● 07.30.23

Gemini version available ♊︎

● Links 30/07/2023: PCLinuxOS 2023.07 and pgAdmin 4 v7.5 Released

Posted in News Roundup at 7:04 pm by Dr. Roy Schestowitz

GNU/Linux

Instructionals/Technical

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to set up NTP Server and Client on Debian 12. Accurate time synchronization is crucial for any computer network.

• Beneath the layers of SSH lies the host key, a unique cryptographic signature used to authenticate servers. When you attempt to connect to a remote server, your client machine saves the host key in the “known hosts” file.

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install OBS Studio on Debian 12. If you are a content creator, gamer, or live streamer on Debian 12 (Bookworm), OBS Studio is an essential tool to enhance your multimedia production.

• Run Ubuntu on laptop or other machine with touchscreen? You can enable touch feedback with an extension. It’s ‘Touch X‘, an extension that support GNOME from version 40 to 44. Meaning for Ubuntu 22.04, 23.04, Debian 12, RHEL 9, Fedora, Arch, Manjaro and other Linux with recent GNOME.

• This beginner’s guide explains the steps to install the Yay AUR helper in Arch Linux. The yay is an abbreviation of ‘Yet Another Yogurt’. It is technically a pacman wrapper and AUR helper written in Go programming languages.

• In this tutorial, we will show you how to install CMake on Debian 12. CMake, a powerful cross-platform build system generator, plays a pivotal role in modern software development. As developers strive for efficiency and portability, understanding how to install CMake on Debian 12 is essential.

• In the dynamic world of Linux operating system, known for its sheer power and flexibility, there lies a vast collection of commands that give you complete authority over the system. One such essential command, deeply woven into the fabric of the system, is the mkdir command.

• Apache HTTP Server, commonly known as Apache, is one of the most widely used and reliable web servers worldwide. Serving millions of sites across the globe, Apache’s ubiquity is due to its flexibility, power, and vast module library.

• fail2ban is a great tool when it comes to protecting your server from different attacks.

• I installed OpenSUSE “Tumbleweed” recently, and everything went wine. However, I noticed that every app that was Installed had minimize and maximize buttons missing from the top bar of the app. The only button that was showing, was the close button.

• Making life easier with PXE Welcome to Part Two of our journey into setting up a network-based installation environment. Having already established our openSUSE Installation Server in Part One, we’re now ready to dive into the next exciting phase: Installing and Configuring PXE.

• In the world of Bash scripting, one common task is to check if a directory exists before proceeding with further actions. Whether you are writing automation scripts, performing system maintenance, or managing files and directories, it’s essential to ensure that the directory you are about to work with exists to avoid errors and unexpected behaviors. In this comprehensive guide, you will learn various methods to check if a directory exists in Bash, with practical examples and best practices.

Distributions and Operating Systems

• I would like to thank forum member madanadam for contributing more Türkçe translations. Just about fully translated now!

• See the recent contributions in the forum:

• https://forum.puppylinux.com/viewtopic.php?t=8070&start=30

• Also, recent commits to github:

• https://github.com/bkauler/woofq/commits/5b9a4b5a1ba307fe0300ee39de858f4b3e09e9d1

PCLinuxOS/Mageia/Mandriva/OpenMandriva Family

• The Pointless Distribution manager has announced updated installation media for KDE Plasma, MATE and Xfce desktops. The following features stand out: New apt, rpm and synaptic package manager. New mylive-install installer replaces draklive-install. Additional configuration utilities were added to supplement the Administration Center.

Gentoo Family

• I really wanted to look into the new kernel building solutions for Gentoo and maybe migrate to dracut, but last time I tried, ~1.5 years ago, the initreamfs was now working for me.

• And now in 2023 I’m still running genkernel for my personal boxes as well as other servers running Gentoo.

• I guess some short term solutions really become defined tools

Arch Family

• Archinstall 2.6 is here with support for the Hyperland customizable dynamic tiling Wayland window manager, support for the Limine modern, advanced, portable, multiprotocol bootloader, and support for custom mirrors finally allowing users to add their favorite mirrors.

