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• Public repository for a Drupal installation: What security risks?

  - by Rosarch

  I'm putting a Drupal project on an open source hosting site. What files do I have to not put up there so I don't compromise my site's security? Various settings.php comes to mind. And obviously the database itself won't be in a repository. Anything else dangerous? I'm running Drupal 6.

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• Why not use GDI+ from ASP.NET

  - by roygbiv

  I've been told that using GDI+ from ASP.NET is dangerous and undefined. Is that because there is no guarantee of a Device Context? Can someone explain? What are some of the alternatives? Here is the source: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.drawing.aspx

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• Javascipt or jQuery "Are you sure?" dialog for <A> link?

  - by Andrew Tomazos - Fathomling

  I have a link in my HTML: <a href="/DoSomethingDangerous">do something dangerous</a> Visiting the DoSomethingDangerous link causes a not easily reversable action to occur. So after the link is clicked on I would like a dialog box (eg "Are you sure?" "OK" "Cancel") to be displayed and if the user clicks Cancel the link is not visited and the browser remains at the same page. What is the cleanest technique using either Javascript or jQuery to implement this?

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• When not to use a private field

  - by coffeeaddict

  When should it be considered dangerous to use a private field all over the place in the methods of your class? I mostly just create the variable and set it to a default value like null. Then in my methods reference it and set it to an instance of that object type from the methods. I don't know if my question makes sense but let me know if it doesn't and I'll clarify.

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• How to interpret binary data as an integer?

  - by StackedCrooked

  The codebase at work contains some code that looks roughly like this: #define DATA_LENGTH 64 u_int32 SmartKey::SerialNumber() { unsigned char data[DATA_LENGTH]; // ... initialized data buffer return *(u_int32*)data; } This code works correctly, but GCC gives the following warning: warning: dereferencing pointer ‘serialNumber’ does break strict-aliasing rules Can someone explain this warning? Is this code potentially dangerous? How can it be improved?

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• Singleton rule questions (do not allow to create copy and deserialization)

  - by Petr

  Hi, Reading some article about singleton, I stopped at the point saying: "Do not allow to crate copy of existing instance". I realized that I do not know how would I do that! Could you tell me, please, how could I copy existing instance of class? And the second one: deserializaition. How it could be dangerous? And for both - how to deny creating copies or deserialization? Thanks

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• Globally Handling Request Validation In ASP.NET MVC

