tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866Fri, 18 May 2012 10:39:47 +0000an open discussion of free and open source software and operating systemshttp://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/noreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)Blogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-2724530911073957048Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:55:00 +00002012-04-09T07:55:51.541-07:00I found recently that Scribd, the document hosting service, is incompatible with the Electronic Frontier Foundation's HTTPS Everywhere browser plugin. I was using Firefox (while Google Chrome and Opera successfully uploaded files). I first suspected Flash, and so closed my browsers and reinstalled Flash Player, with no change in behavior. Uploading a document with HTTPS Everywhere enabled failed http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2012/04/scribd-and-https-everywhere.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-384943939672866562Tue, 17 Jan 2012 15:18:00 +00002012-01-17T07:18:51.962-08:00The biggest news in Internet policy and legislation these days are the twin Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA), introduced in the House of Representatives and the Senate, respectively. Tomorrow, January 18, 2012, for the 24 hours beginning at midnight EST, the English Wikipedia and many other websites will execute a blackout in protest of this legislation. The blackout was http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2012/01/blackout-against-sopapipa.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-3536215853232635472Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:30:00 +00002011-12-21T06:26:57.294-08:00With recent issues like Net Neutrality (preventing content providers from gaining an unfair advantage over each other via carrier-level agreements) and the debate over the use of unallocated wireless radio frequencies after the switch to digital television, the developments over the last 6 weeks on the Internet front are not surprising. The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) floated to the top of techhttp://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2011/12/legal-battle-for-internet.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-7822856007409871536Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:41:00 +00002011-12-19T09:41:23.985-08:00US-CERT has published a bulletin advising caution when using wireless-enabled devices as you travel over this holiday season. Read the full article at the US-CERT website. This link is provided for informational purposes only and does not represent an endorsement by or affiliation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Registered Linux User #370740 (http://linuxcounter.net)http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2011/12/wifi-network-usage-over-holidays.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-1687019816094000801Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:42:00 +00002011-12-07T12:50:12.401-08:00Fyodor of the nmap project at insecure.org announced this week that C|NET has been wrapping the proper nmap software installer in a malware-installing application that in turn downloads and installs nmap. The collateral effects of what users download from C|NET include all sorts of adware/spyware toolbars, and the suspicious point is not only that users download something other than what they http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2011/12/cnet-downloadcom-malware.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-1298419444211558077Fri, 02 Dec 2011 21:55:00 +00002011-12-19T11:30:11.977-08:00The US-CERT has published (once again) their advisory concerning online scams that are so prevalent during this shopping season. Please have a read to protect yourself! http://www.us-cert.gov/current/index.html#holiday_season_phishing_scams_and This link is provided for informational purposes only and does not represent an endorsement by or affiliation with the Department of Homeland http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2011/12/protect-against-online-scams.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-5385800203985570772Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:23:00 +00002011-11-03T06:23:11.656-07:00Having used Amazon Web Services (AWS) for a class project and more recently compared cloud-based virtual private servers for ease of provisioning, administration, and use as a web development sandbox in both Windows Server and Linux operating systems, I receive regular updates from AWS about new service offerings. It strikes me that every couple weeks Amazon introduces a new feature or enhances http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2011/11/amazon-and-cloud-computing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-7433307559004312676Sun, 11 Sep 2011 18:10:00 +00002011-09-11T13:22:52.253-07:00So many columnists have written about security breaches this year and last; the cat and mouse game seems to have favored the cat more than the mouse recently. With major attacks against Google and the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against Amazon and PayPal last year, plus major attacks against security vendors and now the most prominent organizations in the open source community -http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2011/09/security-breaches.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-2183141581274516299Sat, 10 Sep 2011 14:06:00 +00002011-09-10T10:55:15.984-07:00I have blogged recently about IPv6, actually twice in a row! Time for a little change in that department. I have said a few times that in the computing industry, we often see a proliferation of multiple tools responding to the same need, which starts to confuse consumers (beginning with those in software development and trickling down to the average user). A few years into the proliferation http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2011/09/google-operating-systems-and-clouds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-5369117839725180808Wed, 08 Jun 2011 00:23:00 +00002011-06-07T17:23:58.510-07:00... and it's here! Today, June 8, 2011 (as of about half an hour ago GMT), is World IPv6 Day, sponsored by the Internet Society. Many major corporations are offering their content (or some of it) over IPv6 for the next 24 hours. Head over to the main event page and get yourself on IPv6 and check out some sites over it! My personal favorite test page for IPv6 connectivity is actually http://ipv6-http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2011/06/world-ipv6-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-8929493789213580667Thu, 05 May 2011 03:13:00 +00002011-05-04T20:13:13.271-07:00This is a hot topic, I know, but I just have to bite. Apparently IANA gave away the last /8 (Class A) subnet to regional registries in February, so the scramble for those last address blocks is happening right now. The Internet Society (http://www.isoc.org) is organizing World IPv6 Day to encourage a concerted step toward making content available via IPv6. I decided to do my part and set up an http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2011/05/ipv6.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-8647370374823191761Tue, 03 May 2011 01:09:00 +00002011-12-19T11:36:15.931-08:00US-CERT just released this cautionary notice about email-based scams related to the topic of Osama bin Laden's death. Please read this official publication from the United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team. To be really safe, what you would do is go to a trusted website and locate the official website of this organization there, then navigating to locate the information I refer to - to http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2011/05/beware-malware.