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Links 03/11/2022: FEX 2211 Tagged and Rust 1.65.0 Released (Making Political Statements)



  • GNU/Linux

    • Server

    • Audiocasts/Shows

    • Kernel Space

      • Lennart Poettering: Linux Boot Partitions
      • The Register UKVersion 252 of systemd, as expected, locks down the Linux boot process [Ed: Microsoft now attacks Linux freedom via systemd]

        The fall version of systemd is here, with support for increased boot security, including tightened full-disk encryption.

        The 113th version has the usual long feature list of very specific, targeted elements outlined in the release announcement. However, as one might expect following recent events, several of the headline features relate to the new UKI fully signed boot process.

        UKI is short for "Unified Kernel Image" and combines the Linux kernel and initrd into a single file, along with some other smaller components, allowing the whole thing to be cryptographically signed. The purpose is to tighten up security on the Linux boot process.

        This version also has new functions and modules concerned with manipulating the Platform Configuration Registers (PCRs) of Trusted Platform Module 2.0 chips – as also favored by VMware as well as Windows Server and Windows 11, unless you use Rufus or other tools to turn this off.

        The enhanced TPM2 support will enable linking a drive's encryption keys to the keys held in compatible firmware so that an encrypted disk can be unlocked automatically during boot – but can't be unlocked by other distros. The result will be improved security for users, especially corporate users, but we foresee this hindering data-recovery efforts.

    • Applications

      • OMG Ubuntu’Search Light' is Like macOS Spotlight for GNOME Shell - OMG! Ubuntu!

        Looking for a desktop-based app launcher for GNOME Shell?

        Check out Search Light, whose developer describes it as “…a Gnome Shell extension that takes the apps search widget out of Overview. Like the macOS spotlight, or Alfred.” Linux users will be familiar with the concept thanks to open-source app launchers like ULauncher, Albert, Kupfer and, back in the day, GNOME Do.

        With this extension enabled you get to harness the power of GNOME Shell’s search capabilities but without being punted to a different screen.

        Search Light can show any/all results the regular GNOME Shell search can as it’s the same widget, just floating above all windows. To control what kind of results you see for queries toggle on/off options listed in the system Settings > Search panel.

        The default keybinding is ctrl + super + space. This requires more finger-flexing than macOS’s cmd + space or GNOME Shell’s stock super. You can’t (currently) set your own keyboard shortcut from the extension’s settings panel.

    • Instructionals/Technical

      • ID RootHow To Install Backports on Debian 11 - idroot

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install Backports on Debian 11. For those of you who didn’t know, Backports have recompiled packages from testing (mostly) and unstable (in a few cases only, e.g. security updates), so they will run without new libraries (wherever it is possible) on a stable Debian distribution. Backports are pinned to priority 100 using apt-pinning, ie they are only installed when explicitly requested. Otherwise, the package from stable takes precedence. A package that has been installed from the backports is updated from the backports.

        This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the Backports on a Debian 11 (Bullseye).

      • OSTechNixHow To Securely Transfer Files With SCP In Linux - OSTechNix

        File transfer over a network can be done in various ways and using different protocols. The most commonly used protocols for copying files remotely are Rsync, SCP and SFTP. In this guide, we will look at what is SCP and how to securely transfer files between local and remote computers with SCP in Linux and Unix-like operating systems.

      • Linux HandbookHow to List Files Recursively in Linux command line

        The ls command is the default for viewing the contents of a directory. This is despite the existence of the dedicated dir command.

        The ls command list the contents of the present directory, but it doesn't show the contents of the subdirectories by default. You can make it though.

      • Junichi Uekawa: user namespace not enabled when running podman.

        user namespace not enabled when running podman. Completely forgot about this but seems like I need to enable user namespace for podman. sudo sysctl -w kernel.unprivileged_userns_clone=1. Not quite sure when this started being required.

      • ID RootHow To Install OnlyOffice on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS - idroot

        In this tutorial, we will show you how to install OnlyOffice on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS. For those of you who didn’t know, OnlyOffice is a free software office suite developed by Ascensio System SIA. It is available for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, and iOS. Like other office suites such as Microsoft Office and LibreOffice, OnlyOffice comes with documents, spreadsheets, presentation editors, mobile web viewers, and other functionalities.

