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Links 24/6/2015: Meizu MX4, Red Hat and Samsung Partner, Women in Open Source Awards





GNOME bluefish

Contents





GNU/Linux



Free Software/Open Source



Leftovers



  • How I got eviscerated in front of the entire company (and why it was good)


  • Health/Nutrition



    • 7 reasons you should throw your chicken dinner in the garbage
      Could there be anything worse for the chicken industry than this month’s outbreak of an antibiotic-resistant strain of salmonella that hospitalized 42 percent of everyone who got it—almost 300 in 18 states?

      Yes. The government also announced that China has been cleared to process chickens for the US dinner plate and that all but one of arsenic compounds no one even knew they were eating have been removed from US poultry production. Thanks for that. Also this month, some food researchers have revealed the true recipe for chicken “nuggets”…just in time for Halloween.




  • Security



    • Security advisories for Monday


    • “EPIC” fail—how OPM hackers tapped the mother lode of espionage data
      Government officials have been vague in their testimony about the data breaches—there was apparently more than one—at the Office of Personnel Management. But on Thursday, officials from OPM, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of the Interior revealed new information that indicates at least two separate systems were compromised by attackers within OPM's and Interior's networks.


    • How encryption keys could be stolen by your lunch
      Israel-based researchers said they’ve developed a cheaper and faster method to pull the encryption keys stored on a computer using an unlikely accomplice: pita bread.


    • OS Security: Windows and Linux/UNIX
      For those new to Linux/UNIX command line interfaces, there are lots of Internet sources that provide cheat sheets for the most common commands you'll need to navigate and perform actions. Here's another option we like because it's particularly handy.


    • Why are there still so many website vulnerabilities?
      The larger the site, the greater its functionality and visibility, and the more it uses third-party software, the more that the process of reducing inherent vulnerabilities in the site will be costly.


    • Breach Defense Playbook: Open Source Intelligence
      The Internet allows for information to be readily available at your fingertips. However, it also allows for the same information to be accessed by malicious threat actors who are targeting your organization with cyberattacks. The recent explosion of social media has only increased the information available, and with it the risks to your corporate data, intellectual property, and brand. Some organizations call the awareness of this risk “threat intelligence,” but we have found that organizations need to focus on more than just current threats. Organizations can leverage an emerging intelligence-gathering capability to determine data leakage, employee misbehavior, or negative brand exposure at a higher level than threat intelligence using Open Source Intelligence, or OSINT.






  • Finance



  • Privacy



    • Software companies are leaving the UK because of government’s surveillance plans
      The company behind the open-source blogging platform Ghost is moving its paid-for service out of the UK because of government plans to weaken protection for privacy and freedom of expression. Ghost's founder, John O'Nolan, wrote in a blog post: "we’ve elected to move the default location for all customer data from the UK to DigitalOcean’s [Amsterdam] data centre. The Netherlands is ranked #2 in the world for Freedom of Press, and has a long history of liberal institutions, laws and funds designed to support and defend independent journalism."

      O'Nolan was particularly worried by the UK government's plans to scrap the Human Rights Act, which he said enshrines key rights such as "respect for your private and family life" and "freedom of expression." The Netherlands, by contrast, has "some of the strongest privacy laws in the world, with real precedents of hosting companies successfully rejecting government requests for data without full and legal paperwork," he writes.




  • Civil Rights



    • Cop accused of exposing himself faces jail time for dashcam tampering
      A 37-year-old New Jersey cop accused of exposing his genitalia to the young male motorists he pulled over has accepted a plea deal in which the officer loses his job in exchange for pleading guilty to tampering with his patrol car's dashcam "to conceal unprofessional and inappropriate conduct."




  • Intellectual Monopolies



    • Copyrights



      • ISPs Dump VPN After Legal Threats From Big Media


        Providers who defied TV company demands to switch off their VPN services have caved in following legal threats. CallPlus and Bypass Network Services faced action from media giants including Sky and TVNZ for allowing their customers to access geo-restricted content. Their 'Global Mode' services will be terminated by September 1.








