Private Internet Access Goes Open Source, New Raspbian Image Available, Scarlett Johansson Image an Attack Vector on PostgreSQL and More

on March 16, 2018

News briefs for March 16, 2018.

Private Internet Access announced that it is open-sourcing its software: "We believe that the shift to open source is the right move for a privacy-focused business, and recognise that code transparency is key. We appreciate that our code may not be perfect, and we hope that the wider FOSS community will get involved, provide feedback, feature requests, bug fixes and generally help provide a greater service to the wider privacy movement." You can check out the repo on GitHub and find them at #privateinternetaccess on chat.freenode.net.

A new software image of Raspbian debuted this week to coincide with the new RPi 3 B+. The image does more than the usual bug fixes, however; it also supports a range of different screen sizes, which is difficult to do. See the Raspbian blog for more details and instructions on how to update.

An image of Scarlett Johansson is being used as a malware attack vector on PostgreSQL, ZDNet reports. According to security firm Imperva, this attack "places malware, which cryptomines Monero, on PostgreSQL DBMS servers."

Ludwig, a 38-year-old "full-screen" software editor, developed by the University of Adelaide, is being released for free under an open-source license: "beneficial features of 'Ludwig' as a software development tool that are not found in other text and code editors will be now open to all developers."

Microsoft is open-sourcing Service Fabric under the MIT license, reports ZDNet. Earlier this week, the Linux version of the Service Fabric repo and related tools became available on GitHub.

Internet services will be shut down on Bali for 24 hours beginning on Saturday for Nyepi, the island's annual day of silence, The Guardian reports: "Nyepi, or New Year according to the ancient Balinese calendar, is a sacred day of reflection on the Hindu-majority island. Even the international airport shuts down. This year authorities have called on telecommunications companies to unplug—a request Bali says firms have promised to honour."

Jill Franklin is an editorial professional with more than 17 years experience in technical and scientific publishing, both print and digital. As Executive Editor of Linux Journal, she wrangles writers, develops content, manages projects, meets deadlines and makes sentences sparkle. She also was Managing Editor for TUX and Embedded Linux Journal, and the book Linux in the Workplace. Before entering the Linux and open-source realm, she was Managing Editor of several scientific and scholarly journals, including Veterinary Pathology, The Journal of Mammalogy, Toxicologic Pathology and The Journal of Scientific Exploration. In a previous life, she taught English literature and composition, managed a bookstore and tended bar. When she’s not bugging writers about deadlines or editing copy, she throws pots, gardens and reads.