Posts by a_foley

Nobody knows how many CVEs Anthropic's Project Glasswing has actually found

Sorry to be skeptic...

but I feel like this is just a scam a la The Turk; it is more likely just security researchers hidden away who know what they're doing and got hired by Anthropic, likely utilising Claude for some aid.

OpenAI tries to build its coding cred, acquires Python toolmaker Astral

What the actual fsck?

The fact that actually useful tools are now tainted by LLM corporations are saddening and an extreme blow to the Python ecosystem.

Rest assured I will personally avoid Astral tools like the plague from now on.

After years of being stood up, ARM64 Linux users finally get Chrome date

Re: Google is King of Data Harvesting

I can't read your mind, you know, so please do feel free to explain and enlighten me.

Re: Google is King of Data Harvesting

> The browser you're looking for is Firefox. Worth it, even despite its own imperfections.

I'd personally recommend against using Firefox, or any other Gecko-based browsers, if you care about security, due to their rather weak sandboxing.

Plain-old Chromium is my recommendation after toggling off the few telemetry options present.

Google rushes Chrome update fixing two zero-days already under attack

Re: I disabled V8 a while back

This is the way if you care about security.

You probably know it already but just making sure others here know, but Firefox on Android doesn't even internally sandbox web content; it just relies on Android's built-in app sandbox, unlike Chromium browsers on Android, which uses both.

So is Firefox, it's just that more security researchers are fuzzing and keeping a tab on Chromium.

Mozilla does not give a shit about security: the fact that Firefox on Android doesn't even have an in-browser sandbox speaks for itself.

And yes, feel free to grab your weapon of choice and hunt me down for daring to not be positive of Firefox.

OpenClaw, but in containers: Meet NanoClaw

Rant

Security-conscious "AI" agent? Is this some kind of joke?

I try to avoid LLM things, and certainly projectsabominations suffixed with "Claw". Like even for folks who don't care about security, they're completely useless; unless they're too lazy to even just walk to the microwave and heat frozen pizza. Unfortunately, that is probably the case, humans are lazier than lazy.

And on the topic of LLM things to avoid, also includes projects which utilise vibe-coding, like these Claw-things. Why? (you already know it) It shows that the maintainers are one or more of the following: not capable of maintaining the project; lacks interest in the project; unserious; don't care about stability nor security. The worst part is that projects which do aren't transparent about it, so one has to check for telltale signs...

Anyway, I apologise for the rant, just tired of all the "AI" crap I get force-fed every day.

GhostBSD to ditch Xorg for XLibre as Red Hat's Wayland crusade leaves X11 fans out in the cold

Re: Still waiting...

You've probably read this, but here you go.

Bcachefs creator insists his custom LLM is female and 'fully conscious'

Wouldn't it be a shame if someone forced him to euthanise his companion cube?

She blinded me with neuroscience!

Price of popularity: Linux Mint's success also means maintainer stress

> the full-fat GNOME-based edition runs well – even on low-end computers

No it doesn't; it's even more bloated than it ever has been!

I can barely run Cinnamon on a 3 year old budget (maybe around €200-300) ASUS laptop for a tech illiterate relative.

I don't want to imagine how GNOME's gonna run on it...

Devilish devs spawn 287 Chrome extensions to flog your browser history to data brokers

Re: Chrome (and its derivatives)

Disagreed. While Chrome itself is pure rubbish, Chromium itself and some forks (particularly Vivaldi) give Firefox a huge whopping in terms of security.

Firefox is still behind Chromium in sandboxing and other security features. And yes, uBO is castrated on Chromium, however I haven't found any practical difference between the MV2 and MV3 version (YMMV).

Personally I will stay with Vivaldi until Mozilla ups their game. But even then I am not sure since Firefox also shoehorns "AI" into the browser...

Finally, before I shut my gob, as everyone knows here, Chromium has had more zero-days, but I am pretty sure that's because there are more eyes on that codebase than Firefox's.

Yes, you can build an AI agent – here's how, using LangFlow

Re: We Are Clean

Didn't expect a fellow Numan fan here at the forums! You made my day!

Bond, debt bond: Investors shaken, not stirred by Oracle’s borrowing spree sue Big Red

Re: Nominated for...

It almost beats this one.

El Reg vultures, you deserve one of these for all your amazing titles (and articles) --->

Developer writes script to throw AI out of Windows

You will be sad, ya Nutella!

