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
Bizarre Bugs: 9 of the Strangest Software Glitches Ever IT World: "I began my research intending to cover the whole PC era, but I quickly discovered that most of the strangest bugs have appeared in recent years. As a matter of fact, the three wackiest ones in my list--involving Google's Android OS, Microsoft's Zune, and Google itself--all cropped up in just the past few months." Jun 21, 2009
How To Configure SSH Keys Authentication With PuTTY And Linux Server In 5 Quick Steps (Jul 2, 2009, 23:34 UTC) (1456 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) HowtoForge: "This tutorial explains how you can replace password-based SSH authentication with key-based authentication which is more secure because only the people that own the key can log in. In this example, we're using PuTTY as our SSH client on a Windows system."
SECURITY: Building A Stealth Firewall (Jun 26, 2009, 15:02 UTC) (2419 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) BeginLinux: "This course will show you how to build a bridge firewall or “stealth firewall” using ebtables and iptables. This is an easy process and works on older or lightweight machines as you will see it uses Mini-ITX technology."
EFF and Public Knowledge Reluctantly Drop Lawsuit for
Information About ACTA (Jun 17, 2009, 20:02 UTC) (1510 reads)
(5 talkbacks)
(feedback) Electronic Frontier Foundation: "The Obama Administration's decision to
support Bush-era concealment policies has forced the
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and Public Knowledge
(PK) to drop their lawsuit about the proposed
Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)."
China Orders Patches to Planned Web Filter (Jun 17, 2009, 19:32 UTC) (1548 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) New York Times: "A designer of censorship software that the Chinese government requires to be preinstalled on computers sold in China has been ordered to fix potential security breaches in the software..." The New York Times seems downright allergic to the notion that "computer" does not equal "Windows computer"-- ed
Researchers Build Anonymous, Browser-Based 'Darknet' (Jun 16, 2009, 21:01 UTC) (1862 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Dark Reading: "Black Hat USA presentation will demonstrate how the latest browser technology makes underground, private Internet communities simpler to form, more secretive"
The Geek Factor (Jun 14, 2009, 18:01 UTC) (3237 reads)
(4 talkbacks)
(feedback) Join the Revolution: "I don't need any stinkin' CA issued certificates for my web sites, for this I do - openssl 123 ..."
vpnc Connects Linux and Cisco VPNs (Jun 12, 2009, 18:31 UTC) (2136 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) EnterpriseNetworkingPlanet: "Until vpnc existed, corporate employees were often relegated to connecting to their company's network via a Windows machine or with Cisco's problematic VPN client for Linux. Thankfully, those days are over, but not without slight configuration effort. In this article we show you how to get it up and running."
Windows XP cash machines can steal your PIN (Jun 5, 2009, 14:04 UTC) (3185 reads)
(7 talkbacks)
(feedback) IT Wire: "It is bad enough that the bad guys constantly try and phish your financial data via email and fake websites, now cash machines are getting in on the act."
Snort open source IDS turns 10 (Jun 1, 2009, 22:04 UTC) (1116 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Netstat -vat: "Yup the hog is still protecting lots of networks and today Sourcefire --the lead commercial vendor behind Snort) issued a release celebrating Snorts 10th anniversary (technically the anniversary was December but hey...)."
Using Firewall Object In Firewall Builder (Jun 1, 2009, 17:04 UTC) (1204 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) HowtoForge: "Firewall Builder supports variety of object types, both simple such as address, network, host, or IP, TCP, UDP and ICMP services, as well as more sophisticated such as Firewall, Host, Address table, DNS name, User service. Firewall object is central to the program and is in the focus of this article."
Anti-U.S. Hackers Infiltrate Army Servers
(May 28, 2009, 23:33 UTC) (2905 reads)
(8 talkbacks)
(feedback) Information Week: "Investigators believe the hackers used a technique called SQL injection to exploit a security vulnerability in Microsoft's SQL Server database to gain entry to the Web servers."