  - by imran_ku07

     Introduction:           Cross Site Scripting(XSS) and Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) attacks are one of dangerous attacks on web.  They are among the most famous security issues affecting web applications. OWASP regards XSS is the number one security issue on the Web. Both ASP.NET Web Forms and ASP.NET MVC paid very much attention to make applications build with ASP.NET as secure as possible. So by default they will throw an exception 'A potentially dangerous XXX value was detected from the client', when they see, < followed by an exclamation(like <!) or < followed by the letters a through z(like <s) or & followed by a pound sign(like &#123) as a part of querystring, posted form and cookie collection. This is good for lot of applications. But this is not always the case. Many applications need to allow users to enter html tags, for example applications which uses  Rich Text Editor. You can allow user to enter these tags by just setting validateRequest="false" in your Web.config application configuration file inside <pages> element if you are using Web Form. This will globally disable request validation. But in ASP.NET MVC request handling is different than ASP.NET Web Form. Therefore for disabling request validation globally in ASP.NET MVC you have to put ValidateInputAttribute in your every controller. This become pain full for you if you have hundred of controllers. Therefore in this article i will present a very simple way to handle request validation globally through web.config.   Description:           Before starting how to do this it is worth to see why validateRequest in Page directive and web.config not work in ASP.NET MVC. Actually request handling in ASP.NET Web Form and ASP.NET MVC is different. In Web Form mostly the HttpHandler is the page handler which checks the posted form, query string and cookie collection during the Page ProcessRequest method, while in MVC request validation occur when ActionInvoker calling the action. Just see the stack trace of both framework.   ASP.NET MVC Stack Trace:     System.Web.HttpRequest.ValidateString(String s, String valueName, String collectionName) +8723114   System.Web.HttpRequest.ValidateNameValueCollection(NameValueCollection nvc, String collectionName) +111   System.Web.HttpRequest.get_Form() +129   System.Web.HttpRequestWrapper.get_Form() +11   System.Web.Mvc.ValueProviderDictionary.PopulateDictionary() +145   System.Web.Mvc.ValueProviderDictionary..ctor(ControllerContext controllerContext) +74   System.Web.Mvc.ControllerBase.get_ValueProvider() +31   System.Web.Mvc.ControllerActionInvoker.GetParameterValue(ControllerContext controllerContext, ParameterDescriptor parameterDescriptor) +53   System.Web.Mvc.ControllerActionInvoker.GetParameterValues(ControllerContext controllerContext, ActionDescriptor actionDescriptor) +109   System.Web.Mvc.ControllerActionInvoker.InvokeAction(ControllerContext controllerContext, String actionName) +399   System.Web.Mvc.Controller.ExecuteCore() +126   System.Web.Mvc.ControllerBase.Execute(RequestContext requestContext) +27   ASP.NET Web Form Stack Trace:    System.Web.HttpRequest.ValidateString(String s, String valueName, String collectionName) +3213202   System.Web.HttpRequest.ValidateNameValueCollection(NameValueCollection nvc, String collectionName) +108   System.Web.HttpRequest.get_QueryString() +119   System.Web.UI.Page.GetCollectionBasedOnMethod(Boolean dontReturnNull) +2022776   System.Web.UI.Page.DeterminePostBackMode() +60   System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) +6953   System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequest(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) +154   System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequest() +86                        Since the first responder of request in ASP.NET MVC is the controller action therefore it will check the posted values during calling the action. That's why web.config's requestValidate not work in ASP.NET MVC.            So let's see how to handle this globally in ASP.NET MVC. First of all you need to add an appSettings in web.config. <appSettings>    <add key="validateRequest" value="true"/>  </appSettings>              I am using the same key used in disable request validation in Web Form. Next just create a new ControllerFactory by derving the class from DefaultControllerFactory.     public class MyAppControllerFactory : DefaultControllerFactory    {        protected override IController GetControllerInstance(Type controllerType)        {            var controller = base.GetControllerInstance(controllerType);            string validateRequest=System.Configuration.ConfigurationManager.AppSettings["validateRequest"];            bool b;            if (validateRequest != null && bool.TryParse(validateRequest,out b))                ((ControllerBase)controller).ValidateRequest = bool.Parse(validateRequest);            return controller;        }    }                         Next just register your controller factory in global.asax.        protected void Application_Start()        {            //............................................................................................            ControllerBuilder.Current.SetControllerFactory(new MyAppControllerFactory());        }              This will prevent the above exception to occur in the context of ASP.NET MVC. But if you are using the Default WebFormViewEngine then you need also to set validateRequest="false" in your web.config file inside <pages> element            Now when you run your application you see the effect of validateRequest appsetting. One thing also note that the ValidateInputAttribute placed inside action or controller will always override this setting.    Summary:          Request validation is great security feature in ASP.NET but some times there is a need to disable this entirely. So in this article i just showed you how to disable this globally in ASP.NET MVC. I also explained the difference between request validation in Web Form and ASP.NET MVC. Hopefully you will enjoy this.

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• How to Recover From a Virus Infection: 3 Things You Need to Do

  - by Chris Hoffman

  If your computer becomes infected with a virus or another piece of malware, removing the malware from your computer is only the first step. There’s more you need to do to ensure you’re secure. Note that not every antivirus alert is an actual infection. If your antivirus program catches a virus before it ever gets a chance to run on your computer, you’re safe. If it catches the malware later, you have a bigger problem. Change Your Passwords You’ve probably used your computer to log into your email, online banking websites, and other important accounts. Assuming you had malware on your computer, the malware could have logged your passwords and uploaded them to a malicious third party. With just your email account, the third party could reset your passwords on other websites and gain access to almost any of your online accounts. To prevent this, you’ll want to change the passwords for your important accounts — email, online banking, and whatever other important accounts you’ve logged into from the infected computer. You should probably use another computer that you know is clean to change the passwords, just to be safe. When changing your passwords, consider using a password manager to keep track of strong, unique passwords and two-factor authentication to prevent people from logging into your important accounts even if they know your password. This will help protect you in the future. Ensure the Malware Is Actually Removed Once malware gets access to your computer and starts running, it has the ability to do many more nasty things to your computer. For example, some malware may install rootkit software and attempt to hide itself from the system. Many types of Trojans also “open the floodgates” after they’re running, downloading many different types of malware from malicious web servers to the local system. In other words, if your computer was infected, you’ll want to take extra precautions. You shouldn’t assume it’s clean just because your antivirus removed what it found. It’s probably a good idea to scan your computer with multiple antivirus products to ensure maximum detection. You may also want to run a bootable antivirus program, which runs outside of Windows. Such bootable antivirus programs will be able to detect rootkits that hide themselves from Windows and even the software running within Windows. avast! offers the ability to quickly create a bootable CD or USB drive for scanning, as do many other antivirus programs. You may also want to reinstall Windows (or use the Refresh feature on Windows 8) to get your computer back to a clean state. This is more time-consuming, especially if you don’t have good backups and can’t get back up and running quickly, but this is the only way you can have 100% confidence that your Windows system isn’t infected. It’s all a matter of how paranoid you want to be. Figure Out How the Malware Arrived If your computer became infected, the malware must have arrived somehow. You’ll want to examine your computer’s security and your habits to prevent more malware from slipping through in the same way. Windows is complex. For example, there are over 50 different types of potentially dangerous file extensions that can contain malware to keep track of. We’ve tried to cover many of the most important security practices you should be following, but here are some of the more important questions to ask: Are you using an antivirus? – If you don’t have an antivirus installed, you should. If you have Microsoft Security Essentials (known as Windows Defender on Windows 8), you may want to switch to a different antivirus like the free version of avast!. Microsoft’s antivirus product has been doing very poorly in tests. Do you have Java installed? – Java is a huge source of security problems. The majority of computers on the Internet have an out-of-date, vulnerable version of Java installed, which would allow malicious websites to install malware on your computer. If you have Java installed, uninstall it. If you actually need Java for something (like Minecraft), at least disable the Java browser plugin. If you’re not sure whether you need Java, you probably don’t. Are any browser plugins out-of-date? – Visit Mozilla’s Plugin Check website (yes, it also works in other browsers, not just Firefox) and see if you have any critically vulnerable plugins installed. If you do, ensure you update them — or uninstall them. You probably don’t need older plugins like QuickTime or RealPlayer installed on your computer, although Flash is still widely used. Are your web browser and operating system set to automatically update? – You should be installing updates for Windows via Windows Update when they appear. Modern web browsers are set to automatically update, so they should be fine — unless you went out of your way to disable automatic updates. Using out-of-date web browsers and Windows versions is dangerous. Are you being careful about what you run? – Watch out when downloading software to ensure you don’t accidentally click sketchy advertisements and download harmful software. Avoid pirated software that may be full of malware. Don’t run programs from email attachments. Be careful about what you run and where you get it from in general. If you can’t figure out how the malware arrived because everything looks okay, there’s not much more you can do. Just try to follow proper security practices. You may also want to keep an extra-close eye on your credit card statement for a while if you did any online-shopping recently. As so much malware is now related to organized crime, credit card numbers are a popular target.     

