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Spam-blasting malware infects thousands of Linux and FreeBSD servers Several thousand computers running the Linux and FreeBSD operating systems have been infected over the past seven months with sophisticated malware that surreptitiously makes them part of a renegade network blasting the Internet with spam, researchers said Wednesday. The malware likely infected many more machines during the five years it's known to have existed. Most of the machines infected by the so-called Mumblehard malware are believed to run websites, according to the 23-page report issued by researchers from antivirus provider Eset. During the seven months that they monitored one of its command and control channels, 8,867 unique IP addresses connected to it, with 3,000 of them joining in the past three weeks. The discovery is reminiscent of Windigo, a separate spam botnet made up of 10,000 Linux servers that Eset discovered 14 months ago. Source: http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/04/30/spam-blasting-malware-infects-thousands-of-linux-and-freebsd-servers/ Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht Apple, Linux devices to be decoded at new CBI lab The Indian Central Bureau of Investigation has got a new specialized forensic lab to decipher and recover data from Apple devices seized from suspects during investigation of cases. The new lab, inaugurated at the CBI academy in Ghaziabad, will be fully equipped with the latest workstations and software to decode the digital information stored in Apple devices, said sources. So far, the agency had limitations in deciphering Apple and Linux-based devices, which are becoming extremely popular nowadays, with the training of forensic experts emphasizing Windows-based software. The specialized lab is focused on extracting information from Apple devices, using forensic software, from devices such as the iMac, MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone and iPods as well as from Linux devices which are like Android-based devices. The laboratory has been given forensic tools for cloning, imaging, password recovery, forensic analysis and internet artifact recovery to enable speedy probes, said an official. Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Apple-Linux-devices-to-be-decoded-at-new-CBI-lab/articleshow/47127838.cms Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht
News
Un maliciel générateur de Spam infecte des milliers de serveurs Linux et FreeBSD
Plusieurs milliers d’ordinateurs tournant sous les OS Linux ou FreeBSD ont été infectés depuis les sept derniers mois avec un maliciel sophistiqué qui subrepticement les fais participer à un réseau renégat qui explose Internet avec des spams, ont dit des chercheurs mercredi. Le maliciel semblerait avoir infecté encore plus de machines pendant les cinq années où l’on sait qu’il a existé.
La plupart des machines infectées par Mumblehard, c’est ainsi qu’on appelle ce maliciel, font probablement tourner des sites web, selon le rapport de 23 pages publié par les chercheurs du fournisseur d’antivirus Eset. Pendant les sept mois qu’ils ont surveillé son circuit de commande et de contrôle, 8 867 adresses IP uniques s’y sont connectés avec 3000 d’entre-elles dans les trois dernières semaines. Cette découverte fait penser à Windigo, un robot de spam distinct de 10 000 serveurs Linux que Eset a découvert il y a 14 mois. Source : http://arstechnica.com/security/2015/04/spam-blasting-malware-infects-thousands-of-linux-and-freebsd-servers/
Proposé par Arnfried Walbrecht
Les appareils Apple, et Linux seront décodés au nouveau labo du CBI
Le Central Bureau of Investigation indien a un nouveau labo d'analyse judiciaires spécialisé dans le déchiffrage et la récupération de données sur les appareils Apple saisis chez les suspects pendant l'instruction des affaires. Le nouveau labo, inauguré à l'Académie du CBI à Ghaziabad, sera complètement équipé avec les toutes dernièrs postes de travail et logiciels pour décoder les informations numériques dans les appareils Apple, selon nos sources. Jusqu'à présent, l'agence était limitée dans le déchiffrement d'appareils Apple et Linux, qui deviennent extrêment populaires ces jours-ci, avec une formation des experts judiciaires portée principalement sur les logiciels Windows. Le labo spécialisé est focalisé sur l'extraction de données des appareils Apple, en utilisant des logiciels judiciaires, sur des appareils comme les iMac, MacBook Pro, iPad, iPhone, et iPods, mais aussi sur les appareils Linux qui sont semblables aux appareils Android. Le laboratoire a reçu des outils judiciaires pour cloner, faire des images informatiques, retrouver les mots de passe, faire de l'analyse judiciaire, et des trucs pour chercher sur internet, pour permettre des enquêtes rapides, nous a dit un officiel. Source : http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/tech-news/Apple-Linux-devices-to-be-decoded-at-new-CBI-lab/articleshow/47127838.cms
