Fedora 7 Is Here

This morning, in a press release, Max Spevack said: "Beyond the usual set of upstream changes and improvements, our latest release is by far the most exciting and flexible to date. With our new open source build process, our community of contributors will enjoy much greater influence and authority in advancing Fedora. The ability to create appliances to suit very particular user needs is incredibly powerful."

Spevack mentioned among the most important improvements in Fedora 7, the inclusion of the nouveau open source nVidia drivers, a lot more wireless cards than "just work" and Revisor, a new application for the creation of customized Fedora 7 distribution.

You can view the whole release announcement here.The Fedora Project is a Red-Hat-sponsored and community-supported open source project. It is also a proving ground for new technology that may eventually make its way into Red Hat products and it is not a supported product of Red Hat.

The goal of The Fedora Project is to work with the Linux community in order to build a complete, general purpose operating system exclusively from free software. Development will be done in a public forum. The project will produce time-based releases of Fedora Core about 2-3 times a year with a public release schedule.You can download Fedora Core 7 now from Softpedia.[via]

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Microsoft Advances with Interoperability Camelot

Microsoft has called its interoperability customer council around the Redmond round table for the second time since 2006. The host of the council meeting, Bob Muglia, senior vice president of the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft was joined by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and by Microsoft Senior Vice President and General Counsel Brad Smith, Microsoft Business Division President Jeff Raikes together with other company executives to focus on interoperability issues. The Interoperability Executive Customer Council is a Microsoft initiative designed to provide fertile ground for a discussions in which Microsoft would better understand the needs of its customers.

"We wanted to engage in a direct, active discussion with companies that have highly sophisticated IT environments — companies that need to address interoperability issues day in and day out. We wanted their help identifying real-world interoperability scenarios and priorities from the customer perspective, and working with us on solutions. With that in mind, we brought together CIOs and CTOs from large organizations, which included corporate customers in a cross-section of industries and governments in a range of geographies, with the idea of having an ongoing and constructive dialog about interoperability," Muglia revealed.

The last time the council convened was in October 2006 on the Redmond campus following the creation of the group in June last year. Muglia made it clear that Microsoft has put its money where its mouth is, and that in excess of 70% of all the interoperability issues that were raised in the council have already been dealt with.

"We believe interoperability is all about connecting people, data and diverse systems, and our goal is to deliver "interoperability by design." By that I mean we develop products with compatibility in mind from the start. We take a holistic approach to interoperability. First, we think about how we build our products, which includes deciding which protocols we use, which data formats we use, what sort of documentation we create, what kinds of development tools we make available and so forth," Muglia added.

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One More Antivirus Proves Us That We're Not Safe

Although I believe we don't need any evidence that our computers are not safe anymore, another antivirus solution joins the list of the vulnerable applications making our systems opened to attacks. This time, the vulnerable program is Avira AntiVir, a security solution that was designed to fight against viruses, malware files, spyware and other threats. Security company Secunia rated the flaw as highly critical adding that the affected versions are Avira AntiVir Personal Edition Classic 7.x, Avira AntiVir Personal Edition Premium 7.x, Avira AntiVir Premium Security Suite 7.x, Avira AntiVir Server 6.x, Avira AntiVir UNIX MailGate 2.x and Avira AntiVir Workstation 7.x.

"An error when processing LZH files can be exploited to cause a buffer overflow via a specially crafted LZH file. Successful exploitation may allow execution of arbitrary code. A divide-by-zero error when processing UPX-compressed files can be exploited to crash the application via a specially crafted UPX-compressed file. An error when processing TAR files can be exploited to cause an infinite loop consuming available CPU resources," Secunia sustained.

The solution is to update the AVPack to version 7.03.00.09 and the engine to the 7.04.00.24 version. However, you are advised to keep your auto-update feature enabled because the antivirus solution needs up-to-date virus definitions to discover and block all the threats.

In the past, most of the famous antiviruses were affected by more or less critical security flaws that opened our computers and made them vulnerable to attacks. No matter if it was NOD32, Symantec Norton Antivirus, Kaspersky Antivirus or BitDefender, most of the antivirus products were vulnerable to attacks and, instead of making our computer more secure to attacks, they are causing several problems. That's why it is recommended to remain secure by avoiding visiting untrusted websites or unknown files.[via]

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BeaFanatIX Review

Some of you have probably heard a few years ago about a project called BeatrIX - a small GNU/Linux LiveCD distribution, which was pretty popular at that time. Unfortunately, the BeatrIX project has been discontinued since 2005.

The BeaFanatIX project started as a remaster of BeatrIX. The team extracted BeatrIX, changed some stuff, and put everything back on the CD. It was still BeatrIX, but with a face lift. You can find a lot of descriptions about BeaFanatIX (BFX for short) on the Internet, like "BeatrIX reloaded" or "Debian built on Knoppix", but what is BFX really? You might be surprised, but BeaFanatIX is a customized LiveCD based on Ubuntu 5.10 (codename Breezy Badger). However, because the Ubuntu LiveCD is loading rather slow, the BeaFanatIX development team used the techniques from the Knoppix Linux LiveCD distribution in order to get a fast bootable CD.