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• ASP.NET 4 Hosting :: ValidateRequest=”false” not working in .Net 4.0 (VS.Net 2010)

  - by mbridge

  When we migrated our project from .NET 3.5 to .NET 4.0, we can get this error: Error: System.Web.HttpRequestValidationException A potentially dangerous Request.Form value was detected from the client (ctl00$CC$txtAnswer=\”… World\r\n\r\nI am doing Testin…\”).”} System.Web.HttpRequestValidationException at System.Web.HttpRequest.ValidateString(String value, String collectionKey, RequestValidationSource requestCollection)    at System.Web.HttpRequest.ValidateNameValueCollection(NameValueCollection nvc, RequestValidationSource requestCollection)    at System.Web.HttpRequest.get_Form()    at System.Web.HttpRequest.get_HasForm()    at System.Web.UI.Page.GetCollectionBasedOnMethod(Boolean dontReturnNull)    at System.Web.UI.Page.DeterminePostBackMode()    at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint)    at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequest(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint)    at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequest()    at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestWithNoAssert(HttpContext context)    at System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequest(HttpContext context)    at ASP.displaypost_aspx.ProcessRequest(HttpContext context) in c:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v4.0.30319\Temporary ASP.NET Files\root\a37c2f81\cfc4c927\App_Web_i2rujncl.9.cs:line 0    at System.Web.HttpApplication.CallHandlerExecutionStep.System.Web.HttpApplication.IExecutionStep.Execute()    at System.Web.HttpApplication.ExecuteStep(IExecutionStep step, Boolean& completedSynchronously) What is the Cause? In ASP.NET 4, by default, request validation is enabled for all requests, because it is enabled before the BeginRequest phase of an HTTP request. As a result, request validation applies to requests for all ASP.NET resources, not just .aspx page requests. This includes requests such as Web service calls and custom HTTP handlers. Request validation is also active when custom HTTP modules are reading the contents of an HTTP request. Solution: To revert to the behavior of the ASP.NET 2.0 request validation feature, add the following setting in the Web.config file: <system.web>  <httpRuntime requestValidationMode=”2.0? /> </system.web>

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• Learn Domain-Driven Design

