Innehållsförteckning för February 2025 från Linux Magazine

Dear Reader, The strange case of James Howells’s hard drive reached a judge this week, which should be cause for all of us to pause and reflect. In case you’re not familiar with the heart-rending tale, Mr. Howells had quite a sum of cryptocurrency back in 2013, with his private keys stored on a hard drive that he removed from his computer and placed in a black bag [1]. His partner at the time came across the bag in the hallway and thought it was trash, so she threw it out, or so his story goes. His former partner has acknowledged her role in the incident but says Howells “begged” her to toss out the trash in the inconspicuous black bag [2]. But the he said/she said details are not…

The developers of Armbian have announced the general availability of Armbian 24.11. This major update not only adds enhanced functionality but also expands hardware support. Armbian 24.11 now supports system-on-chip (SoC) computers, such as the Radxa ROCK 5B+, Radxa E20C, ArmSoM-CM5, ArmSoM-Sige3, OrangePi 5 Max, OK3568-C, NanoPi M6, Retro Lite CM5, CherryBa M1, Luckfox Core3566, and Turing RK1. But there’s more: Armbian also now supports other types of devices such as the OnePlus 8T phone, TV Box Magicsee C400 Plus, Android TV box, and the Cyber Aib RK3588 octa-core 64-bit processor. In addition to expanded hardware support, you’ll also find a much improved system configuration utility that now includes task automation, network configuration, SSH settings management, installing/uninstalling applications, and more. The 24.11 release only offers KDE Plasma, Gnome, and Xfce…

As reported by Phoronix (https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-force_cpu_bug), Brendan Jackman, a Google engineer, issued a patch that introduces a new Linux boot parameter, force_cpu_bug=. When enabled, the kernel assumes the CPU is affected by a bug such as Spectre, Meltdown, or Retbleed and reacts accordingly. But why would you want to do this, especially when your machine isn’t affected? According to Jackman’s post on the force_cpu_bug patch, “It’s a bit unfortunate that we have to do this by bug instead of by mitigation. However, we don’t have clear identifiers for the mitigations that we do, so I don’t think it’s practical to do better here than ‘you can pretend you’re on a vulnerable CPU – now go and read the docs for the per-vuln cmdline params to figure out how to run the…

Eighty-one percent of open source developers think that open source development leads to code that has better quality and security, according to the 2024 Open Source Developer Report from the Linux Foundation. This year’s report focused on “the specific needs and strategies that open source developers employ to advance their careers,” but it also asked developers about the overall value of open source software (OSS). Those findings include: • Eighty-eight percent of respondents somewhat or strongly agree that open source software (OSS) allows organizations to innovate faster.• Sixty-nine percent agree that the overall benefits of open source outweigh the cost.• Forty-nine percent agree that open source software has sustainability problems.• Eighty-two percent agree that open source sustainability problems could be solved if organizations did a better job of “giving back.”…

Protecting Future Feet When compiling software of a certain size, you typically compile a bunch of smaller files and then link the results together into the final executable file. This is a simple and easy process that definitely contains no psychotic nightmare lunacy whatsoever – except for most of it. One aspect of linking involves assigning memory addresses to all the functions and variables and whatnot that are perhaps defined in one file but need to be referenced by code in another file. It gets even more fun when you want to do this while simultaneously hiding these addresses from potentially hostile code that might be running on the same system, looking for security holes. But that’s another story. A while back, Linus Torvalds stubbed his toe on the linker…

Traditionally, new software has put forth major releases every couple of years or so, with minor releases in between for security and bug fixes. Known as point releases, this strategy continues to be the primary choice for many leading distributions such as Debian, openSUSE, and Ubuntu. However, over the years, a new strategy has emerged, with individual packages being released as soon as they are ready, rather than waiting for the next major release. Called rolling releases, this strategy is used by Arch Linux, Gentoo, and Manjaro. In any particular instance, the effectiveness of either strategy depends very much on having enough developers and upon the developers’ conscientiousness. However, both have pros and cons, which is why hybrid approaches with characteristics of both strategies are increasingly common. Point Releases Point…

Linux Magazine is your guide to the world of Linux. Monthly issues are packed with advanced technical articles and tutorials you won't find anywhere else. Explore our full catalog of back issues for specific topics or to complete your collection. #290/January 2025 LibreOffice Alternatives LibreOffice is the reigning king of the Linux desktop, but some users would rather explore the other offerings before opting for the perennial default office suite. We explore some of the leading contenders. On the DVD: Fedora 41 Live Workstation and Manjaro Xfce 24.1.1 #289/December 2024 Coding with AI Coding with AI Futurists predict a day when computers will write the computer programs. Are we there already? This month we separate fact from hype to examine some of the popular AI-based coding tools and explore what…

