer. TeamTNT has now also added a feature to collect Docker API credentials, on top of the AWS creds-stealing code. This feature is most likely used on container platforms where the botnet infects hosts using other entry points than its original Docker API port scanning feature.' -- source: https://it.slashdot.org/story/21/01/08/2132205 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 577-5304 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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First There Was GPT-3 For Fake Text, Now There Is DALL-E For Fake Images
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 09 Jan '21

09 Jan '21

OpenAI, the company behind the GPT-3 neural network that is capable of generating plausible-sounding text passages on any given subject, have now extended it <https://www.theregister.com/2021/01/07/openai_dalle_impact/> to generating images based on any given caption. How will this impact content creators? Given that the net is trained on data copied off the Internet, what happens if/when it spews out something a little too close, copyright-wise, to some existing work of a human artist/writer?

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WhatsApp Rival Signal Reports Growing Pains as New Users Surge
by Peter Reutemann 08 Jan '21

08 Jan '21

'Signal, an encrypted messaging app that competes with other services including Facebook's WhatsApp, said Thursday that verification codes used to create new accounts were delayed because of a flood of new users. From a report: "We are working with carriers to resolve this as quickly as possible," the non-profit foundation said in a tweet. "Hang in there." The surge came just hours after Elon Musk endorsed the service and amid reported changes to WhatsApp's terms of service.' -- source: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/21/01/07/1918206 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 577-5304 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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Mandatory WhatsApp Privacy Policy Update Allows User Data To be Shared With Facebook
by Peter Reutemann 07 Jan '21

07 Jan '21

'WhatsApp's latest terms and privacy policy allows the popular messaging app to share a significant amount of user data with Facebook. From a report: WhatsApp users are today receiving an in-app notice informing them about the app's updated terms of service and privacy policy. The notice gives an overview of the main three updates, covering how WhatsApp processes user data, how businesses can use Facebook-hosted services to store and manage their WhatsApp chats, and how WhatsApp will soon partner with Facebook to offer deeper integrations across all of the parent company's products. The changes, which are set to take effect on February 8, 2021, are mandatory and users will not be able to continue using WhatsApp unless they accept the terms.' -- source: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/21/01/06/1358228 Cheers, Peter -- Peter Reutemann Dept. of Computer Science University of Waikato, NZ +64 (7) 577-5304 http://www.cms.waikato.ac.nz/~fracpete/ http://www.data-mining.co.nz/

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