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Code Auditing the Defcon Way
An anonymous reader writes "Last weekend at Defcon, the best and brightest hackers got together to play Capture the Flag, a weekend long hacking event that is the premier event of its kind. According to the results, Shellphish won (UC Santa Barbara students led by professor Giovanni Vigna). An article at SecurityFocus states that the competition was far more technical than in previous years, focusing on reverse engineering skills and code auditing." From the article: "The game required skills that are also required by both security researchers and hackers, such as ability to analyze attack vectors, understanding and automating attacks, finding new, unpredictable ways to exploit things...It's about analyzing the security posture of a system that is given to you and about which you initially know nothing."
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A synopsis of why Linux is a cult religion.
There are four basic steps to establishing a cult religion. They are;
Step 1: Pick a ridiculous icon.
Step 2: Choose a name for your cult.
Step 3: Define yourself.
Step 4: Write down your tenets.
A comprehensive history of how the linux penguin came to be can be found at
http://www.sjbaker.org/tux/. This is the main reference site for this
article. All quotes have been obtained there, unless otherwise stated.
It is important to note that the opening words of the Holy Bible are "In the
beginning..." Genesis 1:1. The reference site opens with the words, "In the
beginning..." This is no mere coincidence, as will be shown.
Detail
======
Step 1: Pick a ridiculous icon.
Checking out the opposition was an absolute must for Linus. Every Tom, Dick and Harry was out there with a cult. It wasn't going to be easy to find an icon for the linux cult, so the linuxfux had to do some research. They were competing with ancestors, cosmic schemes, cows, rats, the sun, the moon, the earth, stars, snakes, turtles, planets, aliens, crystals, ufo's, light, dark, evil spirits, crying and/or bleeding statues, and goodness knows what else.
The hard part was to pick something that hadn't been used before. Heck, even the atheists have an invisible pink unciorn. They tried trombones, grand pianos, accoustic guitars, commodes, Marilyn Monroe's underwear, and even Linus Torvald's underwear. The last one was not very good good because Linus Torvalds was, at that stage, a pipsqueak of an excuse for a human being, and
most linuxfux are very fat, and very pimply. That last point will not be lost on those familiar with the more recent appearance of Torvlads.
Now, you may think that using Linus' underwear as an icon a bit strange. You may also wonder how people could bring themselves to believe that Linus' underwear is the font of all spiritual knowledge, but just think! Linus wore them, they gave him spiritual enlightenment and, of course, everyone who knows Linus Torvalds has heard the harmonious tunes coming from that
direction.
In the end, the linuxfux chose a paunchy, naked penguin. Yes, the penguin is naked! Just like Didney's fantasy character, Porky Pig. The Linux Penguin has no pants.
So, how was the ridiculous, gormloos looking, naked, pauchy penguin chosen?
Linus Torvalds: "Yes, I was bitten by a penguin, but it wasn't actually very ferocious. It was really just a pigmy penguin about 6 inches tall or something, and it was more of a timid nibble ("is this finger a see before me a small fish, or what?"). Even so, I like penguins a lot."
So, there you have it. A mind-association between "pigmy," "timid nibble" and Linux. All well-balanced people, that is, Windows users, will see the irony in that Freudian association.
Some quotes from Linus on the penguin;
Thu, 9 May 1996 17:48:56 +0300 (EET DST)
"Anyway, this one looks like the poor penguin is not really strong enough to
hold up the world, and it's going to get squashed. Not a good, positive
logo, in that respect.."
As you can plainly see, Linus is attempting to place the penguin on a pedestal. The very same pedestal as the three great religions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism, that "hold up the world."
In the same usenet post, and in the very next paragraph, Linus exhorts is eager new cult recruits thus;
"Now, when you think about penguins, first take a deep calming breath, and then think "cuddly". Take another breath, and think "cute". Go back to "cuddly" for a while (and go on breathing), then think "contented"."
Compare that exhortation with the following quote from