Proposé par Arnfried Walbrecht
HP's Ubuntu 14.04 laptops offer workstation-on-a-budget performance It’s a small but symbolic boost but the Linux section of the UK online website eBuyer is suddenly looking more populated with the announcement last week by HP of three laptops pre-loaded with last year’s Ubuntu 14.04 (Trusty Tahr) LTS. They’re not the first Linux or Ubuntu laptops to be sold on the site by a long shot; an entry-level HP appeared on the site over a year ago and that’s before factoring in the Thinkpads already on offer from Lenovo. But while pre-loaded Ubuntu has been around for ages, these machines appear to be aimed at a more mainstream buyer than the well-established developer niche. Anyone can, in principle, load Ubuntu on the similar hardware, but buying pre-configured hardware has important advantages. Everything is guaranteed to work without issue, and then there’s the matter of support which is essential for smaller organisations not inclined to tend their own systems should something go wrong. This is the grown-up way to do things. All three of HP’s efforts are based on AMD’s under-rated quad-core A4/8/10 processors coupled to 4GB or 8GB of RAM and 1TB hard drives, on a traditional 15.4 inch laptop platform. They are cheap by PC standards, starting at £199, £249, and even the £300 asking price for the top-of-the-range HP455 represents outstanding value for money. Source: http://www.techworld.com/blog/war-on-error/hps-new-ubuntu-1404-laptops-offer-workstation-on-budget-performance-3610629/ Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht Ubuntu phone that works as a desktop PC coming in 2015 Microsoft recently announced that upcoming Windows Phone devices would be able to operate like desktop computers when you connect an external display, mouse and keyboard. That doesn’t just mean that you can run smartphone apps blown up for a big screen: you’ll be able to use Universal Windows apps which will change their look and feel for large screens and the operating system will look different on TVs too. But Microsoft wasn’t the first company with this idea: Canonical’s been working on bringing similar features to Ubuntu for years. A few years ago the company tried to raise $32 million through crowdfunding to build an Ubuntu smartphone that could work as a desktop… but the company didn’t meet its goals. Now Ubuntu founder Mark Shuttleworth says someone else is building one, and it’s set to launch in 2015. Source: https://liliputing.com/2015/05/ubuntu-phone-that-works-as-a-desktop-pc-coming-in-2015.html Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht
Offre d'HP de portables Ubuntu 14.04 «une station de travail pour un prix performant» C'est un petit effort mais il est symbolique : la section Linux du site web d'achats en ligne anglais eBuyer est devenu soudain plus populaire avec l'annonce par HP la semaine dernière de trois portables préinstallés avec la version de l'an dernier Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr). Ils ne sont pas les premiers portables Linux ou Ubuntu vendus sur ce site à faire long feu; un portable d'entrée de gamme HP est apparu sur le site il y a plus d'un an, et c'était avant le reconditionnement des Thinkpads déjà proposés par Lenovo. Mais bien que les Ubuntu pré-installés aient existé depuis longtemps, ces machines semblent être conçues pour un acheteur plus courant que ceux de la niche bien établie des développeurs. Tout un chacun peut, en principe, charger Ubuntu sur un matériel similaire, mais acheter un matériel pré-configuré a d'importants avantages. Tout est garanti de fonctionner sans problème, et même il y a la possibilité d'un support ce qui est essentiel pour les plus petites organisations peu inclinées à s'occuper de leur système lorsque quelquechose va mal. C'est une façon de faire éprouvée. Les trois efforts d'HP sont basés sur des processeurs AMD A4/8/10 quadri-coeurs bas de gamme, assortis de 4 ou 8 Go de RAM et 1 To de disque dur, sur un portable traditionnel de 15.4 pouces. Ils sont pas chers selon les standards des PC, allant de 199 £ à 249 £ et même vous en aurez pour votre argent avec les 300 £ pour le haut de gamme HP455. Source : http://www.techworld.com/blog/war-on-error/hps-new-ubuntu-1404-laptops-offer-workstation-on-budget-performance-3610629/
Proposé par Arnfried Walbrecht