Reviewed: Yoggie Open Firewall SOHO (May 28, 2009, 15:03 UTC) (1298 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Tux Radar: "Here's a device that started out as a firewall and ended up as a powerful embedded development platform. It's based around an ARM CPU and includes an SDK to let you develop your own tools. An attractive price, but how good is it? Read on for our verdict..."
5 Best Pen-Test Linux Distributions (May 28, 2009, 13:03 UTC) (2277 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Linuxhaxor: "Linux distributions are often customized to perform many specialized tasks cater to a particular industry, hobby or business. Security Penetration testing is one such niche where professional (and hobbyists) use customized Linux distributions with the whole purpose of doing security tests on networks and personal computer"
Walsh: Introducing the SELinux Sandbox (May 27, 2009, 19:02 UTC) (1375 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Linux Weekly News: "The basic idea is to use SELinux to restrict the kinds of actions a user application can perform. This would allow users to run untrusted programs or handle untrusted input in a more secure manner. "
The Acer Debacle - Closing The Chapter (May 24, 2009, 20:03 UTC) (4655 reads)
(5 talkbacks)
(feedback) Blog of Helios: "The problem with the Acer TravelMates however, has shown a disturbing trend that has been developing for over a decade. It used to be called "Customer Service"
Now I simply refer to it as "Customer Annoyance.""
Malware found on brand new Windows netbook (May 22, 2009, 21:32 UTC) (4211 reads)
(6 talkbacks)
(feedback) IT Business CA: "The firm is warning users to take extra precautions, and ensure virgin systems are malware free before connecting them to the Internet."
Virus attacks US Marshals' computers (May 22, 2009, 15:02 UTC) (3435 reads)
(7 talkbacks)
(feedback) Seattle Times: "Law enforcement computers were struck by a mystery computer virus Thursday, forcing the FBI and the U.S. Marshals to shut down part of their networks as a precaution."
Using TCT To Recover Lost Data On Linux Or Unix - Part Two (May 21, 2009, 09:04 UTC) (1940 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) The Linux and Unix Menagerie: "Today, we'll move on to the second (easier, but more time-consuming) method of recovering your deleted data (on any Linux or Unix system) using The Coroner's Toolkit (TCT). Today, we'll be using lazarus to make file recovery somewhat simpler."
Disk Encryption With TrueCrypt (May 20, 2009, 23:32 UTC) (2664 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Tip of the Trade: "Continuing on last week's coverage of computer security, TrueCrypt is open source disk encryption software for Linux, Windows and Mac OSX. There are Linux binaries available for OpenSuSE (.rpm) and Ubuntu (.deb); otherwise you can install from source."
OpenSSH chink bares encrypted data packets (May 19, 2009, 18:02 UTC) (2490 reads)
(4 talkbacks)
(feedback) The Register: "Cryptographers are urging users of a widely employed network protocol to make sure they're running the latest version after discovering a flaw that could allow attackers to read data that's supposed to remain encrypted."
China installs a secure operating system on all military PCs (May 15, 2009, 17:32 UTC) (4502 reads)
(5 talkbacks)
(feedback) The H Open: "A report by the Washington Post claims China is equipping all of its government and military PCs with a version of the Kylin operating system to make hacking attempts by foreign intelligence services more difficult."
Cadets Trade the Trenches for Firewalls (May 11, 2009, 18:03 UTC) (1967 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) New York Times: "The West Point team used this open-source operating system, freely available on the Internet, instead of relying on proprietary products from big-name companies like Microsoft or Sun Microsystems."
Experts: Windows 7 at risk from legacy flaw (May 7, 2009, 18:01 UTC) (2742 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) ZDNet UK: "The 'hide extensions' feature, which was present in Windows NT, 2000, XP and Vista, is included in the Windows 7 release candidate, F-Secure's chief research officer, Mikko Hyppönen, said. The feature could allow virus writers to trick users into opening and running malicious files, he added."
