Full Circle Magazine FR

The NSA Thinks You Are an Extremist If You Care About Privacy You don't have to perform a search about pressure cooker bombs or terrorism to get on the National Security Agency's radar. Just being a little privacy-conscious and curious about Tor is enough. Last summer, SecurityWatch wrote about the NSA's X-Keyscore, a program which sucked in large amounts of Web data—from emails, Facebook activity, and online surfing, to name a few—for analysts to search and find patterns. A group of journalists and activists have analyzed X-Keyscore's source code, and discovered the rules used to determine which individual should be subject to deep surveillance are broader than we anticipated, according to a report from German site Tagesschau. Jacob Appelbaum, a member of the Tor Project and one of the authors, also posted an English version on Der Este. Source: http://securitywatch.pcmag.com/privacy/325273-the-nsa-thinks-you-are-an-extremist-if-you-care-about-privacy Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht

Korean govt to turn its back on Microsoft… and use what instead? As has been reported widely in Asia, South Korea is using the fact that Windows XP is no longer supported as a reason to walk away from Microsoft completely. While the rationale for this stance makes sense; updating to new versions of the Microsoft software can be expensive and time-consuming, the government should also immediately discontinue its use of Hangul. Hangul is a Korean software package similar to MS Office that is used as the default (and required) file format for most government departments. It is a major frustration for anyone submitting documents to the government, who don’t have the peculiar Korean software installed. Source: http://e27.co/korean-government-to-turn-its-back-on-microsoft-and-use-what-instead-hangul-20140703/ Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht

NSA targets Linux Journal as 'extremist forum': Report The Linux Journal, a Linux user community website, has been flagged as an “extremist forum” by the United States' National Security Agency (NSA), while its users have been flagged as “extremists” under the agency's XKeyscore program, according to leaked source code. The source code, which was published this week by German public broadcaster, ARD, also identified at least two German Tor Directory Authority servers — one in Berlin, the other in Nuremberg — as being under surveillance by the NSA. The Tor Project is an independent, open-source anonymous software and browsing network that directs traffic through its free, worldwide, volunteer network to conceal users' locations and usage from surveillance. Source: http://www.zdnet.com/nsa-targets-linux-journal-as-extremist-forum-report-7000031241/ Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht

The Linux Foundation Announces Early Keynote Speaker Line Up for LinuxCon + CloudOpen Europe The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organisation dedicated to accelerating the growth of Linux and collaborative development, today announced the keynote speakers for LinuxCon + CloudOpen + Embedded Linux Conference Europe, taking place 13-15 October at the Congress Centre Düsseldorf. LinuxCon Europe is the place to learn from the best and the brightest, delivering content from the leading maintainers, developers and project leads in the Linux community. There's simply no other event in Europe where developers, sysadmins, architects, and all types and levels of technical talent gather together under one roof for education, collaboration and problem-solving to further knowledge of Linux and open source collaboration in general. LinuxCon will feature over 100 sessions with innovative content on the latest kernel updates, storage technologies and interfaces, security, Internet of Things, and talks related to open source collaboration and best practices. CloudOpen Europe features technical content that addresses open cloud platforms and developer tools. It is the only venue where various open cloud technologies come together under one roof to advance Apache Stratos, AWS, Chef, CloudStack, Docker, Gluster, Hadoop, Juju, KVM, Linux, MariaDB, MySQL, OpenDaylight, OpenStack, oVirt, Puppet, SaltStack, the Xen Project, and more. Source: http://www.koreaittimes.com/story/38605/linux-foundation-announces-early-keynote-speaker-line-linuxcon-cloudopen-europe Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht

Valve Updates SteamOS With the Latest NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel Drivers The Beta version of SteamOS, a Debian-based distribution developed by Valve to be used in its hybrid PC/console, has just received an update and numerous packages. Valve has two builds for SteamOS. One is a stable version (sort of) and the other one is a Beta (Alchemist). The two versions are not all that different from one another, but the Valve developers are using the Beta release to test some of the new updates before they hit the stable branch. This is just the Beta version of SteamOS and not all of the packages included are stable. It will take a while until all these changes will be added to the Stable branch. The system requirements for Steam OS haven't changed and have been pretty much the same since the beginning: an Intel or AMD 64-bit capable processor, 4GB or more memory, a 250GB or larger disk, NVIDIA, Intel, or AMD graphics card, and a USB port or DVD drive for installation. Check the official announcement for more details about this release. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Valve-Updates-SteamOS-With-the-Latest-NVIDIA-AMD-and-Intel-Driver-448769.shtml Submitted by: Silviu Stahie

Linux Kernel 3.15.3 Is Now Available for Download Greg Kroah-Hartman had the pleasure of announcing earlier today, July 1, that the third maintenance release for the current stable 3.15 branch of the Linux kernel is available for download, urging users to upgrade as soon as their Linux distributions update the respective packages on the official software repositories. The Linux kernel 3.15.3 is a pretty standard release that introduces various updated drivers, some filesystem improvements, especially for Btrfs and EXT4, random mm and Bluetooth fixes, and the usual architecture enhancements (ARM, ARM64, IA64, SPARC, PowerPC, s390, and x86). Be aware, though, that upgrading to a new Linux kernel package might break some things on your system, so it is preferable to wait a few days and see if anyone complains about it on the official channels of your distribution. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Linux-Kernel-3-15-3-Is-Now-Available-for-Download-448998.shtml Submitted by: Marius Nestor

XFCE APP LAUNCHER `WHISKER MENU` SEES NEW RELEASE Whisker Menu is an application menu / launcher for Xfce that features a search function so you can easily find the application you want to launch. The menu supports browsing apps by category, you can add applications to favorites and more. The tool is used as the default Xubuntu application menu starting with the latest 14.04 release and in Linux Mint Xfce starting with version 15 (Olivia). The Whisker Menu PPA was updated to the latest 1.4.0 version recently and you can use it to both upgrade to the latest version obviously, as well as to install the tool in (X)Ubuntu versions for which Whisker Menu isn't available in the official repositories (supported versions: Ubuntu 14.04, 13.10 and 12.04, and the corresponding Linux Mint versions). To see what is different from the previous release, see the changelog in its main website. Source: http://www.webupd8.org/2014/06/xfce-app-launcher-whisker-menu-sees-new.html Submitted by: Andrew

Why did Microsoft join the Linux Foundation's AllSeen Alliance? When people think of open source, they don't usually associate Microsoft with it. But the company recently surprised many when it joined the Linux Foundation's open source AllSeen Alliance. The AllSeen Alliance's mission is to create a standard for device communications. Has Microsoft changed its attitude toward open source in general, or is there another reason for its uncharacteristic behavior? Computerworld speculates on what might have motivated Microsoft to join the AllSeen Alliance. Source: http://www.itworld.com/open-source/425651/why-did-microsoft-join-linux-foundations-allseen-alliance Submitted by: Jim Lynch

PHP Fixes OpenSSL Flaws in New Releases The PHP Group has released new versions of the popular scripting language that fix a number of bugs, including two in OpenSSL. The flaws fixed in OpenSSL don’t rise to the level of the major bugs such as Heartbleed that have popped up in the last few months. But PHP 5.5.14 and 5.4.30 both contain fixes for the two vulnerabilities, one related to the way that OpenSSL handles timestamps on some certificates, and the other also involves timestamps, but in a different way. Source: http://threatpost.com/php-fixes-openssl-flaws-in-new-releases/106908 Submitted by: Dennis Fisher

Chrome Remote Desktop Free Download For Windows PC Chrome remote desktop is a remote access tool and can be used to access other desktops from your computer. The prerequisite to using this remote desktop software is that both the computer used for controlling and the computer being controlled must have the Google Chrome browser installed on them. You must also have an extension installed on both the machines. This extension can be downloaded from Chrome Web Store. It is a good idea to first install the extension on the computer being controlled. An interesting feature of the Chrome remote desktop tool is that it can be used to control any of your computers if you have more than one. Similarly, it can also be used to access a friend’s computer. Source: http://thefusejoplin.com/2014/07/chrome-remote-desktop-free-download-windows-pc/ Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht

