Author Gabriella Coleman Expands on Role of Linux in Hacker Culture #freesoftware #opensource
Gabriella Coleman is the Wolfe Chair in Scientific and Technological Literacy at McGill University. She recently released a new book titled “Coding Freedom: The Ethics and Aesthetics of Hacking” after having spent three years working and living with hackers in the San Francisco Bay area. The community she chose to study was the Debian Linux community. In this interview with Linux.com, Coleman shares her perspective on the role of Linux in hacker culture and what it really means today to be a hacker.
Author Gabriella Coleman Expands on Role of Linux in Hacker Culture | Linux.com
Understanding Debian, the universal operating system (version 1.01 in English)
Malicious backdoor in open-source messaging apps not spotted for 3 months
For almost three months, versions of three widely distributed open-source applications from Horde.org contained a backdoor that allowed attackers to remotely execute malicious PHP code on systems that ran the programs.
Members of the Horde Project warned of the tampering earlier this week, in a bulletin that advised users of the collaboration and messaging applications to immediately reinstall newer versions that didn’t contain the malicious code. Those affected included anyone who downloaded installation packages for Horde 3.3.12, Horde Groupware 1.2.10 or Horde Groupware Webmail Edition 1.2.10 between various dates in November and February 7. Horde 4 is not affected. A module that targets the vulnerability has already been added to the Metasploit framework for hackers and penetration testers.
According to the Eric Romang Blog, at least two Linux distributions, from Ubuntu and Debian, were delivering the tainted versions of Horde 3.3.12.