        This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the OnlyOffice suite on Ubuntu 22.04 (Jammy Jellyfish). You can follow the same instructions for Ubuntu 22.04 and any other Debian-based distribution like Linux Mint, Elementary OS, Pop!_OS, and more as well.

      • HowTo ForgeHow to Compare Three Files in Linux Using diff3 Tool

        In one of our earlier tutorials, we discussed a Linux command line utility - dubbed diff - that allows you to compare two files line by line. But what if the requirement is to compare not two, but three files? Yes, there exists a Linux command line utility for this as well, and it's appropriately called diff3.

      • HowTo ForgeHow to Compare and Merge Text Files on Linux

        Comparing text files requires time, effort, a large monitor and a good amount of patience, or simply just the right tools to do it without any of the aforementioned. If you are an editor that has to deal with multiple versions of a text file, or a developer that wants to check the various code revisions of a file, then the following tutorial is for you.

      • HowTo ForgeHow to Compare and Merge Text Files on Linux using Desktop Tools (part 2)

        This post is a response to the overwhelming comments about Meld (and other tools) on my previous article on text files comparison and merging tools. While my intention wasn't to focus on code text only but to also present something useful to word editors and writers as well, but the coders community objected for the “shallowness” of the previous post so here we go with part 2.

      • Ubuntu HandbookHow to Display Login Screen in External Monitor in Ubuntu 22.04 | 22.10 | UbuntuHandbook

        Have multiple monitors connected into your Ubuntu machine? Here’s the quick tip shows you how to configure which one to display the login screen.

        It’s quite easy to set primary display in Ubuntu with default GNOME desktop. However, the login screen is always sticking to the built-in display in my laptop. In case you use the external monitor for the most time, you may also set it as primary display for the GDM login screen by following this tutorial.

        NOTE: This tutorial is tested only in Ubuntu with default GNOME desktop! Though, it may also work in other Linux with GNOME (e.g., Fedora, Debian and Arch) or Linux with GDM display manager.

      • Make Tech EasierHow to Install Synaptic Package Manager in Linux - Make Tech Easier

        Synaptic Package Manager was once the default package manager for nearly all Debian-based Linux distributions. To date, it remains one of the most versatile package managers. Although it remains dated, many users still prefer it because of its simplicity.

        In this tutorial, we show you how to install and use Synaptic Package Manager on Linux.

      • Make Use OfHow to Use FSearch to Quickly Find Files and Folders on Linux

        Searching for a specific file or folder on Linux can be overwhelming, especially if you've got a lot of data. Here's where FSearch comes into play.

      • HowTo ForgeHow to do line-by-line comparison of files in Linux using diff command

        In Linux, the diff command can be used to compare two files, but the thing is that there's a slight learning curve involved with this utility. If you don't know how diff works, and are looking for quick tutorial to get started, look no further, as in this article, we will discuss the basics of this command along with some easy to understand examples.

      • HowTo ForgeHow to search files from the Terminal on Linux

        While there are many ways with which we can search and locate files and directories on Linux, the easiest and quickest is probably through the terminal. However, not many Linux users know about that, which leads to unneeded frustration. Here is a quick guide that will hopefully help you locate what you're looking for in your system.

      • H2S Media2 ways for Installing FFmpeg on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS - Linux Shout

        Learn how to install FFmpeg in Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy JellyFish using the command terminal for playing or converting various media files.

        With the command line tool FFmpeg, which is an open-source program, converting from one multimedia format to another is just a piece of cake. FFmpeg contains the libavcodec library, which contains numerous formats and codecs to help with encoding and decoding. It supports FFmpeg Video h.264 (MPEG-4 AVC), h.265 (HEVC), Xvid, VP8, VP9, AVI, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and WMV. Its Audio supports AAC, MP3, Vorbis, WMA, and other codecs. libavcodec is also used by media suites and players such as VLC media player, Kodi, and MPlayer.

        This command line tool not only brings the video codecs to the computer, but also offers conversion commands including as parameters the input file, output file, frame rate, and bit rate. With it, you can record videos directly from the TV card. FFmpeg also comes with helpful tools – the FFprobe included in the FFmpeg package analyzes multimedia streams and libavformat can be used to analyze and create container files for video and audio.

