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CIS Releases FreeBSD Security Benchmark
JohnnyDime writes "The Center for Internet Security (CIS) has released a security benchmark and auditing tool for FreeBSD versions 4.8 and later. This is a free download available from cisecurity.org. CIS is a non-profit, consensus driven organization that uses experts from the public, private, and academic sectors to develop security guidance for operating systems and applications."
Not that it needs one ;)
But more proof that BSD is not dead. It gets support from the companies that know what they're doing.
Just you wait for 5.3-RELEASE!
Sam ty sig.
One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered *BSD community when IDC confirmed that *BSD market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that *BSD has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. *BSD is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.
You don't need to be a Kreskin to predict *BSD's future. The hand writing is on the wall: *BSD faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for *BSD because *BSD is dying. Things are looking very bad for *BSD. As many of us are already aware, *BSD continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.
FreeBSD is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time FreeBSD developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: FreeBSD is dying.
Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.
OpenBSD leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of OpenBSD. How many users of NetBSD are there? Let's see. The number of OpenBSD versus NetBSD posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 NetBSD users. BSD/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of NetBSD posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of BSD/OS. A recent article put FreeBSD at about 80 percent of the *BSD market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 FreeBSD users. This is consistent with the number of FreeBSD Usenet posts.
Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, FreeBSD went out of business and was taken over by BSDI who sell another troubled OS. Now BSDI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.
All major surveys show that *BSD has steadily declined in market share. *BSD is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If *BSD is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. *BSD continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, *BSD is dead.
Fact: *BSD is dying
I am 25 years old, 5'10", brown eyes, brown hair, slim build. I enjoy posting on Slashdot, long walks on Pacific beaches, and romantic dinners.
I should warn any prospective contacts that I am a BSDite. We are a religious group that believes not only that it is possible to revive BSD, but also that it is a holy imperative to do so.
A lot of girls are put off by this belief. I know, it's not a mainstream religion; everyone knows that BSD is dead. I encourage you, though, to look at what progress we've made. Sure, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, and ekkoBSD are all long-deceased, and Mac OS X, with its Darwin/BSD foundations, is produced by Apple, a company that is barely clinging to life. But our great BSDite leaders have recently conducted a seance with the spirit of 4.4BSD, and they've put the results of their encounter into the form of Dragonfly BSD, which now boasts a user base of over one dozen.
Still not convinced that reviving BSD is a sensible religious tenet? Take a look inside our holy scriptures, The Design and Implementation of the 4.4BSD Operating System. I think you'll like what you see, and I think you'll reach enlightenment if you read carefully. You'll come to know, as I do, that we *can* bring BSD back from the clutches of death; in fact, we're already doing so!
As for me, I'm looking for a woman who's interested in a long-term relationship firmly grounded in the principles of BSD. If you feel that BSD is unquestionably dead, please do not respond unless you are interested in trying to revive it by, e.g., by working on the Dragonfly project. Include a photo of yourself and your BSD machines, and I'll reciprocate.
Hoping to meet Ms. Right very soon!
My Dream of BSD: An Elegy
By The Trolliterati
Methought I saw my late FreeBSD
Brought to me, like Alcestis, from the grave,
As Richie brought to Joy the O/S brave,
Rescu'd from death by force, though gone from me.
Neither Open, Net, nor ekko, but Free!
I yearned to grasp it, yearned that I might save
At least one copy from the moldy grave.
Like BeOS, I hoped that BSD
Could live in dabblers' hearts, to their delight;
It brought me joy! I felt no more resign'd!
I grabbed the sweet CD, shining so bright;
But Oh! as to install it I inclin'd,
I wak'd, it fled, and day brought back my night.
A New Elegy for BSD
Brought to you by The Trolliterati
My bedside clock drags seconds into days--
Now two a.m., now almost two-oh-one--
My sleepless eyes grow teary as I gaze
Into the night and think of bygone fun.
For BSD is dead, dead ere its prime;
Dead, oh! dead, before its thirtieth year.
Almighty Linux, in but little time,
Destroyed the OS I once held dear.
Like Orpheus, I languished in my pain
When the cold grave swallowed Eurydice;
I piped my woeful song of sighs in vain
For nothing could revive FreeBSD.
Young Dragonfly now goes where Ekko led;
I cry to think of Open and of Net.
If tears could open coffins--raise the dead!--
Then BSD might have a future yet.
My tears have drenched the pillow that was dry.
Tomorrow will my sorrow come again.
I lie back down and tell myself the lie,
"FreeBSD lives on in OS X."
The same guy keeps cutting and pasting the same message over and over. Just the number of times he's posted it is proof FreeBSD is not dead.
Linus, will you please stop posting this.
FACT: Chuckie Daemon will not die!
Seriously, how many people are still using BSD on a regular basis? What is your estimate?
[ed. note: in the following text, former FreeBSD developer Mike Smith gives his reasons for abandoning FreeBSD]
When I stood for election to the FreeBSD core team nearly two years ago, many of you will recall that it was after a long series of debates during which I maintained that too much organisation, too many rules and too much formality would be a bad thing for the project.
Today, as I read the latest discussions on the future of the FreeBSD project, I see the same problem; a few new faces and many of the old going over the same tired arguments and suggesting variations on the same worthless schemes. Frankly I'm sick of it.
FreeBSD used to be fun. It used to be about doing things the right way. It used to be something that you could sink your teeth into when the mundane chores of programming for a living got you down. It was something cool and exciting; a way to spend your spare time on an endeavour you loved that was at the same time wholesome and worthwhile.
