- wlug - list.wlug.org.nz

Should Service Providers Be Liable For Content?
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 11 Dec '17

11 Dec '17

It is commonly accepted that ISPs should not generally be held liable for things done by their customers--or indeed, anybody else’s customers over their pipes. This is currently the case in Australia, for example. But should protections be extended to what we might describe as “secondary” service providers--such as social media sites like Facebook, and of course Google? Seems like Australia agrees the answer should be mostly “yes”, but not for those specific companies. Not sure how they are going to decide who is eligible for such legal protections and who is not. <https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20171207/09383538762/mpaa-wins-australia-…>

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Intel's ME May Be Massively Infringing on Minix3's Free Software License
by Peter Reutemann 10 Dec '17

10 Dec '17

'Almost all Free Software licenses (BSD, MIT, GPL...) require some sort of legal notice (legal attribution) given to the recipient of the software, both when the software is distributed in source and in binary forms. The legal notice usually contains the copyright holder's name and the license text. This means that it's not possible to hide and keep secret the existence of Free Software that you have stuck into your product that you distribute. If you do so, then you are not complying with the Free Software license and you are committing a copyright infringement! This is exactly what Intel seems to have done with the Intel ME. The Minix3 operating system license requires a legal notice, but so far it seems like Intel has not given the necessary legal notices. (Probably because they want to keep the inside of the ME secret.) Thus not only is Minix3 the most installed OS on our recent x86 CPUs -- but it might also the most pirated OS on our recent x86 CPUs!' -- source: https://slashdot.org/story/17/12/09/0610203 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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The FCC Still Doesn’t Know How the Internet
by Peter Reutemann 10 Dec '17

10 Dec '17

'The EFF describes the FCC's official plan to kill net neutrality as "riddled with technical errors and factual inaccuracies," including, for example, a false distinction between "Internet access service" and "a distinct transmission service" which the EFF calls "utterly ridiculous and completely ungrounded from reality." "Besides not understanding how Internet access works, the FCC also has a troublingly limited knowledge of how the Domain Name System (DNS) works -- even though hundreds of engineers tried to explain it to them this past summer... As the FCC would have it, an Internet user actively expects their ISP to provide DNS to them." And in addition, "Like DNS, it treats caching as if it were some specialized service rather than an implementation detail and general-purpose computing technique." "There are at least two possible explanations for all of these misunderstandings and technical errors. One is that, as we've suggested, the FCC doesn't understand how the Internet works. The second is that it doesn't care, because its real goal is simply to cobble together some technical justification for its plan to kill net neutrality. A linchpin of that plan is to reclassify broadband as an 'information service,' (rather than a 'telecommunications service,' or common carrier) and the FCC needs to offer some basis for it. So, we fear, it's making one up, and hoping no one will notice." "We noticed," their editorial ends, urging Americans "to tell your lawmakers: Don't let the FCC sell the Internet out."' -- source: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/17/12/09/0545230 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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Updated Debian Linux 9.3 and 8.10 Released
by Peter Reutemann 10 Dec '17

10 Dec '17

'The Debian project is pleased to announce the third update of its stable distribution Debian 9 (codename stretch). This point release mainly adds corrections for security issues, along with a few adjustments for serious problems. Security advisories have already been published separately and are referenced where available. The Debian project also announces the tenth update of its oldstable distribution Debian 8 (codename jessie). Please note that the point release does not constitute a new version of Debian 9 or 8 but only updates some of the packages included. There is no need to throw away old jessie or stretch DVD/CD media. After installation, packages can be upgraded to the current versions using an up-to-date Debian mirror. This stable update adds a few important corrections to packages. New installation images will be available soon at the mirrors. Those who frequently install updates from security.debian.org won't have to update many packages, and most such updates are included in the point release. One can use the apt command or apt-get command to apply updates. A step-by-step update guide is posted here.' -- source: https://linux.slashdot.org/story/17/12/09/1958254 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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Canadian ISPs And Hollywood Agree On Plan To Make Themselves Judge, Jury and Website Executioner
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 08 Dec '17

08 Dec '17

Think it could happen here <https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20171205/03452738742/canadian-isps-hollyw…>? A bunch of Canadian ISPs, together with various entertainment groups, is submitting a plan to the Canadian Radio-television and Communications Commission (CRTC), which is the regulatory body for broadcasting and telecoms, to maintain a list of sites which will be blocked by the ISPs at the request of the entertainment groups. Is there any recourse, any review process, any independent oversight? Nope. Any prospect for, shall we say, “mission creep”? Oh boy, is there... The CRTC seems less than enthused. I like this comment from their spokesperson: “Our government supports an open internet where Canadians have the ability to access the content of their choice in accordance to Canadian laws,” Sasseville says. “While other parts of the world are focused on building walls, we’re focused on opening doors‎.”