  - by Ben Griswold

  I just wrote about how I like to present on unfamiliar topics. With this said, Domain-Driven Design (DDD) is no exception. This is yet another area I knew enough about to be dangerous but I certainly was no expert.  As it turns out, researching this topic wasn’t easy. I could be wrong, but it is as if DDD is a secret to which few are privy. If you search the Interwebs, you will likely find little information about DDD until you start rolling over rocks to find that one great write-up, a handful of podcasts and videos and the Readers’ Digest version of the Blue Book which apparently you must read if you really want to get the complete, unabridged skinny on DDD.  Even Wikipedia’s write-up is skimpy which I didn’t know was possible…   Here’s a list of valuable resources.  If you, too, are interested in DDD, this is a good starting place.  Domain-Driven Design: Tackling Complexity in the Heart of Software by Eric Evans Domain-Driven Design Quickly, by Abel Avram & Floyd Marinescu An Introduction to Domain-Driven Design by David Laribee Talking Domain-Driven Design with David Laribee Part 1, Deep Fried Bytes Talking Domain-Driven Design with David Laribee Part 2, Deep Fried Bytes Eric Evans on Domain Driven Design, .NET Rocks Domain-Driven Design Community Eric Evans on Domain Driven Design Jimmy Nilsson on Domain Driven Design Domain-Driven Design Wikipedia What I’ve Learned About DDD Since the Book, Eric Evans Domain Driven Design, Alt.Net Podcast Applying Domain-Driven Design and Patterns: With Examples in C# and .NET, Jimmy Nilsson Domain-Driven Design Discussion Group DDD: Putting the Model to Work by Eric Evans The Official DDD Site

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• Why is C++ backward compatibility important / necessary?

  - by Giorgio

  As far as understand it is a well-established opinion within the C++ community that C is an obsolete language that was useful 20 years ago but cannot support many modern good programming practices, or even encourages bad practices; certain features that were typical of C++ (C with classes) during the nineties are also obsolete and considered bad practice in modern C++ (e.g., new and delete should be replaced by smart pointer primitives). In view of this, I often wonder why backward compatibility with C and obsolete C++ features is still considered important: to my knowledge there is no 100% compatibility, but most of C and C++ are contained in C++11 as a subset. Of course, there is a lot of legacy code and libraries (possibly containing templates) that are written using a previous standard of the language and which still need to be maintained or used in connection with new code. Nevertheless, maybe it would still be possible to drop obsolete C and C++ features (e.g. the mentioned new / delete) from a future C++ standard so that it is impossible to use them in new code. In this way, old and dangerous programming practices would be quickly banned from new code, and modern, better programming practices would be enforced by the compiler. Legacy code could still be maintained using separate compilation (having C alongside C++ source files is already a common practice). Developers would have to choose between one compiler supporting the old-style C++ that was common during the nineties and a compiler supporting the modern C++? style (the question mark indicates a future, hypothetical revision). Only mixing the two styles would be forbidden. Would this be a viable strategy for encouraging the adoption of modern C++ practices? Are there conceptual reasons or technical problems (e.g. compiling existing templates) that make such a change undesirable or even impossible? Has such a development been proposed in the C++ community. If there has been some extended discussion on the topic, is there any material on-line?

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• nginx tmp file folder runing out of diskspace

  - by user1179459

  I get mysql diskspace error Can't create/write to file '/tmp/#sql_777_0.MYI' (Errcode: 28) mainly because my ngnix server is writing file into the tmp folder which doesn't get clean up.. i added this command as per instructions on the nginx manual to the crontab but doesn't seems to be doing the trick, (i don't understand what it does too) 0 */1 * * * /usr/sbin/tmpwatch -am 1 /tmp/nginx_client then i had to do this commands mannually cd /tmp/nginx_client find -name * | xargs rm i need to know what should i do to automate this clean up ? is there way to increase the /tmp/ - /var/tmp/ size without reformatting or doing any dangerous things ? Can i change the location of the MYSQL - TMP files ?

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• Etch a Circuit Board using a Simple Homemade Mixture

  - by ETC

  If you’ve been dabbling in DIY electronics projects but you’re not so excited about keeping strong acids around to etch your circuit boards, this simple DIY recipe uses common household chemicals in lieu of strong acid. Electronics hobbyist Stephen Hobley wanted to see if he could create an etching solution that wasn’t as dangerous and noxious smelling at traditional muriatic acid solutions. By combining regular white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and table salt, he created a homemade etching solution from ingredients safe enough to store in your pantry. The only downside to his recipe is that, compared to traditional etching solutions, the process takes a little bit longer so you’ll have to leave your board in the solution longer. Not a bad trade off for the ability to skip using any oops-I-burned-my-skin-off acids. Check out the process in the video below: Hit up the link below for more information and and interesting explanation of the chemical process (he talks about not quite understanding it in the video but two chemists write in and give him the full run down). DIY Etching Solution [Stephen Hobley via Make] Latest Features How-To Geek ETC Macs Don’t Make You Creative! So Why Do Artists Really Love Apple? MacX DVD Ripper Pro is Free for How-To Geek Readers (Time Limited!) HTG Explains: What’s a Solid State Drive and What Do I Need to Know? How to Get Amazing Color from Photos in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Learn To Adjust Contrast Like a Pro in Photoshop, GIMP, and Paint.NET Have You Ever Wondered How Your Operating System Got Its Name? Etch a Circuit Board using a Simple Homemade Mixture Sync Blocker Stops iTunes from Automatically Syncing The Journey to the Mystical Forest [Wallpaper] Trace Your Browser’s Roots on the Browser Family Tree [Infographic] Save Files Directly from Your Browser to the Cloud in Chrome and Iron The Steve Jobs Chronicles – Charlie and the Apple Factory [Video]