It's not anymore. It's about bylaws and committees and reports and milestones, telling others what to do and doing what you're told. It's about who can rant the longest or shout the loudest or mislead the most people into a bloc in order to legitimise doing what they think is best. Individuals notwithstanding, the project as a whole has lost track of where it's going, and has instead become obsessed with process and mechanics.
So I'm leaving core. I don't want to feel like I should be "doing something" about a project that has lost interest in having something done for it. I don't have the energy to fight what has clearly become a losing battle; I have a life to live and a job to keep, and I won't achieve any of the goals I personally consider worthwhile if I remain obligated to care for the project.
Discussion
I'm sure that I've offended some people already; I'm sure that by the time I'm done here, I'll have offended more. If you feel a need to play to the crowd in your replies rather than make a sincere effort to address the problems I'm discussing here, please do us the courtesy of playing your politics openly.
From a technical perspective, the project faces a set of challenges that significantly outstrips our ability to deliver. Some of the resources that we need to address these challenges are tied up in the fruitless metadiscussions that have raged since we made the mistake of electing officers. Others have left in disgust, or been driven out by the culture of abuse and distraction that has grown up since then. More may well remain available to recruitment, but while the project is busy infighting our chances for successful outreach are sorely diminished.
There's no simple solution to this. For the project to move forward, one or the other of the warring philosophies must win out; either the project returns to its laid-back roots and gets on with the work, or it transforms into a super-organised engineering project and executes a brilliant plan to deliver what, ultimately, we all know we want.
Whatever path is chosen, whatever balance is struck, the choosing and the striking are the important parts. The current indecision and endless conflict are incompatible with any sort of progress.
Trying to dissect the above is far beyond the scope of any parting shot, no matter how distended. All I can really ask of you all is to let go of the minutiae for a moment and take a look at the big picture. What is the ultimate goal here? How can we get there with as little overhead as possible? How would you like to be treated by your fellow travellers?
Shouts
To the Slashdot "BSD is dying" crowd - big deal. Death is part of the cycle; take a look at your soft, pallid bodies and consider that right this very moment, parts of you are dying. See? It's not so bad.
To the bulk of the FreeBSD committerbase and the developer community at large - keep your eyes on the real goals. I
hmm, oddly the HTML title and title bar both say "Benchmarks for HPUX". :)
see the link above at http://www.cisecurity.org/bench_freebsd.html
FACT: his name is not Chuck, or Chuckie or anything like that. If you must give him a name, call him Beastie.
At least, I think it is a him.
- Laci Peterson
- Lori Hacking
- Nicole
Simpson
- FreeBSD
Submit your response along with a stamped self-addressed envelope.See contest rules for further details. Void where prohibited.
DEATH SMELLS LIKE POOP_ _ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
*_g_o_a_t_s_e_x_*_g_o_a_t_s_e_x_*_g_o_a_t_s_e_x_*
g_______________________________________________g
o_/_____\_____________\____________/____\_______o
a|_______|_____________\__________|______|______a
t|_______`._____________|_________|_______:_____t
s`________|_____________|________\|_______|_____s
e_\_______|_/_______/__\\\___--___\\_______:____e
x__\______\/____--~~__________~--__|_\_____|____x
*___\______\_-~____________________~-_\____|____*
g____\______\_________.--------.______\|___|____g
o______\_____\______//_________(_(__>__\___|____o
a_______\___.__C____)_________(_(____>__|__/____a
t_______/\_|___C_____)/______\_(_____>__|_/_____t
s______/_/\|___C_____)_______|__(___>___/__\____s
e_____|___(____C_____)\______/__//__/_/_____\___e
x_____|____\__|_____\\_________//_(__/_______|__x
*____|_\____\____)___`----___--'_____________|__*
g____|__\______________\_______/____________/_|_g
o___|______________/____|_____|__\____________|_o
a___|_____________|____/_______\__\___________|_a
t___|__________/_/____|_________|__\___________|t
s___|_________/_/______\__/\___/____|__________|s
e__|_________/_/________|____|_______|_________|e
x__|__________|_________|____|_______|_________|x
*_g_o_a_t_s_e_x_*_g_o_a_t_s_e_x_*_g_o_a_t_s_e_x_*
Important Stuff: Please try to keep posts on topic. Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) If you want replies to your comments sent to you, consider logging in or creating an account.
Important Stuff: Please try to keep posts on topic. Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) If you want replies to your comments sent to you, consider logging in or creating an account.
Important Stuff: Please try to keep posts on topic. Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) If you want replies to your comments sent to you, consider logging in or creating an account.
The record is clear on one thing: no operating system has ever come back from the grave. Efforts to resuscitate *BSD are one step away from spiritualists wishing to communicate with the dead. As the situation grows more desperate for the adherents of this doomed OS, the sorrow takes hold. An unremitting gloom hangs like a death shroud over a once hopeful *BSD community. The hope is gone; a mournful nostalgia has settled in. Now is the end time for *BSD.
Aren't we supposed to call it our new overlord?
home
> FACT: Chuckie Daemon will not die!
:
> # kill -9 `pidof chuckie`
This is ironic. pidof is linuxism. The only BSD you can kill is in your own fantasy world...
% pidof
pidof: Command not found.
%
Try
# killall -9 chuckie
No matching processes were found
#
Won't work if "Chuckie" is on disk. (has the D flag in ps). If this happens, the system won't let it die until it comes out of being on disk.
killall doesn't work on all the BSD's. I am not positive on NetBSD, but I know that killall does not exist on OpenBSD.
I have a feeling he is referring to the "Charlie Root" that the root account uses as its full name.