      • HowTo ForgeLinux Command Line Navigation Tips: The Basics of pushd and popd Command

        In this article, we will be discussing how you can have a faster navigation experience on the Linux command line using the pushd and popd commands.

      • HowTo ForgeLinux sdiff Command Tutorial for Beginners (8 Examples)

        Here at HowtoForge, we have already discussed multiple command line utilities that are focused on finding file differences. But there are several more such tools, and in this tutorial, we will discuss on such command dubbed sdiff using some easy to understand examples.

    • Games

      • FEXFEX 2211 Tagged!

        A lot of good changes this month for our users. Both performance and compatibility improvements to be had!

      • Steam on Chromebook, now in beta

        Earlier this year, the ChromeOS gaming team and our partners at Valve collaborated to release an alpha version of Steam on Chromebook. Since then, we’ve received thousands of gameplay reports from the amazing ChromeOS community and invested in improving the experience at every level of the stack. Today, we’re excited to announce that Steam on Chromebook is entering beta with ChromeOS 108, featuring broader availability, an improved user experience, and better performance and compatibility for more of your favorite games.

  • Distributions and Operating Systems

    • New Releases

      • The Register UKNitrux 2.5: The latest update to a radical Linux ● The Register

        Nitrux OS is one of the most stylish and innovative distros we've seen so far: systemd-free, based on AppImages, and with a very unusual desktop.

        Nitrux OS version 2.5 is the latest version of this innovative distro, led by Uri Herrera from Coacalco on the outskirts of Mexico City. It's nominally based on Debian and KDE, but it doesn't look or feel like any other KDE OS, or work much like any other Debian either. It doesn't use systemd, replacing it with OpenRC, as used in the minimal Alpine Linux distro.

        It uses the vendor-neutral AppImage packaging format, and mostly uses its own independently developed applications. Even so, it's bang up to date: version 2.5 has the latest Linux kernel 6.0, and uses tech from KDE 5.26.

    • SUSE/OpenSUSE

      • OpenSUSELLVM, sudo, Plasma update in Tumbleweed - openSUSE News

        Besides updates for LLVM, sudo and KDE’s Plasma, packages like systemd, curl, strace and tracker also gained software updates.

        An update of gnome-terminal 3.46.3 arrived in snapshot 20221101. The package updated translations, put to use a new icon and removed XML namespaces. Other GNOME packages updated in the snapshot like document viewer evince 43.1. The document viewer fixes a crash and avoids a rendering issue. An update of glib2 2.74.1 had a patch that reverts the handling of collisions between standard input/output file descriptors and newly created ones, which solves the password and secrets storer gnome-keyring-daemon from eating 100 percent CPU. The building blocks package for libraries and applications written in C also fixes regression with int64, which is used to represent 64-bit signed integers; the package also fixes various build failures in different situations. Terminal Emulators vte 0.70.1 implemented the clipboard for GTK4, added a define for Apple’s darwin and fixed a filter for unwanted environment variables. Macedonian translations were added with an update to yast2-trans. A few other packages were updated in the snapshot.

        The new major version of the diagnostic, debugging and instructional userspace package strace was made available in the 20221031 snapshot. The 6.0 version updates the decoding of setns system call, which allows for the calling thread to move into different namespaces, and updates the lists of ioctl commands related to Linux Kernel 6.0. The package update of timezone 2022f will let people reading this Tumbleweed blog know that Mexico no longer observes daylight savings except near the US border. Chihuahua moves to year-round time, but it’s unclear if that is for the state or the city. The timezone update changes the time for Fiji as it also no longer observes daylight savings. The few Python Package Index and RubyGems packages were updated in the snapshot as well.

      • SUSE's Corporate BlogIntel€® and SUSE - Stronger Than Ever | SUSE Communities

        SUSE has achieved the highest level of partnership status within Intel’s Partner Alliance Program.

    • Canonical/Ubuntu Family

      • Ubuntu FridgeThe Fridge: Call for nomination for the Ubuntu Membership board

        As you may know, Ubuntu Membership is a recognition of a significant and sustained contribution to Ubuntu and the Ubuntu community. To this end, the Community Council recruits from our current member community for the valuable role of reviewing and evaluating the contributions of potential members to bring them on board or assist with having them achieve this goal.

      • Ubuntu NewsCall for nominations: Ubuntu Technical Board
      • Ubuntu FridgeCall for nominations: Ubuntu Technical Board

        We are looking for nominations for people to join the Ubuntu Technical Board.

