Yes, a reknowned security expert tells people to put their password in their pockets. What are your thoughts on this?
--Yes and yes. Make a list of your passwords, make them all different, write them down. Change them every month. It's a good habit to get into. The only thing you will have to worry about is the piece of paper. It is good advice.
Linux usage in the servers of large companies is continuing to rise. 73% of enterprise companies are running Linux on at least some of their servers. Just six months ago that figure was 67% and a year ago it was 65%, as per Evans Data Corp's latest Enterprise Development Issues Survey.
--The real issue is where all the people are going to come from to support these machines. I don't think the current system designed to churn out admins is prepared for this shift. I think all HR departments are going to start looking at Hackers rather then Cert candidates.
We all know you can't teach this kind of devotion.
Eight reasons why Apple might win the OS war.
The future is more interesting if there is novelty, and it looks like the battle for OS dominance is shaping up to be very interesting indeed.
Let's set the stage here. You only need a few events to level the playing field when it comes to OS dominance, and these things are happening now.
Let me run all my current applications on the new OS.
Hypervisor technology is now being integrated into the newer processor architectures making this one a no brainier. You can run Windows on your Mac while OS X is running. Very soon you will see a tighter integration of this method, more seamless, almost like a wrapper per app.
Give me a superior user interface GUI.
The apple OS gives users a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. All you have to do is ask any Apple fan and they will espouse some of the benefits of their OS. The rabid fan base is one part engineered and one part real love for a superior product.
Give me greater stability.
The core of the Apple OS looks and feels like BSD, and it is not a coincidence. The inherent stability from this configuration is apparent.
You can run OSX on other hardware besides Apple hardware. It's not supported by Apple, but it will be soon, a prediction here.
Give me a secure GCC command line and package system.
Like I said, BSD. Sweet.
Give me a real security implementation.
Can I say BSD again? Seriously, open up an SSH sessions and connect to your Apple, dig around. You will see what I mean.
Let it play my games.
I included this one as a separate dynamic because it is so important as an industry. Hardware support of Hypervisor tech means no loss of performance when running Virtualized.
Let me use it as a LAMP, or a firewall, or anything else I can dream up.
Oh yeah, it can do that and do it well. Out of the box security subsystem with detail and a command line I can use.
So where's the switch? When is all this going to happen? Soon. Apple is researching ways now of making installation of Windows software no harder then clicking a button. When the integration is almost seamless, then the real battle will take place. The salvos have all ready started, but the meat of the matter is coming very soon. Apple has to make it easier. That's the key. My prediction, start to see adverts from Apple touting Windows App performance mid '08.
I know that some Microsoft fanboys are probably hitting the Send button on their flames as they read the title, but you can't ignore the truth. Linux and BSD are vastly superior to Windows in every way. Don't believe me? Read on, my friend. Read on and realize the folly of your MS ways.
--In truth the superiority of one platform over another is not as black and white as this author proposes. Me thinks the title is designed to drag more traffic, and it works.
The argument for usability and performance, with attention to security, rests squarely on the shoulders of the developers. You can lock down a windows XP machine, you can lock down a windows 2003 server. You can't educate every systems admin or user to know how to lock it down however. Linux (BSD, apple) comes out of the box locked down, and forces the user into the paradigm of the root. Windows entices you with the power of the gods out of the box, allowing even the most uninitiated the chance to format thier drive. Trying to get users to change patterns of behavior, for security or usability, is an uphill battle. This is true even if the learning curve is a small hill, like openoffice for MS office. The convergence of these OS choices are coming soon with virtualization being the norm. MS will have to meet apple and others full force as they continue to integrate MS apps into thier running OS, making a specific OS a real choice for users. It's only a matter of time.
if you thought metasploit was powerful before...get ready for the motherlode.
--This is great news! Metasploit is an easy to use security tool that uses perl based exploits that are distributed in package form. It is modular so you can use a certian exploit paired with a payload. Great testing tool, and it is in every black hat arsenal, so it is something that would be good to get familar with. This change will expand that ease of use to WI-FI security. Stop using WEP, right now.
Red Hat is dismissing Oracle's new support programme for the Red Hat Entperirse Linux application as a fork that will void certification and compatibility.
--Hmmm. Optimising a distro for an app? It is a good idea. All my distros are built, then optimised for each service they will be providing. Each server is virtualized and then locked down from the internal network. So no problems here with Oracle making a few bucks when people run Oracle DB on RH. The problem is how is it going to integrate with the other packages and services people run, and does Oracle care. I don't use RH anyway, but Larry is a smart guy for taking a piece of this pie. Look at the future.
Clocking in at a stunning 35 clicks, the video shows that installing a script debugger in the new operating system is not only not made any easier, but it still takes a series of hoop jumps. They offer the same process in OS X for comparison.
--If true, this shows the lunacy of integrating and administration subsystem into the gui to let users be admin-light. Stop letting users affect the OS, seperate user installed programs, and enforce security levels between users. By letting a clueless user click through security warnings you are enforcing a mindless click through behavior that can and will be exploited by the dark side. I can't wait to see if Vista is really this disapointing.
A spokesperson from MS' Licensing Dept says Vista enthusiasts get 10 activations (which will kick in if you swap the hard drive and another component) before things start to get tricky. More details on what this could mean to geeks.
--My, MS trying to clarify its liscensing? What is the world coming to. Trying to wrangle an MS liscense for your small business is a task in itself. Now dealing with a more obfuscated activation routine is going to cripple small shops even more. You can expedited a failed attempt by calling MS and paying $35 dollars. Hrmph.
Scott Lowe explains the potential of hybrid hard drives to reduce storage power consumption for Microsoft Vista and beyond.
--This is a great way to ease us into the future, no more moving parts. The more you can remove that from the equation, the better. Faster performance and reliability, where is the downside?
When you open the box, a big slip of paper falls out first, preceeding any discs or manuals. The slip of paper says, essentially, that 2142 includes monitoring software which runs while your computer is online, and records "anonymous" information like your IP address, surfing habits (probably via cookie scans), and other "computing habits" in order
--I guess you that have been reading noticed that they decided to put the adds into the games. Of course they are still charging full price for the game. This is not what I had in mind. I guess I forgot about greed. Silly me. See my rant here. Of course if EA would have contacted me I would have told them what was going to happen next. Namely, people in the know would simply block the adds. So I am looking forward to the new patch war with these companies. How long before somebody gets charged with a DMCA violation from advertisment removal? Countdown...
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