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NewsVac: News from around the Web
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openSUSE to Add SELinux Basic Enablement in 11.1
58 minutes ago
We have exciting news for security enthusiasts, experts, and paranoid people! Beginning with openSUSE 11.1, SUSE users will have an additional option regarding security frameworks. In addition to AppArmor, we will be adding SELinux capabilities in openSUSE 11.1, which will allow users to enable SELinux in openSUSE if they wish. -
Ubuntu Linux Christian Edition 4.0 available
2 hours, 58 minutes ago
Current version 4.0 and features the Gnome Desktop Environment. OpenOffice has been replaced with GnomeOffice (AbiWord, Evince, Evolution, Gnumeric). BibleTime has been added in this release; also you have more resources for BibleTime and Gnomesword. -
Beyond Linux From Scratch 6.3 Packed with New Refinements
4 hours, 58 minutes ago
The BLFS Development Team has recently announced the launch of BLFS 6.3 (Beyond Linux From Scratch) along with many new package additions, as well as updates and various adjustments. Among the highlights of this version are Gnome 2.18.3, KDE 3.5.9, Firefox 2.x and Pidgin. -
Display your ArchLinux theme information automatically
6 hours, 58 minutes ago
Often when you come across a desktop screenshot in the forums/websites a myriad of question flows through your mind. "What theme is that? Lovely icon, if only I knew its name. Wow, but is it openbox or fluxbox or something else?" Now while its possible to mention all the details while posting the picture, its a hassle everytime you post a screenie in the monthly screenshot thread. -
SSH Key-based Attacks
8 hours, 58 minutes ago
US-CERT is aware of active attacks against linux-based computing infrastructures using compromised SSH keys. The attack appears to initially use stolen SSH keys to gain access to a system, and then uses local kernel exploits to gain root access. Once root access has been obtained, a rootkit known as "phalanx2" is installed. -
Linux servers under the Phalanx gun: A problem with people, not code
9 hours, 28 minutes ago
As The Register reports, Linux servers are increasingly under attack from Phalanx2, a "self-injecting kernel rootkit designed for the Linux 2.6 branch that hides files, processes and sockets and includes tools for sniffing a tty program and connecting to it with a backdoor." -
New Low-Cost Ubuntu Linux equipped Dell PCs and Laptops Arriving
9 hours, 58 minutes ago
While we’re still waiting for Dell to roll-out its Inspiron 910 mini-notebook, Dell had just announced, on August 27th, that it is now selling two more desktops and two more laptops that will come pre-installed with Ubuntu 8.04. -
Deploying Enterprise Software Securely
10 hours, 28 minutes ago
This laundry list of security requirements is a lot to think about for every application deployment, but vigilance in this area can drastically improve an organization’s security posture. The requirements can be put into a standardized template, and at the end of the process each requirement should have a mark for pass, fail, or perhaps not applicable. Anything marked as a failure should be noted and can be escalated or accepted as a risk. -
Malaysia's schools get OpenOffice.org
10 hours, 58 minutes ago
The Malaysian government has unveiled plans to roll out OpenOffice.org in schools across the nation--a move that will affect some 300,000 PCs. Announced Wednesday by the chief minister of the state of Terengganu, the initiative will see all 467 schools in the Malaysian state using the open source office suite from January next year. Some 100 schools in the state are already using OpenOffice.org, after the first phase of deployment began in January this year -
Running gOS 3 Beta from USB stick
11 hours, 28 minutes ago
The new distribution gOS 3 Gadgets BETA is based on Ubuntu 8.04.1 and is able to interact with Google Documents, Calendar and Mail. The newest release of WINE 1.0 is included to now support thousands of Windows software. The new operation system will also be loaded with Lightweight X Desktop Environment (LXDE) and other Google software for Linux to improve the user experience. This workshop describes how to install and run the new software from an USB stick. -
MEPIS is coming back
11 hours, 58 minutes ago
I’m pleased to report that one of my favorite desktop Linux distributions, MEPIS, is returning. The beta of the next version, MEPIS 8, is now available. -
Can Open Source replace Microsoft Exchange?