First BootI've downloaded the ISO (approx. 157 MB in size), burned it on a blank CD and put it in my CD-ROM, in order to boot from it. After a few seconds, I was prompted with a customized GRUB splash, the BeaFanatIX logo/mascot – the black cat. First option is "Boot from first harddisk", which is not a common thing as some users many not look at the bootloader screen and just press enter. So, in order to start the LiveCD environment, you need to press the second option - "BeaFanatIX 2006.2 *default* (1024x768x16, english) - (why it is marked as *default* I really don't know, hopefully they will fix this bug in a future version). Please wait a few seconds for the LiveCD to load. You will see a lot of text on the screen as the CD tries to discover your hardware and load all the necessary services and modules. I have an Optiplex 740 machine from DELL, and I was amazed when BeaFanatIX recognized the AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4200+ that comes with my PC.

Under the hood

The main components that power this version of BeaFanatIX 2006.2 are:

• Linux kernel 2.6.15 with patch ck7 (compiled with gcc-4.0.1

• libc6-2.3.5

• GCC 4.0.1 compiler

• Xorg 6.8.2

• Gnome 2.12.2 desktop environment

For more information, please visit : news

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The Downsides of 64-bit Windows Vista

Microsoft delivers Windows Vista in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors. While a system configuration with a x64 processor certainly recommends one of the 64-bit editions of Windows Vista, these versions of the operating system do come with downsides that customers need to be aware of. Being essentially identical to 32-bit Windows Vista, the 64-bit editions will deliver support for 32-bit applications without any problems.

This aspect is one of the pillars of the transition to 64-bit. Users are encouraged to adopt the next wave in computing technology while still being able to enjoy the same programs they used to on their 32-bit system. However, 64-bit Vista does not offer support for 16-bit applications or components. Old solutions designed for platforms that preceded 32-bit will not function on x64 Vista.

64-bit Windows Vista also features an additional line of defense against buffer overflow attacks. Vista's Data Execution Prevention (DEP) will work in conjunction with the 64-bit processor to prevent exploits, but one major shortcoming is the fact that legitimate applications and processes will be stopped if the operating system detects a buffer overflow condition.

Another problem that users will face on 64-bit Vista is the generalized lack of driver support. Drivers in x64 Vista are a completely different deal than on 32-bit Windows platforms. And although 64-bit Vista supports 32-bit applications it does not do the same with 32-bit drivers. The products have to be prepared for 64-bit Vista, as the operating system brings to the table a feature called Signed Kernel Mode Drivers. 64-bit kernel-mode drivers will not be installed in Windows Vista without digital signatures. Also automatic registry and system file redirection specific to the 32-bit operating systems have not made it into 64-bit Vista.

And last but not least, the x64 version of Windows Vista introduces Kernel Patch Protection. PatchGuard is a technology designed to prevent access to the core of the operating system. All applications – including legitimate programs such as security solutions – that needed to access the operating system's kernel in order to function will fail under 64-bit Vista.[via]

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Windows Vista Quality Tests

Microsoft has applauded Vista as the most secure Windows platform to date. But when it comes to fresh releases of Windows, security advancements are nothing short of a leitmotif for Microsoft, and Vista makes no exception to this rule. However, James A. Whittaker, Security Architect at Microsoft claims that assessing the quality of a product before its release is impossible.

"You can’t test quality in." It’s a truism coined long ago and an accepted fact of software development," Whittaker explained. But this is not to say that Windows Vista is not the most secure operating system to come out of Redmond. This is of course the merit of the Security Development Lifecycle. And Whittaker managed to offer an insight into the inner workings of SDL, because while the overall quality of Vista will only be proven in real life scenarios, the platform has been tested extensively.

"Yet, for security, testing is arguably the most talked about aspect of the Security Development Lifecycle (SDL). When we get security wrong, the first criticism we almost always hear is, "Didn’t you guys test this thing?" It is no great stretch to say that many of the most famous industry security folks made their reputation by finding vulnerabilities (through, no doubt, testing). You simply can’t avoid the subject of testing when you talk about security, and you can’t be sure you’re secure without testing," Whittaker said.

Windows Vista is the first Microsoft platform to also be a complete Security Development Lifecycle product. And as the testing process is a repetitive occurrence in all the stages of the SDL, it was implemented into all the phases of the operating system's growth.

"Testers are involved in architecture review, security design reviews, threat modeling, code reviews and many other things that happen both before and after the actual testing phase. In each of these instances, testers bring a valuable how-I-would-break-this slant to these endeavors. This contribution has been valuable enough to spawn a big push around the company to move testing activity to earlier phases of the lifecycle and, though some might not agree, I think the practice of threat modeling can be ascribed to this movement. The idea of thinking through threats and understanding attack vectors has been our focus in security testing for years, and threat modeling represents the extraction of this process as its own standalone entity," Whittaker revealed.