• Also new in Archinstall 2.6 is a revamped partitioning section that has been rewritten, enablement of separate /boot and /boot/esp via XBOOTLDR in systemd-boot, easier saving of configuration files by allowing tab-completion in folder path entry, as well as support for Estonian and Traditional Chinese languages.

Open Hardware/Modding

• Cubey125 has set up a Raspberry Pi in the dash of their Nissan 370Z with RetroPie for gaming and emulation on the go.

• Cytron Robo Pico is a carrier board for the Raspberry Pi Pico (W) specially designed for robotics & IoT applications with a 2-channel DC motor driver, four servo motor ports, and seven Grove I/O connectors to connect various sensors and/or actuators. When the company asked us to review the Robo Pico board, I noticed they had a car robotic kit based on the board called the BocoBot that comes with installation videos and five tutorials including obstacle avoidance movement with ultrasonic sensors, light search, line following, and WiFi remote control.

Free, Libre, and Open Source Software

Web Browsers/Web Servers

Mozilla

• Do you want to make the Thunderbird e-mail client look more like a native app on the GNOME desktop? If so, check out with community-based Thunderbird GNOME Theme project.

SaaS/Back End/Databases

• The pgAdmin Development Team is pleased to announce pgAdmin 4 version 7.5. This release of pgAdmin 4 includes 28 bug fixes and new features. For more details please see the release notes.

GNU Projects

Programming/Development

• I’ve been getting a lot of use recently from the Posit (née RStudio) Package Manager (PPM), because it offers freely available R package binaries for quite a few Linux…

• Cover photo by gorodenkoff on iStock

• This is the third article of the Quantum Computing simulation with R series.

• A neat trick to debug the keyboard navigation in your QML application is to put the following code snippet in your main.qml: [...]

Python

• By using the “os.rename()” function, “shutil.move()” function, or using the “os” module, users can rename a single or bulk of files using Python.

• In Python, the “os.path” module of the “os” library provides several functions to work with specified paths in various operating systems.

• The “random.shuffle()” method of the “random” module is used to shuffle a list of strings or a list of integers in Python.

• The tkinter grid is a two-dimensional table with rows and columns, where each cell can hold a widget such as buttons, labels, or entry fields.

• The “DataFrame.iloc[]” and the “DataFrame.loc[]” method of the “Pandas” module is used to get the Pandas DataFrame rows based on the index.

• The “seaborn.heatmap()” function of the “Seaborn” module is utilized in Python to plot/create rectangular data in the color-coded matrix form.

• The “try” and “except” statement, the “raise” exception, and the “logger.exception” method is used to catch all exceptions in Python.

• The “os.environ” is a mapping object or built-in dictionary in Python that represents all the user’s environment variable values in key-value pairs set.

• The relational operators, “df.isin()”, “&” operator, and “df.loc[]” methods, are used to select DataFrame rows based on particular conditions.

• The “traceback” or “logging“ module provides several functions that are used in Python to log the error message and the Stacktrace.

• The “pandas.unique()”, “Series.unique()”, “Numpy.unique()”, and “pandas.concat()” methods are used to get distinct values of the Pandas DataFrame column.

• “Tkinter-treeview” is a specialized widget in “Tkinter” that presents hierarchical data structures in a tree-like format.

• In Python, the “List”, “heapq”, and “queue.PriorityQueue” methods are used to implement Priority Queues and return data items based on their priority.

• The average of a list in Python can be found using the iterative method, sum() and len() functions, reduce() and lambda() functions, numpy, or statistics modules.

• The “df.to_csv()” function of the Pandas module is used to append Pandas DataFrame to CSV (Comma Separated Value) file in Python.

• The “scipy.linalg” module and the “scipy.sparse” module of the Scipy library is used to perform various operations on Scipy matrices in Python.

• The “random.randint()” or the “random.randrange()” methods of the “random” module are utilized to generate/create a random integer in Python:

• The “os.getenv()” method of the “os” module is utilized in Python to retrieve the environment variable key value if it is present.

• The “groupby()” method splits data into groups based on columns and finds total values in a column for each group using the agg method, such as “count”.

• The “pd.DataFrame()” columns parameter, “DataFrame.columns” method and the “DataFrame.set_axis()” method is used to add a header to Pandas DataFrame in Python.

