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Spotting Security Vulns By Monitoring The Linux Kernel Mailing List
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 05 Sep '20

05 Sep '20

This research <https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/04/linux_kernel_flaws/> shows that it is possible to get clues about security vulnerabilities in the Linux kernel simply by looking for patches published with lower than usual discussion about their purpose. In some cases they were able to spot these up to nearly 6 months in advance of their being publicly disclosed. Not all such patches are to address security issues. With itself raises other troubling questions. And of course, mailing lists for other open-source projects can be just as fruitful sources of similar information.

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Is It Plugged In?
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 05 Sep '20

05 Sep '20

A standard question with phone- or online-based troubleshooting is to ask the user if the misbehaving gear in question is actually plugged in. Sometimes they take the implication less than kindly. But here <https://forums.theregister.com/forum/all/2020/09/04/on_call/#c_4102668> is a wonderfully tactful way to phrase the question: If it was obvious from the phone call that the power wasn't on, she would tell the user that they'd had problems with a batch [of] power cables and ask them to check the serial number on the wall plug. After a minute she usually got a sheepish reply that the problem seemed to have gone away....

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nload - network throughput monitor
by Peter Reutemann 05 Sep '20

05 Sep '20

Hi there When being logged into servers remotely, pulling large docker images can take quite a while. On my desktop, I find the network traffic monitor in my taskbar rather handy to check throughput and whether a large transfer across the network has finished. However, I've always wanted to have an alternative for the console. Well, the other week I came across one that suits me: nload - Real time network traffic monitor for the text console https://github.com/rolandriegel/nload Available from Arch/Debian/Ubuntu repos (package "nload"). 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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Lenovo Releases First Fedora Linux ThinkPad Laptop
by Peter Reutemann 04 Sep '20

04 Sep '20

'Today, Lenovo has released a ThinkPad with Red Hat's community Linux, Fedora. ZDNet reports: First in this new Linux-friendly lineup is the X1 Carbon Gen 8. It will be followed by forthcoming versions of the ThinkPad P1 Gen2 and ThinkPad P53. While ThinkPads are usually meant for business users, Lenovo will be happy to sell the Fedora-powered X1 Carbon to home users as well. The new X1 Carbon runs Fedora Workstation 32. This cutting-edge Linux distribution uses the Linux Kernel 5.6. It includes WireGuard virtual private network (VPN) support and USB4 support. This Fedora version uses the new GNOME 3.36 for its default desktop. The system itself comes standard with a 10th Generation Intel Core 1.6Ghz i5-10210U CPU, with up to 4.20 GHz with Turbo Boost. This processor boasts 4 Cores, 8 Threads, and a 6 MB cache. It also comes with 8MBs of LPDDR3 RAM. Unfortunately, its memory is soldered in. While that reduces the manufacturing costs, Linux users tend to like to optimize their hardware and this restricts their ability to add RAM. You can upgrade it to 16MBs, of course, when you buy it for an additional $149. For storage, the X1 defaults to a 256GB SSD. You can push it up to a 1TB SSD. That upgrade will cost you $536. The X1 Carbon Gen 8 has a 14.0" Full High Definition (FHD) (1920 x 1080) screen. For practical purposes, this is as high-a-resolution as you want on a laptop. I've used laptops with Ultra High Definition (UHD), aka 4K, with 3840x2160 resolution, and I've found the text to be painfully small. This display is powered by an integrated Intel HD Graphics chipset. For networking, the X1 uses an Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 802.11AX with vPro (2 x 2) & Bluetooth 5.0 chipset. I've used other laptops with this wireless networking hardware and it tends to work extremely well. The entire default package has a base price of $2,145. For now, it's available for $1,287. If you want to order one, be ready for a wait. You can expect to wait three weeks before Lenovo ships it to you.' -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/20/09/03/206205 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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ARM Co-Founder Hermann Hauser: 'It's In Nvidia's Interests To Destroy Arm'
by Peter Reutemann 04 Sep '20

04 Sep '20

'SoftBank is in advanced talks with US chip company Nvidia to sell Arm -- with a price in the region of 32 billion euros reportedly being thrown around. But Nvidia's purchase of the Cambridge-based chip designer would not only strike a blow to the UK's technological sovereignty, but would result in the destruction of Arm itself, Arm co-founder Hermann Hauser has claimed. Nvidia recently overtook Intel as the most valuable microprocessor company in the world, and its great wealth right now provides it a unique opportunity, says Hauser. "They are the semiconductor company that can buy Arm to destroy it -- and it is very much in its interest to destroy Arm because they [would] gain a lot more than the 40 billion that they pay for it," he claims. Hauser says the acquisition would allow Nvidia to swipe "the microprocessor crown from Intel", and become the chip supplier for 95 per cent of mobile phones, 90 per cent of embedded controllers for the internet of things, as well as taking the PC and data centre markets. Hauser says that an Arm acquisition is a means for Nvidia to become the dominant microprocessor company in the world, "at the same time as they can prevent their main competitors" from making use of further Arm developments. Instead, competitors would need to "scramble" to create their own architecture, handing Nvidia the edge. Up until now, Arm's business model is acting as the "Switzerland of the semiconductor industry" -- maintaining relations with many customers around the world. "Most of them of course, are competitors of Nvidia," says Hauser. Japanese technology investment firm SoftBank acquired Arm in 2016, but ensured the company's continued neutrality. ' -- source: https://slashdot.org/story/20/09/03/2019200 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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Kiwis Get Poorer Netflix
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 03 Sep '20

03 Sep '20

A comparison of Netflix services available in various regions <https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&obje…> shows NZ near the bottom in terms of quality and choice. The study concludes that Canada and the UK get the best service overall, though South Korea gets the best content-quality rating. Presumably this doesn’t apply to those using VPNs ...