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• Receiving an MVP Award and Credibility

  - by Joe Mayo

  The post titled, The Problem with MVPs, by Steve Barbour was interesting because it makes you think about the thousands of MVPs around the world and what their value really is. Having been the recipient of multiple MVP awards, it’s an opportunity to reflect and judge my own performance. This is not a dangerous thing to do, but quite the opposite. If a person believes in self improvement, then critical analysis is an important part of that process. A lot of MVPs will tell you that they would be doing the same thing, regardless of whether they were an MVP or not; helping others in the community, which is also where I prefer to hang my hat. I’ve never defined myself as an expert and never will; this determination is left to others. In fact, let me just come out and say it, “I don’t know everything”. Shocked? Sometimes the gap between expectations and reality extends beyond a reasonable measure. Being labeled as a technical expert feels good for one's self esteem and is certainly a useful motivational technique. A problem can emerge though when an individual believes, too much, in what they are told. The problem is not with a pat on the back, but with a person does with the positive reinforcement. Is narcissism too strong a word? How often have you been in a public forum reading a demeaning response to a question that only serves in attempt to raise the stature of the person providing the response? Such behavior compromises one’s credibility, raises questions about validity of the MVP award, and is limited in community value. I’m currently under consideration for another MVP award on April 1st. If it happens, it will be good. Otherwise, I’ll keep writing articles, coding open source software, and whatever else I enjoy doing; with the best reward being that people find value in what I do. Joe

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• 8 Reasons Why Even Microsoft Agrees the Windows Desktop is a Nightmare