I bet he doesn't even eat his own dog food; if he did, he'd order it be removed. But once the bubble pops, he'll live up to his name.

Also, who wants to bet that he actually doesn't use Windows?

Apple hopes to save Siri from laughingstock status with infusion of Google Gemini

weather alerts, call screening, autocorrect, voice assistants, et. al

I don't have the greatest memory, but even I remember that all of the above were available pre-2022 before CrapGPT came along. I haven't noticed them get any better either, to absolutely nobody's surprise.

Logitech macOS mouse mayhem traced to expired dev certificate

Coupling

Why should a controller application be so tightly coupled to the hardware of a mouse that it stops working when the software gets borked? You'd expect better from a well known company like Logitech, unless I misread the article.

HSBC app takes a dim view of sideloaded Bitwarden installations

Re: Sideloading?

I agree 110%, and I notice something similar regarding the term "Custom ROMs", which I think "downgrades" some serious alternative Android distributions like LineageOS or GrapheneOS, and makes them sound like hobby projects made by some random guy in their basement, which they really aren't (especially the latter).

I just think it's straight up bizarre that the Android community clings on to that outdated and derogatory term. Like, for instance, Do you think it makes sense to say "screw Windows, I'm gonna flash this Linux ROM on my computer"? No. Then why should Android be so different?

Researchers claim 'largest leak ever' after uncovering WhatsApp enumeration flaw

I don't use WhatsApp, so

this means nothing to me!

Microsoft, Alphabet throw more cash on the AI bonfire

It'll be so difficult to find your way around that you'll also need a navigator an Internet Explorer

Major AWS outage across US-East region breaks half the internet

Re: Too much in us-east-1

True. But it's easier if it's on US soil.

Re: Thanks, Bezos!

Yes, I do actually have a tonne of the stuff I'm downloading cached, but sadly there is a single package which I don't have cached, thus breaking the whole install...

Re: Too much in us-east-1

Good luck removing reliance on US-east without catching the ire of the King of America, because he wants all that juicy data for himself!

Thanks, Bezos!

Can't work on my codebase now that npm's also hit by this!

Hopefully, now all the people using AWS as an infrastructure rethinks their choice. But honestly, I don't think GCP or Azure is much better (can't trust M$ for any uptime at all!)...

Bun 1.3 stuffs everything and kitchen sink into JS runtime

I do not care...

...about speed.

I care about security. And that's what the JavaScript ecosystem also should care about -- not some fscking utility 0.42 ms faster than whateverpm.

Techies tossed appliance that had no power cord, but turned out to power their company

Re: Come on, peoples!

> "Not leaving on-site labels for anything that is very out of the ordinary is shoddy. Yes, including kit that has been decommissioned but left in the rack: masking tape and a sharpie, at the minimum.

THAT is the sort of IMMEDIATE documentation that was missing!"

Amen.

Like code, I think the same should apply to hardware -- What [the hardware] does should be self-explanatory, and if it can't be, then document it!

Come on, peoples!

It was already bound to happen, and unfortunately Steve was the chosen one.

Honestly, the person who set that shit up should've been fired. And they should've, at the very least, documented it or have put it inside a basement far away with signs saying "Beware of the leopard".

Windows 11 gets a fresh Start in latest Canary build

Re: "make it work like it did before Windows 11 messed everything up"

< 5 days left...

The clock is ticking. (Unless, of course, you get ESU)

AI companion bots use emotional manipulation to boost usage

Re: Other farewell statements are available...

You also forgot: "stupid. contemptible and despicable" and "idiotic truckload of shit when it breaks"

Obviously not my quotes, but I got reminded of them when I read your comment :)

Aurora immutable KDE Plasma workstation: Big, slow, and confusing

Re: Are those people nuts ?

"Why not simply allow me to play with Linux and packages in the normal way ? Why would I want a Linux distro that acts against me like my mobile phone ?"

Because it's all about security, which is why immutable distributions are appealing - you can't fsck up your core system with malware if it's read-only.

Re: Oh piss off Liam.. :P

Hey, at least Jesus (Tim Apple?) gives you sensible UI and UX!

Greg Kroah-Hartman explains the Cyber Resilience Act for open source developers

Re: Compliance is the same overhead for all producers :(

If you're writing commercial software do licence it under the GPL, since the GPL still allows you to get paid for the software.

Also, if your software is widely used, you may attract developers for free. So it's basically win-win!

Windows 95 was too fat to install itself so needed help from the slimmer 3.1

Good times!

