Showing headlines posted by Scott_Ruecker

A previously unknown rootkit is infecting Linux web servers and injecting malicious code into web pages served by infected servers. The rootkit was discovered by a user of security mailing list Full Disclosure, who has posted his observations, including the suspicious kernel module, to the mailing list. The malware adds an iframe to every web page served by the infected system via the nginx proxy – including error pages.

Google recently launched the Samsung Chromebook that for $249 USD features an 11-inch display, a 16GB SSD, a promise of 6.5-hour battery life, and is backed by a Samsung Exynos 5 SoC. The Samsung Exynos 5 packs a 1.7GHz dual-core ARM Cortex-A15 processor with ARM Mali-T604 graphics. With using this new ARM Cortex-A15 chip plus the Samsung Chromebook not being locked down so it can be loaded up with a Linux distribution like Ubuntu or openSUSE, it was a must-buy for carrying out some interesting Cortex-A15 Linux benchmarks. The Exynos 5 Dual in this affordable laptop packs an impressive performance punch.

It may still be a bit early for the ubiquitous end-of-year story looking back at 2012, but even now, it seems safe to say that the “Linux preloaded” trend will surely go down in history as a big part of what has characterized this year in desktop computing.

The Portuguese government has published a listing of open standards to be used within the country's public bodies and has decided on ODF (Open Document Format) as the sole editable document format according to a report from the Portugese Open Source Business Association.

For the installed user base of the former Sun Microsystems' OpenSolaris OS, questions about its continued support and development remain largely unanswered. When Oracle bought Sun Microsystems, it raised fees for its technical help and halted further development on OpenSolaris, replacing it with its own Oracle Solaris 11.

A new Linux rootkit has emerged and researchers who have analyzed its code and operation say that the malware appears to be a custom-written tool designed to inject iframes into Web sites and drive traffic to malicious sites for drive-by download attacks. The rootkit is designed specifically for 64-bit Linux systems, and while it has some interesting features, it does not appear to be the work of high-level programmer or be meant for use in targeted attacks.

The participatory ethic of open source software has become so widespread these days that it is migrating into some unexpected places... like musical instruments, tractors and ecological technology. Chances are you haven’t heard about the Zoybar—a modular instrument loosely based on the guitar. As its inventor describes it, "Every user can create his own unique instrument by its own voice and needs. We call this Decentralized Innovation. For the first time these instruments can be duplicated and evolve regardless of location and market interests."

Here’s are words I never thought I’d write: Netflix works on Linux. Not officially, of course: Instead, it relies on sophisticated hacks to the Wine compatibility layer. Still, this could be a very big deal in the open source world, where for years users have vainly pleaded with Netflix for a Linux client, while also trying to implement their own solutions with little success.

Linus Torvalds created Linux, which now runs vast swathes of the internet, including Google and Facebook. And he invented Git, software that’s now used by developers across the net to build new applications of all kinds. But that’s not all Torvalds has given the internet. He’s also started some serious flame wars. Over the past few years, Torvalds has emerged as one of the most articulate and engaging critics of the technology industry. His funny and plainspoken posts to Google+ routinely generate more comments and attention than most stories on The New York Times — or even Wired.

Firefox for Android introduces support for millions more devices, including the HTC Status, HTC ChaCha, Samsung Galaxy Ace, Motorola Fire XT and LG Optimus Q. To date, Firefox for Android has supported phones running Android versions 2.2 and higher, but only on phones equipped with ARMv7 processors. Now, Firefox for Android supports a number of phones using ARMv6 processors.

The latest release of the RabbitMQ messaging platform, RabbitMQ 3.0, includes plugins that support Web-STOMP, which allows the text-oriented STOMP protocol to run over WebSockets, and MQTT, the machine-to-machine/"Internet of Things" connection protocol.

It's a general matter of course in any given year that as Thanksgiving draws ever closer, more than a few Linux bloggers begin to wax sentimental about their favorite operating system, often recounting all the many reasons they're thankful it exists. It is the start of the season of thankfulness, after all. This year, the usual pattern doesn't seem to have happened.

Linux now supports network address translation (NAT) for IPv6. Other new features include server-side support for Google's TCP Fast Open (TFO) acceleration trick and a tethering driver for the iPhone 5.

A recently introduced systemd enhancement allows programs to add a unique identifier to log messages sent to systemd's Journal, which lets it retrieve extra information about the logged event from a message catalogue. Developers could, for example, add some further details and internet links concerning an error message to the information in the catalogue; the information could also explain the log data in a user's local language if a suitable translation exists.

A few months ago, I joined Red Hat as a marketing apprentice (intern) in Paris, France—where I am also continuing my studies at France Business School—and it became clear to me that my vision of what open source is and what it means to be part of the community has changed. This evolution has significantly altered the way I am participating in projects and communiticating with peers.

In part due to Steam now being available on Linux, Egosoft wants to hire a Linux game developer to continue bringing their X3 games to the penguin platform...

While FreeBSD 9.1 is running behind schedule, one of the exciting additions to this forthcoming BSD operating system is finally debuting Intel kernel mode-setting on FreeBSD support. The most exciting feature in this release is undoubtedly the availability of Kernel Modesetting and new drivers for intel chipsets. The drivers are not perfectly up-to-date (xf86-video-intel is at 2.17 and mesa is at 7.11) but it is a significant improvement over what was previously available (2.7 and 7.6, respectively).

Perusing the open source news today I came across this piece by “DarkDuck” titled "Top 5 Free Suites to Replace Microsoft Office”. It strikes me as odd that still, towards the end of 2012, the open source community is still interested in replacing the bloated corpse of Microsoft Office. In my mind, we now have so many other options available.

Fancy giving Linux a whirl? Here are all the factors that you should look for when choosing from the wide range of available Linux distributions.

FOSDEM is one of the largest gatherings of Free Software contributors in the world and happens each February in Brussels (This year on the 2nd & 3rd of February). It’s one of the few community-centered conferences in Europe, and the largest volunteer-run Free Software event in Europe as well. Proposals are now invited for talks on KDE, KDE software and general desktop topics. KDE will be in the Cross Desktop Developer Room (devroom), along with Enlightenment, Gnome, Razor, Unity and XFCE. This is a unique opportunity to share KDE with a wide audience of developers.