        The Ubuntu Technical Board is responsible for the technical direction of Ubuntu. It makes decisions on package selection, packaging policy, installation systems and processes, kernel, X server, display management, library versions, and dependencies. The board works with relevant teams to establish a consensus on the right path to take, especially where diverse elements of Ubuntu cannot find consensus on shared components. The current Technical Board is expiring at the end of the year, and the Community Council would like to confirm a new Technical Board, consisting of five people, who will serve for two years.

    • Open Hardware/Modding

      • ArduinoAre you ready to go back to the future? | Arduino Blog

        The first Arduino UNO was launched back in 2005, with a clear purpose to allow everyone who had an idea to make it possible through a simple and open interface.

        Many years have passed, technology has evolved, but we never forgot that initial thrill that came from opening up countless possibilities to so many makers.

        The Arduino Make Your UNO Kit is the natural extension of a story that will shape the makers of tomorrow, a step in the past to move forward in a brilliant future.

      • ZDNetRaspberry Pi Pico has a problem with Macs using MacOS Ventura [Ed: Microsoft mole Liam Tung and propagandist looking to badmouth Microsoft rival somehow (as usual)]

        he UK maker of the Raspberry Pi is warning of an issue affecting its Pico device and other boards when using a Mac running the new MacOS Ventura, which has broken key functionality for flashing the $4 Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller board over USB.

        In a blogpost titled "The Ventura problem", Raspberry Pi Trading's head of documentation Alasdair Allan explains the glitch affecting the Pi Pico on Ventura and urges Pico users not to upgrade to Ventura, "at least not yet".

    • Mobile Systems/Mobile Applications

  • Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

    • Events

      • Daniel Stenbergthehttpworkshop2022-day3.txt

        The last day of this edition of the HTTP workshop. Thursday November 3, 2022. A half day only. Many participants at the Workshop are going to continue their UK adventure and attend the IETF 115 in London next week.

        We started off the day with a deep dive into connection details. How to make connections for HTTP – in particular on mobile devices. How to decide which IP to use, racing connections, timeouts, when to consider a connection attempt “done” (ie after the TCP SYNACK or after the TLS handshake is complete). QUIC vs TCP vs TLS and early data. IPv4 vs IPv6.

        ECH. On testing, how it might work, concerns. Statistics are lies. What is the success expectancy for this and what might be the explanations for failures. What tests should be done and what answers about ECH in the wild would we like to get answered going forward?

        Dan Stahr: Making a HTTP client good. Discussions around what to expose, not to expose and how HTTP client APIs have been written or should be written. Adobe has its own version of fetch for server use.

      • BootlinNew training course: Linux debugging, profiling, tracing and performance analysis - Bootlin's blog

        Since its inception, Bootlin has offered training courses on technical topics related to the use of Linux in embedded systems, with freely accessible training materials, and trainers with in-depth and real-life experience in their field. Based on these ideas, we have progressively extended our training portfolio over the years.

      • FSFLibrePlanet 2023 CFS office hours (2022-11-10)

        The LibrePlanet 2023 call for sessions is currently open, will be open until November 23, and we want to hear from you!

        Speaking at a conference, and even submitting a proposal, can be intimidating or hard. Luckily, some great, experienced speakers are volunteering their time to help out during the CFS office hours.

        Whether you want to propose a talk and want feedback on your idea, proposal wording, talk title, or just advice on how to deal with nerves, the FSF campaigns team is here for you.

    • Productivity Software/LibreOffice/Calligra

      • What is Miklos hacking - Content controls in Writer: titles and tags

        Writer now supports titles and tags for content controls, which helps providing context for the filled in text even if the placeholder text is replaced already.

      • Crash fixes, part 2: abort

        One category of the bugs that we see in computer programs including LibreOffice is the unexpected crashes. You’re working with the application, and it is suddenly closed! In the previous part, I have discussed crashes that are caused by segmentation fault. In this article, I discuss the crashes from invoking abort() function. Please note that not an abort is not always a bad thing, or a bug.

      • Document FoundationLibreOffice Conference 2022 videos: DaaS, ScriptForge, FontWork, OpenDocument, Writer…

        Here’s a new batch of talks from the recent LibreOffice Conference 2022! Watch the individual videos below, or click here to view the playlist.

