Archive

Category Archives for "Networking"

Easy-to-exploit rooting flaw puts Linux computers at risk

The maintainers of Linux distributions are rushing to patch a privilege escalation vulnerability that's already being exploited in the wild and poses a serious risk to servers, desktops and other devices that run the OS.The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2016-5195, has existed in the Linux kernel for the past nine years. This means that many kernel versions that are used in a variety of computers, servers, routers, embedded devices and hardware appliances are affected.The Red Hat security team describes the flaw as a "race" condition, "in the way the Linux kernel's memory subsystem handles the copy-on-write (COW) breakage of private read-only memory mappings." This allows an attacker who gains access to a limited user account to obtain root privileges and therefore take complete control over the system.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Easy-to-exploit rooting flaw puts Linux computers at risk

The maintainers of Linux distributions are rushing to patch a privilege escalation vulnerability that's already being exploited in the wild and poses a serious risk to servers, desktops and other devices that run the OS.The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2016-5195, has existed in the Linux kernel for the past nine years. This means that many kernel versions that are used in a variety of computers, servers, routers, embedded devices and hardware appliances are affected.The Red Hat security team describes the flaw as a "race" condition, "in the way the Linux kernel's memory subsystem handles the copy-on-write (COW) breakage of private read-only memory mappings." This allows an attacker who gains access to a limited user account to obtain root privileges and therefore take complete control over the system.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DNS provider Dyn gets DDoSed, takes out Twitter, GitHub and plenty others

Some of the biggest names on the internet – including Twitter, GitHub, Etsy, Shopify, the New York Times and the Boston Globe, among many others – were temporarily knocked offline by a DDoS attack that targeted DNS provider Dyn early Friday morning.DNS is the mechanism by which computers turn human-readable web addresses like www.networkworld.com into a numerical format that can be used to retrieve the actual web page. Dyn is a managed DNS provider – essentially, a phone book that computers use to correlate IP addresses to web page names.+ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: Apple sues Amazon supplier over fake iPhone chargers + Technology confirms election ballot error is less than .001%To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DNS provider Dyn gets DDoSed, takes out Twitter, GitHub and plenty others

Some of the biggest names on the internet – including Twitter, GitHub, Etsy, Shopify, the New York Times and the Boston Globe, among many others – were temporarily knocked offline by a DDoS attack that targeted DNS provider Dyn early Friday morning.DNS is the mechanism by which computers turn human-readable web addresses like www.networkworld.com into a numerical format that can be used to retrieve the actual web page. Dyn is a managed DNS provider – essentially, a phone book that computers use to correlate IP addresses to web page names.+ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: Apple sues Amazon supplier over fake iPhone chargers + Technology confirms election ballot error is less than .001%To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple sues Amazon supplier over fake iPhone chargers

In a federal lawsuit filed this week, Apple asserted that nearly all the iPhones, chargers and cables it surreptitiously purchased from online retailer Amazon were fakes."As part of its ongoing brand protection efforts, [Apple] has purchased well over 100 iPhone devices, Apple power products, and Lightning cables sold as genuine by sellers on Amazon.com and delivered through Amazon's 'Fulfillment by Amazon' program," Apple's complaint said of a nine-month operation. "Apple's internal examination and testing for these products revealed almost 90% of these products are counterfeit."Although Apple did not target Amazon in the lawsuit -- instead, Apple sued Mobile Star, a New York-based former supplier to Amazon -- the retailer came off poorly in the complaint.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IBM says Macs save up to $543 per user

By the end of 2016, roughly one in four IBM employees will use a Macintosh computer. The tech giant, which employs 400,000 people, bought and provisioned 90,000 Macs since it started to support Apple laptops in June 2015. It expects to have at least 100,000 Macs deployed by 2017.IBM now has the largest enterprise Mac deployment in the world, and it is Apple's biggest business customer for Macs, according to Mac maker. Apple declined to provide details on the other leading enterprise Mac customers, but SAP, Kelly Services and Intuit are among the company's most recognizable clients. In total, IBM says it manages 217,000 Apple devices for its employees today, including those 90,000 Macs, 81,000 iPhones and 48,000 iPads. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Deep dive: The Apple Watch Series 2 delivers on last year’s promise

