Newsletter Archives

• The attackers want to wiggle in

  Posted on March 31, 2024 at 00:25 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  Alex posted the other day about some issues with specific RedHat distros. But there’s a tad more to the story than just some bad software that was fixed in Redhat. It was a backdoor that nearly entered into all Linux distributions.

  The more to the story is that a Microsoft engineer found that a back door was introduced into the Linux code and was about to be pulled into nearly all of the Linux distributions.

  As someone said…. “That the xz backdoor was spotted before it made it into any major production Linux distros is ultimately a success.  But it should also be considered a near miss.”

  The reason it was found?  “But even more surprising is that it got caught because a dev noticed login in to his machine via ssh was taking 0.8s instead of the usual 0.3s and decided to look into it. And he happened to be familiar with the Valgrind situation”

  It reminds me of the book/story The Cuckoo’s egg by Cliff Stoll. The story of how an accounting error that shouldn’t occur led Mr. Stoll to discover an overseas computer intruder.  It’s another case of someone at the right place questioning why something didn’t make sense. (If you haven’t read the book, I highly recommend grabbing a copy. It’s still a great read).

  Bottom line the attackers are trying to get into any platform. No one is immune these days. Not even open source.

  Linux Patch Lady Posts

• Linux — it’s all about the apps

  Posted on January 15, 2024 at 02:43 CST by Chris Husted • Comment in the Forums

  LINUX

  

  By Chris Husted

  I always get strange looks from people when I tell them I use Linux on my laptop at home, as if I were some techno-nut who feels compelled to tell the world how important open-source software is.

  I’m not, but it is. There is one simple reason I have stayed with Linux for the past five years: it works.

  I am currently using Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, one of the world’s most popular Linux distributions, nicknamed “Jammy Jellyfish.” Linux “distros,” as they are called, tend to have colorful names. I started using Ubuntu in 2018, when the latest version was called “Bionic Beaver.” Feel free to giggle. I am sure the creators did.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.03.0, 2024-01-15).

  Linux Linux, Migration, Mint, Newsletters, Ubuntu

• The state of Linux in 2022

  Posted on August 29, 2022 at 02:43 CDT by Sandra Henry-Stocker • Comment in the Forums

  LINUX

  

  By Sandra Henry-Stocker

  Linux continues to play a major role in a number of market segments, from everyday embedded devices to supercomputers.

  While it is used on fewer than 3% of desktops, it dominates supercomputing, web servers, the cloud, smartphones, and more. Linux-supported systems have even helped in the successful completion of 65 SpaceX missions. The fact that Linux is open-source means that it can be optimized for many different purposes and, looking at the Linux roadmap, it has.

  Let’s take a stroll through Linux and see where it stands in 2022!

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.35.0, 2022-08-29).

  Linux Linux, Newsletters

• Ewaste or usable – week 4

  Posted on May 28, 2022 at 21:39 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  Previous posts:  Week 1 here,  Week 2 here

  Week 3 here

  So this weekend I’ve installed various versions of Linux Mint on the Acer Aspire One.  I’ve been sticking to using 32 bit versions and have tried Tricia and then Tina . For Tina I’m trying the XFCE version — the reason?  Even Cinnamon Tricia was causing the system to be slow.  It IS an old laptop after all.

  So I started out downloading RUFUS .  If you aren’t aware of what this tool does, it allows you to easily build a bootable flash drive.

  

  You click start and off it goes to install the downloaded ISO to a bootable flash drive.

  Once you’ve installed it on a flash drive, then comes the fun part – booting the laptop so that it grabs the operating system from the flash drive rather than the hard drive itself. In the Acer One case, you hit F2, go into the bios and change the boot order to where the usb flash drive is the primary boot device.  Boot from the flash drive and then choose Install Linux Mint.

  

  Click install mint and off you go.  It will ask you for the wifi password if it’s seen the network card. Installing it is straightforward – you are asked if you want to replace the OS that is on the computer or do a dual boot.  In my case I want to replace the OS because regardless if I let this unit go to anyone or ewaste it, I have to have the existing data totally wiped.

  Now comes the question – is it usable?  Compared to my trusty Thinkpad, it’s slow. I’m trying the XFCE version as it’s meant to use less resources. Once you boot up you have a functional browser (Firefox) and programs like LibreOffice and Thunderbird. Are all of those functional?  Absolutely yes.

  If you have questions, remember the forums on this site as well as the Linux Mint forums.

  What’s the major difference?  Well like anytime you make changes from one platform to another, there’s a lot of “I did this here, how do I do that there?”

  Case in point?  Want to know the IP address of the computer?  Instead of the windows version of ipconfig /all it’s ip a in the command window . You do much more command line work in Linux than you do in modern Windows or even Macintosh.

  Next up – to find tools to remote into the computer similar to RDP.  I always like to have ways to go from one computer to another.  Once tool I should be able to use is RealVNC.  There is also XRDP (more on this in a later post)

  Decision so far?  I definitely wouldn’t rely on this for my main computer.  I can still protect and defend myself on a Windows computer. But if you have spare time and old hardware, you can certainly entertain yourself for a while!

   

   

   

  Linux Patch Lady Posts

• Linux malware is on the rise. What should you do?

  Posted on March 7, 2022 at 02:43 CST by Sandra Henry-Stocker • Comment in the Forums

  LINUX

  

  By Sandra Henry-Stocker

  Threats to Linux systems used to be relatively mild because Windows was such a larger target, outnumbering Linux systems by a huge percentage.

  Not any longer. Linux has become a much bigger target due to its increasingly significant role on Internet of Things (IoT) devices, virtual machines, containers, cloud services, and supercomputers.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 19.10.0 (2022-03-07).

  Linux Linux, malware, Newsletters

• Preparing for your move to Linux

  Posted on October 11, 2021 at 02:43 CDT by Sandra Henry-Stocker • Comment in the Forums

  LINUX

  

  By Sandra Henry-Stocker

  For most of us, our Microsoft Office suite is far from the only thing we use on our Windows computer. What about email, messaging, screen captures, password safes, tax-preparation software, calculators, image-manipulation tools, video players, backup tools, and such?

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.39.0 (2021-10-11).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Linux AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Linux, Migrating

• Good choices for your Windows-to-Linux transition

  Posted on May 31, 2021 at 01:01 CDT by Sandra Henry-Stocker • Comment in the Forums

  LINUX

  

  By Sandra Henry-Stocker

  If you’re a long-standing Windows user thinking about moving to Linux, there are several distributions in particular that you ought to consider.

  In this article, we’ll take a quick look at Ubuntu, Linux Mint, and Manjaro and then spend some time examining Ubuntu more closely. These three are some of the most popular Linux distributions and have a considerable user base, along with a very active support community. In fact, TechMint ranked Manjaro, Linux Mint and Ubuntu as the second, third, and fourth most popular Linux distributions of 2021, respectively.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.20.0 (2021-05-31).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Linux AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Linux, Ubuntu

• Windows to Linux? Are you ready to take the leap?

  Posted on April 19, 2021 at 01:02 CDT by Sandra Henry-Stocker • Comment in the Forums

  LINUX

  

  By Sandra Henry-Stocker

  Are tighter security, more customizable interfaces, and the availability of source code enough to make you switch? What does Linux have that Windows doesn’t, and what might you lose by moving to Linux?

  Key to answering these questions is understanding how the two systems differ. I am asked this often, and it’s a really good question — but not the easiest one to answer.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.14.0 (2021-04-19).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Linux AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Linux
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