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B&N Pulls Linux Format Magazine Over Feature On 'Hacking'

Posted by timothy on from the I-miss-borders dept.

New accepted submitter super_rancid writes that issue 154 of the "UK-based Linux Format magazine was pulled from Barnes and Noble bookstores in the U.S. after featuring an article called 'Learn to Hack'. They used 'hack' in the populist security sense, rather than the traditional sense, and the feature — which they put online — was used to illustrate how poor your server's security is likely to be by breaking into it."

11 of 301 comments (clear)

  1. Good for them! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's because Linux is an OS used predominately by criminals to hack machines. I appluad Barnes and Noble for this responsible reaction.

    1. Re:Good for them! by Theophany · · Score: 5, Funny

      Using Apple is kind of like being one of the kids whose parents didn't tell them Santa or the Tooth Fairy wasn't real until they were 16.

      Using Linux is kind of like being one of the kids whose parents were alcoholics but did their best, in between drunken rants about the futility of life.

      I would finish this by saying using Windows is like being one of the kids whose uncle used to have special sleep over parties, but I'd definitely get modded flamebait. And I use Windows on my personal machines. And my uncle didn't touch me.

    2. Re:Good for them! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Theo! There ya are boy! It's been awhile! Come give your Uncle some more sugar!

    3. Re:Good for them! by Beardo+the+Bearded · · Score: 3, Funny

      Using Linux is kind of like being one of the kids whose parents were alcoholics but did their best, in between drunken rants about the futility of life.

      Well, MY distro has the parents on methadone. It's clearly superior.

      --

      ---
      ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
    4. Re:Good for them! by tqk · · Score: 3, Funny

      Using Linux is kind of like being one of the kids whose parents were alcoholics but did their best, in between drunken rants about the futility of life.

      Well, MY distro has the parents on methadone. It's clearly superior.

      Ah, OpenBSD. Did you notice they just released their latest the other day?

      Using Linux is like being a one eyed telepath in a world full of blind people, and you smell funny, so they grimace at you when you pass them but they don't have any clue why they need to.

      [/.: "26 6 * * * /usr/local/bin/varnish_the_damned_cache_when_users_are_asleep"]

      --
      "Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit ..." -- Pink Floyd.
  2. Pulled for false advertising by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    With a title like "Learn to Hack" you're expecting instructions about chopping up things like bodies, not about poor server security.

    1. Re:Pulled for false advertising by idontgno · · Score: 4, Funny

      I thought it was a golfing tutorial. That's why I passed it by.

      --
      Welcome to the Panopticon. Used to be a prison, now it's your home.
  3. Re:Meanwhile... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Remember what happened last time, Redcoat.

  4. Re:They prefer that customers buy by Ukab+the+Great · · Score: 4, Funny

    Crap. I just violated Godwin's Law, didn't I?

  5. Re:They prefer that customers buy by saveferrousoxide · · Score: 3, Funny

    Actually, no. Quite the opposite. You lent further proof to it. :)

  6. is your son a computer "hacker"? by jsh1972 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Is your son obsessed with "Lunix"? BSD, Lunix, Debian and Mandrake are all versions of an illegal hacker operation system, invented by a Soviet computer hacker named Linyos Torovoltos, before the Russians lost the Cold War. It is based on a program called "xenix", which was written by Microsoft for the US government. These programs are used by hackers to break into other people's computer systems to steal credit card numbers. They may also be used to break into people's stereos to steal their music, using the "mp3" program. Torovoltos is a notorious hacker, responsible for writing many hacker programs, such as "telnet", which is used by hackers to connect to machines on the internet without using a telephone. Your son may try to install "lunix" on your hard drive. If he is careful, you may not notice its presence, however, lunix is a capricious beast, and if handled incorrectly, your son may damage your computer, and even break it completely by deleting Windows, at which point you will have to have your computer repaired by a professional. If you see the word "LILO" during your windows startup (just after you turn the machine on), your son has installed lunix. In order to get rid of it, you will have to send your computer back to the manufacturer, and have them fit a new hard drive. Lunix is extremely dangerous software, and cannot be removed without destroying part of your hard disk surface.