OpenELEC 7.0 for PC and Raspberry Pi
OpenELEC 7.0 packaged a minimal Linux media centre for PCs and Raspberry Pi devices.
Read the full postBlog 2016
23 posts
Projects, Linux, networks, systems, finds and internet standards from 2016.
Fusion energy: Solution for the future or eternal promise?
KG describes how light atomic nuclei release energy, which reactor approaches confine plasma and why usable fusion remains technically difficult. A successful lab pulse is not yet a power plant that can be maintained continuously. Energy technology only becomes relevant when physics, materials, cost and availability work together.
Read the full postAn old tablet becomes a cheap Linux laptop
NODE combines a used Android tablet, Ubuntu and a compact keyboard into a portable computer for under 100 dollars. Ubuntu was used as the system. Upcycling bundles many expensive components in hardware that is already available.
Read the full postSFTP and FTPS as secure upload paths in web hosting
Manuel Schmitt points out that web hosting customers have been able to transfer files via SFTP or FTPS instead of unencrypted FTP for some time. On 26 October 2016, SFTP and FTPS had already been available for a while. Both methods were used for uploads to web hosting packages.
Read the full postA second display from an old laptop panel
DIYP turns a removed laptop display with a matching controller board into an inexpensive portable monitor. The original video has the ID CfirQC99xPc. Electronic waste becomes valuable when standard interfaces make its components usable again.
Read the full postUSB Killer vs. IBM T22: 1:0 to the stick
In October 2016 I plugged a USB Killer into a retired but still working IBM ThinkPad T22, and afterwards it was dead. This post explains how the small device takes the energy for its attack from the victim’s USB port and why almost any hardware loses. It also answers the question why you would not simply use 230 volts, and shows what this means for protecting your own devices.
Read the full postAndroid patches reveal critical kernel vulnerabilities
Android security updates revealed several critical bugs in widely used Linux kernel components.
Read the full post620 Gbit/s: Mirai announces a new class of DDoS
Brian Krebs documents a DDoS attack that was exceptional at the time and whose direct traffic floods pointed to a large botnet of compromised IoT devices. The attack began on the evening of 20 September 2016. After analysis, Akamai put the peak load at around 620 Gbit/s.
Read the full postA gaming PC moves into a GALANT drawer unit
The second design of a drawer PC improves airflow, noise and maintenance access after problems with PCIe extensions. The revision began at the end of 2015. The planned build included four GPUs.
Read the full postA DDoS with almost 100 Mbit/s of incoming traffic
During a DDoS attack, live monitoring of eth0 showed 93.72 Mbit/s of incoming traffic at 21,246 packets per second, while almost nothing went out. vnStat was watching the network interface in live mode. Outgoing traffic was only 44 kbit/s at 19 packets per second.
Read the full postNSA hacking tools: critical security hole in FortiGate firewalls, patch now
In August 2016 Fortinet closed a critical hole in FortiOS up to version 4.x through which an attacker could gain admin rights remotely with a manipulated HTTP request. Shortly before, the group Shadow Brokers had published tools of the Equation Group, including exploits for FortiGate firewalls. Fortinet did not name the leak as the reason, but a connection seemed likely.
Read the full postDesktop for BSDs and Linux: Lumina 1.0.0 released
After several years of development, version 1.0.0 of the Lumina desktop environment appeared in 2016. It is based on Qt, lightweight and easy to customise, with a taskbar, application menu, file manager, screenshot tool and simple text editor. Lumina comes from the FreeBSD-based PC-BSD project, but also runs on other BSDs and Linux.
Read the full postA custom Linux computer as a 6LoWPAN gateway
Hackaday portrays a self-designed four-layer board that combines OpenWrt, Ethernet and a 6LoWPAN radio chip into an open gateway. The project uses a four-layer circuit board. The board was reflow-soldered on a hot plate.
Read the full postFast and without gaps: Bavaria wants to expand mobile and internet coverage
In 2016 the Bavarian economics minister Ilse Aigner announced a “Mobile Future Initiative” intended to close coverage gaps in the state. An immediate programme of 5 million euros was to fund new radio installations until 2020, and providers were to be obliged to cover blank spots when frequencies were allocated. In total, the ministry had more than one billion euros available in each of 2017 and 2018.
Read the full postRFC 7858: DNS over TLS
RFC 7858 describes encrypted DNS transport over TLS between a client and a recursive resolver. Transport encryption protects the path, not against the chosen resolver. Encryption can reduce observation and centralise trust.
Read the full postUnstable network at Linevast
After massive network problems the day before, I publicly asked the hosting provider Linevast when a stable connection could be expected again; I did not know the cause. The network problems occurred on 30 March 2016. My public question to Linevast followed on 31 March 2016.
Read the full postControlling radio sockets with Arduino and 433 MHz
For an Easter tinkering project, I first used 433 MHz modules to receive the signals of a radio socket remote control and then sent them myself from an Arduino to switch the sockets. The project used an Arduino and 433 MHz radio modules. The switching codes came from the received signals of the original remote control.
Read the full postModern TCP on Linux
The talk explains current TCP mechanisms on Linux and their effect on throughput and latency.
Read the full postRFC 7725: HTTP 451: Unavailable for legal reasons
RFC 7725 defines status code 451 for resources to which access is denied because of legal demands. Error codes can make social causes technically visible. Transparency about blocking is itself part of an open network infrastructure.
Read the full postrestic: encrypted and deduplicated backups
Alexander Neumann presents restic as a fast, verifiable backup tool with client-side encryption for local and remote storage targets. A convenient backup tool only increases security together with regularly tested recovery. Deduplication makes frequent snapshots affordable and shortens the window of possible data loss.
Read the full postSSH backdoor at Fortinet too?
In January 2016 a Python script appeared on Full Disclosure that provided unauthorised SSH access to Fortinet’s FortiGate firewalls in versions 4.x to 5.0.7. The undocumented mechanism looked suspiciously like a backdoor; Fortinet had already quietly fixed the problem in 2014. Shortly before, Juniper had had to admit that its products contained several backdoors.
Read the full postLinux 4.4 appears with graphics driver for the Raspberry Pi
Linux 4.4 appeared in January 2016 with a free graphics driver for the Raspberry Pi and graphics acceleration in virtual machines. RAID and BPF code were also improved. Even before development began, Greg Kroah-Hartman had announced that 4.4 would be maintained as a longterm kernel for at least two years.
Read the full postTV broadcasters order directional radio and fibre network
In January 2016 the German public broadcasters commissioned Media Broadcast to connect their around 200 transmitter and studio sites with directional radio and fibre links. The network was to transport the finished live programmes for TV and radio to the transmitters, including the data rates for HD via DVB-T2. No figures on the order volume were given.
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