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Hackers are exploiting a critical flaw affecting >350,000 WordPress sites
by Peter Reutemann 03 Sep '20

03 Sep '20

'Hackers are actively exploiting a vulnerability that allows them to execute commands and malicious scripts on Websites running File Manager, a WordPress plugin with more than 700,000 active installations, researchers said on Tuesday. Word of the attacks came a few hours after the security flaw was patched. Attackers are using the exploit to upload files that contain webshells that are hidden in an image. From there, they have a convenient interface that allows them to run commands in plugins/wp-file-manager/lib/files/, the directory where the File Manager plugin resides. While that restriction prevents hackers from executing commands on files outside of the directory, hackers may be able to exact more damage by uploading scripts that can carry out actions on other parts of a vulnerable site. NinTechNet, a website security firm in Bangkok, Thailand, was among the first to report the in-the-wild attacks. The post said that a hacker was exploiting the vulnerability to upload a script titled hardfork.php and then using it to inject code into the WordPress scripts /wp-admin/admin-ajax.php and /wp-includes/user.php.' -- source: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2020/09/hackers-are-exploiti… 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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YouTube More Popular Than TV In NZ
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 01 Sep '20

01 Sep '20

The only local media company maintaining an “encouraging” market share is TVNZ, according to <https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=123611…>. YouTube is the most popular “site, station or channel”, reaching 51% of Kiwis daily. Overall, it seems free-to-air TV has remained stable, while pay TV has fallen, leading to an overall decline in “linear TV”.

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Linux Developers Continue Evaluating The Path To Adding Rust Code To The Kernel
by Peter Reutemann 31 Aug '20

31 Aug '20

'Phoronix reports: As mentioned back in July, upstream Linux developers have been working to figure out a path for adding Rust code to the Linux kernel. That topic is now being further explored at this week's virtual Linux Plumbers Conference... To be clear though, these Rust Linux kernel plans do not involve rewriting large parts of the kernel in Rust (at least for the foreseeable future...), there would be caveats on the extent to which Rust code could be used and what functionality, and the Rust support would be optional when building the Linux kernel. C would remain the dominant language of the kernel and then it's just a matter of what new functionality gets added around Rust if concerned by memory safety, concurrency, and other areas where Rust is popular with developers. Various upstream developers have been interested in Rust for those language benefits around memory safety and security as well as its syntax being close to C. There would be a to-be-determined subset of Rust to be supported by the Linux kernel.... While the Rust code would be optional, the developers do acknowledge there are limitations on where Rust is supported due to the LLVM compiler back-ends. But at least for x86/x86_64, ARM/ARM64, POWER, and other prominent targets there is support along with the likes of RISC-V. Nothing firm has been determined yet but it's a topic that is still being discussed at the virtual LPC this week and surely over the weeks/months ahead on the kernel mailing list. There is Rust-For-Linux on GitHub with a prototype kernel module implementation. There is also the PDF slides from Thursday's talk on the matter. It's not clear to me that this is a done deal. But the article argues that "it's still looking like it will happen, it's just a matter of when the initial infrastructure will be in place and how slowly the rollout will be..."' -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/20/08/29/2250237 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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HBO Max Cranks Up the Widevine DRM, Leaves Linux Users in the Cold
by Peter Reutemann 27 Aug '20

27 Aug '20

'Jim Salter, reporting for ArsTechnica: A reader tipped us off today that HBO Max stopped working a couple of weeks ago for Linux users, under any Web browser. Any attempt to play back a video on the streaming service on a Linux system -- regardless of distribution or browser -- returns an error saying, "We're having trouble playing this video. Please try again later." Unfortunately, trying again later won't help -- the root cause of the problem is that the Widevine DRM attempting to protect HBO Max's content from pirates is refusing to recognize any Linux system as a known platform. We saw the same thing happen in January, when CBS All Access suddenly stopped working on Linux in the same way. When we asked CBS executives if they had enabled the Verified Media Path (VMP) requirement on their Widevine server, they suddenly clammed up -- but later that day, the service miraculously worked for Linux users again. We did verify that HBO Max will not work on Linux browsers and that the problem is -- once again -- Widevine DRM refusing to issue a license. Although HBO Max has not returned requests for comment at press time, it seems very likely that the cause here is the same as it was for CBS All Access back in January. It seems like somebody enabled Verified Media Path on the Widevine server, and since the Linux kernel is not a verified media path, Linux users can't get a license and can't watch the content.' -- source: https://slashdot.org/story/20/08/26/1923213 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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