Rust

• LPC 2023 will host the second edition of the Rust MC. This microconference intends to cover talks and discussions on both Rust for Linux as well as other non-kernel Rust topics. Proposals can be submitted via LPC submission system, selecting the Rust MC track.

• Rust is a systems programming language that is making great strides in becoming the next big one in the domain. Rust for Linux is the project adding support for the Rust language to the Linux kernel.

• Rust has a key property that makes it very interesting as the second language in the kernel: it guarantees no undefined behavior takes place (as long as unsafe code is sound). This includes no use-after-free mistakes, no double frees, no data races, etc. It also provides other important benefits, such as improved error handling, stricter typing, sum types, pattern matching, privacy, closures, generics, etc.

Standards/Consortia

• This is the biggest pain point in both. I failed to register via either Pidgin or Hexchat. I couldn’t find a way in either client to register my handle. I have had on/off relationships with IRC over the years, the biggest issue being IIRC is that if you stop using your handle for a month or two others can use it. IIRC, every couple of months or so, irc/oftc releases the dormant ones. Matrix/Vector has done quite a lot in that regard but that’s a different thing altogether so for the moment will keep that aside.

Leftovers

Hardware

• Familiarize yourself with the Ultimaker Cura slicer, from installation to its features and tools, as well as more advanced features such as 3D slicing and configuring 3D printer settings and profiles.

Health/Nutrition/Agriculture

• DocGo, a medical services company, received a $432 million no-bid contract to move hundreds of asylum seekers outside the city. Many say they have been threatened, mistreated and lied to.

• Destination weddings are booming, forcing guests to factor in travel costs before they RSVP.

• By the numbers: The global destination wedding market grew from $21.31 billion in 2022 to $28.31 billion in 2023 — and it’s expected to grow to $78.89 billion in 2027, according to data from the Destination Wedding Global Market Report 2023.

Proprietary/Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• Microsoft has banned old-school gamers from running emulation applications on its Xbox consoles. Additionally, Microsoft has also implemented a 15-day suspension for anyone daring enough to work around the ban.

• Meta has decided that it’s time to open up the internet’s walled gardens. Be wary.

Pseudo-Open Source

Openwashing

• Meta AI proclaims that Llama 2 is their next generation open source large language model. It’s not open source though.

Security

• The Abyss Locker operation is the latest to develop a Linux encryptor to target VMware’s ESXi virtual machines platform in attacks on the enterprise.

• Phishing scams have frequently arrived as an SMS message (sometimes called “Smishing”). SMS messages are easy and cheap to send, and we have documented how attackers like to scan for exposed credentials for services like Twilio to make it even cheaper.

• IPv6 has always been a hot topic&#;x26;#;x21; Available for years, many ISP&#;x26;#;39;s deployed IPv6 up to their residential customers. In Belgium, we were for a long time, the top-one country with IPv6 deployment because all big players provided IPv6 connectivity.

• Interesting research: “(Ab)using Images and Sounds for Indirect Instruction Injection in Multi-Modal LLMs“:

• The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Friday disclosed details of a “novel persistent backdoor” called SUBMARINE deployed by threat actors in connection with the hack on Barracuda Email Security Gateway (ESG) appliances.

• Zimbra has released patches for a cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability that has been exploited in malicious attacks.

• CoinsPaid says North Korean hacking group Lazarus is likely responsible for the recent theft of $37 million in cryptocurrency.

• US and Australian government agencies provide guidance on addressing access control vulnerabilities in web applications.

• The first attempts to exploit CVE-2023-24489, a recent critical Citrix ShareFile remote code execution vulnerability, have been observed.

• Several vulnerabilities found in Weintek Weincloud could have allowed hackers to manipulate and damage ICS, including PLCs and field devices.

Defence/Aggression

• An explosion at a political rally on Sunday in northwest Pakistan killed at least 35 people and injured 200 more, officials said, the latest sign of the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan, where some militant groups have become more active over the past two years.

• The Hanoi People’s Court sentenced 54 government officials and business people on Friday for charges related to bribery, as reported by the state-run Vietnam Plus.

