Top 5 iPod Alternatives for Linux Users Learning Ubuntu: "Why support a company that doesn't support what you use?
The iPod is a great MP3 player, but there are several other MP3 players which are better then the iPod, and support all of the major operating systems as well." (Nov 15, 2009)
Linux Today Features
Linux Today Sticky Page On this page we'll maintain links to important articles and documents that pertain to Free Software, Linux, and the tech industry. Please submit your suggestions to editors@linuxtoday.com. Thank you! (Jun 15, 2009)
Small Features
Editor's Note: Cloud is Just Another Word for "Sucker"
We might warn about privacy, security, and reliability problems in cloud computing, but it's coming and we can't stop it. So do we join the cloud party? Heck no. Nov 14, 2009
Cloud Computing Security Benefits, Risks and Recommendations (Nov 20, 2009, 21:03 UTC) (237 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Help Net Security: "ENISA's report is the first to take an independent, in-depth look at all the security and privacy issues of moving into the cloud, outlining some of the information security benefits of cloud computing, as well as 35 key security risks."
PHP 5.3.1 released for 5 security flaws, 113 bugs (Nov 20, 2009, 19:33 UTC) (327 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Netstat -vat: "The first update to PHP 5.3 is now available providing 5 security fixes in addition a long list of bug fixes to the popular open source dynamic language."
64-bits of protection? (Nov 19, 2009, 21:33 UTC) (1654 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) Sure, It's Secure!: ""64-bit Windows [does] has some of the lowest reported malware infection rates in the first half of 2009.""
Federal officers use video game console to catch child pornographers
(Nov 19, 2009, 15:03 UTC) (1157 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Axcess News: "For most Playstation 3 users, the criminals they catch and the victims they save are just pixilated simulations on a TV screen.
But some federal officers are using the gaming console to protect children and catch predators in real life."
Fedora 12 lets unprivileged users install packages (Nov 19, 2009, 13:03 UTC) (1141 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) LWN.net: "Fedora bug #534047 contains an interesting Fedora 12 surprise: "PackageKit allows you to install signed content from signed repositories without a password by default. It only asks you to authenticate if anything is unsigned or the signatures are wrong."
Metasploit 3.3 Expands Open Source Vulnerability Test Framework (Nov 19, 2009, 10:33 UTC) (957 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) InternetNews: "When it comes to IT security, is the best defense a good offense? That's the thinking behind the open source Metasploit vulnerability testing framework, which is out with its new 3.3 release this week..."
Let Password Gorilla store all of your passwords
(Nov 18, 2009, 14:04 UTC) (1430 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Ghacks: "So what do you do when you’re brain reaches critical mass for passwords? Simple, you let a single application store and encrypt them for you so all you need is a single password to access all of those crucial passwords."
Most security products fail to perform (Nov 16, 2009, 20:04 UTC) (1009 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Help Net Security: "Nearly 80 percent of security products fail to perform as intended when first tested and generally require two or more cycles of testing before achieving certification, according to a new ICSA Labs report"
HookSafe Protects Kernel from Rootkits (Nov 13, 2009, 19:04 UTC) (1732 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) Linux Pro Magazine: "A research group in the computer sciences faculty at North Carolina State University has written a prototype to prevent rootkits from manipulating kernel object hooks to do their damage."
Vulnerability in the GIMP image editing tool (Nov 13, 2009, 15:04 UTC) (1510 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) The H Open: " According to security services provide Secunia, a vulnerability in the free image editing tool GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program) can potentially be exploited to compromise a users system."
Linux Remote Networking over the Internet (part 3) (Nov 10, 2009, 20:33 UTC) (1860 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) LinuxPlanet: "Remote Linux PC access over the Internet requires extra security precautions. Today we lock down the OpenSSH server more tightly, get through a firewall without opening the LAN to the world, and decide if we want password authentication or certificate authentication."
Firefox Tops Vulnerability List (Nov 9, 2009, 15:03 UTC) (2458 reads)
(4 talkbacks)
(feedback) InternetNews: "Application security vendor Cenzic today released its security trends report for the first half of 2009 application. In it, Cenzic claims that the Mozilla's Firefox browser led the field of Web browsers in terms of total vulnerabilities."
Are Microsoft to blame for "hidden" malware costs and will Windows 7 make any difference? (Nov 9, 2009, 14:33 UTC) (2462 reads)
(7 talkbacks)
(feedback) Free Software Magazine: "Manchester City Council had a single USB infected with the infamous Conficker worm and it cost them — brace yourself — £1.5m ($2.4m) of which £1.2m (US$1.9m) was spent on IT, of which a staggering £600,000 (US$980k) went on consultancy fees including money to Microsoft."
Framed for child porn — by a PC virus (Nov 9, 2009, 12:33 UTC) (2913 reads)
(9 talkbacks)
(feedback) Yahoo Tech: "Of all the sinister things that Internet viruses do, this might be the worst: They can make you an unsuspecting collector of child pornography."
An important Linux fix (Nov 9, 2009, 08:03 UTC) (4604 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) Sure, It's Secure!: "It's not often that Linux needs to be fixed, but a recently discovered security problem does deserve your attention."