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Google Vs Amazon Smackdown
by Rowan Schischka 06 Dec '17

06 Dec '17

> There is a tussle going on at the moment between a couple of large > corporations--but then, isn?t there always? There is a saying in some > parts of Africa that ?when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled?. > The ?grass?, in this case, being ordinary consumers like you and me. > > * Once Amazon started offering its own video-streaming hardware, it > banned competing products offered by Apple and Google from its store. > (Can you say ?conflict of interest??) > * Google/YouTube retaliated by blocking YouTube from Amazon?s Echo Show. > * Amazon upped the ante by denying sales of Google?s Nest devices as > well. > > And so it goes... so each store does not list their competitors spyware? no loss to me.

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Google Vs Amazon Smackdown
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 06 Dec '17

06 Dec '17

There is a tussle going on at the moment between a couple of large corporations--but then, isn’t there always? There is a saying in some parts of Africa that “when elephants fight, the grass gets trampled”. The “grass”, in this case, being ordinary consumers like you and me. * Once Amazon started offering its own video-streaming hardware, it banned competing products offered by Apple and Google from its store. (Can you say “conflict of interest”?) * Google/YouTube retaliated by blocking YouTube from Amazon’s Echo Show. * Amazon upped the ante by denying sales of Google’s Nest devices as well. And so it goes... <https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20171206/10385638755/google-amazon-are-ha…>

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Windows RT Strike 2
by Lawrence D'Oliveiro 06 Dec '17

06 Dec '17

The first Windows-10-on-ARM machines are due to ship from HP and Asus in the autumn <https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/12/hp-asus-announce-first-windows-10-a…>. It will include some kind of x86 emulator to run 32-bit regular-Windows apps. Of which I didn’t realize that there were still many around. Of course you can have either the ARM native performance and the long battery life, or you can have the Windows compatibility, but you are not going to get both at once. Prognosis: whenever either member of the Wintel symbiote has tried to step out on their own, the results have been uniformly disastrous. I expect this foray to be no different.

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MacOS High Sierra Bug Allows Login As Root With No Password
by Peter Reutemann 04 Dec '17

04 Dec '17

'A trivial-to-exploit flaw in macOS High Sierra, aka macOS 10.13, allows users to gain admin rights, or log in as root, without a password. The security bug is triggered via the authentication dialog box in Apple's operating system, which prompts you for an administrator's username and password when you need to do stuff like configure privacy and network settings. If you type in "root" as the username, leave the password box blank, hit "enter" and then click on unlock a few times, the prompt disappears and, congrats, you now have admin rights. You can do this from the user login screen. The vulnerability effectively allows someone with physical access to the machine to log in, cause extra mischief, install malware, and so on. You should not leave your vulnerable Mac unattended until you can fix the problem. And while obviously this situation is not the end of the world -- it's certainly far from a remote hole or a disk decryption technique -- it's just really, really sad to see megabucks Apple drop the ball like this. Developer Lemi Orhan Ergan was the first to alert the world to the flaw. The Register notes: "If you have a root account enabled and a password for it set, the black password trick will not work. So, keep the account enabled and set a root password right now..."' -- source: https://it.slashdot.org/story/17/11/28/2135236 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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Researchers Run Unsigned Code on Intel ME By Exploiting USB Ports
by Peter Reutemann 04 Dec '17

04 Dec '17

'A pair of security researchers in Russia are claiming to have compromised the Intel Management Engine just using one of the computer's USB ports. The researchers gained access to a fully functional JTAG connection to Intel CSME via USB DCI. The claim is different from previous USB DCI JTAG examples from earlier this year. Full JTAG access to the ME would allow making permanent hidden changes to the machine. "Getting into and hijacking the Management Engine means you can take full control of a box," reports the Register, "underneath and out of sight of whatever OS, hypervisor or antivirus is installed." They add that "This powerful God-mode technology is barely documented," while The Next Web points out that USB ports are "a common attack vector."' -- source: https://it.slashdot.org/story/17/11/11/237236 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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