  - by Chris Hoffman

  Let’s be honest: The Windows desktop is a mess. Sure, it’s extremely powerful and has a huge software library, but it’s not a good experience for average people. It’s not even a good experience for geeks, although we tolerate it. Even Microsoft agrees about this. Microsoft’s Surface tablets with Windows RT don’t support any third-party desktop apps. They consider this a feature — users can’t install malware and other desktop junk, so the system will always be speedy and secure. Malware is Still Common Malware may not affect geeks, but it certainly continues to affect average people. Securing Windows, keeping it secure, and avoiding unsafe programs is a complex process. There are over 50 different file extensions that can contain harmful code to keep track of. It’s easy to have theoretical discussions about how malware could infect Mac computers, Android devices, and other systems. But Mac malware is extremely rare, and has  generally been caused by problem with the terrible Java plug-in. Macs are configured to only run executables from identified developers by default, whereas Windows will run everything. Android malware is talked about a lot, but Android malware is rare in the real world and is generally confined to users who disable security protections and install pirated apps. Google has also taken action, rolling out built-in antivirus-like app checking to all Android devices, even old ones running Android 2.3, via Play Services. Whatever the reason, Windows malware is still common while malware for other systems isn’t. We all know it — anyone who does tech support for average users has dealt with infected Windows computers. Even users who can avoid malware are stuck dealing with complex and nagging antivirus programs, especially since it’s now so difficult to trust Microsoft’s antivirus products. Manufacturer-Installed Bloatware is Terrible Sit down with a new Mac, Chromebook, iPad, Android tablet, Linux laptop, or even a Surface running Windows RT and you can enjoy using your new device. The system is a clean slate for you to start exploring and installing your new software. Sit down with a new Windows PC and the system is a mess. Rather than be delighted, you’re stuck reinstalling Windows and then installing the necessary drivers or you’re forced to start uninstalling useless bloatware programs one-by-one, trying to figure out which ones are actually useful. After uninstalling the useless programs, you may end up with a system tray full of icons for ten different hardware utilities anyway. The first experience of using a new Windows PC is frustration, not delight. Yes, bloatware is still a problem on Windows 8 PCs. Manufacturers can customize the Refresh image, preventing bloatware rom easily being removed. Finding a Desktop Program is Dangerous Want to install a Windows desktop program? Well, you’ll have to head to your web browser and start searching. It’s up to you, the user, to know which programs are safe and which are dangerous. Even if you find a website for a reputable program, the advertisements on that page will often try to trick you into downloading fake installers full of adware. While it’s great to have the ability to leave the app store and get software that the platform’s owner hasn’t approved — as on Android — this is no excuse for not providing a good, secure software installation experience for typical users installing typical programs. Even Reputable Desktop Programs Try to Install Junk Even if you do find an entirely reputable program, you’ll have to keep your eyes open while installing it. It will likely try to install adware, add browse toolbars, change your default search engine, or change your web browser’s home page. Even Microsoft’s own programs do this — when you install Skype for Windows desktop, it will attempt to modify your browser settings t ouse Bing, even if you’re specially chosen another search engine and home page. With Microsoft setting such an example, it’s no surprise so many other software developers have followed suit. Geeks know how to avoid this stuff, but there’s a reason program installers continue to do this. It works and tricks many users, who end up with junk installed and settings changed. The Update Process is Confusing On iOS, Android, and Windows RT, software updates come from a single place — the app store. On Linux, software updates come from the package manager. On Mac OS X, typical users’ software updates likely come from the Mac App Store. On the Windows desktop, software updates come from… well, every program has to create its own update mechanism. Users have to keep track of all these updaters and make sure their software is up-to-date. Most programs now have their act together and automatically update by default, but users who have old versions of Flash and Adobe Reader installed are vulnerable until they realize their software isn’t automatically updating. Even if every program updates properly, the sheer mess of updaters is clunky, slow, and confusing in comparison to a centralized update process. Browser Plugins Open Security Holes It’s no surprise that other modern platforms like iOS, Android, Chrome OS, Windows RT, and Windows Phone don’t allow traditional browser plugins, or only allow Flash and build it into the system. Browser plugins provide a wealth of different ways for malicious web pages to exploit the browser and open the system to attack. Browser plugins are one of the most popular attack vectors because of how many users have out-of-date plugins and how many plugins, especially Java, seem to be designed without taking security seriously. Oracle’s Java plugin even tries to install the terrible Ask toolbar when installing security updates. That’s right — the security update process is also used to cram additional adware into users’ machines so unscrupulous companies like Oracle can make a quick buck. It’s no wonder that most Windows PCs have an out-of-date, vulnerable version of Java installed. Battery Life is Terrible Windows PCs have bad battery life compared to Macs, IOS devices, and Android tablets, all of which Windows now competes with. Even Microsoft’s own Surface Pro 2 has bad battery life. Apple’s 11-inch MacBook Air, which has very similar hardware to the Surface Pro 2, offers double its battery life when web browsing. Microsoft has been fond of blaming third-party hardware manufacturers for their poorly optimized drivers in the past, but there’s no longer any room to hide. The problem is clearly Windows. Why is this? No one really knows for sure. Perhaps Microsoft has kept on piling Windows component on top of Windows component and many older Windows components were never properly optimized. Windows Users Become Stuck on Old Windows Versions Apple’s new OS X 10.9 Mavericks upgrade is completely free to all Mac users and supports Macs going back to 2007. Apple has also announced their intention that all new releases of Mac OS X will be free. In 2007, Microsoft had just shipped Windows Vista. Macs from the Windows Vista era are being upgraded to the latest version of the Mac operating system for free, while Windows PCs from the same era are probably still using Windows Vista. There’s no easy upgrade path for these people. They’re stuck using Windows Vista and maybe even the outdated Internet Explorer 9 if they haven’t installed a third-party web browser. Microsoft’s upgrade path is for these people to pay $120 for a full copy of Windows 8.1 and go through a complicated process that’s actaully a clean install. Even users of Windows 8 devices will probably have to pay money to upgrade to Windows 9, while updates for other operating systems are completely free. If you’re a PC geek, a PC gamer, or someone who just requires specialized software that only runs on Windows, you probably use the Windows desktop and don’t want to switch. That’s fine, but it doesn’t mean the Windows desktop is actually a good experience. Much of the burden falls on average users, who have to struggle with malware, bloatware, adware bundled in installers, complex software installation processes, and out-of-date software. In return, all they get is the ability to use a web browser and some basic Office apps that they could use on almost any other platform without all the hassle. Microsoft would agree with this, touting Windows RT and their new “Windows 8-style” app platform as the solution. Why else would Microsoft, a “devices and services” company, position the Surface — a device without traditional Windows desktop programs — as their mass-market device recommended for average people? This isn’t necessarily an endorsement of Windows RT. If you’re tech support for your family members and it comes time for them to upgrade, you may want to get them off the Windows desktop and tell them to get a Mac or something else that’s simple. Better yet, if they get a Mac, you can tell them to visit the Apple Store for help instead of calling you. That’s another thing Windows PCs don’t offer — good manufacturer support. Image Credit: Blanca Stella Mejia on Flickr, Collin Andserson on Flickr, Luca Conti on Flickr     

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• IT lead does not have a backup, DR plan in writing

  - by Alex

  This is a general management question to IT managers out there. We are a small firm with about 4 servers in our colo cabinent. No full time IT manager. But we do have one person on monthly contract and I am having a terrible time getting him to share what these plans actually are. I am sure he HAS a plan (and its probably in his head..) but that does us no good if he gets hit by a bus.. How would you guys handle this? He is a long time friend, but I fear this is dangerous for us long term..I have confronted him on several occasions about this, and he tells me not to worry, he has go it covered.. Thanks.

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• SQLAuthority News – Presented Technical Session at DevReach 2013, Sofia, Bulgaria – Oct 1, 2013

  - by Pinal Dave

  Earlier this month, I had a fantastic time presenting at DevReach 2013, in Sofia, Bulgaria on Oct 1, 2013. DevReach strives to be the premier developer conference in Central and Eastern Europe. It is organized annually in Sofia, Bulgaria. The 8th edition of the conference is moving to a new and bigger venue: Sofia Event Center. In my career, I have presented over 9 different countries (India, USA, Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand), this was the first time for me to present in Europe. DevReach was perfect places to start my journey in Europe as an evangelist. The event was one of the most organized event I have ever come across in my life. The DevRech organization team had perfected every minute detail of the event to perfection. After the event was over I had the opportunity to see Sofia for one day. I presented with one of my most favorite Database Worst Practices Session. Pinal presenting at DevReach 2013, Sofia, Bulgaria DevReach 2013 DevReach 2013 DevReach 2013 Pinal presenting at DevReach 2013, Sofia, Bulgaria Pinal presenting at DevReach 2013, Sofia, Bulgaria Pinal Dave and Stephen Forte at Pluralsight Booth at DevReach 2013, Sofia, Bulgaria Pinal on City Tour of Sofia, Bulgaria Pinal on City Tour of Sofia, Bulgaria Pinal on City Tour of Sofia, Bulgaria Pinal on City Tour of Sofia, Bulgaria Pinal on City Tour of Sofia, Bulgaria Session Title: Secrets of SQL Server: Database Worst Practices Abstract: “Oh my God! What did I do?” Chances are you have heard, or even uttered, this expression. This demo-oriented session will show many examples where database professionals were dumbfounded by their own mistakes, and could even bring back memories of your own early DBA days. The goal of this session is to expose the small details that can be dangerous to the production environment and SQL Server as a whole, as well as talk about worst practices and how to avoid them. Shedding light on some of these perils and the tricks to avoid them may even save your current job. Thanks to Team Telerik for making this one of the best event in my life. Reference: Pinal Dave (http://blog.sqlauthority.com) Filed under: About Me, PostADay, SQL, SQL Authority, SQL Query, SQL Server, SQL Tips and Tricks, SQLAuthority Author Visit, T SQL

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• Setting properties in chef-client.rb

  - by Stephen C

  I have a use-case where a chef recipe needs to use 'remote_file' to fetch a file on a virtual, and the fetch needs to be do through an HTTP proxy. This is not working because chef-client doesn't use the system proxy settings ... it gets its proxy settings from the /etc/chef/chef-client.rb So how do I get proxy settings (or settings in general) into the chef-client.rb file on a client? Ideally, I'd like it to happen at client bootstrap time, but I can't see how to do that short of hacking the code. The other possibility is that I could create a recipe that updates the chef-client.rb file. But that strikes me as a bit dangerous. And it means that you need to run chef-client twice before it works, assuming that the missing proxy setting in the first run causes the run to ultimately fail. Any ideas on how to fix this?

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• rsync command deletion error "IO error encountered -- skipping file deletion"

  - by Jam88

  I use rsync command to take backup of files from one of my ubuntu server to another ubuntu machine. Backup server trigger a script that use rysnc command. Here is the command I use rsync -rltvh --partial --stats --exclude=.beagle/ --exclude=.* --delete-after root@live_server:/home/ /home/live_server_backup/home /tmp/logfile.log 2&1 live_server is ssh-able without password. So it works. Now problem is with --delete-after option After all file synced .At the end I can see deletion procedure skipped.logfile error is like IO error encountered -- skipping file deletion When i tried to find log there were some error while file sync rsync: send_files failed to open "/home/xyz/Desktop/PPT_session_1_context.pdf": Permission denied (13) So my understanding is as rsync could not read all the files from target for safety reason it is skipping the file deletion. Is there any way to make --delete-after work even if there is some permission error? I do not want to use force deletion as it will be dangerous in some situation.

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• rhel/centos vs. ubuntu (possibly other debian-based systems) linux in handling duplicate ips in the same subnet

  - by johnshen64

  This has bothered me for quite a while but I never found out why or how to change the behavior. ip duplicates could be caused by typos or dhcp errors etc., but they do occur from time to time. in rpm-based systems such as centos, the old server with the duplicate ip wins, and the new server will get an error in bringing up the nic (ip address already used). this is somewhat harmless because we can just fix the system that is coming up. ubuntu only the other hand happily grabs the used ip for itself and leave the old server/device without a valid ip. this is the more dangerous behavior because it causes outages. what i want is to change the ubuntu behavior to that of the centos/rhel so would appreciate any help.

