J_K9 @ Linux

Retro Gaming Hacks - Clong Pong

January 13, 2006 on 7:30 pm | In Games | 4 Comments

In a three part series published for O’Reilly’s ‘Unix, Unix Programming, Linux, Open Source Newsletter’, these ‘Retro Gaming Hacks’ articles will teach you how to clone the classic game Pong (not quite in 3D as the one linked is, but still pretty enjoyable :)) using just SDL and a little bit of knowledge.

I quote from the newsletter:

One of the great things about the games of yore is that they tended to be pretty simple, and as Josh Glover explains, Pong is one of the simplest to implement. In this first article of a three-part series, Josh shows you how to clone Pong all by yourself. Josh contributed a number of the hacks in O’Reilly’s Retro Gaming Hacks.

It is a great bit of fun, especially if you find yourself lazing around on the couch on a late Saturday afternoon munching a handful of popcorn and drinking beer while watching the latest episode of Little Britain! It will intrigue you, possibly get a few of the cogs in your brain turning once again, and it will be a good experience. Try it out!

Retro Gaming Hacks, Part 1: Clone Pong, Using Only SDL (and Your Brain)
Retro Gaming Hacks, Part 2: Add Paddles to Pong
Retro Gaming Hacks, Part 3: Add a Ball and Score to Pong

AVG AntiVirus Free for Linux

January 12, 2006 on 10:43 am | In Linux | 12 Comments

Peter Lipa, President of Grisoft, Inc, announced AVG Free for Linux:

“With its growing popularity, it is only a matter of time before the Linux
operating system becomes more widely targeted by virus and malware writers,” said Lipa.
“Grisoft is at the forefront to support the Linux OS and provide all
Linux users with every possible precaution to reduce the risk of viruses.”

AVG Free is the first commercial-grade AntiVirus product to come to Linux, and it holds many advantages:

Intuitive graphical (GUI) interface which makes it easy to install and use
Rapid virus database updates for the lifetime of the product
Small update files that do not drain system resources
Automatic update functionality
AVG On-Demand Scanner, which allows users to perform scheduled and manual tests
AVG’s advanced virus detection methods (heuristic analysis, generic detection, scanning) designed to provide maximum virus protection

AVG Free for Linux is an excellent choice as an AntiVirus product, especially if you want to protect yourself from the apparent ‘wave of Linux viruses’ which is to come. Download it now!

Read the PRNewsWire article, which discusses this in more detail.

CERT End Of Year Report Confusion

January 9, 2006 on 11:02 am | In Linux | 5 Comments

I have been delaying this issue, but only because I wanted to get more information on it.

The United States Computer Emergency Response Team released an end of year report of the vulnerabilities of different Operating Systems. Interesting, but even more intriguing were articles like the one from TechWeb, entitled “Linux/Unix Vulnerabilities Outnumber Windows’ 3 To 1″.

Initially, you may be shocked - is Windows now more secure than Linux? But the title of that article is highly misleading for a number of reasons. First of all, it is not just Linux/Unix, but Windows is being compared against HP-UX/AIX/Linux/BSD/Mac/other Unix OSes (which have all been squashed together into one package). This immediately warps the statistics, because we are no longer comparing Windows and Linux, but Windows and the vulnerabilities of many different Unix-based OSes.

Then there is the issue of scope. In the report, there is no account for how widespread a certain vulnerability is. For example, while a few hundred Linux users may be vulnerable to “AlmondSoft Almond Classifieds SQL Injection”, thousands may be vulnerable to the Windows “Allinta Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability”.

Which leads me onto my next point - ‘core vulnerabilities’ are not separated from ’secondary vulnerabilities’, where the ‘core’ ones are present out-of-the-box and the ’secondary’ ones are optionally installed. This gives a researcher studying the CERT report no valid information as to which vulnerabilities are installed with an Operating System and their quantity - which is a pity because better results would be produced than the ones TechWeb’s article is supported by (although my first two points would still be in effect).

Many vulnerabilities are also counted more than once - take “Apache ‘Mod_SSL SSLVerifyClient’ Restriction Bypass (Updated)”; that has been counted 8 times just because eight distributions of Linux were vulnerable. Now, as they are all different distros (which are vulnerable), should this vulnerability be counted as one or eight? Which goes without saying that Windows should also be vulnerable to this Apache flaw…

As for how often and how swiftly patches are released: I think you’ll find that many of the mainstream Linux distributions fix a vulnerability within a day. Windows - you might need to wait until the end of the month for that!