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-7098752301344930477Wed, 16 Mar 2011 17:28:00 +00002011-12-19T11:35:50.795-08:00The US-CERT released a bulletin today addressing tax season phishing scams that we should all look out for. Read the bulletin at the US-CERT website. This link is provided for informational purposes only and does not represent an endorsement by or affiliation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Registered Linux User #370740 (http://counter.li.org)http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2011/03/us-tax-season-phishing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-2565571181743367591Fri, 24 Dec 2010 06:44:00 +00002010-12-23T22:44:52.661-08:00I was once again on the hunt for an efficient and powerful CMS... clients keep asking for upgrades and there always seems to be something better! Anyway, I have seen "django" around town a few places (most notably for me, at BitBucket) and decided to give it a read-through. I read the intro and FAQ one day and decided that it was worth looking into. The idea that its creators had ditched PHP forhttp://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2010/12/django.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-7032099459072957880Sat, 18 Dec 2010 15:23:00 +00002010-12-18T07:23:35.203-08:00It has been awhile since I posted, but I am by no means out of touch with recent events, especially those surrounding WikiLeaks. The purpose of WikiLeaks is to enforce the open government policy by stealing or otherwise obtaining through improper channels information that should remain private for reasons of security (bodily harm) or privacy (emotional harm) and releasing that information to thehttp://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2010/12/cyberwarfare.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-6806054998382878496Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:48:00 +00002010-07-22T15:48:37.168-07:00Facebook announced this week that it now has over 500 million registered users. I recall seeing a YouTube campaign about the online billion helping the hungry billion in the past. According to Wolfram|Alpha, there are now 1.56 billion people online. One must stop and think - what are they all doing online? Facebook began as a casual way to share memories via photographs and keep in touch with http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2010/07/facebook-33-internet-penetration.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-5405501062553712696Thu, 15 Jul 2010 02:30:00 +00002011-12-19T11:33:45.971-08:00I am re-posting a US-CERT Cyber Security Tip on erasing files that I think is relevant for people to know about. You can view the original on the US-CERT website; the PGP signature is included below for authenticity verification. http://www.us-cert.gov/cas/tips/ST05-011.html This link is provided for informational purposes only and does not represent an endorsement by or affiliation with the http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2010/07/effectively-erasing-files.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-1524028676166578459Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:24:00 +00002011-12-19T11:35:07.331-08:00 I am re-posting this Cyber Security Tip about Securing Wireless Networks, from US-CERT. This is standard practice information and should scale to accommodate future technology soon to be developed. Security is a mindset, a way of thinking about daily life, and information such as that published regularly by US-CERT (the Computer Emergency Readiness Team) helps inform the general public about http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2010/03/securing-wireless-networks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-3631013282038257818Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:06:00 +00002011-12-19T11:31:02.860-08:00http://www.us-cert.gov/current/index.html#u_s_census_bureau_2010 Please follow the link above to view the official notice from the US Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Readiness Team. This link is provided for informational purposes only and does not represent an endorsement by or affiliation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At the time of writing, the US http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2010/03/us-census-not-online.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-6686369967687211732Thu, 25 Feb 2010 22:48:00 +00002011-12-19T11:34:34.313-08:00I am reposting a US-CERT Cybersecurity Tip that defines web browsers, hoping to give users the advantage of understanding their systems in order to better protect themselves online. Please view the original article on the US-CERT website. This link is provided for informational purposes only and does not represent an endorsement by or affiliation with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2010/02/web-browsers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-6854036320820235532Mon, 15 Feb 2010 01:25:00 +00002010-02-14T17:39:41.659-08:00Wolfram|AlphaIt is the computational knowledge engine, released in the Summer of 2009 by Wolfram Research, makers of Mathematica and maintainers of the MathWorld reference library. I followed the project loosely from buzz to release. It was rumored to be a Google rival, also having strong mathematical underpinnings. While it may take some traffic from Google, Wolfram|Alpha was not designed to be http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2010/02/wolframalpha.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-7343445820503873694Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:25:00 +00002011-12-19T11:34:01.061-08:00I just received an email on the general security tips mailer from the US Computer Emergency Readiness Team that describes operating systems in general, and then with examples of the most popular consumer operating systems on the market. Check out tip ST04-021 now. The US-CERT mailing lists are very informative, including these tips, as well as Cybersecurity threats and remedies. This link is http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2010/02/operating-systems-from-us-cert.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-407114252043583941Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:59:00 +00002010-01-01T12:04:19.453-08:00The Moodle project, in which I participated this past semester, was a success, though not complete.The reality is that, in Open Source, each contribution, though perhaps partial, helps the community at large. It is important that each code, technical, or design contribution be accompanied by appropriate documentation that explains its foundations and motivation, as well as sufficient technical http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2010/01/followup-on-moodle.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-3565050464261333647Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:45:00 +00002009-12-30T15:24:36.960-08:00My apologies to the anonymous visitor whose off-topic comment I initially rejected. Let me answer your question.By social media, let me define it by example to be services like Google Wave, Facebook, Orkut, Linkedin, Twitter, Digg, Reddit, Slashdot, and others. Let me consider blogs separately from these.By SEO, we mean Search Engine Optimization, or the art and science (yes, both) of crafting http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2009/11/re-is-social-media-going-to-kill-seo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19960866.post-114418227635772151Fri, 16 Oct 2009 06:11:00 +00002009-10-15T23:23:12.381-07:00This weekend is the Society of Women Engineers National Conference. It happens to be in my hometown. It is shockingly different to attend an incredibly technical event and be completely surrounded by women - we are talking a 95% constitution of those human beings producing more estrogen than testosterone. This is the complementary circumstance to that which I experience daily - namely, a vast http://penguinsrus.pnguyen.net/2009/10/society-of-women-engineers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Paul Nguyen)0