Recent Techrights' Posts

Corruption is a Reality, It's Not a Dirty or a Strong Word
Corruption is a topic some newspapers shy away from
Rosanna Yuen & GNOME community triple tricked
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
IBM Layoffs Not Done, Terminations of Staff in India, Brazil, and Mexico Reported
This hopefully answers questions such as, "do the layoffs only impact US and Canada?"
 
Our Site Search Increases Our Editorial and Informational Independence
Implementing our search facility is a long-term investment
Advocates of GNU/Linux and the Uphill Battles Behind Us
GNU/Linux felt like "activism" 20 years ago. Now it's mainstream.
Cybersecurity Means Real Security, Not Back Doors
Standing our ground on technology and cybersecurity is an uncompromisable stance
Links 08/11/2025: Disinformation Crisis, Denmark Recognises Threats Associated With Social Control Media
Links for the day
The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is Besieged for the Times It Does the Right Things
As that upsets rich people's interests (and they were, at times, sponsors)
Links 08/11/2025: Technical and Financial GAFAM Woes and Arrests of Journalists by Despots
Links for the day
Like SUSE, IBM Red Hat Seems to be Using LLM Slop to Write Fake (Bot-Generated) Blog Posts
IBM Red Hat keeps promoting slop
How German Media Covered Cocainegate at The European Patent Office (EPO)
At some point we'll ask that same press to revisit the issue and this time comment on the EPO connection
Our Launch of Techrights Search Has Been Successful (So Far)
There are about 50,000 articles indexed there, going 19+ years back
Daniel Pocock Explains Social Engineering in Debian and Other Communities Increasingly Controlled by "Barons"
Communities are not corporations
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, November 07, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, November 07, 2025
Adrian & Diana von Bidder-Senn, Debian: detailed history of a death
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Crypto AG tricked ETH Zurich student internship
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
An Old Story of Fraud at the EPO in the Netherlands (and How the Dutch Government Facilitated It)
We've already mentioned several other scandals where the the Dutch government engaged in fraud and passive corruption
Voicing Concerns About European Patent Office (EPO) in Rijswijk
The report is dated yesterday
Gemini Links 08/11/2025: KeePassRX and Pluribus
Links for the day
Slopwatch: Brian Fagioli Targets "Linux" With LLMs, Google News Helps Blame "Linux" for Amazon WorkSpaces Flaws
Tonight's slopfest
Gemini Links 07/11/2025: Switzerland, k3s, and Privacy
Links for the day
Links 07/11/2025: Software Patents Squashed, Stock Markets Wobble Over Slop Uncertainties
Links for the day
A 19th Anniversary and High-Impact Exclusives
The end of 2025 will be very difficult for EPO management
The Register MS, Payroll First
GNU/Linux is a growing platform
Links 07/11/2025: US Government Shutdown Imperils Critical Functions, Slop in "AI" Clothing Debunked Some More, Bubble's Implosion Ongoing/Imminent According to Experts
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/11/2025: No Goodbyes, Homelab, Mouse Keys / Pointer Keys
Links for the day
12 Years for Justice is Far Too Slow (and More People, Especially Women, Are Hurt)
Why do police departments and legal systems fail to protect women?
Before Freenode Collapsed Its Staff (the People Who Now Run Libera.Chat) Were Censoring/Silencing Some Free Software Supporters
We still have this issue in the Free software community
Freenode and irc.com Are Still Around
It emulates retro terminals
We Don't Compete, We Analyse and Report
Principles are so much better than money and they're something money can never acquire
Red Hat is Also Laying Off Staff in India
Red Hat is a dishonest company
All We Want to See is Any Form of Accountability in Europe's Largest Institutions
Because people at the top of institutions should never be above the law!
Finding Recent Talks of Richard Stallman
We already have many pages, documents, and media files. Organising them and helping people find them is the next Big Task.
