Tag: configuration

Code-execution flaws threaten users of routers, Linux, and other OSes

Enlarge (credit: Christiaan Colen ) Google researchers have discovered at least three software bugs in a widely used software package that may allow hackers to execute malicious code on vulnerable devices running Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, and macOS, as well as proprietary firmware. Dnsmasq , as the package is known, provides code that makes it easier for networked devices to communicate using the domain name system and the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol . It’s included in Android, Ubuntu, and most other Linux distributions, and it can also run on a variety of other operating systems and in router firmware. A blog post published Monday by security researchers with Google said they recently found seven vulnerabilities in Dnsmasq, three of which were flaws that allowed the remote execution of malicious code. One of the code-execution flaws, indexed as CVE-2017-14493, is a “trivial-to-exploit, DHCP-based, stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability.” Combined with a separate information leak bug Google researchers also discovered, attackers can bypass a key protection known as address space layout randomization, which is designed to prevent malicious payloads included in exploits from executing. As a result, exploits result in a simple crash, rather than a security-compromising hack. By chaining the code-execution and information leak exploits together, attackers can circumvent the defense to run any code of their choosing. Read 2 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Code-execution flaws threaten users of routers, Linux, and other OSes

America’s newest aircraft carrier uses “digital” catapult on fighter for first time

Enlarge / An F/A-18 flies above the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) as its pilot, Lt. Cmdr. Jaime Struck, prepares for the first arrested landing aboard the new carrier on July 28. (credit: US Navy ) Last week, an F/A-18F Super Hornet from the US Navy’s Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23 successfully landed and then took off from the recently commissioned USS Gerald R. Ford —the first full use of the ship’s next-generation flight arresting system and electromagnetic catapult. The landing and launch off the Virginia coast are a pair of major milestones for the systems, which have seen their share of controversy (and cost overruns). But the test doesn’t close the book on the catapult’s problems. The catapult, called the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), has suffered from control problems that have prevented the Navy from certifying it for use with fully loaded strike aircraft. Earlier launches at a test site at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, in April of 2014 caused a high level of vibration in the wings of F/A-18s loaded with 480-gallon wing-mounted fuel tanks—the configuration commonly used to launch aircraft on long-range strike missions. The vibrations were so strong that Navy officials were concerned about the safety of launching aircraft fully loaded. US Navy Read 4 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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America’s newest aircraft carrier uses “digital” catapult on fighter for first time

Placing humans at center of computer optimization yields hot plasmas

Enlarge / It looks like science. (credit: Tri Alpha Energy ) If there is one thing I hate, it’s optimization. Computers don’t actually understand what they are optimizing. And that creates problems for everything from bicycles to nuclear fusion. The process goes something like this: you have a mathematical model of a bicycle. You want your bike to perform better, but there are so many things that can be changed, so you can’t imagine finding the best configuration on your own. So you write a script. The script will vary the configuration of the bicycle and evaluate whether it is improved. After many iterations, you have the perfect bike, right? No, you don’t. What you didn’t imagine was that the computer would remove the seat. Or that it would place, for no apparent reason, a third wheel between the (now removed) saddle and handlebars. Even worse, the stupid machine has got the chain passing through a bit of solid steel. Read 18 remaining paragraphs | Comments

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Placing humans at center of computer optimization yields hot plasmas

LG’s 14-inch ‘Gram’ laptop is the world’s lightest

LG’s big computing reveal for CES was a refreshed 14-inch “Gram” laptop . It’s said to be the lightest in its class, weighing in at only 2.13 pounds (that’s a sub-kilogram weigh-in). That, combined with the promise of between 21 and 24 hours of battery life sounds like an incredible combination. Unfortunately, it may be too good to be true. CNET notes that LG was using battery rundown tests from 2007, which assumed no WiFi use and was just generally less taxing than the sort of tests reviewers are likely to use today. That’s almost definitely how LG got such great runtime. That said, the laptop still packs a 60Wh battery that’s almost double the capacity of the company’s older 14-inch Gram laptop. (That’s also bigger than the 13-inch MacBook Pro’s battery.) LG says it saw 17 hours on a charge during more realistic (read: modern) rundown tests, which is still pretty damn impressive. Aside from that probably-overrated battery life, the Gram is a stylish ultraportable, albeit one made mostly of plastic. It’s not… terrible, but my preferences skew toward metal builds. They feel more reassuringly solid. Yes, the Gram is light, but that comes with some flimsiness. That said, despite some other super thin and light laptops, the laptop’s 14-inch IPS screen does still support touch. Under the hood, you get either an Intel Core i7 or i5 processor. There are also both USB 3.0 and USB-C ports, as well as HDMI-out if you’re looking to connect to projectors or bigger screens. Despite all those battery life statistics, LG isn’t offering a launch date or price, but judging by the cost of both the last-gen 14-inch Gram and the 15-inch version when they landed in the US, you could expect to pay over $1, 000 depending on the configuration. Click here to catch up on the latest news from CES 2017.

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LG’s 14-inch ‘Gram’ laptop is the world’s lightest