LinuxSecurity.com: An update that fixes one vulnerability is now available. An update that fixes one vulnerability is now available. An update that fixes one vulnerability is now available.
LinuxSecurity.com: A vulnerability in Smb4K could allow local attackers to execute commands as root.
LinuxSecurity.com: Teeworlds client vulnerability in snap handling could result in execution of arbitrary code.
LinuxSecurity.com: Multiple vulnerabilities have been found in Adobe Flash Player, the worst of which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code.
LinuxSecurity.com: Multiple vulnerabilities have been found in Xen, the worst of which could allow for privilege escalation.
LinuxSecurity.com: The 4.10.17 stable kernel update contains a number of important fixes across the tree.
LinuxSecurity.com: **WordPress 4.7.5** is now available. This is a security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately. WordPress versions 4.7.4 and earlier are affected by six security issues: * Insufficient redirect validation in the HTTP class. Reported by Ronni Skansing. * Improper handling of post meta data values in the XML-RPC
LinuxSecurity.com: Update to latest stable release, include fixes for gnutls and gtk-vnc compatibility.
LinuxSecurity.com: - security fix for rhbz 1450956
LinuxSecurity.com: **WordPress 4.7.5** is now available. This is a security release for all previous versions and we strongly encourage you to update your sites immediately. WordPress versions 4.7.4 and earlier are affected by six security issues: * Insufficient redirect validation in the HTTP class. Reported by Ronni Skansing. * Improper handling of post meta data values in the XML-RPC
LinuxSecurity.com: Update to latest stable release, include fixes for gnutls and gtk-vnc compatibility.
LinuxSecurity.com: - security fix for rhbz 1450956
Ladies and gentlemen, we've left Mars. Well, at least I'm done with the
Martian lander from my past few articles. I hope you had chance to experiment with
it and find out that it's not too easy to land a craft on any planet!
more>>
At one point in time, when you wanted to attach an external block storage device to a
server, you mapped it as a Logical Unit (LU) across a Storage Area Network (SAN). In
the early days, you would do this over the Fibre Channel (FC) protocol. More recently,
iSCSI (SCSI over IP) has usurped FC in most data centers. more>>
The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), which seeks to drive large-scale cloud computing with an emphasis on containers and microservices, has just added the Container Network Interface (CNI) project to its fold.
The project joins others hosted by the nonprofit foundation, including the Kuberrnetes container orchestration platform and CoreDNS DNS server. CNI had been a GitHub open source project. It features a specification and libraries to write plugins for configuring networking interfaces in Linux containers.
The foundation’s adoption of CNI is meant to increase its focus on network connectivity of containers and the removal of allocated sources when the container is deleted. “The idea [is] that CNI is a standard way of being able to use different networking technologies,” said Dan Kohn, the foundation’s executive director.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Lubuntu versus Xubuntu
Ubuntu has a number of different flavors, including Lubuntu and Xubuntu. Both of these Ubuntu flavors offer lightweight desktops, but which one is better?
A writer at Linux and Ubuntu recently weighed the pros and cons of Lubuntu and Xubuntu:
Over the years, Lubuntu and Xubuntu have been two popular flavors that have provided an alternative to a lot of folks who have preferred something other than vanilla Ubuntu with the Unity desktop. Lubuntu and Xubuntu have been the choice of Linux enthusiasts and users who would rather have a lean or lightweight Linux distro or one that will provide the best performance on an old desktop or laptop. But how do these two distros compare, which one would I recommend and why?
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A virtualized workspace is similar to a virtual desktop implementation except that the central processing is done in the cloud rather than in a data center.
I've written a little about PHP before, because I think it's a great
utility language for writing quick things you need to do. Plus, it
allows you to use a web browser as your interface, and everyone has
a web browser. That makes it very convenient for my family, because I
can make simple web interfaces for the various things I normally have to
do from the command line. more>>
Premier Farnell, a distributor of Raspberry Pi, has created a kit that turns Raspberry Pi into a full-fledged desktop PC, running Linux.
What value does the Pi Desktop box bring to Raspberry Pi? Can’t you just use the Pi and use it as a desktop? Not really. First of all, there are no start, reboot or reset buttons on the device. Which means you can’t turn the PC off via a button.
“The built-in power switch makes the Pi Desktop easy to operate. An intelligent and safe power controller means that users do not have to remove the power adapter from the Pi board; they simply turn the power on or off like a desktop or laptop,” said Premier Farnell in a press release.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
10 Linux distributions for developers
Linux distributions geared toward casual desktop users are important, but developers also need to use Linux. Developers have different needs than other users, so certain distributions can be better than others for development purposes. But which distros are well suited for developers?