Un Ubuntu Phone qui marche comme un PC de bureau arrive en 2015
Microsoft a annoncé récemment que les appareils Windows Phone seraient capables de fonctionner comme les ordinateurs de bureau lorsque vous connecterez un écran externe, une souris et un clavier. Ca ne signifie pas seulement que vou pourrez lancer des applications pour smartphone concues pour un grand écran : vous serez en mesure d'utiliser des applications Windows universelles qui changeront d'aspect sur les grands écrans et le système d'exploitation aura aussi un autre aspect sur les TV. Mais Microsoft n'a pas été la première entreprise à avoir cette idée : Canonical travaille sur l'apport de fonctionnalités similaires à Ubuntu depuis des années. Il y a quelques années l'entreprise a essayé de lever 32 millions de dollars par financement participartif pour construire un smartphone Ubuntu qui pourrait fonctionner comme ordinateur de bureau… mais elle n'a pas atteint son but. Maintenant le fondateur d'Ubuntu Mark Shuttleworth avoue que quelqu'un d'autre est en train de le construire, et que c'est prévu pour 2015. Source : https://liliputing.com/2015/05/ubuntu-phone-that-works-as-a-desktop-pc-coming-in-2015.html
Proposé par Arnfried Walbrecht
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Eight Linux Security Improvements In Eight Years In 2007, Andrew Morton, a no-nonsense colleague of Linus Torvalds known as the “colonel of the kernel,” called for developers to spend time removing defects and vulnerabilities. “I would like to see people spend more time fixing bugs and less time on new features. That's my personal opinion,” he said in an interview at the time. So how's that going? Since Morton issued his call, Linux has added several million lines of code and many thousands of patches and new features. The Linux kernel development process has shown marked improvement on the security front. It was as good as, or better than, most commercial code when Morton issued his 2007 challenge. As InformationWeek checked into its defect-fixing record, it was surprising how many gains have been made in the last three years. Linux is better than most commercial code. For example, where one defect per 1,000 lines of code is considered quality, Linux in July 2014 had .55 defects per 1,000 lines. Linux also is better than most other open source projects. That didn't happen overnight, and it didn't happen without changes to the kernel process. What has happened with Linux should serve as a standard by which other projects are measured. As concern grows about the security and maintainability of open source code in the Internet's infrastructure, there may be lessons to be learned from Linux's example. Source: http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/8-linux-security-improvements-in-8-years/d/d-id/1320294 Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht Twistlock Launches To Solve Linux Container Security Problems As the idea of containers gains momentum, there are a couple of problems that increasingly need to be solved – networking, storage, and security being the key three. Twistlock aims to solve the last of those and be part of unlocking far-broader container adoption. Containers are, of course, a Linux concept that allows the running of multiple isolated Linux systems on a single control host. With Linux containers (instead of creating a full virtual environment) an operating system is shared across the various containers while running resources are offered to each container in isolation. Linux containers have existed for a long time, but Docker reinvigorated the notion and brought it to a wider audience. As Docker has made container usage more prevalent, it has, however, also highlighted some issues with Linux containers that make even broader adoption difficult – storage, networking, and security being the three most regularly cited examples. Indeed, much of the justification for vendors suggesting that containers should still be run within a virtual machine relate to the security issue. Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/benkepes/2015/05/07/twistlock-launches-to-solve-linux-container-security-problems/ Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht
Huit Améliorations de la sécurité Linux en huit ans
En 2007, Andrew Morton, un collègue dépourvu de non-sens de Linus Torvalds et connu comme le «colonel du kernel», a demandé aux développeurs de passer du temps à enlever les défauts et les vulnérabilités. « Je voudrais voir les gens prendre plus de temps à corriger les bugs et moins sur les nouvelles fonctions. C'est mon opinion.» a-t'il dit dans une interview de l'époque.