      • Document FoundationAnnouncement of LibreOffice 7.3.7 Community

        LibreOffice 7.3.7 Community, the seventh and last minor release of the LibreOffice 7.3 family, which will be reaching soon the end of life, targeted to desktop productivity, is available for download from https://www.libreoffice.org/download/. Users still using this version should start looking at the LibreOffice 7.4 family, now at 7.4.2, which has been extensively tested by millions of users worldwide.

    • Programming/Development

      • Remi Collet: PHP version 7.4.33, 8.0.25 and 8.1.12

        RPMs of PHP version 8.1.12 are available in remi-modular repository for Fedora ≥ 35 and Enterprise Linux ≥ 8 (RHEL, Alma, CentOS, Rocky...) and in remi-php81 repository for EL 7.

        RPMs of PHP version 8.0.25 are available in remi-modular repository for Fedora ≥ 35 and Enterprise Linux ≥ 8 (RHEL, Alma, CentOS, Rocky...) and in remi-php80 repository for EL 7.

        RPMs of PHP version 7.4.33 are available in remi-modular repository for Fedora ≥ 35 and Enterprise Linux ≥ 8 (RHEL, Alma, CentOS, Rocky...) and in remi-php74 repository for EL 7.

      • IBM Old TimerThe AI Maturity Framework [Ed: IBMers have replaced substance and products with buzzwords]

        I recently attended a seminar, The Art of AI Maturity, by Accenture executives Philippe Roussiere and Praveen Tanguturi as part of MIT’s Initiative on the Digital Economy (IDE) lunch seminar series. The seminar was based on their recently published article The Art of AI Maturity: Advancing from Practice to Performance.

        “Today, so much of what we take for granted in our daily lives stems from machine learning,” wrote the authors in the article’s executive summary. “Every time you use a wayfinding app to get from point A to point B, use dictation to convert speech to text, or unlock your phone using face ID ... you're relying on AI. And companies across industries are also relying on - and investing in - AI to drive logistics, improve customer service, increase efficiency, empower employees and so much more.”

        To determine the true state of AI maturity in the marketplace, Accenture conducted a survey in August and September of 2021 of over 1,600 C-suite executives at nearly 2,000 of the world’s largest companies across 16 industries with headquarters in 15 countries. In addition, they interviewed 25 CEOs, Chief Data Officers and Chief Analytics Officers, as well as a number of Accenture AI experts, and developed over 40 case studies on AI transformation.

      • VideoLearn Vim In 11 Minutes - Invidious
      • fg-daemon-gdb

        I’ve recently enhanced my emacsclient(1) wrapper script to make it possible to have my primary Emacs daemon always running under gdb. That way, if there’s a seemingly-random crash, I might be able to learn something about what happened. The tricky thing is that I want gdb running inside an instance of Emacs too, because Emacs has a nice interface to gdb, and gdb’s Emacs daemon – hereafter “gdbmacs” – needs to be the installed, optimised build of Emacs, such that it’s not likely to suffer the same crash. And the whole thing should be transparent: I shouldn’t have to do anything special to launch the primary session under gdb.

      • QtCreating an effect with QQEM

        Todays blog post gives a bit more information about how to effectively use the Qt Quick Effect Maker (see the QQEM introduction blog post). We will first create an example effect using several Qt Graphical Effects and then re-create this same effect using a single QQEM multi-effect. This will be done with the node editor, so no experience of writing a shader code is required.

      • VideoHow To Increase the Quality of Your Code - Invidious
      • Rust

        • Rust BlogAnnouncing Rust 1.65.0

          The Rust team is happy to announce a new version of Rust, 1.65.0. Rust is a programming language empowering everyone to build reliable and efficient software.

          Before going into the details of the new Rust release, we'd like to draw attention to the tragic death of Mahsa Amini and the death and violent suppression of many others, by the religious morality police of Iran.

        • LWNRust 1.65.0 released
    • Standards/Consortia

      • Deliver Interactive Experiences with glTF: A Node Graph-Based Approach

        The Khronos 3D Formats Working Group is constantly assessing emerging requirements of the glTF ecosystem and asking how the group can make the most impactful progress. Over the past 18 months, one issue has consistently bubbled to the top of these discussions: interactivity.

