Of course there are. However, there are less of them in Linux than in Windows and in general they're harder to exploit than Windows vulnerabilities are, which lets out all of the script kiddies. Not only that, the main motive today for people to write and distribute malware is profit and there's more money to be made (and easier) exploiting unpatched and poorly-maintained Windows boxes than there is in Linux. Someday that may change, but for right now that's probably the biggest reason Linux isn't being targeted.
So what you're saying is, they're moving closer to the *nix model of security where the regular users are unable to install or modify system files and can't even run the more dangerous ones.
I do know that Linux now has proper read/write drivers for NTFS partitions, and has had for at least two years. I also know that Wine comes with its own copy of RegEdit, but I don't know if that can be pointed to the regular Windows Registry or if it's just for editing its own registry. And, of course, booting from Linux disables the Windows drivers because Linux doesn't use them.
I too, live in New Mexico. Most people I've talked to don't realize how dry it is right now. It has been over 9 months since some parts of the state, like Silver City, have had rain.
If New Mexico is anything like Los Angeles, fire season starts when there's not been any significant rain for 90 days. By this time, the brush must be like a tinderbox waiting for a spark. I hope you get some rain, RSN.
It's the same principle that you use in making sure a gun's unloaded when somebody hands it to you. Just because they just checked it doesn't mean that you don't check it yourself.
Tell me, Mr. Anonymous Coward, did you make your tinfoil hat with the shiny side in or out? I do hope it's shiny side in, to keep your own thoughts from getting out because they're some of the most stupid I've ever run across. Just because it's posted on the Internet doesn't make it true except to fools like you.
Explain to me how you accomplish that with electronic voting ?
I never said that electronic voting was perfect or that there shouldn't be a paper trail for audit or recount purposes. I simply questioned the absurd claim that it was 100% certain that various government agencies would install back doors.
If you'll read the OP, you'll see that the poster didn't state that politicians could get back doors written into the software, he asserted without proof that they would. All I did was ask what evidence he had for his claim.
It seems to me a more likely reason for dropping Synaptic is that the marketing minds behind Ubuntu are gradually eliminating support for those pesky power users.
I' ve always considered Ubuntu to be "Linux with training wheels," and the intended demographic to be Windows refugees. I always expect more technical, geeky users to gravitate to distros that do less to hold your hand, such as Slackware, Fedora (my distro of choice) or Gentoo. If so, this is a very reasonable move; why include software that your target demographic is going to find hard to use if you don't have to?
I have to say that I have gotten used to Xfce and really like it.
I use Fedora, and when I found out what Gnome 3 was going to be like and that it was almost impossible to configure the way I want without unsupported third-party extensions, I started doing some research. Now, I'm on XFCE and haven't the slightest interest in trying the latest version of Gnome. I'm on a community support group for Fedora and it's interesting (in a Chinese curse sort of way) to watch all of the people struggling with it while others try to defend the Gnome Shell with "it's not so bad after you get used to it" comments.
Does anyone really use synaptic instead of the software center for a GUI view?
Yes, my sister does because that's the way I taught her to do it. What do I use? I use yumex, when I'm not using yum from a terminal. Of course, I'm using Fedora, not Ubuntu.
That 0% is fair because it's derived in an objective and neutral manner. There's a chart of hearing loss where you take the column that matches the loss in the worse ear and the row for the better ear and where they cross is your award. That way, you don't have people in different places getting different awards for the same condition.
The article says, among other things, that there's lots of work to do "before they put it on a boat." Are there really people out there that are so brain-dead that they don't know that the word is "ship," not "boat?" Come on, people, get a clue!
A production level mine is a huge pit visible from space...
You're thinking of an open pit mine. Not all, or even most mines are like that. Some have a vertical shaft going straight down to where the seam of ore is, others have slanting shafts into the sides of mountains or hills that you can walk down. As an example, if the mine in Chile you mentioned had been an open pit, the miners either wouldn't have been trapped, or if they were, it wouldn't have been for anywhere near as long.
Which is why you never pay Danegeld. It never gets rid of the Dane.
My thought exactly. Not only that, there's nothing to stop this "hacker" from raising his demands until he bankrupts the company. Or, if he's clever and the company's stock is openly traded, invest the money they pay him in their stock until he owns it.
As a counter point - suppose you did have an emergency and didn't end up at a VA facility but instead at a generic hospital somewhere?
Well, I don't have, and can't afford that type of phone, but I guess I could put them on a flash drive if needed. However, in this case, the most likely thing would be that I'd see signs that the ITP were coming back and take either a bus or taxi to the nearest VA because the condition's not one to dump you in a random ER without warning. (Basically, it's caused by a low platelet count, and there are warning signs if you know what to look for.) And, that's part of why I made sure I knew where the nearest VA was, so that I wouldn't have to worry about them having my records.