Update: I seem to have forgotten to mention that while many of the *nix vulnerabilities are from fairly obsolete applications, many of the Windows ones are critical - an example being the zero-day WMF exploit which made hundreds of thousands of Windows users worldwide vulnerable.

Note: Many thanks to nihil for his help.

BlackDog - A Pocket-Sized Server

January 7, 2006 on 2:45 am | In Linux, Hardware | 5 Comments

BlackDog is an amazing new piece of technology. I quote from the BlackDog website:

BlackDog is the world’s smallest Linux server that is 100% USB-powered and fits in the palm of your hand. BlackDog represents a new breed in mobile computing devices that gives developers a whole new way to think about computing.

But wait - that’s not all the good news. You can pick this hot gadget up for a mere $199, and its specifications are:

Dimensions: H: .50” W: 1.75” L: 3.5”
Weight: 1.6 ounces
400Mhz PowerPC Processor
64MB RAM
256MB Flash Memory
USB 2.0
Biometric Scanner
MMC Expansion Slot

That is an incredibly good price for this gadget! A USB-powered server - simply plug it into your computer, and you’ll be running two for the (electrical) price of one.

Check out BlackDog’s other cool features on the Product Overview page.

Google To Launch Linux-Based PC

January 5, 2006 on 10:31 pm | In Linux, Hardware | 2 Comments

Google is going to release a cheap computer dubbed “Google Cube” to the masses, which will run an Operating System based on Linux. It will be sold in partnership will Wal-Mart, although the price has not yet been confirmed.

The original article at Financial Mirror states that it could pose a threat to Microsoft Windows - which is fairly likely, as Google has gained so much press coverage in the past few months.

But, if this goes forward, I think the best thing is that Linux will also be sent into the limelight as a side-effect. If Google’s new PC is a hit, and people discover that it is based on Linux, the ‘barrier’ which makes current users afraid of trying Linux will be broken - and as a result, more users will switch to Linux. In my opinion, this move will greatly help defeat the common misconceptions associated with Linux nowadays - especially that it is a “hacker’s OS”. Go Google!

Linux Distribution Chooser

January 5, 2006 on 10:32 am | In Linux | 8 Comments

Are you unsure which distribution of Linux you want to try first? Mandriva, SUSE, Fedora Core, MEPIS, Kubuntu - the list goes on, and for a newbie this is both confusing and frustrating.

So, zegenie Studios have made an excellent Linux Distribution Chooser to ease this process, and narrow your ‘perfect match’ down to two distros - from there, you can either try them both, or do an “Ini-minnie-mini-mo” to pick your first one!

It’s also a bit of fun for us “Linux veterans”. Is the distro you’re using the one you’re meant to be with? Is it The One? Find out now…

HOW TO: Secure Your Box With Bastille

January 4, 2006 on 9:40 pm | In Linux, HOW TO, Security | 20 Comments

Bastille is a hardening tool which is very effective at locking down your system, and all it requires is a few minutes of your time! It is currently available for the major Linux distributions: SUSE, Mandrake (the available RPM should work with Mandriva), Fedora Core, Red Hat, Debian, and Gentoo, and it is also available for HP-UX and Mac OS X, as well as the source code which can be compiled on most *nix systems. In this tutorial I shall take you through the steps of installing it and setting it up properly in order to secure your system better than before. Please note that this tutorial is designed for users new to Linux, and so may be slightly cumbersome for the more advanced users out there.

Continue reading HOW TO: Secure Your Box With Bastille…

10 Applications Every Linux User Should Have

January 3, 2006 on 7:08 pm | In Linux, Articles | 28 Comments

Ray Bayley and I have worked together to produce this list of excellent applications which every Linux user should have on their system. Ranging from web browsers to security tools, these are the applications that should definitely be in your menu. Of course, there are far more Open Source applications available than the ten mentioned in this list, but Ray and I have tried to choose only the “criticals”.

Continue reading 10 Applications Every Linux User Should Have…

Queen Honours Ipod Designers

January 3, 2006 on 11:31 am | In Hyperactive, Hardware | 2 Comments

The iPod is an amazing work of art, and its design (and technology!) inspired many other companies to manufacture similar MP3-playing products. Yet, the iPod’s revolutionary physique was beauty to the eyes - and it was all due to a certain Jonathan Ive.

Almost four years later, Queen Elizabeth II has recognised his talent and, as a result, he became a CBE, having been named to the New Years’ Honours List. I think he deserves every bit of the praise, as I don’t know what I would do without my 4GB iPod mini!

Read the article on Red Herring