Monday, April 18, 2011
Frugalware Linux 1.5 Pre 1
Miklós Vajna has announced the availability of the first pre-release of Frugalware Linux 1.5, a general-purpose Linux distribution: "The Frugalware developer team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of Frugalware 1.5pre1, the first technical preview of the upcoming 1.5 stable release. Here are some of the major improvements, fixes and updates since 1.4: package updates - Linux kernel 2.6.38, GNOME 3.0, KDE 4.6, Firefox 4.0, Xfce 4.8 with some bug fix releases, 1.0 release of the core EFL libraries; new features - systemd is now the default init system, initial ARM port, Xfce now has lcdfilter for fonts like GNOME, full package archive is now available on DVD only." Here is the brief release announcement. Download the first installation DVD image from here: frugalware-1.5pre1-i686-dvd1.iso (4,278MB, SHA1).
Download Mirrors http://frugalware.org/download
IPv4 addresses maxed out in Asia
Some people were probably starting to wonder about the constantly predicted, but somehow never materializing exhaustion of Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) addresses.
Well, APNIC (The Asia Pacific Network Information Centre) has just announced the release of its last available batch of IPv4 addresses.
Of course, anyone who has been seriously following developments in the IP address realm will not find such developments unexpected in the slightest.
To be sure, IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) and ICANN (Internet Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers) already made it known in February that they had just assigned the last IPv4 blocks to RIRs (Regional Internet Registries) such as APNIC.
Still, the fact that APNIC exhausted its last blocks so quickly is not something many would have predicted. Analysts had estimated the beginning of summer as the earliest time the addresses would run out for any RIR.
In an official statement, APNIC confirmed the remaining IPv4 addresses would be placed under limited distribution, primarily for network operators to use in facilitating integration with new generation IPv6 address blocks.
As such, the organization has placed a cap of 1,024 IPv4 addresses for existing and new members eligible for current allocation.
RIPE - which covers the Middle East, Europe and the former Soviet Union - is expected to be the next RIR on the chopping block before ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers).
At some point, it seemed like some RIRs would survive to 2012. But APNIC’s swift run on its IPv4 address block likely means the writing is on the wall for the rest.
Hacker says he cracked Federal Reserve Bank
It seems as if hackers will always find a way of breaching even the most sophisticated and secure networks.
Take the case of Lin Mun Poo, the 32 year old Malaysian national who infiltrated FedComp - a network administered by the US Federal Reserve Bank - and stole payment card information.
The attack on FedComp enabled Lin to obtain sensitive card data from numerous credit unions across the U.S., as FedComp processes information from over 2,500 credit unions.
Fortunately for law enforcement officials, Lin travelled to the US where he was arrested just hours after arriving at New York’s JFK International Airport.
Actually, federal agents apprehended Lin shortly after watching him sell stolen card numbers at a Brooklyn diner for $1,000.
The Malaysian national was carrying an encrypted laptop that contained over 400,000 bank account, debit card and credit card numbers. Prosecutors allege that Lin had made a career penetrating the computer networks of financial institutions, corporations and defense contractors before putting the stolen data up for sale.
Lin was charged with aggravated identity theft, fraud, unauthorized access of government information and unlawful transmission of computer code.
However, Lin recently pleaded guilty to just one charge - access device fraud. He also admitted to infiltrating the Federal Reserve’s network and installing malicious computer code on one of the servers.
If found guilty on all charges, Lin could face up to 10 years in prison.