How close is Greece to Grexit?

Found on BBC News on Friday, 17 April 2015
Browse Politics

It feels as if we have been here before, but there is a growing belief that without a deal on Greek reforms, the left-led Syriza government will run out of cash.

Greece would return to the drachma, suffer instant devaluation and inflation and there would be a banking crisis.

Greece should have left the Euro years ago. In fact, it should have never joined because their economy was not ready for it. Now the EU politicians do not want to accept the fact that they messed up and have to clean up now; instead, they try to drag this out by just adding more money.

Sysadmins, patch now: HTTP 'pings of death' are spewing across web to kill Windows servers

Found on The Register on Thursday, 16 April 2015
Browse Software

The security bug (CVE-2015-1635) allows attackers to knock web servers offline by sending a simple HTTP request. Microsoft fixed this denial-of-service vulnerability yesterday in a patch numbered MS15-034.

The problem stems from HTTP.sys not safely handling the Range header in a HTTP request; this mechanism is used to fetch part of a file from a server, which is sometimes handy for resuming downloads. If you set the range way too large, it causes the Windows kernel to crash.

A simple HTTP requests which causes a BSOD is a pretty serious problem.

Retina Macbook 2015 Teardown

Found on iFixit on Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Browse Hardware

The MacBook 2015 Repairability Score: 1 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)

Proprietary pentalobe screws continue to make opening the device unnecessarily difficult, and new cable routing makes the procedure even trickier.

The USB-C port is secured by tri-wing screws, and buried under the display brackets, complicating replacement. Also, being the only port, it will experience more use and wear than a typical single-purpose port.

The battery assembly is entirely, and very solidly, glued into the lower case.

The Retina display is still a fused unit with no separate, protective glass. If the display needs replacing, it'll cost a pretty penny.

The processor, RAM, and flash memory are soldered to the logic board.

Of course Apple makes it difficult, because you are supposed to be a good sheep customer and buy new devices as soon as the ones you have act up. Nothing will be done about this, because every little regulation could harm the economic growth. Not to mention that the lack of useability is increasing: a single USB port is all you get. Charge your shiney new Macbook while using an external harddrive? Sorry, not possible.

Drug Pump’s Security Flaw Lets Hackers Raise Dose Limits

Found on Wired on Tuesday, 14 April 2015
Browse Technology

Anyone on the hospital’s network—including a patient in the hospital or a hacker accessing the pumps over the internet—can load a new drug library to the pumps that alters the limits, thereby potentially allowing the delivery of a deadly dosage.

The system also stores usernames and passwords in plaintext.

The pumps themselves don’t bother to check whether the system sending them updates is the MedNet system, any system on the hospital’s network can access the pumps to install a new library or anyone can reach out to them over the internet through one of their internet-facing ports, and do the same.

With all the hype around the IoT, there will be many more such problems; and in this case it was even a medical device where the developers should pay extra attention to security. In most everyday IoT devices, a company just tries to get the product working without caring about security at all.

Linux 4.0 Goes Live With Live Kernel Patching

Found on eWEEK on Monday, 13 April 2015
Browse Software

The Linux 4.0 kernel is very much a "solid code progress" release, according to Torvalds. The live kernel patching capability is not a new feature in the broader Linux ecosystem. Oracle has a technology capability known as Ksplice that enables live kernel patching, although Ksplice is not open source code that is directly integrated in the upstream mainline Linux kernel.

In addition to the new live patching code, there is a new Linux "code of conflict" that was merged into the kernel during the Linux 4.0 development cycle. The code of conflict is an attempt to help deal with potential conflict between Linux kernel developers.

A reboot now and then is not much of a problem, so all the live-patching and faster boot times (as promised by systemd) is rather pointless. If you really require high availability, and a reboot is an issue, then your HA design is deeply flawed anyway.

French Intelligence Bill: 5 Web Hosting Providers Threaten To Leave the Country

Found on Slashdot on Sunday, 12 April 2015
Browse Internet

Five popular French web hosting providers, including Gandi and OVH, said on Thursday that the new French intelligence bill might push them to leave the country in order not to lose their customers. The five companies are protesting against the "real-time capture of data connection" and their analysis by the intelligence services using "+black boxes+ with blurred lines".

"These are thousands of jobs (...) that startups and large companies will also create elsewhere," they add. The press release was addressed to the French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, and was co-signed by Gandu, OVH, IDS, Ikoula and Lomaco.

Maybe one day the politicians will learn that mass-surveillance will not solve any problems. If you make the haystack bigger, it won't make it easier to find the needle.

Plaque-busting nanoparticles could help fight tooth decay

Found on Science on Saturday, 11 April 2015
Browse Science

Researchers have developed tiny sphere-shaped particles that ferry a payload of bacteria-slaying drugs to the surface of the teeth, where they fight plaque and tooth decay on the spot.

This is the first time such a technique has been shown to be effective in animals, notes pharmaceutical scientist Dong Wang of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, who was not involved with the research. “That's a huge step forward.”

Because the nanoparticles attach to biofilms instead of just to teeth, they could also bombard biofilms on the tongue or elsewhere in the mouth, where they may have damaging effects on beneficial bacteria.

Some studies suggest that nanoparticles can pose a big risk. Maybe it's an easier solution to just reduce the amounts of sugar; or put some more research into alternatives like Xylitol.

Middle school student charged with cybercrime in Holiday

Found on Tampa Bay Times on Friday, 10 April 2015
Browse Legal-Issues

Sheriff Chris Nocco said Thursday that Green logged onto the school's network on March 31 using an administrative-level password without permission. He then changed the background image on a teacher's computer to one showing two men kissing.

"Even though some might say this is just a teenage prank, who knows what this teenager might have done," Nocco said.

Green also received a 10-day school suspension. It's unclear if he'll return to Paul R. Smith to complete the school year after the suspension.

A little prank, and your life is ruined. It is no fun to be a child these days; you just end up being a potential terrorist.

Microsoft creates a container for Windows

Found on Computerworld on Thursday, 09 April 2015
Browse Software

Hoping to build on the success of Docker-based Linux containers, Microsoft has developed a container technology to run on its Windows Server operating system.

Unlike Docker, which uses Linux as its core operating system, Windows Server Container will rely on the Windows Server operating system. This will allow organizations to package into containers their applications specifically built to run on Windows Server, and Microsoft's .Net framework.

There is a weird hype surrounding Docker and its clones. Similar solutions already exist for Windows, like ThinApp or Cameyo.

Zynga CEO Mattrick leaves abruptly, replaced by founder Pincus

Found on CNet News on Wednesday, 08 April 2015
Browse Various

"I believe the timing is now right for me to leave as CEO and let Mark lead the company into its next chapter given his passion for the founding vision and his ability to couple our mobile progress with Zynga's unique strengths," Mattrick said in a statement.

Following Mattrick's announcement Wednesday, the company's shares fell more than 9 percent to $2.63. The company's shares have fallen more than 30 percent in the past year.

The company's investors haven't returned to their early enthusiasm that pegged the company's value as high as $20 billion shortly after its initial public offering in 2011.

What's more surprising is that the soon-to-be pennystock company still exists.