Articles about Open Source

We recently told you that the thin and light Dell XPS 13 Developer Edition has finally started shipping with Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. While that is certainly cool, the reality is, Linux-focused companies like System76 were shipping out computers with the newest Ubuntu LTS  pre-installed way before that. In fact, System76 even offers the option of its own operating system that is based on Ubuntu 20.04. Called "Pop!_OS," the Linux distribution adds many beneficial tweaks and enhancements to improve the overall user experience.

Today, System76 refreshes its popular Oryx Pro laptop, and you can choose between Ubuntu 20.04 and Pop!_OS 20.04 (I would recommend the latter). The powerful notebook (with 15.6-inch or 17.3-inch display options) now comes with a cutting-edge 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10875H CPU which offers an impressive 8 cores and 16 threads. You also get an NVIDIA RTX 20-series GPU which can work in conjunction with the Intel graphics thanks to the smart graphic-switching capabilities baked into Pop!_OS.

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Open source components are now at the core of many applications and a good deal of infrastructure. But what implications does this have for security?

The Information Security Forum has released a new paper, Deploying Open Source Software: Challenges and Rewards, to help security professionals recognize the benefits and perceived challenges of using open source and set up a program of protective measures to effectively manage it.

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Open source software is commonly used to save time as it means developers don't end up repeating the same things over and over.

One of the key things about open source is that the source code is open to examination by everyone, In security terms this means it’s open to both the attackers and defenders.

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Open source code allows developers to quickly integrate new capabilities into applications without having to reinvent the wheel, but it doesn't come without hazards.

A new report from RiskSense provides in-depth findings on vulnerabilities in leading open source software (OSS), including the most weaponized weaknesses, which software is most at risk, and the top types of attacks.

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Apple has launched a new open source project designed to promote collaboration between the  developers of password management software to help improve security for users.

The Password Manager Resources project has been created to make it easier for the developers of password managers to work together to ensure interoperability with websites, and to create a better experience for users. The aim is to integrate the strong password generating capabilities of the iCloud Keychain platform into password management apps.

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Usually files are encrypted while in storage or in transit but are decrypted in order to be used, providing a window of opportunity for hackers to access the information.

The technique of fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) solves this problem by allowing the manipulation of data by permissioned parties while it remains encrypted, therefore minimizing the time it exists in its most vulnerable state.

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IBM is announcing changes to its AI Fairness 360 toolkit to increase its functionality and make it available to a wide range of developers.

AIF360 is an open source toolkit that contains over 70 fairness metrics and 11 state-of-the-art bias mitigation algorithms developed by the research community to help examine, report, and mitigate discrimination and bias in machine learning models throughout the AI application lifecycle.

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When Microsoft launched its Linux-style package manager WinGet, there were immediate comparison to the rival tool AppGet. While AppGet is an open source project, developer Keivan Beigi was unhappy that Microsoft had essentially copied much of his work, and failed to give him credit.

His accusations were not without basis, as he had met with a Microsoft manager to discuss "how we can make your life easier building appget". Now Microsoft has conceded that it did not credit the influence and work of Beigi, and has taken steps to remedy this.

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Microsoft may be hosting its Build developer conference virtually this year, but this doesn't mean there's anything less than normal being unveiled. Among the announcement and launches is the first preview of the Windows Package Manager.

The open source tool has been created to make it easier to install software, automating and speeding up the process. If you've used a package manager in a Linux distro, the idea is very similar, and Microsoft acknowledge that it is something Windows devs have been asking for for some time.

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New research from application security specialist Veracode finds seven in 10 applications have a security flaw in an open source library on initial scan, highlighting how use of open source can introduce flaws, increase risk, and add to security debt.

The study analyzed the component open source libraries across the Veracode platform database of 85,000 applications, accounting for 351,000 unique external libraries. Nearly all modern applications, including those sold commercially, are built using some open source components.

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Normally at this time of year IBM's annual Think conference would be getting underway. This year's event is, of course, being held digitally and has kicked off with some new announcements.

The first is the unveiling of IBM Watson AIOps, a new offering that uses AI to automate how enterprises self-detect, diagnose and respond to IT anomalies in real time.

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For some software, major version numbers are handed out all willy-nilly. For instance, as of today, the Google Chrome web browser sits at version 81, while Mozilla Firefox is at 75. Meanwhile, the Linux kernel is at version 5.x after 29 years! Ultimately, version numbers are determined by the developers and have different levels of meaning -- there are no definitive rules.

Of course, there is one version number that is universally regarded as one of the most important -- 1.0. It is this number that typically (but not always) tells the world that software has left pre-release status and is ready for prime-time. Well, today, Inkscape 1.0 is released for Linux, Windows and macOS. Hilariously, this number is being designated more than 16 years after the initial release of the vector graphics editor! Despite its sub-one version for more than a decade-and-a-half, the open source software has become a trusted and essential tool for people all over the world.

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The Fedora operating system may be named after a hat, but I consider it more similar to an old, worn-in, pair of sneakers. It may not be the trendiest or  flashiest Linux distro, but it is comfortable as hell. Sure, Manjaro and MX Linux may be what the "cool kids" are using these days, but Fedora remains the reliable Linux distribution that is always there for you -- fast, stable, and focused on open source. An old comfortable shoe.

Today, Fedora 32 becomes available for download. It comes with GNOME 3.36 which you can read more about here. If you don't like GNOME, it isn't the end of the world -- you can instead choose KDE Plasma, Cinnamon, MATE, and more. There is even a special ARM variant of Fedora 32 that will work with Raspberry Pi devices.

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Ubuntu 20.04 was released this past Friday, and Linux fans around the world were understandably excited. However, "when it rains, it pours," as they say, because not only is Fedora 32 right around the corner, but today, yet another top-tier distribution gets a new release. This time, it is the Arch Linux-based Manjaro 20, which is code-named "Lysia."

The newest version of the wildly popular operating system can be had with your choice of three desktop environments -- Xfce, GNOME, and KDE Plasma. All three are great, but Xfce is the default for Manjaro. In version 20 of the OS, Xfce gets bumped up to 4.14. Manjaro 20 "Lysis" also gets Linux kernel 5.6 and a new ZFS installation option in Architect. Pamac 9.4 package manager gets support for both flatpaks and snaps by default -- very cool.

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As businesses move to the cloud, they want choice, flexibility, and the ability to easily manage and migrate their critical workloads securely across public clouds, private clouds, and on-premise environments.

To help them achieve this IBM is enhancing the Red Hat OpenShift container platform on IBM Cloud by making OpenShift 4.3 generally available as part of its fully managed service.

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