Donc où en est-on ? Depuis que Morton a lancé son appel, Linux a grossi de plusieurs millions de lignes de code et plusieurs milliers de patchs et nouvelles fonctionnalités. Le processus de développement du kernel Linux a montré qu'il s'était amélioré sur la bataille pour la sécurité. Il était aussi bon, voire meilleur que la plupart du code commercial lorsque Morton a lancé son défi en 2007. Selon la vérification de InformationWeek publié dans son rapport sur la correction des défauts, il était surprenant de voir les gains faits durant les trois dernières années.
Linux est meilleur que la plupart des codes du commerce. Par exemple, là où 1 défaut pour 1000 lignes de code est considéré comme de la qualité, Linux en juillet 2015 avait 0,55 défauts pour 1000 lignes. Linux est aussi meilleur que la plupart des autres projets open-source. Cela ne s'est pas passé du jour au lendemain, ni sans changement dans le processus kernel. Ce qui est arrivé à Linux devrait servir de référence par rapport à laquelle les autres projets devraient être mesurés. Alors que grandissent les préoccupations autour de la sécurité et la maintenabilité du code open-source dans l'infrastructure d'Internet, on pouet apprendre beaucoup de l'exemple de Linux.
Proposé par Arnfried Walbrecht
Lancement de Twistlock pour résoudre les prblèmes de sécurité du container Linux.
Comme le concept des conteneurs prend de l'ampleur, il reste quelques problèmes qui ont de plus en plus besoin d'être résolus : le réseau, le stockage, la sécurité sont les trois principaux. Twistlock se propose de résoudre ce dernier et de participer à ce que les conteneurs soient plus largement adoptés.
Les conteneurs sont bien sûr un concept Linux qui permet le lancement de plusieurs systèmes Linux isolés les uns des autres sur une même machine de contrôle. Avec les conteneurs Linux, plutôt que de créer des environnements virtuels entiers, le système d'exploitation est partagé entre les différents conteneurs, tout en offrant les ressources à chaque conteneur de manière étanche. Les conteneurs Linux existent depuis très longtemps, mais Docker a revigoré le concept et l'a ouvert à un public plus large.
Comme Docker a rendu l'utilisation des conteneurs plus répandue, il a cependant aussi révélé quelques problèmes avec les conteneurs Linux qui on rendu difficile une utilisation plus large : le stockage, le réseau et la sécurité étant les trois exemples les plus cités régulièrement. En effet, les vendeurs justifient en grande partie leur suggestion de faire tourner les conteneurs dans une machine virtuelle, par le problème de sécurité.
Proposé par Arnfried Walbrecht
Microsoft's new secure boot strategy will suit Linux firms Microsoft made its intentions known during its WinHEC conference in Shenzhen, China, in March, when it announced that, in the case of hardware that was installed with Windows 10, it would be leaving the choice of having a means to turn off secure boot up to the vendor. When secure boot was introduced by Microsoft, along with Windows 8, ostensibly as a means to improve security, it mandated that OEMs had to provide a means for turning it off on the x86 platform. It could not do otherwise as it has in the past been convicted of monopolistic trade practices. Secure boot is a part of the specification for the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), the replacement for the motherboard firmware or BIOS. The three main Linux companies Red Hat, SUSE, and Canonical — the last-named being the parent firm of the Ubuntu distribution — have each devised ways to support secure boot. While some other distributions also do so, using the same code as that used by these three, many do not. Thus, if it was impossible to turn off secure boot on a PC, and one wanted to install Linux on it, then the only option would be to use a distribution that supported secure boot. Source: http://www.itwire.com/opinion-and-analysis/open-sauce/67959-microsofts-new-secure-boot-strategy-will-suit-linux-firms Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht Ten of the best Linux distros for privacy fiends and security buffs Linux distributions can be separated into various categories based on use case and the intended target group. Server, education, games and multimedia are some of the most popular categories of Linux distros. For security conscious users, however, there's a growing niche of distros aimed at protecting your privacy. These distros help ensure you don't leave a digital footprint as you go about navigating the web. However, for the truly paranoid, privacy distros are only one part of the equation - and the greater part of that equation involves penetration testing distros. These are distros designed for analysing and evaluating network and system security. These efforts feature a vast array of forensic tools to help you test your configured systems for potential weaknesses. In this article, we've highlighted 10 of the best privacy and pen testing distros. Source: http://www.in.techradar.com/news/software/security-software/10-of-the-best-Linux-distros-for-privacy-fiends-and-security-buffs/articleshow/47211893.cms Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht
La nouvelle stratégie de démarrage de Microsoft conviendra aux entreprises Linux.