When Apple jumped into the wearables market last year with the first Apple Watch, it delivered a device that offered a lot of promise, while at the same confusing and confounding many early adopters.App loading times were sluggish; the UI was wholly unfamiliar to longtime Apple buyers; connectivity was sometimes an issue; and fitness tracking didn't always work as it should. That didn't stop millions of buyers from plunging ahead, making the Apple Watch a modest success in a crowded wearables market.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DNS OARC 25

DNS OARC is the place to share research, experiences and data primarily concerned with the operation of the DNS in the Internet. Here are some highlights for me from the most recent meeting, held in October 2016 in Dallas.

IDG Contributor Network: 7 steps to proactive security

Data breaches are increasingly becoming an expensive problem for more and more companies. According to the most recent Ponemon Institute Data Breach report, insecure data cost companies an average of $221 per compromised record in 2016, an increase of 7 percent from the previous year and an all-time high.+ Also on Network World: A breach alone means liability + The key to securing against this threat lies in a common metaphor—if a ship has a hole, it is better to patch the breach than bail the water. Effective cybersecurity means being proactive, getting ahead of the problem and addressing the issue at its core rather than operating in a reactive fashion, constantly fixing the symptoms.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: 7 steps to proactive security

Data breaches are increasingly becoming an expensive problem for more and more companies. According to the most recent Ponemon Institute Data Breach report, insecure data cost companies an average of $221 per compromised record in 2016, an increase of 7 percent from the previous year and an all-time high.+ Also on Network World: A breach alone means liability + The key to securing against this threat lies in a common metaphor—if a ship has a hole, it is better to patch the breach than bail the water. Effective cybersecurity means being proactive, getting ahead of the problem and addressing the issue at its core rather than operating in a reactive fashion, constantly fixing the symptoms.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft Surface isn’t the culprit in Patriots coach’s blowup

When the New England Patriots' normally taciturn head coach Bill Belichick goes on a five-minute tirade, you know it must be a bad situation. But that's what happened during a press conference with Belichick last week's drubbing of the Cincinnati Bengals.Belichick went off on the Microsoft Surface tablets as being unreliable, and that came weeks after he was seen throwing one on the ground in frustration.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Intel asserts its trademark rights against John McAfee

Intel does not object to John McAfee using his personal name in connection with his business, but it objects to the use by the maverick entrepreneur and security expert of the McAfee trade name and trademark in a way that could confuse or deceive consumers or dilute the brand.The issue came up when John McAfee teamed with MGT Capital Investments, which had been until recently mainly into gaming sites, and announced in May that it is in the process of acquiring a diverse portfolio of cybersecurity technologies. MGT also announced that it intended to change its corporate name to “John McAfee Global Technologies, Inc.” with John McAfee at the helm of the new company.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Intel asserts its trademark rights against John McAfee

Intel does not object to John McAfee using his personal name in connection with his business, but it objects to the use by the maverick entrepreneur and security expert of the McAfee trade name and trademark in a way that could confuse or deceive consumers or dilute the brand.The issue came up when John McAfee teamed with MGT Capital Investments, which had been until recently mainly into gaming sites, and announced in May that it is in the process of acquiring a diverse portfolio of cybersecurity technologies. MGT also announced that it intended to change its corporate name to “John McAfee Global Technologies, Inc.” with John McAfee at the helm of the new company.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tech execs tackling childhood cancer

It's been a few years since I've connected with network industry veteran Chris Lynch (See "Ex-Vertica CEO pledges to build high-speed railway for Big Data"), but when we did last talk he mainly had Big Data on his mind. Since then, he's started an early stage venture capital firm called Accomplice that indeed has invested in that field. And to book, his Twitter handle is @LynchBigData.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here