12 hours, 28 minutes ago
Open source projects and vendors are trying a variety of technical approaches to replacing the expensive but ubiquitous Microsoft Exchange. While none is yet a drop-in replacement, some administrators can get a TCO advantage by switching. -
Work the CIM event model efficiently in Linux
12 hours, 58 minutes ago
A CIM event is the occurrence of a phenomenon of interest, which can be classified as either lifecycle or alert. This article shows you how to register CIM event handlers with a a single specific connection port to avoid added complexity. This will make it easier for you to implement and maintain a concrete and operable CIM event model with minimal network resources. -
Speaking Unix: The new and improved Vim editor
13 hours, 28 minutes ago
If you've worked on IBM AIX, another flavor of UNIX, or Linux, you've more than likely used the vi editor. How could someone make a more powerful editing tool than vi, you may ask? The answer is Vim, and this article provides details on the many enhancements that have made Vim a highly used and acceptable editor in the world of UNIX and Linux. -
KMess - MSN Messenger Client for KDE in openSUSE Linux
13 hours, 58 minutes ago
KMess is a MSN Messenger client for KDE Users in Linux. It enables Linux users to chat with friends online who are using MSN Messenger in Windows or Mac OS or Linux. The strength of KMess is it’s integration with the KDE desktop environment, focus on MSN Messenger specific features and an easy-to-use interface. - More News
Linux.com : Features
Voiceroute execs talk about going (mostly) open source (video)
Voiceroute, a software PBX vendor, originally started as a proprietary software company but went (at least partly) open source earlier this year. In this video, CEO Ming Guang Yong says the company should have moved toward open source "a lot sooner," and explains why. He and CTO Navin Kumar also talk about some of the specific differences between their open source and proprietary versions, including how and where they draw the line between the two, and share their thoughts about dealing with open source developers and building a successful open source development community.
Inside the SFLC's "Practical Guide to GPL Compliance"
One of the goals of the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) is to become a center for education in free and open source software (FOSS) legal issues. As part of this effort, the SFLC has already published "A Legal Issues Primer for Open Source and Free Software Projects." Its latest effort in public education, released last week, is "A Practical Guide to GPL Compliance," a 15-page guide for FOSS projects on how to avoid violations of the GNU General Public License (GPL) and Lesser General Public License (LGPL). The guide is a practical summary of its subject, but its wording is unnecessarily legalistic, and its structure and omissions sometimes fall short of the goal of being a standalone reference.
Cisco buys PostPath, targets Microsoft Exchange
No one saw this coming. Cisco, the networking giant, announced today it was buying PostPath, maker of the Linux-based Exchange server replacement PostPath Server.
Easy file uploads with Droopy
Suppose someone wants to send you a large file. They could try to send it via email, but many email servers impose limits on file size. They could try sending it over during an instant messenger or Internet Relay Chat session, but that's slow, as the file actually gets transferred twice: once to the chat server, then to your machine. File transfer services like RapidShare and MegaUpload are fine, but not for confidential information. Of course, you could set up an FTP server on your box, but you don't want to leave that door open all the time. Luckily, there's now an easy solution: droopy.
PostPath: Enterprise-strength open source alternative for Exchange
For enterprise system administrators looking for interoperability with Microsoft Exchange, but not the high costs associated with it, PostPath email and collaboration server could be a smart business investment. Boasting interoperability with Exchange environments for a third of the cost, thanks to its use of the Postfix mail server and many other open source components, PostPath provides drop-in capability and compatibility with Exchange environments without the need for making changes to Outlook on the client side. Being compatible with Exchange means that it can be managed using Microsoft's Active Directory infrastructure. The latest version, PostPath v3.1.2, adds support for Blackberry Enterprise Server and ActiveSync, allowing you to use mobile devices to access your email.
A business built on open source, virtualization, and clouds
ReadyTechs provides network support services for companies that don't want the expense of hiring and caring for their own employees. Now CEO Gerry Libertelli says the company is using Linux virtualization to open a new income stream based on cloud computing.
Nepomuk and KDE to introduce the semantic desktop
If you follow technology trends, you have probably heard of the semantic desktop -- a data layer for annotating and sharing the information in your computer. But what you may not be aware of is that the semantic desktop is not a distant goal, but scheduled to arrive at the end of 2008. And, when it does, the idea will probably be implemented through the work done by the Nepomuk project, and, most likely, by KDE first.
Frag 'em in your own backyard with Sauerbraten
If you like first-person shooters, you'll love Sauerbraten. This open source game might not have the visual finesse of other FPSes, but what it lacks in the graphics department, Sauerbraten more than makes up for with its various single and multiplayer modes, including an experimental role-playing game mode, and a unique WYSIWYG in-game map editor. Sauerbraten blends the best of FPSes like Quake and Max Payne to give you a unique gaming experience.
CVL lets you tinker with HDR images on your GPU
If your desktop hardware includes a graphics processing unit (GPU), you can do some cool image processing with the CVL suite of tools, which includes in image viewer, an image tone mapper, and a command-line tool for non-interactive image processing.