Richard Stallman First Speaker at Ethereum Cypherpunk Congress the Weekend After This Coming Weekend
He'll be speaking over the Net
Diversity at Red Hat
Remember to judge corporations by their actions, not some Web pages with words in them
First the Python Software Foundation (PSF) Attacked Its Most Productive Volunteers. Now It Attacks Its Funding Sources.
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) rejected by PSF
News of Substance About the EPO's Substance Abuse (Cocaine)
EPO Cocaine Chronicles - link to archived BILD article and photos
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, November 06, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, November 06, 2025
On Midlife Crises
Focus on the sabotage, not politics
Hallmark of Fake News: "Single-digit" (Percentage) and 1% Isn't the Same Thing
apparently "rebalancing" is the new layoffs euphemism
Links 07/11/2025: Patent Trolls Target Germany, Celebrities Visit Ukraine
Links for the day
Misinformation/Disinformation Disguised as Information About GNU General Public Licenses (GNU GPL) Usage
GPL-type licences (reciprocal obligations) remain dominant
Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, Brian Fagioli, and Google News Boosting WebProNews (All Slopfarms)
Those slopfarms just saturate the Web with misinformation and mindless chaff
Techrights and Tux Machines at Over 40
19 years of Techrights and 21+ years of Tux Machines
IBM Mass Layoffs This Week Not Limited to North America, Red Hat Staff Terminated
Do not relocate for a company that sees you as nothing but a number or a "human resource"
Coming Soon: More Proof of Cocaine Use at Europe's Second-Largest Institution
Stay tuned
Entering Our 20th Year
...and still looking for answers
Mailing lists vs Discourse forums: open source communities or commodities?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 06/11/2025: "Component Abuse Challenge", Google Play Store Deemed Too Monopolistic
Links for the day
Microsoft and Microsoft GitHub (and Rust @ Microsoft GitHub) the Future of Ubuntu, They Want the Same for Debian
Ubuntu is not the place to find freedom
Richard Stallman Was Right About LLM-based Chatbots
the passing fad, LLM-based chatbots
IBM Has Not Been Good for IBM's Red Hat (Which Microsoft Also Attempted to Buy)
GAFAM or GIAFAM are not a force for good
Taking Back Control Over Technology We Purchase (Study, Modify, Enhance, and More)
"The war on general-purpose computing continues
Links 06/11/2025: EFF Wants New Executive Director, Microsoft's Azure Falls Over Again
Links for the day
All Set for Tomorrow
Techrights waves
The Corporate Media Carries on With Patently Phony and Misleading Narrative About IBM's Mass Layoffs
Instead of rightly alleging business failure or commercial (leadership's) weakness it is offloading blame to some mindless buzzwords
IBM Isn't Hiring Based on Age Groups. It Still Hires Based on Salary Expectations.
It is not about the skills available, it's about the expected cost of labour
Estimating the Scale of IBM's Mass Layoffs This Week
there is no denying that the IBM layoffs are vast
Telling Our Story as Victims of Online Abuse
This post will not mention any names
Claim That EPO Quotas Brought Corruption and Mischief to Europe's Second-Largest Institution
Nowadays corruption is the norm at the EPO and there is even rampant substance abuse among the people who run the Office
Rust's "Memory Safety" Talking Point Ought to be Discarded in Light of Fil-C
new memory-safe C/C++ compiler
Claim That IBM Has Another 8 Days to Lay Off 'Expensive' Staff
The consensus in comments we see is, IBM is a terrible place to work in, treatment of its workers is appalling, it's utterly foolish to relocate in an effort to retain a job at IBM, and it's foolish to join the company in the first place
Science Demands Facts, Not Dogma
Saying that restricted hardware is not secure hardware should be common sense
Site Anniversary is Tomorrow
The celebrations might delay our EPO series somewhat
Launching Techrights Search
New search interface and locally hosted back end
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, November 05, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, November 05, 2025