NEWS
Pokemon Go Hacked by OurMine
The phenomenal success of Pokemon Go is also attracting cyber criminals. Pokemon Go experienced severe server issues on July 16; however, the company didn't mention an attack.
According to PCMag, the OurMine hacker group was behind the server issue. Members of OurMine said via email that they were just trying to protect the company's servers. "We wrote we will stop the attack if any [Niantic] staff talked with us, because we will teach them how to protect their servers," a member of OurMine told PCMag.
There is another group called PoodleCorp that is claiming a DDoS attack on Pokemon Go servers. PoodleCorp is reportedly planning another attack on August 1.
The popularity of the game has raised concerns around privacy and security. Senator Al Franken (D) of Minnesota penned a letter to the game developers and expressed his concerns. He wrote, "I am concerned about the extent to which Niantic may be unnecessarily collecting, using, and sharing a wide range of users' personal information without their appropriate consent."
Popular blogger and Entrepreneur in Residence at Upload VR, Robert Scoble, also expressed his concerns on Facebook, "I haven't seen a single person worrying about the privacy implications of Pokemon Go. Yes, we have gone over the freaky line that Shel Israel and I laid out in our book Age of Context. Five years ago, this game would have caused a huge privacy panic. This thing tracks our children. Think about that!"
Ubuntu Forums Breached Again
Canonical reported on July 14 that Ubuntu forums were breached. Attackers were able to steal usernames, email addresses, and IP addresses of more than two million users.
This is the second time Ubuntu forums have been breached. The last breach happened in 2013 when attackers stole email addresses, passwords, and usernames of members. Despite its claims of being an open source Linux company, Canonical is running its forums on proprietary vBulletin software. But Canonical is not alone, Fedora and SUSE also use vBulletin for their forums.
Ubuntu forums were hacked because admins at Canonical didn't update the forum software. Security expert Graham Cluley wrote on his blog, "What a goof. If you don't patch the software running on your website, don't be surprised if a hacker compromises your system and makes off with your customer's data."
This is the second high-profile breach in the desktop Linux world. The Linux Mint site was hacked earlier this year.
More Online
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Off the Beat * Bruce Byfield
What Windows Users Don't Know
When I wrote manuals and online help, I prided myself on being able to get inside user's heads. So when my cousin recently asked if I could help her friend install Ubuntu, I was surprised at how little I anticipated about a Windows user's basic knowledge.
Why Free Hardware Fails
Free-licensed hardware has yet to have even a moderate success. Detractors take this fact as proof of the unviability of free hardware; supporters as a reason to despair.
Why LibreOffice Writer is a Desktop Publisher, Not a Word Processor
You could be forgiven for thinking that LibreOffice Writer is a word processor. After all, that is what the writing tool in an office suite is usually called. However, Writer is more accurately classified as a desktop publisher (DTP) – and if you don't know the difference, you can quickly become frustrated.
Paw Prints * Jon "maddog" Hall
"You Keep Using That Word, I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means"
Recently, I was in a book store and saw two books, both related to "hackers." One was Hacking for Dummies by Kevin Beaver and the other was CEH: The Certified Ethical Hacker Practice Exams by Matt Walker. I posted pictures of these two books on my Facebook page, and for the second one used the classic quote of Inigo Montoya from the movie Princess Bride.
Productivity Sauce * Dmitri Popov
Push Messages from the Command Line to Telegram
Besides being an excellent open source messaging app, Telegram has a few clever tricks up its sleeve. This includes support for bots (or accounts operated by software) that can be put to a variety of practical uses. The telegram-sendtool, for example, uses a bot to push notifications and files from the Linux machine to Telegram.
Add a Dash of Color to the Terminal with Powerline-Like Prompt
The terminal's default color scheme is uninspiring at best. Obviously, this is done on purpose, as colorful embellishments can be distracting. But adding just enough color to the terminal can liven it up a bit as well as offer useful clues when you are working from the command line.
ADMIN Online
http://www.admin-magazine.com/
Attacks on HTTPS ConnectionsCarsten Eilers
HTTPS protects a connection from both tapping and manipulation, but only if a man in the middle hasn't already infiltrated the Internet connection. We highlight the weaknesses in HTTPS and demonstrate how to protect your client and server.
Getting a Free TLS Certificate from Let's Encrypt * Hans-Cees Speel
A free TLS certificate from Let's Encrypt means you can add encryption to your network for no cost, so you don't have any more excuses for failing to encrypt.
Multifactor Authentication with Google Authenticator * Oliver Frommel
Google Authenticator provides one-time passwords to smartphone owners for multifactor authentication, or you can integrate it into other applications, such as blogs.
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