A video tour of openSUSE 11 (with KDE 4 desktop)
SUSE has been around almost since the dawn of consumer-level desktop Linux, and openSUSE 11 upholds the SUSE reputation for having not just a wide range of available applications, but also excellent documentation and a fine user-to-user support community. For this video we chose the KDE 4.x desktop option. KDE 3.5x and GNOME are also available as defaults in openSUSE.
South American FOSS show is a big deal
Last week's 8th Jornadas Regionales de Software Libre (Free Software Regional Sessions) at the University of Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was an opportunity for around 1,300 FOSS enthusiasts to share experiences, learn more, and have fun together.
Protecting your MySQL database from SQL injection attacks with GreenSQL
SQL injection attacks can allow hackers to execute arbitrary SQL commands on your database through your Web site. To avoid these attacks, every piece of data supplied by a user on a Web form, through HTTP Post or CGI parameters, or other means, must be validated to not contain information that is not expected. GreenSQL is a firewall for SQL -- it sits between your Web site and MySQL database and decides which SQL statements should and should not be executed. At least that's the idea -- in execution, I found some open doors.
Better bookmark tagging with HandyTag, Tagmarks, and TagSifter
The bookmark tagging feature introduced in Firefox 3 is not particularly difficult in use: when bookmarking a Web page, enter the tags you like into the Tags field of the bookmarking dialog window and you are pretty much done. Tagging provides a more flexible way of keeping track of bookmarks than traditional folders. The folder-based system provides an "either/or"-solution to filing bookmarks. For example, you could place a bookmark for an article about installing OpenOffice.org on Puppy Linux in either a Linux or OpenOffice.org folder, but not in both. With tags, you don't have this problem: you can assign as many tags as you like, so the bookmark becomes filed under several categories at the same time.
Sun's OMS Video codec project is a means to an end
Sun Microsystems is setting out to create an open source, royalty-free video codec. Given the considerable head start of well-known, royalty-free video codecs like Dirac and Theora, you might ask why the world needs another. The answer, according to Sun, is the process the company will use to develop it -- starting with a full-on, careful examination of the patent situation.
Open the door to team productivity with kablink
Organizations have many ways to connect, collaborate, and keep in touch with co-workers, team members, and colleagues -- which can lead to multiple logins and user accounts, services spread across the Web, or services that are simply not accessible to all team members on various types of devices. Kablink (formerly ICECore) recognizes that centralization and accessibility are major components to successful project collaboration, and its latest offering is worth a project leader's second look.
Ulteo Application System is innovative, easy, and a little buggy
Ulteo Application System is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Kubuntu and designed to work with the Ulteo Online Desktop service to provide you with an automatic offsite backup and file synchronization between live CD instances. It attempts to require as little user configuration and maintenance as possible, and provides several unique features that set it apart from being "just another distribution."
K9Copy helps make DVD backups easy
Piracy notwithstanding, there are some good, valid reasons for making a backup of a DVD. K9Copy, a utility for copying DVDs, receives high marks in many forums, so I took it for a spin -- and found out its reputation is deserved.
Bradley Kuhn discusses software innovation, freedom, and the law (video)
Bradley Kuhn is not a lawyer, but he works at the Software Freedom Law Center and heads the Software Freedom Conservancy. He is fun to watch and listen to because he walks the tightrope between creative, carefree developers and cautious, legally-minded lawyers. Linux.com talked with Kuhn a few months ago, but he says lots more in this 30-minute video than in that interview -- including plenty of thoughts on how businesses based on free software can (and often do) turn a profit, plus some comments on how and why open source is helping the next generation of programmers develop and improve their skills.
FOSS for students
Whether you're a high school student or just starting out with your college coursework, the free software community has provided a wide range of solutions to make life easier. Browsing the package repository of my Linux distribution led me to applications for everything from gene sequencing to particle physics, but there are a few real gems I think any student could benefit from, including math and chemistry tools such as TiLP, wxMaxima, Kalzium, Gnome Chemistry Utils, and OpenOffice.org Math.
Getting Mono and MySQL to play together politely
When I first used Mono, shortly after its first appearance in 2004, one of my most important requirements was to get connected to a MySQL back end. This was quickly achieved at the time with the ByteFX data connector. Following the basic Mono tutorial quickly had me up and running, with access to MySQL databases. Last week I needed to reopen and modernize my application and found that there have been several important changes in Mono between 2004 and 2008. First, I found some "then and now" differences with the installation of the data connector. Second, I needed to make some modifications to my programming.