        The urgency of developing new interactivity and behaviors capabilities for glTF has been fueled in part by the evolution towards the open metaverse. It’s clear that glTF can and should have an important role to play in this ecosystem, but we have some important functionality gaps to close first. We’ve spent the past few months cooperatively refining proposals for how we might build interactivity into glTF 3D assets. This blog will outline our current approach and reasoning, as well as invite the community to weigh in.

  • Leftovers

    • Peter 'CzP' CzanikPhotography is not just about the camera | Random thoughts of Peter 'CzP' Czanik

      Once upon a time I started taking photos with a Lubitel, which is an old, very basic, and completely manual camera. In 2000 I switched from film to digital and everything could be automated. This was the time when I finally realized that having a good camera is not everything. A perfect exposure with a good camera can still result in an ugly and boring photo.

      [...]

      My first digital camera was a Nikon Coolpix 950. This was state-of-the-art camera in 2000, way ahead of the competition. I did not have to guess exposure and distance anymore, as everything was properly measured and set by the camera. Still, the majority of my photos were ugly and boring. This was an eye-opening moment for me: I realized that technology is not everything.

      For almost two decades, my primary focus was on mastering the perfect exposure and distance without any tools. This camera could set those on its own. This was the moment when I realized that composition is also key. Making sure that I focus on the main subject, do not chop off the head or legs of people, select a proper background, that I am aware of the depth of field and the rule of thirds, and so on.

      To me, mastering the proper exposure was an instinct. Learning how to compose nice photos was a long learning process. I have some really nice photos. Most of them are now well composed, but there is nothing really special about them. No matter how many photos I take or how many books I read about photography, it is not really possible to learn creativity…

      For many years I considered mobile photography a joke. Compared to a full frame or APS-C camera, the lens and sensor in a mobile are ridiculous. However, the camera is not everything. Of course, the camera can limit some of the advanced possibilities, but not the composition and creativity.

    • Security

      • Hacker NewsOPERA1ER APT Hackers Targeted Dozens of Financial Organizations in Africa

        A French-speaking threat actor dubbed OPERA1ER has been linked to a series of more than 30 successful cyber attacks aimed at banks, financial services, and telecom companies across Africa, Asia, and Latin America between 2018 and 2022.

        According to Singapore-headquartered cybersecurity company Group-IB, the attacks have led to thefts totaling $11 million, with actual damages estimated to be as high as $30 million.

        Some of the more recent attacks in 2021 and 2021 have singled out five different banks in Burkina Faso, Benin, Ivory Coast, and Senegal. Many of the victims identified are said to have been compromised twice, and their infrastructure subsequently weaponized to strike other organizations.

      • Help Net SecurityWhat closed-source software developers can learn from their open-source counterparts - Help Net Security

        Open-source software has reached greater levels of security than ever before, but its increased adoption comes with new challenges.

        In this Help Net Security video, Josep Prat, Open Source Engineering Director at Aiven, illustrates how threat actors see greater use of open-source software as an opportunity, deploying new methods targeting tech professionals and open-source projects. Phishing attacks and compromised open-source applications are now a clear and constant danger for developers and the community.

        By its very nature, open source is easily accessible and open to all, making it all the more concerning that many hacking groups carrying out these attacks are linked to hostile groups and organizations. Open-source developers must be aware of these new trends and carefully check change requests in their projects.

      • CISACISA Releases Three Industrial Control Systems Advisories | CISA

        CISA has released three (3) Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on November 3, 2022. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS.

      • CISAETIC Telecom Remote Access Server (RAS) | CISA

        Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to obtain sensitive information and compromise the vulnerable device and other connected machines.

      • LWNSecurity updates for Thursday [LWN.net]

        Security updates have been issued by Debian (pypy3), Fedora (drupal7, git, java-1.8.0-openjdk, java-11-openjdk, java-17-openjdk, and php), Oracle (kernel, lua, openssl, pcs, php-pear, pki-core, python3.9, and zlib), Red Hat (kernel, kernel-rt, kpatch-patch, lua, openssl-container, pcs, php-pear, pki-core, python3.9, and zlib), Scientific Linux (kernel, pcs, and php-pear), SUSE (EternalTerminal, hsqldb, ntfs-3g_ntfsprogs, privoxy, rubygem-actionview-4_2, sqlite3, and xorg-x11-server), and Ubuntu (ntfs-3g, python3.10, and sqlite3).