Microsoft a rendu publlques ses intentions pendant la conférence WinHEC de Shenzen, en Chine, en mars, quand elle a annoncé que dans le cas où un matériel a été installé avec Windows 10, elle laisserait le choix d'avoir un moyen de désactiver le démarrage sécurisé du constructeur.
Lorsque le démarrage sécurisé a été présenté ostensiblement par Microsoft, avec Windows 8, comme moyen pour améliorer la sécurité, elle a demandé que les OEM fournissent un moyen de le désactiver sur les platformes x86. Elle n'aurait pas pu faire autrement, car elle a été condamnée de pratiques monopolisantes par le passé.
Le démarrage sécurisé est une partie de la spécification de l'Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI), qui est le remplaçant du microprogramme de la carte mère (BIOS). Les trois entreprises principales Linux que sont Red Hat, SUSE, et Canonical (cette dernière étant la mère d'ubuntu), ont toutes conçues des façons de marcher avec le démarrage sécurisé. Tandis que quelques autres distributions font de même, en utilisant le même code que celui utilisé par les trois, beaucoup d'autres le font pas.
Ainsi, s'il avait été impossible de désactiver le démarrage sécurisé sur un PC, et qu'on avait voulu y installer Linux, alors l'unique solution aurait été une des distributions compatibles. Source : www.itwire.com/opinion-and-analysis/open-sauce/67959-microsofts-new-secure-boot-strategy-will-suit-linux-firms
Proposé par Arnfried Walbrecht
Les dix meilleures distrib. Linux pour les fous de vie privée et les mordus de la sécurité
Les distributions Linux peuvent être classées en plusieurs catégories basées sur comment elle sont utilisées et les groupes qu'elles ciblent. Les serveurs, l'éducation, les jeux, et le multimédia sont quelques unes des catégories les plus populaires de distributions Linux.
Pour les utilisateurs concernés par la sécurité, cependant, il y a une niche grandissante de distribs faites pour protéger votre vie privée. ces Distribs vous aident à vous assurer que vous ne laisserez pas d'empreinte numérique tout en navigant sur le web.
Mais, pour les vrais paranos, les distribs protégeant la vie privée ne sont qu'une part de l'équation, et la plus grande part de cette équation concerne les distribs de test d'intrusion. Ces distribs. sont conçues pour analyser et évaluer la sécurité du réseau et du système. Ces services présentent un large inventaire d'outils juridiques pour vous aider à tester vos systèmes contre de probables faiblesses. Dans cet article, nous avons mis la lumière sur 10 des meilleures distribs de vie privée et de test d'intrusion.