Turning clouds into crackers: $45 a password (Nov 6, 2009, 10:34 UTC) (2397 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) Cloudy News: "Security experts recommend long, complex passwords because they require a super computer’s power to hack into a system. So what happens now that a super computer is available to anyone with a credit card?"
Q&A: Ubuntu 9.10 security (Nov 6, 2009, 07:34 UTC) (2478 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) HelpNet Security: "What are the most notable security features introduced with Ubuntu 9.10?
The widest-reaching change was the introduction of non-executable memory emulation for Ubuntu systems that lack non-exec hardware."
Does Wine Make Linux Too Loose? (Nov 6, 2009, 06:04 UTC) (2641 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Linux Blog Safari: "For those Wine aficionados out there, beware of the remote possibility that your Linux system could be infected by Windows-seeking malware. "WINE running a Windows virus is nothing more than a 'stupid Linux trick' ... for now""
Patch and Patch Again (Nov 4, 2009, 12:03 UTC) (2264 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) Sure, It's Secure: "Microsoft is always patching Windows. What some people don't know is that they often don't get it right the second time either."
StartSSL: a Certification Authority with a heart (Nov 3, 2009, 22:32 UTC) (1924 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Linux Security: "Linux Security had the chance to talk with Eddy Nigg, founder of StartSSL, an “alternative” CA, by any meaning. Their business model is quite different then that of other well known CAs, with a pricing policy absolutely counter to current trends: once a customer verified its identity, any number of certificates can be obtained for free, payment is only required for those steps requiring human intervention"
20 Linux Server Hardening Security Tips (Oct 30, 2009, 14:21 UTC) (4065 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) nixCraft: "Securing your Linux server is important to protect your data, intellectual property, and time, from the hands of crackers (hackers). In this first part of a Linux server security series, I will provide 20 hardening tips for default installation of Linux system."
GNU/Linux Security: Linux House vs Microsoft House (Oct 28, 2009, 09:13 UTC) (3373 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) ERACC Web Log: "This is the second article in my series about GNU/Linux security for the GNU/Linux curious and new GNU/Linux user. There are many attempts to explain the differences between GNU/Linux and Microsoft products when it comes to security. In this article I am going to make yet another attempt."
Now Linux Can Get Viruses Via Wine (Oct 26, 2009, 18:47 UTC) (3650 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Using Coconuts: "I forget who, but some wiseguy stuck a link to site (not linkified so Google doesn't mark me as evil) on his Facebook wall, which reminded me of one reason I love Firefox (and Linux): security."
Windows unsafe for online banking? Shopping? (Oct 20, 2009, 11:02 UTC) (3198 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) Sure, it's Secure!: "More and more experts are beginning to think that the best safe way to shop online or do online banking is to replace Windows with Linux."
GNU/Linux Security: Ubuntu has been Cracked! (Oct 19, 2009, 04:02 UTC) (4880 reads)
(10 talkbacks)
(feedback) The ERACC Web Log: "Okay, I admit I created that title just to get your attention. It worked, you’re here. What is the reason for such a blatant deception? Other than the obvious tabloid hook, I want to explore the future of GNU/Linux."
WASC Announcement: 2008 Web Application Security Statistics Published (Oct 16, 2009, 20:32 UTC) (1233 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Web Application Security Consortium: "This article contains Web application vulnerability statistics which was collected during penetration testing, security audits and other activities made by companies which were members of WASC in 2008. The statistics includes data about 12186 sites with 97554 detected vulnerabilities."
Ubuntu 9.10 UFW Firewall (Oct 14, 2009, 17:03 UTC) (2980 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) BeginLinux: "UFW comes partially set up when you install Ubuntu. Now it is not activated by default so you have not protection but some basic settings are in place when you do start up UFW."
Sidekick: Microsoft's biggest failure yet? (Oct 13, 2009, 18:33 UTC) (2889 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Sure, it's Secure!: "You can't make stuff this bad up. Many T-Mobile Sidekick smartphone users lost all their contacts, calendar entries, photographs, you name it, when Sidekick's back-end software provider Microsoft, Danger, went down."
E-Banking on a Locked Down (Non-Microsoft) PC (Oct 13, 2009, 16:33 UTC) (2148 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Washington Post: "In past Live Online chats and blog posts, I've mentioned any easy way to temporarily convert a Windows PC into a Linux-based computer in order to ensure that your online banking credentials positively can't be swiped by password-stealing malicious software"
Announcing the Web Application Security Scanner Evaluation Criteria v1 (Oct 9, 2009, 03:02 UTC) (1826 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Web Application Security Consortium: "Web Application Security Scanners are automated tools to test web applications for common security problems such as Cross-Site Scripting, SQL Injection, Directory Traversal, insecure configurations, and remote command execution vulnerabilities."
Where Are the Cybercops? (Oct 5, 2009, 16:33 UTC) (1730 reads)
(3 talkbacks)
(feedback) LinuxInsider: "Yet it is true that no one is taking ultimate responsibility for policing the Web. No one is willing -- or perhaps, able -- to say "the buck stops here." Perhaps that's as it should be?"
OpenSSH 5.3 is now available (Oct 4, 2009, 12:04 UTC) (2504 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) openSSH: "OpenSSH 5.3 has just been released. OpenSSH is a 100% complete SSH protocol version 1.3, 1.5 and 2.0
implementation and includes sftp client and server support."