      • IT WireiTWire - Ransomware most destructive online crime, ACSC report claims

        Ransomware attacks are more or less exclusively limited to systems running versions of Microsoft's Windows operating system.

      • IT WireiTWire - Real estate firm Harcourts latest to suffer data breach

        Real estate company Harcourts says its Melbourne City franchise has been breached in what it describes as a "cyber incident", with the route for entry being a device used by the franchisee's service provider Stafflink.

        The company said in a statement on Thursday it became aware on 24 October that its rental property database had been infiltrated by a third party.

        Harcourts lists a total of 216 franchisees on its website and the statement said each office had its own operating system and IT infrastructure.

        Regarding the data that was accessed, the statement said: "The rental property database holds personal information relating to landlords, tenants and trades and was used by the franchisee’s service provider, Stafflink, to provide it with administrative support.

      • Hacker NewsResearchers Find Links b/w Black Basta Ransomware and FIN7 Hackers

        A new analysis of tools put to use by the Black Basta ransomware operation has identified ties between the threat actor and the FIN7 (aka Carbanak) group.

        This link "could suggest either that Black Basta and FIN7 maintain a special relationship or that one or more individuals belong to both groups," cybersecurity firm SentinelOne said in a technical write-up shared with The Hacker News.

        Black Basta, which emerged earlier this year, has been attributed to a ransomware spree that has claimed over 90 organizations as of September 2022, suggesting that the adversary is both well-organized and well-resourced.

      • CISAApple Releases Security Update for Xcode | CISA

        Apple has released a security update to address vulnerabilities in Xcode. A remote attacker could exploit one of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.

      • CISACisco Releases Security Updates for Multiple Products | CISA

        Cisco has released security updates for vulnerabilities affecting multiple products. A remote attacker could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system. For updates addressing lower severity vulnerabilities, see the Cisco Security Advisories page.

      • Privacy/Surveillance

        • AccessNowStop the deception: dos and don’ts for responsible online design - Access Now

          Everyday, people are influenced online by user interface design tactics attempting to sway their decision-making, snatching away their agency, and manipulating their behavior. These deceptive designs — also known as dark patterns — are made up of calculated decisions by digital product, platform, and service providers to boost their agendas, often toward a decision that is against the person’s best interests in regards to privacy and autonomy. It doesn’t have to be this way. No more deceptive designs: dos and don’ts for responsible user experience practices can help combat the deception.

          “Manipulating how people navigate a website or app is a choice,” said Sage Cheng, Head of Design and Creative Production at Access Now. “We’re not simply asking designers and their Big Tech backers to not make that choice, we’re showing them exactly how they can avoid design practices that could harm people, and urging them to center human rights in people’s experiences on digital platforms.”

    • AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

    • Civil Rights/Policing

      • AccessNowAlaa Abdel-Fattah’s life at serious risk: demand Egypt to immediately release him now! - Access Now

        As the world attention turns to COP27 in Egypt, amidst fears of greenwashing Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s authoritarian regime, Access Now calls on government representatives attending COP27 to do everything in their power to ensure the immediate release of British-Egyptian activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah, and all human rights defenders and political prisoners detained for exercising their fundamental rights.

    • Digital Restrictions (DRM)

      • OMG UbuntuIt’s Not Just You: Disney+ Doesn’t Work on Linux ATM [Ed: Digital Restrictions (DRM) are not a feature and no need to celebrate DRM in Linux]

        Linux users are experiencing issues when attempting to stream content from Disney+, despite the video-streaming service explicitly adding Linux support a few years back.

        So what’s up?

        Well, some diligent debugging by YouTuber gnifs-tech detects that that cause of the issue is a bug in analytics code running on the video streaming site. Changing the user agent string of a Linux browser to pretend it is running on Windows magically fixes the issue, and users can stream content from Disney+ on Linux without any issue.