Build Your Own Handheld “Game Girl” For All Your Retro Gaming Needs Calling all makers! Do you like to play with electronics? Do you have access to a 3D printer? If so, you can make your very own DIY handheld gaming device, thanks to the mad geniuses at Adafruit. The Game Girl (also known as the PiGRRL) is, in essence, a Raspberry Pi Linux computer in Game Boy-style housing, made with some scavenged components from a SNES controller. Though an 8-bit NES emulator is the obvious software choice here, you can run whatever you fancy on it. Have a look at the video below for an overview of the project, or head to Adafruit for detailed instructions. I should also mention that this project was created in celebration of the Game Boy’s 25th anniversary. I feel old. Source: http://www.themarysue.com/diy-game-girl/ Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht

CoreOS Linux Released as 'World's First OS as a Service' A Linux distribution that updates itself. That's the idea behind the new commercial Linux product from CoreOS, called CoreOS Managed Linux. Source: http://www.toptechnews.com/article/index.php?story_id=132007RMRPWO Submitted by: Peter Odigie

Open Xchange: The internet wouldn't have happened without Linux RAFAEL LAGUNA, CEO of open source cloud productivity suite Open Xchange (OX), has told The INQUIRER about his hopes for a more open internet. Open Xchange is a cross-platform service that provides a range of web apps, cloud storage, encrypted email and instant messaging. The service can be downloaded - white labeled, free of charge, and self-configured - with the company's business model based on optional support and configuration. It is licensed to a range of ISPs and telcos across Europe who are running on Linux systems. Laguna asks, “What would have happened to the internet if there had been no Linux? What if it had been set up based on Windows servers and Unix servers from Sun or IBM? “The internet simply wouldn't have happened. It would have been way too expensive. Companies would have tried to control who had the internet and who didn't. It would have prohibited the internet from ever coming into existence.” Source: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/feature/2354003/open-xchange-the-internet-wouldnt-have-happened-without-linux Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht

Cisco: Linux is the “Single and Best” Tech for IoT Cisco earlier this year unveiled its plans to build smarter routers and switches to help manage the massive flows of data expected between Internet-connected devices and the data center. This re-architecting of the Internet to bring computing capabilities to the edge of the network is what the company calls “fog computing” and it could help alleviate the data center strain that Gartner analysts predict will come from 26 billion installed units in the Internet of Things by 2020. “Tens of billions of ever-smarter edge devices create data (we call it big data now) that it is impossible to move fast enough through the network,” said Michael Enescu, CTO of Open Source Initiatives at Cisco. “We have to deal with this, otherwise it will present huge scale and security issues in the core.” Source: http://www.linux.com/news/featured-blogs/200-libby-clark/779505-cisco-linux-is-the-single-and-best-tech-for-iot Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht

Linux Foundation introduces Linux for cars The connected car is shifting into high gear, and the Linux Foundation wants an open-source platform in the pole position. The non-profit consortium recently announced the debut of Automotive Grade Linux (AGL), a customizable, open-source automotive software stack with Linux at its core. There have been Linux-based car systems before. The difference here is that the Linux Foundation is pushing AGL as the core automotive system for developers – the groundwork, as opposed to a production-ready system like Ford Sync or QNX. As Debian Linux is to Ubuntu, so the AGL aims to be for a future in-car system from the Hyundais and Toyotas of the world. The AGL does come with a core set of capabilities. The platform is based on the Tizen In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) Project (yes, that Tizen) and includes a variety of in-car software for climate control, maps, dashboard displays, media playback, and smartphone links. The Linux Foundation says the AGL can also support mission-critical systems, such as roadway instrumentation. Source: http://www.itworld.com/operating-systems/425696/linux-foundation-introduces-linux-cars Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht

Minix creator Tannenbaum to retire Professor Andrew Tannenbaum, creator of the Minix operating system, has announced that he will retire from the University of Vrije in the Netherlands, where he has worked for 43 years. Tannenbaum wrote a clone of UNIX called Minix in 1987 and published a book about the design and implementation of operating systems, listing the source code in the appendix. His book served to help Finnish developer Linus Torvalds create the Linux kernel which initially used the Minix file system. Soon after the release of Linux in 1991, Tannenbaum got involved in a debate about the relative merits of Minix and Linux; prominent among those who responded to his comments was Torvalds himself. Tannenbaum was born in New York but moved to the Netherlands with his Dutch wife after he received his doctorate. At the Vrije University, he taught courses about computer organisation and operating systems and also supervised students who were working towards doctorates. He has written a number of widely used books on computer science, some of which have been translated into as many as 21 languages. Source: http://www.itwire.com/business-it-news/open-source/64719-minix-creator-tannenbaum-to-retire Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht

CrossOver 13.2: Installing Windows program on Linux just got easier Sometimes, you really need a Windows desktop application, even if you're a die-hard Linux user. For those times, I recommend CodeWeavers' CrossOver. Better still, the latest version makes installing Windows programs on Linux systems easier than ever. Microsoft Office 2010 running on Linux? Sure, it's easy to do with CodeWeavers' CrossOver. For those of you who haven't used CrossOver before, it enables you to run some, but not all, Windows programs on both Linux PCs and Macs. The program is based on the open source project Wine, an implementation of the Windows application programming interface (API) on top of the Unix/Linux operating system family. For each application, CrossOver/Wine creates a small Windows virtual container for just that program. You actually don't need CrossOver to run Windows applications on Linux or a Mac. You can do it with Wine alone — if you know precisely what you're doing. But CrossOver gives you an easy, automated installation of Windows applications, and technical support. Source: http://www.zdnet.com/crossover-13-2-installing-windows-program-on-linux-just-got-easier-7000031505/ Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht

Intel to ship Galileo Gen2 open-source computer in August for $60 Intel's answer to the popular $25 Raspberry Pi credit-card sized PC, the Galileo Gen2, is set to be available in August for around $60. Like the Pi, the Galileo Gen2 computer is an uncased board with all the components necessary to build a PC. Only external peripherals need to be attached. Galileo is targeted at the community of do-it-yourselfers and enthusiasts who make robots, small electronics, wearable devices and even PCs. The Gen2 succeeds the first Galileo computer, which started shipping late last year for around $70. The new Galileo has a low-power x86 processor called Quark, while the Raspberry Pi has an ARMv7 processor. Source: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9249741/Intel_to_ship_Galileo_Gen2_open_source_computer_in_August_for_60 Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht

Android, Arduino development board goes on sale The UDOO prototyping board for Android, Linux, Arduino and Google ADK applications is available from German distributor Conrad Business Supplies. Created by SECO and AIDILAB, the development board is based on a dual or quad core ARM cortex-A9 CPU with a dedicated ARM processor for IO management. Expected to be used by students and development engineers, the board runs an ARM-optimised version of Linux Ubuntu called Linaro. This means developers can use the Arduino IDE to build and upload sketches to the Arduino-compatible embedded board, without additional or external cable connections. Source: http://www.electronicsweekly.com/news/design/embedded-systems/android-arduino-development-board-goes-sale-2014-07/ Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht

New Mayhem malware targets Linux, UNIX servers A new malware that runs on UNIX-like servers even with restricted privileges has already infected machines in Australia and is actively hunting for more targets, a new research paper has shown. Three researchers from Russian web provider Yandex - Andrej Kovalev, Konstantin Ostrashkevich and Evgeny Sidorov - said in the technical analysis of the malware, published on security and anti-virus specialist publication Virus Bulletin, that Mayhem functions like a traditional Windows bot. Mayhem was discovered in April this year and does not require a privilege escalation vulnerability - it does not have to run as the root super user - to work on Linux-based systems, or on FreeBSD servers. Source: http://www.itnews.com.au/News/390053,new-mayhem-malware-targets-linux-unix-servers.aspx?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=editors_picks Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht