It's a learning moment for users who press Ctrl-s to save their work due to muscle memory from other environments. That's when they get a crash course in Ctrl-q and screen/tmux.
This attack is most effective against victims without backups who are desperate to get back their data. If you have backups, you basically shrug it off, restore your data, (re)train your users and use forensics to mitigate any obvious weaknesses. In most cases, it takes less effort for the attackers to move on to the next victim instead of trying to extract value from any data they may have exfiltrated (probably none in a lot of cases).
Also consider changing the user-agent from the default. I set mine to a typical browser string in ~/.curlrc, but you can also use -A/--user-agent on the command line.
The paper indicates that the goal is to prove that OSS in particular is vulnerable to this attack, but it seems that any software development ecosystem shares the same weaknesses. The choice of an OSS target seems to be one of convenience as the results can be publicly reviewed and this approach probably avoids serious consequences like arrests or lawsuits. In that light, their conclusions are misleading, even if the attack is technically feasible. They might get more credibility if they back off the OSS angle.
I've hosted email for myself and some other users for decades now. We all own our domains and aren't getting any younger. I'm a little terrified of the responsibility I've taken on and have no idea what I'll do when we start dropping like flies. Renewals will lapse, allowing squatters to snatch up our domains, read new incoming email and impersonate us. I'm not thrilled with depending on third parties, either, but now I wish it was someone else's problem who might outlive us and exercise a small degree of ethical oversight. Maybe there's a business idea here...
Overall an enjoyable read, but as someone who includes SQL queries in code, I disagree with two points:
I despise table aliases and usually remove them from queries. To me, they add a level of abstraction that obscures the purpose of the query. They're usually meaningless strings generated automatically by the tools used by data analysts who rarely inspect the underlying SQL for readability. I fully agree that you should reference columns explicitly with the table name, which I think is the real point they're trying to make in the article.
While it's true that sorting is expensive, the downstream benefits can be huge. The ability to easily diff sorted result sets helps with troubleshooting and can also save significant storage space whenever the results are archived.
I think authors want to ensure their writings are not edited, censored or otherwise tampered with while in transit to the reader. HTTPS isn't perfect, but this is one of the benefits it provides. It isn't only about encryption or privacy.
While it's true that there are many command line options available, I use a similar script to configure my Macs and it can be quite painful compared to Linux. First of all, this is a script, not a configuration file, so the changes only take effect when it is run, not when a user starts a session (though I suppose that could be done). There are any number of ways the settings can be changed and preserved without your knowledge, so you'll need to run the script periodically. I actually keep portions of the configuration state (nvram, defaults) in version control so I can audit changes.
There are also a number of different commands (scutil, nvram, defaults, pmset, PlistBuddy, etc.) instead of common interface for things that seem related but aren't. Discoverability is horrible, even when you know the name of the setting you want to change. It is not immediately apparent what arguments are needed for "defaults write" based on the output of "defaults read" (possibly due to my own ignorance, but this raises the learning curve substantially).
Granted, there are a thousand different ways to configure any given Linux environment with varying degrees of difficulty, but I feel like many of the user preferences in the linked script would be better managed in dotfiles as they are in Linux (and other Unices and even for many apps on Mac OS).
Can you elaborate? I despise the startup chime and disable it on all of my Macs. Why should they announce a startup when none of my other devices do? Why would I want to wake a sleeping baby or annoy other library patrons? This is one of the most obnoxious decisions Apple ever forced on its users (and, yes, I was happy when the illuminated logo on the laptop lid was finally put to rest).
A side effect of using the Vimperator extension for many years was that it provided a stable interface unaffected by upstream UI tweaks, while still benefiting from other feature and security updates. I couldn't imagine switching away from Firefox for any reason, but when Vimperator was no longer supported, I realized I didn't like what remained and evaluated alternatives. Eventually, I stopped installing Firefox on my machines because I no longer open it.
A file is more than simply a unit or collection of data in a local hierarchy. It's an abstraction that supports the copying, exchange and even possession of data. How is one supposed to share part of a database with another system or user without ultimately resorting to the file metaphor?
I also have my dotfiles in portable repositories that must work on a variety of unices (so I don't use the popular-but-nix-specific home-manager package). My custom ISO has no user data, it just creates my immutable account with my public SSH key (in case I need to remote into the machine immediately) and has a global alias named "bootstrap" that fetches and installs my dotfiles. After that, I can pull any updates made on other machines, log in and out of the DM, etc. until I turn off the computer. I've gone weeks on the same session in RAM (waking from sleep works fine on most machines).
I run NixOS on a variety of laptops as my daily driver. While there's initially a steep learning curve, the time is well spent developing a reproducible configuration that you can quickly install on a new machine. I adapt the same configuration to generate a custom ISO that I write to a USB drive so I can boot into a familiar environment in a few minutes on almost any machine (running in RAM if there's enough room). It doubles as an installer (as does any NixOS installation). This approach is also handy for booting ephemeral servers on any hardware (DNS, DHCP, etc.).
One of my hobbies is recycling older machines. I've installed NixOS on Chromebooks with 16GB internal drives. It's possible if you remember to garbage collect after each successful upgrade (and stick to 64-bit machines).
I tend to treat my laptops as disposable and keep my important data on a file server so I don't rely on local disk space.