The end purpose of the SDL is to educate engineers to write code with exploits in mind. Windows Vista code has been authored under the constant pressure of "attack scenarios, threats and test cases." Building, designing and writing code in Windows Vista under the SDL umbrella is a process aimed at delivering a guarantee of tested security.[via]

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First Three Ubuntu 7.04 PCs from Dell Will Ship Today

Today, 24 May 2007, is a historical day for every Ubuntu fan out there, because Dell will finally release the first three systems with Ubuntu 7.04 pre-installed. The systems offered by Dell are:
• XPS 410n Desktop
• Dimension E520n Desktop
• Inspiron E1505n Notebook

The above systems will be available for customers today at www.dell.com/open by 4 PM CST. The XPS 410n desktop system will have a starting price of $849, and the price for the E520n desktop and the E1505n notebook starts at $599.Dell will offer hardware support for these systems and all the customers can get help and latest updates from the Dell Community Forum & the official Dell Linux website. On the other hand, Canonical will offer support to everyone who buys a Dell system with Ubuntu pre-installed; these fee-based options include 30-day Get Started, One-year Basic and One-year Standard.

John Hull, Manager of Linux OS Technologies at Dell, and the Dell Linux team will continue to work with hardware vendors to improve the Linux drivers’ stability: "That’s part of our longer-term goal to increase the number of drivers that work at the kernel level—something Direct2Dell readers made very clear. We’ll get there, it just takes time."

On February 16, when Dell first launched the Dell IdeaStorm website, someone named dhart submitted this wonderful idea - to have pre-installed Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE) on Dell desktops and notebooks. Over 30,000 community members supported this idea and more than 100,000 people completed the Linux survey to tell Dell what they think about having pre-installed Linux OS on their systems.

Please watch this interview with the Dell Linux team leaders, starring John Hull, Roger Noriega, Rezwanul Kabir and Hatim Amro. The interview was taken by Lionel Menchaca from Direct2Dell website. Enjoy![via]

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Three Steps to Pimp Your Vista and Get a Mac Feeling

Some of you believe that Windows Vista was somehow inspired by Apple’s Mac OS X because the Redmond-based company intended to develop a similar operating system with all the tools bundled into it. Windows Vista was released but, as some of you had the chance to notice, it is more than different from Mac OS X or at least this is what we’re able to see at the first look. Now, I guess all of you desire to have that eye-candy dock, the nice looking mouse cursor and the very efficient search function provided by Spotlight. Obviously, these features can be implemented into Windows Vista using additional applications able to provide almost the same functions as the original Mac OS X tools.

Step 1: The DockThe dock is a graphical user interface that redefines the concept of the taskbar used by Windows because it is based on well-looking effects and a nice appearance. Basically, it is actually a program launcher as it allows you to run a program with ease. The dock was implemented by Apple into Mac OS X and is meant to represent the alternative for the old fashioned taskbar used by Windows. If you want to add a dock into your Microsoft operating system, you can do it with RK Launcher, a simple application that brings almost the same functionality as the original Apple dock. "RK Launcher is a free application that will allow the user to have a visually pleasing bar at the side of the screen that is used to quickly launch shortcuts. With support for themes, PNG's and ICO's and with smooth amazing animations, RK Launcher is a versatile and great taskbar replacement," the developer describes the application. The program is quite easy to use so I’ll let you explore it for yourself and find the amazing feature it offers. Have a look at the following pictures to familiarize with the tool.

Step 2: The Search UtilityApple’s Spotlight is an extremely useful tool because it allows Mac OS X users to find any format of file straight from their desktop in no time. At this time, Spotlight can search your computer for documents, pictures, music, applications, System Preferences, as well as specific words in documents. Obviously, the function is available only for the Apple customers so there’s no chance to have it in Windows. However, the search giant Google has the solution: Google Desktop. Recently, the Mountain View company developed the Mac flavor of Google Desktop, making it the perfect alternative for Spotlight. As the application is also compatible with Windows, the Microsoft customers can implement the program into their operating system. Basically, Google Desktop works exactly like Spotlight because it indexes all your files and then it returns results almost instantly. The program can be accessed by pressing the CTRL button for two times and will open a popup window to type your search query. However, Google Desktop is more than a simple application because it provides a lot more functions than the basic search abilities. Download it from this link and view the following photos to see Google Desktop

Step 3: The CursorsThere is no Mac feeling if you’re working on the computer without the Apple mouse cursor. I agree that Windows Vista’s cursors are quite attractive but, if you really want to transform your Microsoft operating system into a high-looking Mac OS X, you need to use the original cursors. Although there are a lot of cursor packs on the Internet, I decided to choose the set offered by WinMatrix and available on this link. This time, you need to configure the cursors manually so here’s what you must do to setup the Mac OS X mouse interface: right click on the desktop and choose Properties. Click on the Mouse Pointers link and then select the Pointers tab. Double click on the Normal Select field and navigate to your downloaded cursors and open the Normal one. Repeat this action for all the cursors on the list. When you’re ready, press Apply and you should be able to use the nice looking Mac OS X cursor.

Obviously, all these programs are also compatible with Windows XP but I preferred to try them on Vista as some of the users sustained that Microsoft’s operating system copied Apple’s application. Please keep in mind that these are only some simple applications to add or modify Vista’s features so, if you have some other cool tools, feel free to share them. Meanwhile, have a look at the three programs in action.[via]

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