SUSE has been around for a long time and offers several outstanding products, one of which has gone by the moniker SUSE Linux Enterprise. Another product SUSE has offered for a while now has lived under the name Liberty Linux, which provides customers with a unified support experience for managing heterogeneous environments. Well, Liberty Linux is now SUSE Multi Linux Support (https://www.zdnet.com/article/suse-unveils-major-rebranding-and-a-new-ai-platform-that-protects-your-data/), a product that offers support not only for SUSE users but also stands as an alternative to Red Hat’s support. Liberty Linux isn’t the only product that has seen a name change. There’s also Rancher (SUSE’s Kubernetes), which is now SUSE Rancher; Harvester is now SUSE Virtualization; Longhorn is now SUSE Storage; and New Vector is now SUSE Security. The goal is to make it clear these products…

Linux Magazine www.linux-magazine.com ADMIN HPC http://www.admin-magazine.com/HPC/ Keras: Getting Started with AI • Jeff Layton A great way to start writing code with AI is to use Keras, an open source, easy-to-learn library that can use multiple frameworks. ADMIN Online http://www.admin-magazine.com/ Zero Trust Planning and Implementation • Martin Kuppinger We offer a step-by-step guide to implementing zero trust models to help you make state-of-the-art IT security become a reality. Secure RDP Connections • Thomas Joos Know when to make RDP available on the Internet for remote access to Windows Server and how to configure connections securely when you do. Emulating AWS and GCP Services • Ankur Kumar Mock and emulate AWS services locally and use official Google Cloud Platform service emulators to unblock development and operations – all without paying a…

GitHub has released GitHub Spark, an AI-powered tool for quickly developing apps to bring “crazy, small, fun” ideas to life. GitHub Spark uses natural language (NL) to let you create and share micro apps (or “sparks”), which can be created without writing or deploying any code and are available directly from your desktop and mobile devices. “When you type an NL expression into GitHub Spark, it doesn’t just generate code – it immediately runs and displays it via an interactive preview,” the announcement says. The tool includes the following tightly integrated components: • An NL-based editor that lets you describe your ideas and refine them over time• A managed runtime environment (https://githubnext.com/projects/github-spark/#managed-runtime-environment) that hosts your sparks and provides them access to data storage, theming, and LLMs• A PWA-enabled dashboard…

Windows users are probably familiar with InstallShield Wizards that provide stepby-step guides to software installation. Linux users, however, may be surprised to learn that Debian and its derivatives have long had a commandline equivalent that can edit a package’s setup after installation. Originally written by Debian pioneer Joey Hess, dpkg-reconfigure [1] has changed over the decades as Debian’s subsystems have evolved, but its core functionality has remained the same. Today, dpkg-reconfigure continues to offer a choice of interfaces and customization that makes reconfiguration both convenient and efficient. By default, dpkg-reconfigure is installed as a utility for debconf, which asks configuration questions during package installation. The Debian wiki describes debconf [2] as “one of the main advantages of Debian.” During installation, debconf stores the answers in a database that package scripts…

In the past, restarting a shutdown Raspberry Pi was a little archaic: briefly pull out the plug and then plug it back in again. If you wanted to make things easier, you could use a cable with a built-in button or use a HAT, which was especially useful if you wanted a time-controlled reboot. The Raspberry Pi 5 now finally has a dedicated power button (Figure 1). You can use it to start the Raspberry Pi when it’s switched off and also shut it down cleanly before it switches off the power (the operating system will even show a prompt if you’re running a desktop system). In this article, I will show you some further useful features for switching the Raspberry Pi 5 on and off. Preparations To make sure…

Real time’s time arrives It has been announced that in the next kernel to be released that “real-time” processing will be much improved. I have had a love-hate relationship with “real time” from the days when I first started programming in 1969. Much of the programming I did in those days was in assembly language, and often with a computer that had no operating system, running one task at a time. You could write your program to do constant “polling” of some event, and when that event happened, you immediately addressed it. Of course, this meant that the entire computer was dedicated to a single function, and when the computer cost $50,000 it had to be a fairly important event for you to capture. It did not help that the…

What Is Free and Open Source? What does the word “free” mean to you? You’ve probably heard the phrase “free as in beer.” My father once lamented there was no such thing. We had family friends who were home brewers. Whenever he was invited to imbibe, they also used it as an excuse to show him tedious slide shows of their vacations. “Free” can also pertain to liberty. This was lost on the Llama Group, who briefly posted the code for Winamp on GitHub earlier this year but forbade forking it. In other words, the community was free to Improve Winamp while the owners were free to benefit from it. In 1986, Richard Stallman of the Free Software Foundation (FSF) published the Free Software Definition, which has since expanded to…

