Nearly six months after Ubuntu 12.04 LTS arrived, Canonical and the Ubuntu developers have released version 12.10 of their Ubuntu Linux distribution, code-named "Quantal Quetzal". The new version of the popular open source operating system uses a kernel based on the 3.5 Linux kernel and updates Unity desktop with a number of new features and enhancements.
These conclusions are not from a formal survey. Why?
IDG and Gartner figures only look at pre-installed server operating systems, and Web browser surveys -- such as StatCounter and NetMarketShare -- don't drill down far enough to say which Linux desktop distributions are the most popular. With that, I have to turn to DistroWatch, the master Linux desktop tracking site for useful desktop Linux use data.
The Apache Software Foundation has released version 2.4.3 of the Apache HTTP Server, fixing over fifty bugs and closing two security holes. The two vulnerabilities are present in the mod_proxy_aip, mod_proxy_http and mod_negotiation modules.
Hackers are being invited to take part in a Linux security challenge next week that is sponsored by the UK government and Sophos.
The government has been running a Cyber Security Challenge (CSC) scheme since 2010, in an attempt to draw more young people into the computer security business.
Nvidia released a new version of its Unix driver last week in order to address a high-risk vulnerability that can be exploited by local users to gain root privileges on Linux systems.
The privilege escalation vulnerability fixed in the new 304.32 version of the Nvidia Unix driver 304.32 was disclosed in public on August 1 by Dave Airlie, a principal engineer in the graphics team at Linux vendor Red Hat.
An anonymous hacker has found a security hole in the Nvidia binary. He or she allegedly reported it to Nvidia "over a month ago" and did not receive a reply, nor was the flaw ever patched. The exploit has now been made public.
Software Engineer Dave Airlie was sent details of the vulnerability. After testing it out and discovering that it indeed works, he posted the exploit for everyone to see over at the mailing list full-disclosure @ lists.grok.org.uk
The prospect of Windows 8's planned Secure Boot restrictions has caused no end of controversy in the Linux world, where distributors and users of the free and open source operating system have been struggling to figure out just what it's all going to mean for those who don't embrace Windows.
It wasn't long ago that the Free Software Foundation spoke out for a second time on the topic, but recently there have been signs that a broader effort is in the works in the Linux community.
A new Web-based social engineering attack that relies on malicious Java applets attempts to install backdoors on Windows, Linux and Mac computers, according to security researchers from antivirus vendors F-Secure and Kaspersky Lab.
The attack was detected on a compromised website in Colombia, F-Secure senior analyst Karmina Aquino, said in a blog post on Monday. When users visit the site, they are prompted to run a Java applet that hasn't been signed by a trusted certificate authority.
A number of high-profile outages that took place last weekend can be traced back to how the Linux OS kernel mishandled a leap second added to the official time, charges the CTO of DataStax, a company that manages the open source Cassandra database.
"Initial reporting often fingered Java or even Cassandra as the culprit ... but the actual problem was a kind of livelock in the Linux system calls responsible for timers," wrote DataStax CTO and Cassandra creator Jonathan Ellis, in a blog post.
I love the Linux Mint desktop distribution. Lots of people love Mint. Mint’s my current favorite Linux desktop distribution. But, like most distributions, to run it, I had to install it myself. Now, Mint, in conjunction with CompuLab, is selling its first Mint-branded PCs.
True, you could buy a PC or laptop from ZaReason and a handful of other Linux PC vendors with Mint Linux, but the two mini-PCs that Mint and CompuLab are offering are the first to have Mint’s official blessing.