Centralized databases are rarely necessary and never good, but seem to be the fantasy of every bureaucracy.
Last year I spent five days in the VA hospital in West LA with a blood disorder: ITP. About a week after I got out, I went to a convention on the East Coast. Before going, I made sure I knew where the nearest VA facility was, Just In Case. As it happens, I had no need to visit them but if I had, they would have had access to all of my pertinent medical records simply by calling them up on their computer. Yes, I could have carried a copy of my paper records, but which would you rather depend on in that type of emergency: remembering to carry a file to the doctor or having them instantly available?
I'm a long-term unemployed 'Nam vet and I get all of my medical care from the VA. Because I have (effectively) no income, there's no copay. That means, I get the nine different pills I take for free, along with the test strips for my blood sugar (I'm Type II) and the insulin I've been on for about a year for free. And, I recently got my cataracts removed at no charge. Not only that, as my hearing loss is service connected, my hearing aids and batteries are free. Yes, when I was working and could afford to pay, there was a copay and I cheerfully paid it because it was still less than I'd pay otherwise, but right now, I'm getting what I don't pay for and I'm thrilled with the quality of care I'm getting because without the VA, I'd probably be dead.
I'm on disability. I cheerfully bring my records to any employer. I have done so to verify work limitations.
I'm not, but my hearing loss is service connected. (0%, but still better than nothing.) Not only does it mean that my hearing aids and batteries are free, it makes it almost impossible for a potential employer to use it as an excuse not to hire me because I can fill three different quotas for him: people over 60, vets and people with a disability.
I can assure you that those of us who were over there (Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club, '72) don't make that distinction. A war is a war, no matter if there are "boots on the ground," ports being shelled or aerial attacks.
I can only hope that the Congressional leadership will grow a pair and cut off funding for some of these new kinetic military actions.
And they would, too, if BO were a Republican. For that matter, 2/3 of the comments on this story would be angry demands that he be impeached if he weren't a Democrat. And, for that matter, where are all of the anti-war protesters? Why aren't they up in arms because we're "fighting a war in Libya?" Are they really against war, or only against any military action by a Republican? Enquiring minds want to KNOW!
Slashdot Mirror
They're missing my favorite 404 page. Of course, it's for my own site, but it's still my favorite.
There are vulnerabilities in any working system.
Of course there are. However, there are less of them in Linux than in Windows and in general they're harder to exploit than Windows vulnerabilities are, which lets out all of the script kiddies. Not only that, the main motive today for people to write and distribute malware is profit and there's more money to be made (and easier) exploiting unpatched and poorly-maintained Windows boxes than there is in Linux. Someday that may change, but for right now that's probably the biggest reason Linux isn't being targeted.
So what you're saying is, they're moving closer to the *nix model of security where the regular users are unable to install or modify system files and can't even run the more dangerous ones.
I do know that Linux now has proper read/write drivers for NTFS partitions, and has had for at least two years. I also know that Wine comes with its own copy of RegEdit, but I don't know if that can be pointed to the regular Windows Registry or if it's just for editing its own registry. And, of course, booting from Linux disables the Windows drivers because Linux doesn't use them.
I too, live in New Mexico. Most people I've talked to don't realize how dry it is right now. It has been over 9 months since some parts of the state, like Silver City, have had rain.
If New Mexico is anything like Los Angeles, fire season starts when there's not been any significant rain for 90 days. By this time, the brush must be like a tinderbox waiting for a spark. I hope you get some rain, RSN.
It's the same principle that you use in making sure a gun's unloaded when somebody hands it to you. Just because they just checked it doesn't mean that you don't check it yourself.
Where have you been getting your news? Fox?
Tell me, Mr. Anonymous Coward, did you make your tinfoil hat with the shiny side in or out? I do hope it's shiny side in, to keep your own thoughts from getting out because they're some of the most stupid I've ever run across. Just because it's posted on the Internet doesn't make it true except to fools like you.
Explain to me how you accomplish that with electronic voting ?
I never said that electronic voting was perfect or that there shouldn't be a paper trail for audit or recount purposes. I simply questioned the absurd claim that it was 100% certain that various government agencies would install back doors.
If you'll read the OP, you'll see that the poster didn't state that politicians could get back doors written into the software, he asserted without proof that they would. All I did was ask what evidence he had for his claim.
We know that government agencies would pay, bribe, or trick developers into sneaking a backdoor in.
Really? You know that for a fact? What evidence do you have, or are you just spouting your mouth off?
It seems to me a more likely reason for dropping Synaptic is that the marketing minds behind Ubuntu are gradually eliminating support for those pesky power users.
