Contents:

Useless Use of cat
Useless Use of kill -9
Useless Use of echo
Useless Use of ls *
Useless Use of wc -l
Useless Use of grep | awk
Useless Use of Backticks
Useless Use of test

Windows’ infamous “Blue Screen of Death” (BSOD) is a bit of a punchline. People have made a hobby of spotting them out in the wild, and in some circles, they remain a byword for the supposed flakiness and instability of PCs.

The BSOD is supposed to be a diagnostic tool, an informational screen that technicians can use to begin homing in on the problem that caused the crash in the first place. Unfortunate fact that many of the old Windows’ BSOD error codes were often so broad and vague as to be useless doesn’t make the idea a bad one.

Linux systems have traditionally lacked this kind blue screen when they crash. The kernel panic error has been the closest similar to the blue screen of death (BSOD) error in Windows-based systems. But this can change in the near future. New systemd update will bring Windows’ infamous Blue Screen of Death to Linux. The version 255 of the Linux systemd project honors that original intent by adding a systemd-bsod component that generates a full-screen display of some error messages when a Linux system crashes. Systemd is used by Debian, Arch, Fedora, Ubuntu, and many downstream distros, so expect the feature to be available on then sooner or later as a built in default feature or an option that can be turned on when needed.

The systemd-bsod component is currently listed as “experimental” and “subject to change.” But the functionality is simple: any logged error message that reaches the LOG_EMERG level will be displayed full-screen to allow people to take a photo or write it down. The systemd-bsod will also display a QR code for getting more information on the error causing the boot failure. Phoronix reports that, as with BSODs in modern Windows, the Linux version will also generate a QR code to make it easier to look up information on your phone. This is intended specifically to alert users in the case of a boot failure.

The BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH Comes to Linux!

Finally, Bluescreen in LINUX

Sources:
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/12/linux-distros-are-about-to-get-a-killer-windows-feature-the-blue-screen-of-death/
https://github.com/systemd/systemd/releases/tag/v255
https://www.phoronix.com/news/systemd-255
https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/7/23992512/linux-blue-screen-of-death-bsod-systemd-update

GNU turns 40: Stallman’s baby still not ready for prime time, but hey, there’s cake
It turned the software industry upside down regardless
https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/20/gnu_turns_40/

Happy birthday to GNU. On September 27, there will be events in both the US and Switzerland to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the GNU Project.

That day in 1983, the eternally controversial Richard Stallman announced his project to create a new operating system, recursively named GNU’s Not Unix. This year, the Free Software Foundation is celebrating this as the project’s anniversary

This is notable. GNU has had lots of influence on software industry. GNU has been a huge world changing success or a failure depending how you look at it.

It is arguable that in the sort of narrow, specific sense that Stallman himself tends to favor, the GNU Project failed. There isn’t a complete, working GNU OS.

The GNU kernel, named Hurd, is still incomplete and not ready for daily use, even after all this time. It was a very ambitious design, a true microkernel. Very few projects have managed to get that to work well. The state of the art has arguably moved on from the Mach microkernel that Hurd uses.

To be more fair and balanced, though, the GNU Project has been a massive success which has changed the shape of the entire computer industry. On one, low level, there are multiple GNU OSes based around the Linux kernel

Then some sad news I saw first at
https://www.facebook.com/100064470498902/posts/pfbid0HBTF1msxChhdaPvd2ZkLvtAuEPzXcVSZwnV6UACfM41XGwYGufK8q3jWW4yYmFqZl/

Richard Stallman reveals he has cancer in the GNU 40 Hacker Meeting talk https://audio-video.gnu.org/video/gnu40/rms-gnu40.webm It’s disheartening to hear the news. I sincerely hope for his speedy recovery and wish him all the best. He is a crucial figure in the current era of SaaS and cloud computing, especially with the abundance of unreliable AI generators controlled by big tech. It’s a tough situation. #gnu #freesoftware #opensource

Also noted on other news sources:

Free software pioneer Richard Stallman is battling cancer
https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/29/richard_stallman_cancer/

Project’s 40th anniversary celebration in Switzerland on Wednesday a very changed figure.

Richard Stallman is Battling Cancer
https://news.itsfoss.com/richard-stallman-battling-cancer/

To celebrate the GNU Project’s 40th anniversary, the Free Software Foundation (FSF) is organizing a hackday on Oct. 1 (GNU 40) for families, students, and anyone else in the US.

Looking at the keynote, Richard Stallman does not look the same without his iconic beard and long hair. Considering he is already undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer, that explains it.

Richard Stallman personal page is at https://stallman.org

There will be new hardware support. Especially Support for the RISC-V architecture continues to accrue, with changes that improve the new platform’s support for handling for Docker containers and apps packaged with Ubuntu’s Snap system, plus page-based memory types.

