Complete Switch to *NIX and Linux: May 17, 2015
-
Recently Browsing 0 members
No registered users viewing this page.
-
Similar Content
-
By hellowalkman
Linux bans University of Minnesota for sending buggy patches in the name of research
by Sayan Sen
Greg Kroah-Hartman, who is one of the head honchos of the Linux kernel development and maintenance team, has banned the University of Minnesota (UMN) from further contributing to the Linux Kernel. The University had apparently introduced questionable patches into the kernel of Linux.
The UMN had worked on a research paper dubbed "On the Feasibility of Stealthily Introducing Vulnerabilities in Open-Source Software via Hypocrite Commits". Obviously, the "Open-Source Software" (OSS) here is indicating the Linux kernel and the University had stealthily introduced Use-After-Free (UAF) vulnerability to test the susceptibility of Linux. So far so good perhaps as one can see it as ethical experimenting.
However, the UMN apparently sent another round of "obviously-incorrect patches" into the kernel in the form of "a new static analyzer" causing distaste to Greg Kroah-Hartman who has now decided to ban the University from making any further contributions.
Here's the exchange between Aditya Pakki, who is a Ph.D. student of Computer Science and Engineering at UMN, and Greg Kroah-Hartman. Pakki had written:
To which Greg Kroah-Hartman has responded:
As Greg K-H had stated in his response to Aditya Pakki, the patches introduced by the UMN will indeed be removed and reverted which has been confirmed by this follow-up LKML message.
Source: Greg K-H (Twitter)
-
By zikalify
Tails 4.18 released, users urged to upgrade now
by Paul Hill
The privacy-focused Linux operating system, Tails, has been upgraded to version 4.18. It comes with several changes and includes fixes for known security vulnerabilities. Due to the nature of Tails and its focus on privacy, the team that produces the OS has urged everyone to upgrade to Tails 4.18 as soon as possible.
If you’ve ever used Tails, you’ll have noticed the ‘Synchronizing the system’s clock’ notification after you connect to the internet. As this notification doesn’t recommend a specific action, the developers decided to remove it altogether so that it doesn’t confuse users into changing the system’s clock.
Another change in this update is the removal of the gettext editor Poedit. Tails uses Weblate now to provide translated text for Tails and Tails website so Poedit wasn’t deemed necessary. You can still install Poedit on Tails by following the Additional Software guide.
In addition to these changes, the Tor Browser has been upgraded to 10.0.16, Thunderbird has been updated to 78.9.0-1, and some Intel and Linux firmware packages have been updated which should improve support for newer hardware such as graphics cards and Wi-Fi.
To upgrade a Tails 4.15+ device to the latest version just boot the system, connect to Wi-Fi and you should see a pop-up telling you to upgrade. If you’re on Tails 4.14 or below, automatic upgrades are broken you’ll need to do a manual upgrade.
-
By News Staff
Save 98% off a lifetime membership to Whizlabs Online Certifications
by Steven Parker
Today's highlighted deal comes via our Online Courses section of the Neowin Deals store, where you can save 97% off a lifetime membership to Whizlabs Online Certifications. Get lifetime access to affordable world-class certification training courses and gain new, essential industry skills.
Are you a practicing professional but wanting to learn more? Learn new skills and knowledge at your own pace with Whizlabs. Whizlabs is a pioneer among online training providers across the world. They provide online certification training in various disciplines such as Cloud Computing, Java, Big Data, Project Management, Agile, Linux, CCNA, and Digital Marketing. Launched in 2000, Whizlabs has helped more than 3 million professionals and 100+ companies across the world to succeed in their careers with multitudes of courses. If you want to boost your career or grow in your current field, then sign up to Whizlabs now!
Access various courses on AWS, Microsoft, Google Cloud, Java, Linux & more Get certifications & validate and demonstrate your new skills Learn from subject-matter experts & certified professionals Get regularly updated content Good to know
Length of time users can access this course: lifetime This plan is only available to new users Redemption deadline: redeem your code within 30 days of purchase For a full description, specs, and instructor info, click here.