Proposé par Arnfried Walbrecht
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Will $9 Linux CHIP Replace Raspberry Pi? Technology startup Next Thing is preparing to unleash a credit card-sized personal computer – dubbed CHIP – on the world, turning to the crowdfunding site Kickstarter to drum up financial support. The project, which has already received close to $700,000 out of a $50,000 goal with 26 days to go, allows users to work in LibreOffice, a free and open source office suite developed by The Document Foundation that allows users to save documents to CHIP's onboard storage. The basic CHIP costs just $9, with a battery, VGA and HDMI adapter, and mobile casing, which can eventually push the price up to just under $50. CHIP is expected to ship in December of this year, with the full package with accessories available in May of next year. Source: http://www.informationweek.com/it-life/will-$9-linux-chip-replace-raspberry-pi/d/d-id/1320359 Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht Stealthy Linux GPU malware can also hide in Windows PCs, maybe Macs A team of anonymous developers who recently created a Linux rootkit that runs on graphics cards has released a new proof-of-concept malware program that does the same on Windows. A Mac OS X implementation is also in the works. The developers are trying to raise awareness that malware can infect GPUs and that the security industry is not ready for it. Their goal isn’t to tip off malicious hackers, but the source code they released, while incomplete and buggy by design, could potentially be built upon and used for illegal purposes. The problem the developers are trying to highlight lies not with the operating systems, such as Windows or Linux, nor with the GPU (graphics processor unit) vendors, but rather with existing security tools, which aren’t designed to scan the random access memory (RAM) used by GPUs for malware code. Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2921092/gpu-malware-can-also-affect-windows-pcs-possibly-macs.html Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht System76 Meerkat: The Perfect Mini PC for Multimedia or Desktop Every so often I get the pleasure of writing a review where the biggest challenge is finding something, anything, to nitpick in order to ensure I don’t sound like I’ve been bought off by the company. Such is the case with the Meerkat, by System76. A small device that, at first blush, one might think is a toy. I can assure you, this 4.5” by 4.5” device performs with the power of a machine three or four times its size. The Meerkat greeted me with Ubuntu 15.04. I immediately set about tweaking the device to fit my tastes and needs. The first step: installing my usual lineup of software. As soon as I began the process, I fell in love with the device. The Meerkat is fast … much faster than a device this size should be. I moved the Meerkat over to my 60” LED television, sat on the couch, and turned the tiny PC into the ideal multimedia device. Netflix? No problem. Spotify? I think I will. Youtube? Yes please. The Meerkat handled anything and everything I could give it without a single hiccup. Even rendering a video in OpenShot was blazingly fast. And because the connection to the TV was handled via mini HDMI to HDMI, there was no need to run a second cable for sound. It’s all there and it’s all good. Source: http://www.linux.com/news/hardware/desktops/829053-system76-meerkat-the-perfect-mini-pc-for-multimedia-or-desktop Submitted by: Jack Wallen Ubuntu jumps into Internet of Things with Acer, GE, and Microsoft Yes, you read the headline correctly. Microsoft and Canonical are partnering up on IoT. Old enemies are becoming new allies as technology shifts from the PC/desktop model to first mobile computing and now the Internet of Things (IoT). Canonical, Ubuntu Linux's parent company, is partnering with Acer, DataArt, and Microsoft. That wasn't a typo. Canonical and Microsoft, which were already working together on bringing Canonical's Juju DevOps tools to Windows and bringing Windows Server to OpenStack, are working with DataArt on an IoT industrial predictive maintenance solution. It will combine the three companies' IoT, cloud, big data, machine learning, and Docker efforts. To integrate all of this they'll be using “Snappy” Ubuntu apps, DeviceHive, and Juju Charms. Microsoft will also use an Azure service to manage and capture machine data. Source: http://www.zdnet.com/article/ubuntu-jumps-into-internet-of-things-with-acer-ge-and-microsoft/#ftag=RSSbaffb68 Submitted by: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols Ubuntu 15.04 hands-on: One giant leap for developers and the cloud, but one small step for the desktop There are lots of new goodies in Ubuntu 15.04, Vivid Vervet, but most of them are for cloud administrators and DevOps. Ordinary Ubuntu PC users will find only a slightly better desktop experience. In this release, the distribution boasts a new light-weight snappy Ubuntu Core version for devices, micro-servers, and containers. It also includes updated developer tools and the latest frameworks, languages, databases and packages. This cloud brand of Ubuntu also comes with