There is one big ticket feature has made it for the Linux 6.0 kernel: the Runtime Verification infrastructure for running Linux on safety-critical systems. Over last few years researchers have been exploring the possibility of verifying the Linux kernel behavior using Runtime Verification. Runtime Verification (RV) is a lightweight (yet rigorous) method that complements classical exhaustive verification techniques (such as model checking and theorem proving) with a more practical approach for complex systems. RV works by analyzing the trace of the system’s actual execution, comparing it against a formal specification of the system behavior. The usage of deterministic automaton for RV is a well-established approach.

Information sources and links to more information:

Ready for the Linux 6.0 splashdown? Here are some of the highlights
Don’t panic if you’re not a fan of big changes… it’s 5.20 by another name
https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/08/linux_6_point_0_highlights/

Linux Kernel 6.0 is Likely the Next Version Upgrade With Initial Rust Code
Linux Kernel’s next upgrade is going to be 6.0, instead of Linux 5.20. That’s what Linus Torvalds is going with. Sounds good!
https://news.itsfoss.com/linux-kernel-6-0-reveal/

Linux 6.0 Adding Run-Time Verification For Running On Safety Critical Systems
https://www.phoronix.com/news/Linux-6.0-Runtime-Verification

De Oliveira, Daniel Bristot; Cucinotta, Tommaso; De Oliveira, Romulo Silva. *Efficient formal verification for the Linux kernel.* In: International Conference on Software Engineering and Formal Methods. Springer, Cham, 2019. p. 315-332.
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-30446-1_17

https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/rostedt/linux-trace.git/tree/Documentation/trace/rv/runtime-verification.rst?h=for-next&id=ff0aaf671230d409a68fd7400f41e9eb3ac61dd8

https://lore.kernel.org/all/CAHk-=wgrz5BBk=rCz7W28Fj_o02s0Xi0OEQ3H1uQgOdFvHgx0w@mail.gmail.com/

Some examples what you will see:

SANDWICH

INCIDENT

Those comics are from xkcd.com

That’s right, it’s been 30 years since 21-year-old Finnish student Linus Benedict Torvalds made his now-famous announcement on the day of August 25th, 1991, on the comp.os.minix news group, saying that he is working on a free operating system for 386(486) AT clones as a “hobby.”

https://9to5linux.com/happy-30th-birthday-linux

Linux founder Linus Torvalds recently posted an update on the Linux Kernel Mailing List announcing the arrival of Linux kernel version 5.14. Perhaps the biggest change is the removal of legacy support for Parallel ATA (PATA), also referred to as ATAm or IDE.

From now on, all IDE support will be based on libATA, a library used for providing support for ATA host controllers and devices. This change will shift away from in-kernel support, to a library that is implemented only when it’s needed.

THE LINUX KERNEL 5.14 AUDIO UPDATE
https://hackaday.com/2021/07/13/the-linux-kernel-5-14-audio-update/

Say hi to Microsoft’s own Linux: CBL-Mariner
https://www.zdnet.com/article/say-hi-to-microsofts-own-linux-cbl-mariner/

Microsoft has its own Linux distribution and, yes, you can download, install and run it. CBL-Mariner is not a Linux desktop. Like Azure Sphere, Microsoft’s first specialized Linux distro, which is used for securing edge computing services, it’s a server-side Linux.

Amazing isn’t it? Why the next thing you know Microsoft will let you run Windows applications on Linux! Oh, wait it has!

Two-for-Tuesday vulnerabilities send Windows and Linux users scrambling
Both OSes have flaws that allow attackers with a toehold to elevate access.
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/07/separate-eop-flaws-let-hackers-gain-full-control-of-windows-and-linux-systems/

Most versions of Linux, meanwhile, are in the process of distributing a fix for a vulnerability disclosed on Tuesday. CVE-2021-33909, as the security flaw is tracked, allows an untrusted user to gain unfettered system rights by creating, mounting, and deleting a deep directory structure with a total path length that exceeds 1GB and then opening and reading the /proc/self/mountinfo file.

The exploit Qualys described comes with significant overhead, specifically roughly 1 million nested directories. The attack also requires about 5GB of memory and 1 million inodes. Despite the hurdles, a Qualys representative described the PoC as “extremely reliable” and said it takes about three minutes to complete.

People running Linux should check with the distributor to determine if patches are available to fix the vulnerability.

Sequoia: A Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability in Linux’s Filesystem Layer (CVE-2021-33909)
https://blog.qualys.com/vulnerabilities-threat-research/2021/07/20/sequoia-a-local-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-in-linuxs-filesystem-layer-cve-2021-33909

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows any unprivileged user to gain root privileges on the vulnerable host. Qualys security researchers have been able to independently verify the vulnerability, develop an exploit, and obtain full root privileges on default installations of Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 20.10, Ubuntu 21.04, Debian 11, and Fedora 34 Workstation. Other Linux distributions are likely vulnerable and probably exploitable.