What's the benefit?
Lifetime membership to Whizlabs Online Certifications normally costs* $4,499, but you can pick it up for just $129.99 for a limited time - that represents a saving of $4,369.01 (97%) off.
Spring Sale Promo
Ends today April 13, for every $75 spent, get $10 in store credit.
Get this deal, or learn more about it
See all discounted Online Courses. This is a time-limited offer.
Get $1 credit for every $25 spent · Give $10, Get $10 · 10% off for first-time buyers.
Not for you?
That's OK, there are other free eBooks on offer you can check out here.
Enter giveaways: Polycade Home Arcade | $5K in cash | $10K in Crypto Ivacy VPN - 5 year subscription for just $1 per month NordVPN - 2 year subscription at up to 68% off Private Internet Access VPN - subscriptions at up to 71% off Unlocator VPN or SmartDNS - unblock Geoblock with 7-day free trial Neowin Store for our preferred partners. Subscribe to Neowin - for $14 a year, or $28 a year for Ad-Free experience Disable Sponsored posts · Neowin Deals · Free eBooks · Neowin Store
Disclosure: A valid email address is required to fulfill your request. Complete and verifiable information is required in order to receive this offer. By submitting a request, your information is subject to TradePub.com's Privacy Policy.
-
By zikalify
Linux Mint outlines better, unobtrusive update notifications
by Paul Hill
Clem Lefebvre, head of the Linux Mint project, has written a blog post outlining new notifications that try not to be annoying but also remind users that they need to perform software updates to keep their computer secure. The details arrive a little over a month since Lefebvre pointed to stats that show some users were not applying security updates and in some cases, people were even running end of life versions of Linux Mint.
The Linux Mint team prides itself on its users controlling their computer rather than the other way around. New Mint versions only ever introduce conservative changes so that the whole operating system doesn’t need to be relearned and users are also given complete control over when, how, and which updates are installed; unfortunately, this mindset has led to some users running outdated, vulnerable software.
To remedy the issue, a new pop-up has been created which lets the user know how many updates are available, it says why updates need to be applied, it lets users view available updates, and gives users the option to turn on automatic updates. If the user dismisses the notification it will come back two days later so it’s not overbearing.
If the user decides to install updates, the notification will disappear for quite a while on the default settings. By default, the notification will appear if an update has been available for more than seven logged-in days or if it’s older than 15 calendar days. The number of days can be changed to anything between two and 90 days depending on how often you want to see updates. Additionally, these notifications will only be triggered by security and kernel updates but this can be adjusted in the settings.
There is also a grace period setting which is set to 30 days by default, essentially, this means that if an update has been applied in the last 30 days, you will not be bugged by notifications until that time has elapsed.
The Mint team hopes that the default settings will work for most people in that they keep their system moderately up-to-date without being overburdened with constant reminders to update their machine. The new notifications are set to arrive in Linux Mint 20.2 but Lefebvre has also said that it could be backported to older versions.
-
By zikalify
Debian 10.9 released with updates to popular packages
by Paul Hill
Image via Alex Makas The Debian project has announced the availability of Debian 10.9. The new ISO image, which can be used to install Debian, comes with all the latest package updates which will save you time when installing the operating system on a computer. If you already have Debian 9 installed on your computer, there is no need to download Debian 10.9, simply apply any available updates to your system and you’ll be on the latest release.
Commenting on the launch, the project said:
Some of the packages that are updated in Debian 10.9 include LibreOffice, the Linux kernel, Python, Firefox ESR, Chromium, and Tor. The Debian installer has also been updated to include the latest fixes.
Debian 10 was first released on July 6, 2019, and will continue to receive updates until 2024. As big Debian releases come out every two years, we should see Debian 11 at some point this year but so far no release date has been given. Upon release, Debian 10 will be demoted from Stable to Old Stable with Debian 9 being cut off from updates in mid-2022.
-
Recommended Posts