      • PurismIntroducing PureBoot Restricted Boot [Ed: Purism jumps the shark with fake security]

        We have been busy on the PureBoot front! Recently we announced “PureBoot Basic Mode” which is a low-security option for PureBoot that disables tamper detection, but leaves you with the robust PureBoot recovery console for debugging boot issues. To balance our last “low security” feature, our most recent PureBoot release, version 23, offers a new high-security feature called Restricted Boot. By default PureBoot will allow you to boot any USB disk you choose, and offers a failsafe boot mode so you can boot into your system even if signatures don’t match. Restricted Boot tightens down boot security so you can only boot trusted, signed boot images. In this post I will describe the thinking and design behind Restricted Boot and how it contrasts with boot restrictions on other platforms.

    • Monopolies

      • Copyrights

        • Public Domain Review*Shadows from the Walls of Deaths by week of occurrence, 2015-21.ods (1874) – The Public Domain Review

          Originally printed in a run of one hundred copies, only a half-dozen of which remain, this dangerous book is made from wallpaper laced with arsenic.

        • Walled CultureThe copyright world is already panicking about music created using generative AI; too late

          A couple of weeks ago, Walled Culture wrote about the rapid rise and advance of generative AI in the world of visual arts. One key aspect was its impact on copyright, which emerges as making even less sense in a world where AI programs can knock out an infinite number of images on any topic in any style, for close to zero cost. The post also noted that this development was not unique to the visual arts, but would also soon be found elsewhere – in the world of music, for example.

          TorrentFreak has an interesting article about how the copyright world is already panicking about this possibility. As the post explains, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) recently sent to the US government a list of “notorious markets” – basically countries and companies that it doesn’t like for various reasons.

          [...]

          The idea that copyright holders should have some kind of ownership of the next generation’s music is not just wrong, it’s deeply pernicious. It seeks to extend the corrosive view that creativity can be owned by one person – or, worse, one company – by further asserting control over art that has been produced under its influence in some way. It underlines how antithetical copyright is to both art and creativity.

  • Gemini* and Gopher

    • Personal

      • Snowflakes 2022-11-03 (Fairbanks, AK, US)

        I learned toward then end that it is not practical to try to sketch each snowflake with perfect artistic accurancy, but rather to draw all the geometric shapes you see, and then shade them in to make the drawing look good.

    • Technical

      • The Evercade is a really neat retroconsole

        The Evercade is a retro console, which exists in two versions - a portable one, something like a Nintendo Switch, and a proper console, which can only be attached to a TV.

        Unlike most other retro consoles though, the Evercade is based on physical media, which it calls cartridges. It's something larger than a Switch game, but also smaller than the cartridges of classical videogames.


* Gemini (Primer) links can be opened using Gemini software. It's like the World Wide Web but a lot lighter.



Recent Techrights' Posts

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Who said people don't work on Christmas? Chatbots or plagiarism-as-a-service work 24/7, every day of the year except during Microsoft downtimes
 
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[Meme] Coin-Operated Publishers (Gaming the Message, Buying the Narrative)
Advertise (sponsor) to 'play'
Advertisers and Their Covert Impact on Publications' Output (or Writers' Topics of Choice, as Assigned or Approved by Editors)
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down from 86% to 72% since January
[Meme] How to Kill Unions (Staff on Shoestring Budget Cannot Afford Lawyers)
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here is what the union published
Gemini Links 24/12/2024: Deedum Gemini Client Gets Colour Support, Advent of Code 2024
Links for the day
Microsoft Windows Slides to New Lows in Colombia
Now Windows is at an all-time low
Over at Tux Machines...
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IRC Proceedings: Monday, December 23, 2024
IRC logs for Monday, December 23, 2024
A Strong and Positive Closing for the Year's Last Week
In a lot of ways this year was a good one for Free software
Feels Too Warm for Christmas
Christmas is here, no snow in sight
Links 23/12/2024: 'Negative Time' and US Arms Taiwan Again
Links for the day
Links 23/12/2024: The Book of Uncommon Beings, Squirrels, and Slop Ruining Workplaces
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This has gone on for quite some time
Richard Stallman on Love
Richard Stallman's personal website includes a section that lists three essays on the subject of love
Apple's LLM Slop Told Us Luigi Mangione Had Shot Himself, BetaNews Used LLMs to Talk About a Dead Linus Torvalds
They can blame it on some bot
Microsoft, Give Me LLM Slop About "Linux" and "Santa", I Need Some Fake Article...
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Over at Tux Machines...
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IRC Proceedings: Sunday, December 22, 2024
IRC logs for Sunday, December 22, 2024