What versions are vulnerable?
All Linux kernel versions from 2014 onwards are vulnerable.

To completely fix this vulnerability, the kernel must be patched. There are some kernel settings that might make it harder to exploit while waiting for a fix.

Not it seems that RISC-V is even more promising as many big names are now in game. There’s an understandably high level of interest in RISC-V processors among our community, but while we’ve devoured the various microcontroller offerings containing the open-source core it’s fair to say we’re still waiting on the promise of more capable hardware for anything like an affordable price. This could however change soon.

Canonical Launches Its First Official Ubuntu RISC-V and SiFive aims to make Ubuntu the “reference OS for early adopters” of Linux on desktop-class RISC-V. Canonical has confirmed official RISC-V support for its popular Ubuntu Linux distribution, initially through a partnership with SiFive to release operating system images for its HiFive Unleashed and Unmatched high-performance single-board computers (SBCs).

Will We Soon Be Running Linux On SiFive Cores Made By Intel? Intel Licenses SiFive’s Portfolio for Intel Foundry Services on 7nm. This includes their latest and fastest P550 64-bit core, bringing forward the prospect of readily available high-power RISC-V computing.

SiFive RISC-V Proven in 5nm Silicon by TSMC. OpenFive, a SiFive business unit that is the leading provider of customizable, silicon-focused solutions with differentiated IP, is continuing to make progress with AI design solutions with the creation of a reference design chiplet architecture using OpenFive Die-to-Die interface, OpenFive HBM3 IP subsystem, and SiFive 7-Series processor IP, for 2.5D-based SoCs.

China’s ISCAS to build 2,000 RISC-V laptops by the end of 2022 as nation seeks to cut reliance on Arm, Intel chips. Software porting efforts aim to make sure Android, Linux, Firefox, and Chrome work well.

The 16th of April 1971 is not only the date when the Rolling Stone first released Brown Sugar, it is also marked with the publication of RFC 114 marking the birthday of FTP. Back in those days, the Vietnam war is at the forefront of the news, TCP/IP didn’t exist yet, Jimi Hendrix died 6 months ago, telnet was the new cool kid and some of the most influential rock n roll artists were about to release masterpieces while FTP was using a network protocol called NCP.

FTP was initially created to allow for the secure transfer of files between servers and host computers over the ARPANET Network Control Program (a precursor to the modern internet).

As you can see FTP is a really old. And as it is also pretty insecure and painful with firewalls, it might ve time yo let it go for good. When a file is sent using FTP protocol, the data, username, and password are all shared in plain text, which means a hacker can access this information with little to no effort.

Use HTTPS, SCP and SFTP instead to be more secure and modern.

Bu the way did you notice that Telnet is even older. Wikipedia says:

Telnet was developed in 1969 beginning with RFC 15, extended in RFC 855, and standardized as Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Internet Standard STD 8, one of the first Internet standards. The name stands for “teletype network”.

CentOS Linux is dead—and Red Hat says Stream is “not a replacement”.

CentOS Stream, founded in 2019, is “a rolling preview of what’s next in RHEL.”
. A rolling-release Linux is one that’s constantly being updated. CentOS Stream tracks just ahead of a current RHEL release. This may sound like CentOS will be RHEL’s beta, but CentOS denies this.

This reminds me of the always “beta” and maybe no production ready Fedora Linux. Fedora is a Linux distribution developed by the community-supported Fedora Project which is sponsored primarily by Red Hat, a subsidiary of IBM.

CentOS Linux users are angry.
CentOS has been a very widely used rebuild of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). CentOS is an extremely popular server operating system in its own right. I have used them, developed software for them, done cyber security hardening for them and built systems using them. The fixed-release model is the one most server Linux distributions have historically used.

In near future CentOS is no longer the production quality server OS we used to know and like. CentOS Linux 8 will end in 2021. CentOS shifts focus to CentOS Stream which is not the same. Red Hat and IBM effectively killed CentOS Linux 8 as we used to know it. CentOS Linux 7 will be supported few years longer. Red Hat doesn’t see CentOS Stream as a production server.

The current version of CentOS is CentOS 8, itself built atop RHEL 8. Normally, CentOS enjoys the same ten-year support lifecycle as RHEL itself—which would give CentOS 8 an end-of-life date in 2029. This week’s announcement puts a headstone on CentOS 8′s grave much sooner, in 2021. (CentOS 7 will still be supported alongside RHEL 7, through 2024.)

Even though Red Hat and IBM killed CentOS Linux 8, not ALL hope maybe lost. There is a new project Rocky Linux as the 100% rebuild of RHEL. It is a work in progress with no ETA. However, some challenges remain. Let’s see if this leads to anything useful.

What are alternatives for server Linux?
Ubuntu is the most popular Linux server operating system with 47.5%, CentOS is number two with 18.8% and Debian is third, 17.5%. RHEL? It’s a distant fourth with 1.8%.