• American intelligence officials believe the malware could give China the power to disrupt or slow American deployments or resupply operations, including during a Chinese move against Taiwan.

• Ten people were killed in central Russia after strong winds toppled trees and heavy rains disrupted the electricity supply in hundreds of settlements, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said.

• The African countries also affirm, by attending this summit, that they will not accept that the West defines with which international actors they have the right to interact.

• Thousands of supporters of a military junta that took power in Niger earlier this week have marched in the capital, Niamey, with many waving Russian flags and chanting the name of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

• A demand for a restoration of democracy echoed calls by the United States and France, major security allies of Niger.

• The president sent Jake Sullivan, his national security adviser, on the latest diplomatic mission seeking to forge ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

War in Ukraine

• Russia’s defence ministry said that three Ukrainian drones attacked Moscow early on Sunday, the TASS news agency reported. One drone was destroyed in the air and two others crashed in Moscow, the ministry said. The attack damaged two buildings and temporarily suspended flights at Vnukovo airport.

• There are a lot of people talking about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and a lot of moving goalposts in such discussions. I think that everyone who wants to advocate for it should publish what they expect to happen and what specific things they consider as victory conditions.

• When Russia first invaded I thought they would win in a matter of weeks. I underestimated the determination of the Ukrainian people and the corruption and the incompetence and corruption of the Russian military. The first time I thought that Ukraine could win was when I read an analysis of the tires on Russian military vehicles breaking because of the cheapest available tires being bought and then not stored correctly to avoid damage, which led to the long stalled convoy. A successful military campaign requires many more difficult tasks than buying good tires and maintaining them correctly. An army that is too corrupt to buy the bare minimum of usable equipment and too incompetent to adapt to failures is not going to do well.

• A video has gone viral on social media, with users claiming it shows proof that the destruction of a historic cathedral in Odesa on the night of July 22 to 23 was staged by Ukrainian authorities. They argue that a woman in the video picks up the debris with too much ease for it to be real. However, the woman is actually picking up a light material, most likely polystyrene, so this does not prove that the attack was staged.

• Inventors in Ukraine have developed an inexpensive cruise missile they hope can “overwhelm” Russian air defences so that rockets equipped with warheads are more likely to reach their targets. The inventors are volunteers but they are no amateurs: they have already produced hundreds of mortars. FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg and Illia Dyadik report.

• Pope Francis on July 30 called on Russia to reverse its decision to abandon the Black Sea grain deal, under which it had allowed Ukraine to export grain from its seaports despite the ongoing war.

• A 9-year-old girl and her 10-year-old brother have been called as witnesses in a criminal case against their mother after she was accused of repeatedly “discrediting” the Russian Amy.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the ongoing crackdown on dissent in Russia, saying that “there must be a certain attitude toward people who are causing harm inside the country.”

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has warned that it was “inevitable” that “war” would come to Russia after authorities there were forced to temporarily close a busy Moscow airport following an overnight drone attack on the capital.

• Saudi Arabia is set to host talks on Ukraine among Western countries, Ukraine, and key developing countries, including India and Brazil, early next month, The Wall Street Journal reported on July 29.

• While the war in Ukraine is raging on, many young men from both countries who see this war as a senseless geopolitical struggle have no other way of avoiding it, except by moving abroad and out of reach of draft officials. Ukraine is currently under martial law and departure of men of conscription age, which Ukrainian government has set as between 18 – 60 years old is restricted.

• Ukrainian multiple saber fencing world champion Olha Kharlan was set to compete later on July 29 in the team event at the world championships in Milan, after originally being disqualified for refusing a handshake with a Russian opponent in the individual event.

• Recapturing the village of Staromaiorske was such welcome news for the country that President Volodymyr Zelensky announced it himself. But formidable Russian defenses have stymied progress elsewhere.

• Polish lawmakers voted on Friday to approve amendments to a controversial law on Russian influence. The pre-amended law was heavily criticized by the EU and US, who emphasized that it undermines democratic standard. The lower house (Sejim) approved the law 234-213 with 4 abstentions.

• Friday, an independent UN human rights expert appealed for Russia to immediately release detained journalist and prominent opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, whose life is at risk due to deteriorating health.