A writer at TechRadar Pro has a helpful roundup of 10 of the best Linux distributions for developers.
Nate Drake reports for TechRadar Pro:
More popular versions of Linux such as Ubuntu focus on enhancing the user experience by automatically updating packages and providing flashy, resource-heavy GUIs.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Even when you're sequestered in a monastery with nothing to do but
write, you still need a tool to record your thoughts. more>>
Wibu-Systems describes the new generation of its CmASIC module as "the
answer to the security-by-design needs of modern embedded computing
technology leaders:. CmASIC is a module that Intelligent Device
Manufacturers (IDMs) can directly embed into their boards to provide
out-of-the box security and entitlement management.
more>>
Is Steam bad for Linux gaming?
Valve has gotten a reputation for promoting Linux as a platform for gaming, and thus many people have a very positive view of the company. But is there a darker side to Valve?
One writer at Polygon is quite skeptical about Valve and its Steam gaming service, and he pulled no punches in a blistering article about the company.
Tim Colwill reports for Polygon:
This, then, is Good Guy Valve — a corporation which employs precision-engineered psychological tools to trick people into giving them money in exchange for goods they don't legally own and may never actually use while profiting from a whole lot of unpaid labor and speculative work ... but isn't “evil.”
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
As the folks at Bozeman Hot Springs usher their hot springs and spa into the 21st century
with new technology and pools, they are thinking about new ways to delight
their customers and stay top of mind. One recurring request,
no doubt from the avid skiing community, is the ability to read current
pool temperatures online, in the same way ski resorts publish current snow
conditions. more>>
Although the promise of OpenStack and private cloud is huge, and still largely in front of
us, the one challenge we've heard from people wanting to try it is "It's a bear!"
Its reputation, whether or not well-deserved, is one of being a real challenge for even
skilled IT people to install and deploy. more>>
Will Linux protect you from ransomware attacks?
Ransomware attacks are all the rage these days among hackers, and many people are worried about becoming victims. Are Linux users secure against such attacks?
This topic came up recently in a thread on the Linux subreddit, and the folks there had some interesting thoughts to share about Linux and ransomware attacks.
Rytuklis started the thread with this post:
I am sure you guys heard the news about that huge hacker attack that locks peoples personal fines and demands ransom. Is Linux secure enough to protect against such attacks?
I thought I was safe on Windows in Lithuania where such attacks are very rare but saw this hack also hit Lithuania pretty hard too, so it makes me contemplate Linux again.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
As I have written in my last two articles (Machine Learning Everywhere and Preparing Data for Machine Learning), machine learning is
influencing our lives in numerous ways. more>>
As development and IT shops look for ways to more quickly test and deploy
software or scale out their environments, containers have become a go-to
solution. With Docker and similar tools, you can spin up dev and production
containerized platforms that are fast, lightweight and consistent.
more>>
It's been a long time in the works, but a memory management feature intended to give machine learning or other GPU-powered applications a major performance boost is close to making it into one of the next revisions of the kernel.
Heterogenous memory management (HMM) allows a device’s driver to mirror the address space for a process under its own memory management. As Red Hat developer Jérôme Glisse explains, this makes it easier for hardware devices like GPUs to directly access the memory of a process without the extra overhead of copying anything. It also doesn't violate the memory protection features afforded by modern OSes.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Which Ubuntu flavor is the best?
Ubuntu comes in a number of different flavors, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. Which one is best for you? A writer at Linux.com recently delved into the various flavors of Ubuntu and considered what they had to offer.
Jack Wallen reports for Linux.com:
Ubuntu Linux comes in a few officially recognized flavors, as well as several derivative distributions. The recognized flavors are:
Kubuntu - Ubuntu with the KDE desktop
Lubuntu - Ubuntu with the LXDE desktop
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Slack is an incredible communication tool
for groups of any size (see my
recent piece on it). At the company I work for during the day,
Slack has become more widely used than email or instant messaging. It
truly has become the hub of company communication. more>>
Tectonic, CoreOS's Linux platform built to run containers, was revamped this week to version 1.6.2. Underneath that minor point revision label lie some significant changes.
According to an official CoreOS blog post, this version of Tectonic rolls in the latest version of Kubernetes (1.6.2) to create a CoreOS/Kubernetes combo that's easier to install in a variety of environments and has better separation of workloads, more robust auditing and logging, and boasts a major change a key underlying Kubernetes technology.
