"Windows Vista Beta 2 includes a new defense against buffer overrun exploits called address space layout randomization. Not only is it in Beta 2, it's on by default too. Now before I continue, I want to level set ASLR. It is not a panacea, it is not a replacement for insecure code, but when used in conjunction with other technologies, which I will explain shortly, it is a useful defense because it makes Windows systems look 'different' to malware, making automated attacks harder." On a related note, Microsoft is having difficulties in reaching parity between the 64bit and 32bit version of Vista concerning the amount of drivers shipped.
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Member since:2005-08-28
"Trollish "zomg linux sucks" ones deserve it, but it seems to me that criticisms which don't constitute trolling lose points very often"
it isn't just linux, but criticism of just about any OS can get you modded down by some fanboy of said OS. I got modded down the other day for saying solaris is slow at compiling apps, and I actually _like_ solaris... (I just tend to prefer linux).
like someone else pointed out, the moderation system, while it can be fun, does unfortunately tend to encourage being overly conservative and cautious in your statements for fear of getting bad votes.
I agree, it's a pity some folks can't distinguish between criticism and trolling.
Member since:2005-07-06
I don't know what world you live in but this:
No, I am never going to shut up about Linux security, not until the devs stow their stupid "we are teh invulnerable" attitude.
is not "criticism". It's just as bad as your own words "kernel devs and (much moreso) distro maintainers need to realize that Linux can have security issues, and will have more as it gets more popular" since you just simply state Linux devs are ignorant folks with no grip on reality.
Member since:2006-01-25
I guess Fedora isn't a common distro, as it has MAC (SELinux) implemented by default and I believe other security features as well. Not to say they are perfect, as there is still no extremely easy to use GUI for managing the firewall, and thus, most people seem to have it disabled. I'm hoping the next version of Ubuntu gets a lot of these vital security features enabled as well, such as SELinux and a good firewall application, I believe its on the roadmap for Edgy.
Member since:2005-07-20
Member since:2005-11-18
I just think that kernel devs and (much moreso) distro maintainers need to realize that Linux can have security issues, and will have more as it gets more popular.
It kinda depends on what distribution you are using. E.g. Red Hat is pretty proactive when it comes to security:
http://www.redhat.com/magazine/006apr05/features/security/
http://www.redhat.com/magazine/009jul05/features/execshield/
Member since:2005-07-06
"At the end of a week in which Electronic Arts confirmed it wasn't developing a thing for the Wii U, one of the software engineers in EA Sports' Canada studio, in a series of since-deleted tweets, disparaged the console as 'crap' and suggested Nintendo should give up on hardware altogether. 'The Wii U is crap. Less powerful than an Xbox 360. Poor online/store. Weird tablet', tweeted Bob Summerwill, listed as a senior software engineer at EA Canada, in a reply to a tweet posting a link about EA's no-Wii U news. 'Nintendo are walking dead at this point'." The Wii U is turning into the 21st century's Virtual Boy.
"In NixOS, the entire operating system - the kernel, applications, system packages, configuration files, and so on - is built by the Nix package manager from a description in a purely functional build language. The fact that it's purely functional essentially means that building a new configuration cannot overwrite previous configurations. Most of the other features follow from this." Interesting approach. A Linux distribution, sure, but with some very refreshing ideas about system configuration.
Appfour added, among other features, C/C++ support to its new version of AIDE. From Android-IDE, "Now you can write parts of your app or your whole app in C/C++ on your device. AIDE supports the Standard Android NDK toolchain (GCC 4.6 + Bionic, STL, ...). No changes are necessary if you want to build an app developed on a PC with Eclipse. C/C++ development is fully integrated: Build errors appear in the error list and files can easily be navigated to with Go to file. The editor supports C/C++ syntax highlighting."
Ars nails it: "The answer is that Google did announce what amounts to a fairly substantial Android update yesterday. They simply did it without adding to the update fragmentation problems that continue to plague the platform. By focusing on these changes and not the apparently-waiting-in-the-wings update to the core software, Google is showing us one of the ways in which it's trying to fix the update problem."
"It is good for programmers to understand what goes on inside a processor. The CPU is at the heart of our career. What goes on inside the CPU? How long does it take for one instruction to run? What does it mean when a new CPU has a 12-stage pipeline, or 18-stage pipeline, or even a 'deep' 31-stage pipeline? Programs generally treat the CPU as a black box. Instructions go into the box in order, instructions come out of the box in order, and some processing magic happens inside. As a programmer, it is useful to learn what happens inside the box. This is especially true if you will be working on tasks like program optimization. If you don't know what is going on inside the CPU, how can you optimize for it? This article is about what goes on inside the x86 processor's deep pipeline."
"It was the only moment I heard regret slip into Otellini's voice during the several hours of conversations I had with him. 'The lesson I took away from that was, while we like to speak with data around here, so many times in my career I've ended up making decisions with my gut, and I should have followed my gut,' he said. 'My gut told me to say yes.'" The world would've been a much different place - Apple would have been less dependant on Samsung for its chips, which probably would've meant less money for Samsung to develop its Galaxy business.Glass is getting some love at Google I/O as well. New applications have been released - Facebook, Twitter, Evernote, Elle, Tumblr, and CNN. Perhaps more interesting: the newly announced Google Glass Developer Kit will allow offline applications and direct hardware access - great for hacking and expanding Glass' potential. This kit will really allow hackers to put Glass through its paces."But Beck and Merrill decided that simply banning toxic players wasn't an acceptable solution for their game. Riot Games began experimenting with more constructive modes of player management through a formal player behavior initiative that actually conducts controlled experiments on its player base to see what helps reduce bad behavior. The results of that initiative have been shared at a lecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and on panels at the Penny Arcade Expo East and the Game Developers Conference." Absolutely fascinating stuff. I'm a League of Legends player, and to be honest, the community isn't nearly as bad as some make it out to be. I'm happy Riot games has the guts to employ science to address the issue.
"Android and iOS, the number one and number two ranked smartphone operating systems worldwide, combined for 92.3% of all smartphone shipments during the first quarter of 2013 as Windows Phone crept past BlackBerry for 3rd place. According to the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, Android smartphone vendors and Apple shipped a total of 199.5 million units worldwide during 1Q13, up 59.1% from the 125.4 million units shipped during 1Q12." Windows Phone doubles from a few to twice few, iOS loser market share as its growth is slower than that of the overall market. BlackBerry continues slide into irrelevance."According to the latest research from our Wireless Smartphone Strategies service, global Android smartphone profits reached US$5 billion in total during the first quarter of 2013. Samsung dominated and captured an impressive 95 percent share of all Android smartphone profits." Wow.
Member since:
2006-05-23
MAC not implemented by default in any form in common distros. Protection against forkbombs via PAM not used by default in any distros I've seen. PaX barely used by anyone, not stable with current kernels on architectures other than x86. Buffer overflows all over the place - VMS and several UNIXes have measures against those.
I'm not saying that Linux is a badly designed kernel, or that distros are poorly designed, or even that Linux is insecure; I just think that kernel devs and (much moreso) distro maintainers need to realize that Linux can have security issues, and will have more as it gets more popular. Developers aren't just sitting there, sure, but I think a bit more needs to be done than just patch up vulnerabilities - innate measures against more common types of vulnerabilities (e.g. buffer overflows) are a good idea.
(BTW, while we're at it... Why do all criticisms of Linux get modded down? Trollish "zomg linux sucks" ones deserve it, but it seems to me that criticisms which don't constitute trolling lose points very often.)