Users, developers, and vendors meet at Linux events around the world. We at Linux Magazine are proud to sponsor the Featured Events shown here. For other events near you, check our extensive events calendar online at https://www.linux-magazine.com/events. If you know of another Linux event you would like us to add to our calendar, please send a message with all the details to info@linux-magazine.com. SCaLE 22x Date: March 6-9, 2025 Location: Pasadena, California Website: https://www.socallinuxexpo.org/scale/22x/ SCaLE is the largest community-run open-source and free software conference in North America. Topics featured include DevOps, Security, Cloud Native, Kernel, Open Government, Systems and Infrastructure, Home Automation, and more! FOSS Backstage Date: March 10-11, 2025 Location: Berlin, Germany and Online Website: https://25.foss-backstage.de/ The seventh edition of FOSS Backstage will take place in Berlin (and online) on 10th…

Available Starting February 7 Have you always wanted a simpler solution for distributed version control? Next month we study the next-generation Pijul, which is based on a diff algorithm that works without snapshots. Also inside: • Advanced Shell Scripting• Python Automation• Controlling an Android Device• Linux on Steam Deck• And much more! Please note: Articles could change before the next issue. BE THE FIRST TO SEE WHAT’S NEXT The Linux Magazine Preview is a monthly email newsletter that gives you a sneak peek at the next issue, including links to articles posted online. Sign up at: https://bit.ly/Linux-Update…

There’s a new Cinnamon desktop (version 6.4) for everyone to enjoy, and it has a decidedly newer (and more modern) look. The new polish on the default theme includes darker colors, an increased radius on window corners, and better use of accent colors. But that’s not all. The new look also makes use of Clutter (a toolkit for creating Linux GUIs) for nearly all modal dialogs (pop-up windows that require user input). The buttons within those dialogs also pick up the chosen accent color, so there’s more uniformity throughout. Other changes to version 6.4 include a native Night Light feature, adjustable color temperature (to replace Redshift), over-amplification is now easier to find (Settings | Sound), an improved Power applet to simplify switching between power profiles, Quit now renamed Shutdown, menu…

WolfsBane, a Chinese malware, has been discovered by ESET and is being used by a group known as Gelsemium. This malware is listed as an all-in-one because it contains everything necessary to do what it needs to do, including a dropper (named cron), which “drops” the launcher disguised as a KDE desktop component. Wolfs-Bane then (if needed) disables SELinux, creates required system service files, and/or modifies a configuration for persistence. The malware also includes the Hider rootkit, which is capable of hooking into functions such as open, stat, readdir, and access. The reason why this is labeled an all-in-one is because it doesn’t depend on the work of others to succeed; everything is included. WolfsBane’s key feature is the ability to grant control over a compromised system to those deploying…

If you’re a fan of Red Hat and Red Hat Linux Enterprise (RHEL), you’ll be glad to know the latest iteration, version 9.5, has been released and includes more than 70 updates geared toward modern infrastructure, enhanced security for AI workloads, and more efficient workflows. Some of the more important updates to RHEL include enhanced confidential computing for AI workloads, improved file management capabilities in the RHEL Cockpit web-based admin tool, a new system role for automated configuration at scale, hardened image configurations in the Image Builder, and BIND 9.18 for enhanced DNS. For those who prefer to use the Cockpit GUI over the command line, the web console now includes a new file manager interface, so you don’t have to rely on the command-line interface when working on files/folders…

Version 1.0 of the Open Source AI Definition (OSAID) is now available. The definition, which was developed through a year-long, global, community process led by the Open Source Initiative (OSI – https://opensource.org/), defines an Open Source AI as “an AI system made available under terms and in a way that grant the freedoms to”: • Use the system for any purpose and without having to ask for permission• Study how the system works and inspect its components• Modify the system for any purpose, including to change its output• Share the system for others to use with or without modifications, for any purpose The OSAID “offers a standard by which community-led, open and public evaluations will be conducted to validate whether or not an AI system can be deemed Open Source…

How does Netflix know exactly which movie I want to watch next? As a streaming service, the movie juggernaut has access to my viewing habits, and, thanks to different profiles, it knows just what the people in my household have been watching. Rather than withholding information, Netflix lets its users peek into their own history. If you select the Profiles menu and then the respective user profile in Viewing Activity, you will find a list (Figure 1) of all the films you have ever watched, including the viewing date and time. The list can even be conveniently downloaded as a CSV file (Figure 2). Each line in the file contains the movie or series title and the screening date in your home cinema (Figure 3). Tight Lipped for Privacy I…

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Linux Magazine is looking for authors to write articles on Linux and the tools of the Linux environment. We like articles on useful solutions that solve practical problems. The topic could be a desktop tool, a commandline utility, a network monitoring application, a homegrown script, or anything else with the potential to save a Linux user trouble and time. Our goal is to tell our readers stories they haven’t already heard, so we’re especially interested in original fixes and hacks, new tools, and useful applications that our readers might not know about. We also love articles on advanced uses for tools our readers do know about – stories that take a traditional application and put it to work in a novel or creative way. We are currently seeking articles on…