superior Docker support, Canonical's own new container-based hypervisor, LXD, and built-in support for the Chef DevOps program. The rest of the Ubuntu desktop's interface, powered by Unity 7.3, looks and acts the same. So, for example, you can use the HUD to search for programs and files no matter where they may be located on your system. Source: http://www.zdnet.com/article/hands-on-with-ubuntu-15-04/ Submitted by: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols Ubuntu LXD: Not a Docker replacement, a Docker enhancement Sometimes it seems that Canonical, Ubuntu's parent company, can't win for losing. Often accused of trying to force other open-source groups to follow their lead by keeping projects internal until they feel it's ready to be shared with others, when Ubuntu announced its intention to build LXD, a hypervisor for containers, at the OpenStack Summit, the company was immediately accused of announcing vaporware (!), of shoving LXD down other programmers' throats, and of trying to replace Docker. On the technical side, LXD, pronounced Lex-Dee, is an expansion of LXC, the Linux container technology behind Docker. Specifically, according to Stéphane Graber, an Ubuntu project engineer, LXD is a “daemon exporting an authenticated representational state transfer application programming interface (REST API) both locally over a unix socket and over the network using https. There are then two clients for this daemon, one is an OpenStack plugin, the other a standalone command line tool.” Source: http://www.zdnet.com/article/ubuntu-lxd-not-a-docker-replacement-a-docker-enhancement/ Submitted by: Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols Ubuntu Core Drone Is the First Drone That Has Apps The world is changing, and it looks like everything will soon be powered by operating systems and apps, and that includes drones, as unlikely as it might sound. The Erle-Copter was presented a couple of weeks ago, but now its makers have returned with more details about this amazing piece of technology. This is not the average drone you can get at your mall and that can do basically three things, fly, crash into walls, and break. It's what you might call a smart drone, and it's powered by Ubuntu core. To make things even more interesting, it's a drone that's powered by Ubuntu Core and apps, which is quite weird if you think about it. On the other hand, the makers of this drone do need to program it and run various “behaviors” on it. The Ubuntu OS was the perfect choice. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Ubuntu-Core-Drone-Is-the-First-Drone-That-Has-Apps-480826.shtml Submitted by: Silviu Stahie Open source has to be more than Linux While the notion of free software has lasted since the days Richard Stallman was sleeping under his desk at MIT, the full thrust of collaboratively and openly licensed software really took off with the advent of Linux. Linux took a principle and filled in an important technology gap that inspired the filling of a thousand other gaps too. This led to the rise of the venerable Linux distribution, as myriad as consumer-grade platforms such as Ubuntu and Fedora, to server-grade such as CentOS and Debian, and down to the downright weird such as RebeccaBlackOS. For those of us born in the brine of Linux, openness and a commitment to living and breathing openness have always been common social components. It is not uncommon in the Linux world to use a Linux distribution and entirely open source applications with a few exceptions, such as Skype and Steam. Despite some rather remarkable projects, desktop Linux has always struggled to get a hold of the market, hovering at around 1.5% of overall market share. While the server, cloud, and infrastructure siblings to the Linux desktop have gone on to dominate, the desktop has been lagging behind, despite passionate and high-quality efforts from projects such GNOME, KDE, Elementary, and many others. Source: http://opensource.com/life/15/5/open-source-has-be-more-linux Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht Snappy Ubuntu Linux Now Used in Networking, Refrigerators Canonical, the lead commercial sponsor behind the open-source Ubuntu Linux operating system, today announced an expansion of its push to embed Linux in everything from phones to refrigerators—and now network switches. The Snappy Ubuntu Core Linux operating system, a minimal version of Ubuntu Linux that provides an improved updating and security model, is designed for embedded devices and the Internet of things (IoT). Snappy was first announced in December 2014 and became generally available with the Ubuntu 15.04 Vivid Vervet release on April 23. To date, Canonical has positioned Snappy as a platform for the cloud and mobile devices and is now bringing it to Open Compute Platform (OCP) network switches. The OCP networking effort kicked off in 2013 as a way to enable an organization to choose the operating system they want to run on an open networking switch. “Switches to us are important and very strategic,” Dustin Kirkland, product manager at Canonical, told eWEEK. “There is switch at the top of every rack in every data center.” Source: http://www.eweek.com/networking/snappy-ubuntu-linux-now-used-in-networking-refrigerators.html Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht Solar Sail Spacecraft Runs Linux and Uses SSH, Says Bill Nye The idea of solar sails was first introduced in popular culture by none other than Carl Sagan, more than 40 years ago. This particular technology was not a priority for scientists in the past decades, with very few exceptions, but The Planetary Society and Bill Nye want to change that by launching a small spacecraft called CubeSat that will be powered by light. The principle behind the technology is quite simple. The light particles, the photons, don't have any mass, but they do have a lot of energy. The spacecraft deploys a large solar sail, which is bombarded with light. The acceleration is very small, but constant, which means that a spacecraft can achieve great speed in a relatively short amount of time. Even if this particular piece of information is not available on the Kickstarter page, it was revealed in an AMA session on Reddit, which was held by Bill Nye himself. To make things even more interesting, he also said that it would be possible to SSH into the spacecraft. “The software is Linux-based. I just recently learned that, providing we have a stable link, we can actually SSH into the spacecraft, which I find very cool. The control sequences are automated. There are sun sensors that locate the sun and tack based on that,” said Bill Nye on Reddit. Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Solar-Sail-Spacecraft-Runs-Linux-and-Uses-SSH-Says-Bill-Bye-481089.shtml Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht Tails 1.4 polishes up the privacy-obsessed Linux OS trusted by Edward Snowden Tails, a privacy and anonymity-focused Linux distribution most famously used by Edward Snowden, just released version 1.4. This Debian-based system is designed to preserve your privacy and anonymity online, providing better protection than just using the Tor browser alone on a typical operating system. How effective is this concealment-centric operating system’s tools? Well, in 2012, vulnerabilities for Tails topped the NSA’s most-wanted list alongside Tor and TrueCrypt. Let’s dig into Tails’ basic capabilities, as well as the new changes. Tails stands for “The Amnesiac Incognito Live System,” and it’s designed to be booted and run entirely from a disc, USB drive, or SD card. This ensures no traces of your activity are written to your PC’s hard drive. It also means any malware or other surveillance software running on a computer’s normal operating system—Windows, for example—won’t be involved with the Tails session. Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2923013/tails-14-polishes-up-the-privacy-obsessed-linux-os-trusted-by-edward-snowden.html Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht Meizu Will Sell Ubuntu MX4 Across Europe Soon, Says Canonical However, the sad news for many of us who wanted to purchase the Ubuntu-powered device from Meizu is that the Ubuntu MX4 smartphone is sold only in China for the time being, despite the fact that Meizu said a few months ago that it would sell it internationally. According to Canonical, the Meizu MX4 Ubuntu Edition smartphone will come to the European market soon, but today's announcement says nothing about the device being sold in the US or another continent anytime soon. Also, the phone appears to be targeted at Ubuntu Touch developers at the moment. “In the first of a series of launches, Meizu has announced that the Ubuntu MX4, which will be sold across Europe soon, is immediately available to developers in China,” says Canonical. Source: http://linux.softpedia.com/blog/Meizu-Will-Sell-Ubuntu-MX4-Across-Europe-Soon-Says-Canonical-481404.shtml Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht Serious Red Hat Linux Bug Affects Haswell-based Servers A recent post by Gil Tene raises the importance of an important, little known patch to Linux kernels that should be reviewed by all users and administrators of Linux systems, especially those who utilize Haswell processors. Tene reports that in particular users of Red Hat-based distributions (including CentOS 6.6 and Scientific Linux 6.6) should apply the patch as soon as possible. Even if your instance of Linux is running in a VM, that VM is most likely hosted on a Haswell machine if is on the popular cloud providers (Azure / Amazon /etc) and would benefit from the patch. Tene goes on to explain how the flawed code performed (boils down to a switch block missing a default case). The big reason for the problem today is that while the code in question was fixed in January 2014, the flaw was backported into the Red Hat 6.6 family around October 2014. Other systems including (SLES, Ubuntu, Debian, etc) are also probably affected. The fix for those systems is only now being distributed and it could be overlooked. Red Hat users should look for RHEL 6.6.z or newer. A key point made by Tene is that the fix has been unevenly distributed as different distributions make specific choices on what goes into their kernel. Source: http://www.infoq.com/news/2015/05/redhat-futex Submitted by: Arnfried Walbrecht