A more elastic etcd
That key technology is etcd, the distributed data store used by CoreOS generally and by Kubernetes in particular. With a new experimental feature, CoreOS can manage etcd with CoreOS Operators.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Until now, says ioSafe, true zero-recovery-point server solutions have
been available only to the biggest of companies. However, with the arrival of
ioSafe's Server 5, SMEs have access to "the industry's first fire
and waterproof server" designed to eliminate data loss and minimize
downtime.
more>>
The Raspberry Pi's most famous feature is its adaptability. It can be used for thousands of electronic applications (See: "How to build a Raspberry Pi retrogaming emulation console"). This book, Exploring Raspberry Pi, is the innovators guide to bringing Raspberry Pi to life. The book favors engineering principles over a 'recipe' approach to give you the skills you need to design and build your own projects. You'll understand the fundamental principles in a way that transfers to any type of electronics, electronic modules, or external peripherals, using a "learning by doing" approach that caters to both beginners and experts. The book begins with basic Linux and programming skills, and helps you stock your inventory with common parts and supplies. Next, you'll learn how to make parts work together to achieve the goals of your project, no matter what type of components you use. The companion website provides a full repository that structures all of the code and scripts, along with links to video tutorials and supplementary content that takes you deeper into your project. The list price has been reduced 39% on Amazon, from $35 to $21.40. See this deal now on Amazon. A complete Raspberry Pi starter kit can be purchased here for $89.99.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Fans of Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) love that it provides a native Linux experience, command line and all, to Windows users. But not all have been fans of the choice of Linux distribution—Canonical's Ubuntu Linux—and thus have launched projects to swap out Ubuntu.
ALWSL is one such project, and the Python-based WSL Distribution Switcher, which provides automated access to no fewer than 10 Linux distribution userlands, is a more sophisticated approach.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Hewlett Packard Enterprises' HP-UX OS has been around for more than 30 years, and users may be looking to move on from the Unix-based OS.
Now HPE is offering a way out of the ancient OS using containers, which are small buckets running instances of applications. The containers will be offered with the Linux OS.
HPE will provide containers to transition from conventional mainframe-style OSes to new hardware like x86-based Xeon servers. In this case, HPE is trying to get users to transition from Itanium chips.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
I originally got into systems administration because I loved learning about computers, and I
figured that was a career that always would offer me something new to learn. Now many years
later that prediction has turned out to be true, and it seems like there are new things to learn
all the time. more>>
Linux: How to protect your privacy
Privacy is an issue on many people’s minds these days, including those that run Linux on their computers. Linux has long had a strong reputation as a secure operating system, but there are still things that you can do to help protect your privacy while running Linux.
The DuckDuckGo blog has a list of privacy tips for Linux users:
It’s easy to have a false sense of security, thinking that other operating systems might be more targeted than Linux, but there are plenty of risks and vulnerabilities for all types of Linux devices. Keep your guard up regardless of your OS.
-
Ensure you use a password to protect your user account.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
I do a lot of system administration with my thumbs. Yes, if I'm
home, I grab a laptop or go to my office and type in a real terminal
window. Usually, when things go wrong though, I'm at my daughters' volleyball
match or shopping with my wife. Thankfully, most tasks can be done
remotely via SSH. There are lots of SSH clients for Android, but my
favorite is JuiceSSH.
more>>
Last year Microsoft added an unusual new feature to Windows 10: Linux support. The Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) — sometimes called Bash on Windows — is “Microsoft’s implementation of a Linux-compatible infrastructure that runs atop and within the Windows kernel,” senior program manager Rich Turner tells CIO.com. That means running Linux binaries without leaving Windows.
“Bash on Windows offers a toolset for developers, IT administrators and other tech professionals that want or need to run Linux command-line tools alongside their Windows tools and applications,” Turner explains. Developed with the help of Canonical (and a large community of Linux users), it’s not there to turn Linux into Windows, or Windows into Linux. It’s just that some Linux tools are so ubiquitous for development and deployment that it’s useful to be able to use them without spinning up a virtual machine (VM). That’s one of the reasons Macs are so popular with developers: MacOS is based on BSD, which is Unix, so it can run Linux tools like Bash. And now, so can Windows 10.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It does make a modicum of sense that the world’s virtualization king would get involved with a connected device that is devoid of a hard drive.
Will Google dump Android for Fuchsia?
Google’s new Fuchsia operating system doesn’t use the Linux kernel. Instead the company has created its own microkernel called Magenta. Google has given the world its first look at Fuchsia, and many people are wondering if the company will eventually replace Android with Fuchsia.
Ron Amadeo reports for Ars Technica:
With any new project at Google, it's hard to know what the scale of the project will be. Is this a "20 percent" project that will be forgotten about in a year or something more important? Luckily, we have a direct statement from a Fuchsia developer on the matter. In the public Fuchsia IRC channel, Fuchsia developer Travis Geiselbrecht told the chat room the OS "isn't a toy thing, it's not a 20% project, it's not a dumping ground of a dead thing that we don't care about anymore."
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Remember blogging? Hell, remember magazine publishing? Shouldn't be hard.
You're reading some now.
Both are still around, but they're obsolete—at least relatively. Two cases
in point: my blog
and Linux
Journal.
more>>
Is Linux kernel design outdated?
Linux has made great strides over the years, advancing far beyond where it was when it started. But one redditor recently wondered if Linux was suffering from outdated kernel design. He asked his question in the Linux subreddit and got some interesting answers.
Ronis_BR started the thread with these comments:
I have been a Linux user since 2004. I know a lot about how to use the system, but I do not understand too much about what is under the hood of the kernel. Actually, my knowledge stops in how to compile my own kernel.
However, I would like to ask to computer scientists here how outdated is Linux kernel with respect to its design? I mean, it was started in 1992 and some characteristics did not change. On the other hand, I guess the state of the art of OS kernel design (if this exists...) should have advanced a lot.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
In industries like financial services, healthcare and IoT, organizations
are faced with the challenge of complexity across the entire data
lifecycle. To help enterprises solve big data operational challenges
and generate real-time insights, iguazio has developed a new Continuous
Analytics Solution.
more>>
GUIs are great—we wouldn’t want to live without them. But if you’re a Mac or Linux user and you want to get the most out of your operating system (and your keystrokes), you owe it to yourself to get acquainted with the Unix command line. Point-and-click is wonderful whenever you need to do something once or twice. But if you need to repeat that task many times, the command line is your savior.
The command line is a window into the full, awesome power of your computer. If you long to break free of the constraints of the GUI or think that programming or administering remote machines is in your future, then learning the Unix command line is definitely for you.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Linux containers have taken infrastructure computing by storm. What started with Linux VServer, OpenVZ, cgroups, and LXC has gained momentum with the rise of Docker. You can think of a container as a lightweight VM that virtualizes the Linux kernel instead of hardware. This up-leveling of the virtualization brings in better performance, high density, and portability across clouds, whether public, private, or hybrid.
Containers are like VMs in many respects but are typically used for running individual daemons or services rather than multiple services or monolithic applications. Containers make creating and upgrading applications easy, but also introduce complexity via the increased number of instances and interdependencies to manage. This complexity gave rise to container orchestration systems like Mesos, Docker Swarm, and Kubernetes.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
OpenSuse’s great leap backward
OpenSuse has been around for quite a long time, and it’s one of the better known Linux distributions. But recently there’s been quite a controversy brewing over OpenSuse’s change in version numbers. A writer at LWN.net delved into the controversy and had some interesting thoughts to share.
Note: LWN.net is a subscription site but this article is free to read thanks to a subscriber. You can get a free one month trial subscription to LWN.net.
Jonathan Corbet reports for LWN.net:
…the discussion around the version number for the next major OpenSuse Leap release has gone on for hundreds of sometimes vitriolic messages. While this change is controversial, the OpenSuse board hopes that it will lead to more rational versioning in the long term — but the world has a way of interfering with such plans.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Should you switch from Chrome to Firefox?
Chrome and Firefox have both been at the top of the heap when it comes to browsers. But these days it seems like Chrome has become the king of browsers, with many Firefox users having switched over to it.
But is it time to dump Chrome and go back to Firefox? This topic came up recently in a thread on the Linux subreddit, and it drew some passionate responses.
Ardeaf started the thread with this post:
Switched to Chrome when it first came out because Firefox was imo bloated at the time. On Linux now and it looks like Firefox is more supported by the community for various reasons.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
In an unexpected move, Docker Inc. announces that Steve Singh is the company's new CEO, replacing Ben Golub.
The new product, Bitfusion Flex, is specialized to reduce the time and expense associated with AI projects by accelerating development times and cutting infrastructure costs.