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• What ways are there to determine if an idea for change is viable or not?

  - by Kenneth

  A recent discussion on here about whether or not program windows should still be called screens or if we should have improved terminology got me thinking... Dangerous I know! People as a whole tend to be fairly resistant to change. We get comfortable in our niches and used to the way things are. While some changes lead to good results and improve our lives or the way things are done, others are clearly not enough of a change or overall bad and not even worth attempting. What guides can we use as we program to determine if an improvement (whether it be to coding style, terminology, user interface, language use, etc) is really an improvement or not? I'm sure to some extent nothing will replace the try-it-out approach but are there any tests or guides that can be used to eliminate certain ideas that would eventually turn out to be worthless or a waste of time to pursue? EDIT: For anyone who is wondering the discussion that brought this question up in my mind is found here: Does your organization still use the term "screens" to describe a user interface?

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• Keeping multiple root directories in a single partition

  - by intuited

  I'm working out a partition scheme for a new install. I'd like to keep the root filesystem fairly small and static, so that I can use LVM snapshots to do backups without having to allocate a ton of space for the snapshot. However, I'd also like to keep the number of total partitions small. Even with LVM, there's inevitably some wasted space and it's still annoying and vaguely dangerous to allocate more. So there seem to be a couple of different options: Have the partition that will contain bulky, variable files, like /srv, /var, and /home, be the root partition, and arrange for the core system state — /etc, /usr, /lib, etc. — to live in a second partition. These files can (I think) be backed up using a different backup scheme, and I don't think LVM snapshots will be necessary for them. The opposite: putting the big variable directories on the second partition, and having the essential system directories live on the root FS. Either of these options require that certain directories be pointers of some variety to subdirectories of a second partition. I'm aware of two different ways to do this: symlinks and bind-mounts. Is one better than the other for this purpose? Is there another option? Do any of the various Ubuntu installation media/strategies support this style of partition layout?

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• Using JuJu with private Openstack cloud deployment?

  - by user76054

  I'm seeing a number of problems trying to use JuJu with our internally deployed Openstack cloud. Most of this appears to be centered around DNS host resolution as well as the need to deal with our company's internal HTTP proxies. Our Openstack deployment relies upon an unroutable 172.16.0.0/12 block of addresses for VLAN allocation to each project (tenant) hosted on our internal cloud. User's have the option of assigning one or more floating addresses to instances, allocated from a block of routable addresses on our internal companies LAN. Currently, Openstack doesn't register instance names with anything other than the DNSMASQ service running on the cloud controller. As such, there's no way to resolve this address through our internal DNS hierarchy (this issue has already been reported as Bug #945505). As such, even though I can bootstrap my JuJu server node, I can't connect to it with the JuJu client, since it can't resolve the local (private) network name. I am able to ssh to the node, once I've assigned it an internally routable (i.e. floating) address. Which leads to the next issue. Next, to install software on an instance running in our cloud, it must have our internal proxy address defined - either in the apt.conf file or via environment variables. Unfortunately, when bootstrapping the server node, there's no provision to pass this info into a instance via JuJu environment.yaml file (if this is even the best way to handle this issue). As a result, the bootstrap node is unable to install the required packages. I'm assuming (dangerous, I know) that the way that I've deployed Openstack in our internal environment is probably not unique. Has anyone else encountered these issues? And more importantly, are work arounds available? Regards, Ross

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• Mother Board Question

  - by user33931

  1st, I am software guy. I do not do hardware. So I know to you hardware geeks, this is a dumb question. I just inherited a box with a ASUS P5GZ-MX mother board. I have attempted to install two nVidia PCI video cards. I put a 750w power supply in the system to be sure I have enough power. With no extra video cards, the 3.3 v shows normal. When I put one card in, the 3.3 goes to 3.5-3.6 and flashes red (over voltage) about 30% of the time. When I put the 2nd card in, it goes to 3.73 v and stays red all the time. Any Ideas why the voltage goes up when I add cards instead of going down? More Importantly, is this dangerous to the system?

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• Command line safety tricks

  - by deadprogrammer

  Command line and scripting is dangerous. Make a little typo with rm -rf and you are in a world of hurt. Confuse prod with stage in the name of the database while running an import script and you are boned (if they are on the same server, which is not good, but happens). Same for noticing too late that the server name where you sshed is not what you thought it was after funning some commands. You have to respect the Hole Hawg. I have a few little rituals before running risky commands - like doing a triple take check of the server I'm on. Here's an interesting article on rm safety. What little rituals, tools and tricks keeps you safe on the command line? And I mean objective things, like "first run ls foo*, look at the output of that and then substitute ls with rm -rf to avoid running rm -rf foo * or something like that", not "make sure you know what the command will do".

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