More ways to gain access to systems you have physical access to (May 4, 2009, 21:21 UTC) (2341 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Handle With Linux: "First of all there's another way of circumventing the kernel access control. It's called DMA attack this is based on a hardware flaw and if you have a firewire port in your system you have a big chance of being vulnerable to this."
Brits Back Away From 'Big Brother' Data Storage Plan (Apr 28, 2009, 18:32 UTC) (2200 reads)
(3 talkbacks)
(feedback) LinuxInsider: "As part of a zealous effort to combat terrorists and cybercriminals, the British government has considered maintaining a huge database housing every phone call, email and Web site visit its citizens made. A loud outcry ensued over privacy rights, and the government is now looking for an alternate approach."
Browser Plugins May Strip SELinux Protections (Apr 23, 2009, 13:03 UTC) (2680 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Fedora Weekly News: "Daniel Walsh asked[1] why mozplugger[2] was being installed by default. He cautioned that mozplugger broke nsplugin and thus SELinux functionality. "
Intel CPU cache poisoning: dangerously easy on Linux (Apr 22, 2009, 18:33 UTC) (4604 reads)
(7 talkbacks)
(feedback) Network World: "Due to its simplicity, the odds are very high that this attack vector has been in use, even before this research published last month. Still, because this attack is so stealthy, we wouldn't necessarily have been able to detect it."
Microsoft: Internet, PCs Need New Security Model (Apr 22, 2009, 17:03 UTC) (3228 reads)
(10 talkbacks)
(feedback) InternetNews: "At RSA, Scott Charney pitches the software giant's "Geneva" project -- and talks up hardware-based identity." (Here comes "Trusted Computing" again....ed.)
Botnet 'ensnares government PCs' (Apr 22, 2009, 14:03 UTC) (3504 reads)
(3 talkbacks)
(feedback) BBC News: "All of the infected machines were Windows-based PCs and the vulnerability was targeting security holes in Internet Explorer and Firefox."
Firewall Builder: an interview with Vadim Kurland (Apr 16, 2009, 09:02 UTC) (1928 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Free Software Magazine: "There are many Open Source projects out there that help configure iptables but none of them are as integrated as Firewall Builder, and only a few of them support different firewall platforms."
Your Distro is Insecure: Ubuntu (Apr 14, 2009, 19:34 UTC) (4772 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) Linux Magazine: "Ubuntu Server has one of the cleanest and easiest Linux distribution installers. However, in many cases, its designers choose to ignore security in favor of ease-of-use. The result? An install that is not secure by default."
Backtrack security testing distro another great tool to convince people of Linux (Apr 12, 2009, 08:02 UTC) (3679 reads)
(0 talkbacks)
(feedback) Handle With Linux: "When I tell them what you can do with Linux, they only think about the effort it will take to learn a new OS.
But when I mention penetration testing I see this little twinkle in their eye. Most system administrators (not enough) are interested in security. So often when I tell them there is a Linux distribution completely aimed at penetration testing they are eager to try."
Vuurmuur 0.7 Firewall released (Apr 10, 2009, 16:33 UTC) (3209 reads)
(2 talkbacks)
(feedback) It Runs On Linux: "Vuurmuur 0.7 is released. Vuurmuur (Dutch for Firewall) is a powerful Firewall Manager built on top of Iptables on Linux."
Telco Pirates Hold Silicon Valley Hostage (Apr 10, 2009, 02:35 UTC) (3146 reads)
(5 talkbacks)
(feedback) Datamation: "Vandals cut fiber-optic cable lines belonging to AT&T at two locations early today, knocking out phones and access to 911 emergency services to thousands of residential customers and businesses in southern Santa Clara County, in Santa Cruz and San Benito counties and along the Peninsula..."
Mafiaboy: Conficker Was a Ruse (Apr 9, 2009, 10:34 UTC) (4371 reads)
(1 talkbacks)
(feedback) InternetNews: "The convicted hacker argues that Conficker demonstrates that the Internet is still broken -- 10 years after he first brought it to its knees."