My DAW is bash+sox+ecasound because I don't want to be distracted by visuals when working with audio. However, I just started working on a project involving about 15 hours of digital audio recorded under less than ideal circumstances a couple of decades ago and need a reliable way to analyze the data. SoX produces spectrograms that are insufficient for my needs and I've had reliability issues with Audacity. So far, DFasma looks very promising:
I think it depends on what your definition of "We" is. As a species, the scientific progress humans have experienced in the last century is unparalleled. But the United States is falling behind because we are not doing enough socially to promote careers in STEM and health.
A friend gave me a Mid-2011 MacBookAir4,2 because some keys died, the battery lasts less than an hour on a charge, and it freezes up regularly when running MacOS. I installed Linux on it and connected it to my 4K TV (at 1080p resolution). I use a wireless keyboard and mouse with it. It runs flawlessly, and since the fan rarely kicks in, it's replaced a much more powerful (but loud) tower PC. I mainly use it for surfing the web and streaming music, with some light YouTube use. It's no longer very useful as a portable laptop, but it's a great media PC. I have some even older 2009 white MacBook5,2s that run Linux fine, as will most Intel MacBooks manufactured in 2015 or earlier. They also tend to have fast WiFi cards, so performance seems better than their processors would suggest. It's a shame to see them scrapped when they can be creatively repurposed.
We use Slack in a similar manner and the signal to noise ratio is extremely high. Some of our channels are key components of workflows. It's extremely easy to seek help or share information like links or code snippets. We're also very responsive, since it's always running on our workstations, laptops and phones. We'd probably frown on anyone treating it like a social media platform, though we do use it to let off steam once in a while.
I've updated the firmware on every ChromeOS device I've owned and installed Linux. It's fun!!! But I've also restored some of them to factory condition and given them away to friends or family who find it challenging to apply regular security updates. It sounds like the author gave someone a broken ChromeBook instead of giving her the freedom to decide how she wants to use it.
I'm a cyclist with an Apple Watch and iPhone SE. The watch is nearly useless when I'm riding, because it requires me to remove one or both hands from the handlebar for too long to accomplish anything meaningful AND possibly take my eyes off the road to see what's (not) happening on the display. Too many Watch apps wait until you open them to update (if you're lucky) or tell you to unlock your iPhone first. It sounds convenient, but it's really a usability nightmare on a bike. Use Siri instead, you say? I can already do that with my headset, so what benefit does the watch provide?
I use my watch mostly at work for 2FA and to passively monitor my notifications. When I need to respond, I'd rather use my phone, so adding cellular to the watch doesn't really add much value for me.
On the other hand, Chrome OS has finally ended my nightmare as the family IT support specialist. I have to help people who don't know what a "mouse" is, what a "browser" is, or that you can read the same email on multiple devices. When I switch them to a ChromeBook, life is much easier. Do they still have problems? Yes, because they don't understand the underlying concepts and face an enormous learning curve. But they don't get viruses anymore and nearly any problem is solved with a restart. Plus, Chrome OS is truly multiuser in the sense that anyone with a Google account can log into the device and access all of their online resources without affecting any other users, so I've been able to modify the owner's idea of what it means to share the device in a secure manner. Frankly, it's a godsend for some types of users who are incapable of maintaining any system running Windows, MacOS or a mainstream Linux distribution.
FWIW, I have an Acer ChromeBook I bought for $99 brand new on Black Friday a couple of years ago. I have about 20 laptops at my disposal (including ThinkPads and MacBook Pros) but I use this one the most. The build quality is surprisingly good and the battery lasts forever. I installed Linux on it after replacing the firmware, but I'm excited that Crostini might make this unnecessary on other ChromeBooks (and maybe even this model). A very important bonus of Crostini is that it will not be necessary to put the machine in developer mode.
You can install nix-serve on any machine to share its binary cache (including patched applications). Then add all of the enabled machines to every machine's nix.binaryCaches in order of preference. If they don't have what you need, it will fall back to the upstream server. You'll want to make sure they are upgraded in an appropriate order to minimize the need to leave your network for updates. It's true this isn't well documented, but I figured it out in about a day and was surprised at how simple it turned out to be.
You can even go further and set up your own build server to service all the architectures you need to support.
Today is the first time I've heard of AMP, so I don't have a dog in this hunt. I visited each of your links and followed some links on those pages, and I still have no idea what AMP is. All I see is a promise that pages will load faster. It also seems that if my boss drinks the koolaid and says "We need AMP!" it's going to cost me money in developer time, because the technology is inscrutable to my unskilled content providers. What benefits does it provide that disciplined web design doesn't? Is Google going to penalize my sites if we don't use it? We don't include advertising in our pages, so should we care about AMP?
I'd love to tether, but don't because my carrier (AT&T) won't enable it for a single device, only for all accounts on my family plan. My family could easily (even innocently) use up our monthly data allotment in a day.
Also, how can you limit data usage while tethering? Can a device tell if it's tethered, or does it just assume it has a normal wifi connection? Do you need to turn off automatic updates on laptops?
Sadly, I mean a replacement for Firefox altogether. The only plugins I use are Vimperator and uMatrix. I'm posting this from Qutebrowser and I'm very impressed. I just hope I can get uMatrix functionality.