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User-Mode Linux Merged Into 2.5 Kernel

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the more-linux-in-your-linux dept.

An anonymous reader writes "With little fanfare, User Mode-Linux (UML) has been merged into Linus' BitKeeper tree. The merge followed a patch by UML author Jeff Dike, resynching UML with the 2.5.34 development kernel. From the UML homepage, User-Mode Linux provides you with a virtual machine that offers 'a safe, secure way of running Linux versions and Linux processes. Run buggy software, experiment with new Linux kernels or distributions, and poke around in the internals of Linux, all without risking your main Linux setup.'" There's more UML resources available at the community site.

5 of 247 comments (clear)

  1. Honeypot by GigsVT · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I imagine there are honeypot applications for something like this. You could make a cracker totally believe they had broken in when in reality they are just in a UML.

    For the ultra paranoid you could also make a backup copy of your whole UML partition and only run services in that, periodically restoring it from backup, and copying in the new data that is stored on the real OS. If you got broken into, it wouldn't really matter.

    --
    I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
  2. Re:What Are Some Other Uses? by aardvarkjoe · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The "good for the masses" part is that more people will be able to work on / test / debug new linux kernels, so that Joe User will end up with a more stable system. As far as Joe User who doesn't know what a kernel is, I doubt that there's much of a reason for him to be using it.

    --

    How can we continue to believe in a just universe and freedom to eat crackers if we have no ale?
  3. I don't get it by schlach · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I imagine there are honeypot applications for something like this. You could make a cracker totally believe they had broken in when in reality they are just in a UML.

    Except for the 0.02% of people out there, and maybe 98% of businesses, that have anything on their computers that's more useful than the computer itself, I don't know why this would make a good honeypot. The cracker won't just think he's broken in... he will have really broken in.

    Not so much a honey-pot as a pot-o-honey...

    The UML website mentions applications as a sandbox, which makes sense, but if you're going to run vulnerable apps to lure hackers (i refuse to mistake hackers and crackers :) and give them unrestricted network access, you might be able to efficiently spy on what they're doing, maybe, but they've *still* taken over your network connection. They can now use it for a DDoS zombie, an IP bounce, or maybe just put some of their own filez on that wu-ftpd server you set up to get knocked over...

    My $0.02

    1. Re:I don't get it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful
      but if you're going to run vulnerable apps to lure hackers (i refuse to mistake hackers and crackers :)

      But you just have... Particually when combined with:

      They can now use it for a DDoS zombie, an IP bounce, or maybe just put some of their own filez on that wu-ftpd server you set up to get knocked over...

      Learn

  4. UML Windows port? by Nicopa · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Now we need somebody porting UML to run under Windows, pehaps using cygwin. Then we could have easy "try-linux.exe" for windows users.. :)