I' ve always considered Ubuntu to be "Linux with training wheels," and the intended demographic to be Windows refugees. I always expect more technical, geeky users to gravitate to distros that do less to hold your hand, such as Slackware, Fedora (my distro of choice) or Gentoo. If so, this is a very reasonable move; why include software that your target demographic is going to find hard to use if you don't have to?
I have to say that I have gotten used to Xfce and really like it.
I use Fedora, and when I found out what Gnome 3 was going to be like and that it was almost impossible to configure the way I want without unsupported third-party extensions, I started doing some research. Now, I'm on XFCE and haven't the slightest interest in trying the latest version of Gnome. I'm on a community support group for Fedora and it's interesting (in a Chinese curse sort of way) to watch all of the people struggling with it while others try to defend the Gnome Shell with "it's not so bad after you get used to it" comments.
Does anyone really use synaptic instead of the software center for a GUI view?
Yes, my sister does because that's the way I taught her to do it. What do I use? I use yumex, when I'm not using yum from a terminal. Of course, I'm using Fedora, not Ubuntu.
That 0% is fair because it's derived in an objective and neutral manner. There's a chart of hearing loss where you take the column that matches the loss in the worse ear and the row for the better ear and where they cross is your award. That way, you don't have people in different places getting different awards for the same condition.
And I was on the USS Ouellet, DE 1077, back in '72 and we always called her a ship.
Not by those of us in the Navy, they aren't! Granted, my experience in the Navy is several decades old, but I can assure you, that's not changed.
The article says, among other things, that there's lots of work to do "before they put it on a boat." Are there really people out there that are so brain-dead that they don't know that the word is "ship," not "boat?" Come on, people, get a clue!
A production level mine is a huge pit visible from space...
You're thinking of an open pit mine. Not all, or even most mines are like that. Some have a vertical shaft going straight down to where the seam of ore is, others have slanting shafts into the sides of mountains or hills that you can walk down. As an example, if the mine in Chile you mentioned had been an open pit, the miners either wouldn't have been trapped, or if they were, it wouldn't have been for anywhere near as long.
Which is why you never pay Danegeld. It never gets rid of the Dane.
My thought exactly. Not only that, there's nothing to stop this "hacker" from raising his demands until he bankrupts the company. Or, if he's clever and the company's stock is openly traded, invest the money they pay him in their stock until he owns it.
Well, I don't have, and can't afford that type of phone, but I guess I could put them on a flash drive if needed. However, in this case, the most likely thing would be that I'd see signs that the ITP were coming back and take either a bus or taxi to the nearest VA because the condition's not one to dump you in a random ER without warning. (Basically, it's caused by a low platelet count, and there are warning signs if you know what to look for.) And, that's part of why I made sure I knew where the nearest VA was, so that I wouldn't have to worry about them having my records.
Last year I spent five days in the VA hospital in West LA with a blood disorder: ITP. About a week after I got out, I went to a convention on the East Coast. Before going, I made sure I knew where the nearest VA facility was, Just In Case. As it happens, I had no need to visit them but if I had, they would have had access to all of my pertinent medical records simply by calling them up on their computer. Yes, I could have carried a copy of my paper records, but which would you rather depend on in that type of emergency: remembering to carry a file to the doctor or having them instantly available?
I'm a long-term unemployed 'Nam vet and I get all of my medical care from the VA. Because I have (effectively) no income, there's no copay. That means, I get the nine different pills I take for free, along with the test strips for my blood sugar (I'm Type II) and the insulin I've been on for about a year for free. And, I recently got my cataracts removed at no charge. Not only that, as my hearing loss is service connected, my hearing aids and batteries are free. Yes, when I was working and could afford to pay, there was a copay and I cheerfully paid it because it was still less than I'd pay otherwise, but right now, I'm getting what I don't pay for and I'm thrilled with the quality of care I'm getting because without the VA, I'd probably be dead.
I'm not, but my hearing loss is service connected. (0%, but still better than nothing.) Not only does it mean that my hearing aids and batteries are free, it makes it almost impossible for a potential employer to use it as an excuse not to hire me because I can fill three different quotas for him: people over 60, vets and people with a disability.
I can assure you that those of us who were over there (Tonkin Gulf Yacht Club, '72) don't make that distinction. A war is a war, no matter if there are "boots on the ground," ports being shelled or aerial attacks.
And they would, too, if BO were a Republican. For that matter, 2/3 of the comments on this story would be angry demands that he be impeached if he weren't a Democrat. And, for that matter, where are all of the anti-war protesters? Why aren't they up in arms because we're "fighting a war in Libya?" Are they really against war, or only against any military action by a Republican? Enquiring minds want to KNOW!