• Propaganda is appearing in Minecraft and other popular games and discussion groups as the Kremlin tries to win over new audiences.

• The strike was the third in the past week in Moscow, a sign of how no city in Russia or Ukraine appears to be safe from the war. Russia blamed Ukraine, which has yet to comment.

• In Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, a city which tens of thousands of Russians have made their home over the past 18 months, graffiti makes it abundantly clear what the locals think of them, argues Devin Haas at Emerging Europe, partners of LRT English.

• While Finland expelled nine embassy staff in June over espionage concerns, an exceptional number more have left Helsinki this summer according to a report by the Finnish News Agency STT.

• Economics studies how a society can allocate scarce resources to meet its needs, and there is no knottier challenge than finding people to fight wars. That is a hot topic right now as all NATO countries reassess their militaries in the face of a Russia willing to slug it out in a large, traditional land […]

Environment

• A heat wave that has stifled the southern tier of the U.S. for weeks has expanded into the Plains, Midwest and now the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Friday, triggering heat alerts for over 190 million people, according to the National Weather Service.

Finance

• The majority of banks comprising an industry working group backed a plan earlier this month to exclude two-thirds of the emissions linked to their capital markets businesses from being attributed to them in carbon accounting.

• The city has long grappled with street homelessness and a shortage of housing. Now fentanyl has turned a perennial problem into a deadly crisis and a challenge to the city’s progressive identity.

• Processor manufacturer Intel has reported second-quarter revenue of US$12.9 billion (A$19.41 billion), a fall of 15% year-on-year, in what is being interpreted as a good three months for the company given it is the smallest year-on-year drop in five quarters.

AstroTurf/Lobbying/Politics

• The common forum that Elon Musk destroyed will never be replaced—and that’s okay.

• New research on Facebook before the 2020 election finds scant evidence to suggest algorithms are shifting our political views.

• We’re thrilled to announce that we’re developing a whole suite of new products that are like products you already know but designed to capture a larger audience than ever before.

• Be nice to your SysAdmin, SEC makes rules for reporting cyber attacks, and Musk purloins a user’s $40,000

• Twitter X handle.

Freedom of Information / Freedom of the Press

• WikiLeaks founder and publisher Julian Assange is unlikely to be released by the US until the 2024 presidential elections are done. That is the main takeaway from American statements on Saturday, refusing to accede to Australia’s timid requests for his freedom.

Civil Rights/Policing

• Hong Kong authorities stepped up their campaign against overseas activists in July, issuing warrants and offering unprecedented HK$1 million bounties for information leading to the arrest of eight democrats. Family members of several of the eight were taken away for questioning, and others accused of helping the activists were arrested.

• United States officials will hold rare direct talks with representatives of the Afghan Taliban in Doha to discuss economic issues, security, and women’s rights, the U.S. State Department said.

• The photojournalist Bud Lee captured the riots of 1967 and the human cost of the brutal police crackdown.

• Under a new law under consideration in Iran, “celebrities” who defy the Islamic Republic’s hijab restrictions could find themselves facing confiscation of 10% of their total assets. The proposed bill is the latest effort by hardliners in the regime to suppress support for the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protest movement, in which many Iranian actors, athletes and social media influencers have participated in one way or another.

Monopolies

Patents

• The flurry of opt-outs during the sunrise period of the Unified Patent Court was partly driven out of concern of potential central revocation actions being filed as soon as the Court opened.

Trademarks

• In a 46-page Order, the Board denied Petitioner Zuru LLC’s motion for sanctions and for further discovery in this cancellation proceeding based on the alleged genericness of the mark LEGO for toy building blocks. Zuru argued that the requested relief was warranted in view of Respondent Lego’s purported misconduct related to its responses to Zuru’s discovery requests. The Board found neither spoliation nor “discovery fraud,” but it pointed out that Lego “was nonetheless not as cooperative as it could have been during the discovery period, which contributed to the delay in this proceeding.” Zuru LLC and Zuru Inc. v. Lego Juris A/S, Cancellation No. 92075254 July 24, 2023) [not precedential] (Order by Interlocutory Attorney Elizabeth J. Winter).

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