"But those were different times, when Microsoft cared more about the user experience than trying to cram AI down people's throats at every opportunity."

Come on, you certainly forgot about the existence of Clippy back then!

Microsoft digs up Vista-era animated wallpaper for Windows 11. Here's how to get it

As someone with ADHD...

...this is just worthless and distracting, and I already have enough distractions on my desktop and the final thing I would've needed is this cruft.

Stop runaway AI before it's too late, experts beg the UN

The REAL threat of "AI" is the fact that humans anthropomorphise LLMs, despite the fact that it's just glorified autocorrect.

Sure, you might see no issues with that, but the problem is that this just legitimises the myth that LLMs are "intelligent" -- to the point that you eventually can't criticise any LLMs because everyone thinks everything that it poops out is correct and "thought through". Don't think these people exist? I have meet grown-up adults who call LLMs by pronouns like "she/him" and thinking it has feelings, but, in my eyes, this seems like some serious schizophrenia, but if it is, then it is very commonplace - since basically all the proles in society are affected by this.

You can now test drive Fedora 43 and Ubuntu 25.10

I mean if you want to live with memory safety bugs, which accounts for circa 70% of all security vulnerabilities, then keep on using your beloved C-written coreutils.

Make Windows 11 more useful and less annoying with these 11 Registry hacks

"But probably people like you do still envy Windows has a decent GUI and applications - despite Nadella working hard against that -, while Linux desktops still look designed and implemented by amateuers without a clue about good UIs, and have to sput out it on each occasion."

First of all, yes, Windows has decent GUI. But its applications? No way. Most of M$'s applications are a steaming pile of Electron crap, with tonnes of useless UI clutter and notifications about turning on "AI". GNU/Linux doesn't have that, or to be more accurate, most DEs do not. For instance, look at Cinnamon, Linux Mint's in house DE, it's having none of that worthless crap Windows - and by extension, Microsoft - keeps shoving down your throat, and it still, in my opinion, manages to look pretty much the same as Windows' UI. Which is what you want, isn't it?

I also disagree with your statement that "Linux desktops still look [like they're] designed and implemented by amateuers[sic]". Why? Because it doesn't apply to ALL DEs. If you meant just GNOME - the DE meant for iPads -, I get you, but if you're talking about Elementary's DE (Pantheon), for example, then I'd strongly disagree, because it looks like a modern macOS UI. But don't get me wrong, my point is not to state which DE is the best, though - that's everyone's own opinion. My point is that you can't just throw shit at all DEs and say they all look "amateur" just because you've used GNU/Linux once with some shitty DE nobody likes anyway - like GNOME.

Re: It's easier than doing all that. [1]

To be honest, Windows Enterprise is sane enough to use for work-related stuff, because at least you aren't forced to use an M$ account and you can turn off the shittiest settings with the Windows Registry.

For your use case, which is a rather unique one, I totally understand. But personally, I've found my solution to work better.

It's easier than doing all that. [1]

Just open `cmd.exe`, and write the following command:

>deltree /s C: [2]

Now restart your computer and all shall be well!

---

[1] Well, unless you work for an employer which insists on using Windows, but in that case you should quit your job and find less of a dogshit employer. But I guess doing the latter is the hard part...

[2] I haven't used Windows for eternities so the command-line guide may be somewhat out-of-date. Send me a PR if it is!

Nice try, sinners: Pope nixes idea of AI pontiff blessing netizens

Re: But

Is the bear a catholic?

Google pushes emergency patch for Chrome 0-day – check your browser version now

Re: Argh WASM

I agree, WASM is just a useless gimmick with a sexy attack surface. Sure, there's some applications where it's useful, but overall it's, like you say, pretty rubbish.

Also yeah, updating Chrome is a no-go - if you even have that AI-hog of a browser installed in the first place. However, a non-AI Chromium browser, a lá Vivaldi, with NoScript and V8 optimiser disabled is pretty well hardened, or at least so I think.

AI in your toaster: Analyst predicts $1.5T global spend in 2025

It looks like you're toasting...

Do you need any help burning your toast up into carbon?

Fire up the gas turbines, says US Interior Secretary: We gotta win the AI arms race

What? Are you implying that China should have better autocomplete than the great US of A??!!! This is a threat to national security!!!!111

Aha, I get it!

So you’re more worried about statistical analysers being “better” (if that’s even possible) to rivals like China than climate change — which obviously will be a far greater issue to humanity than some fscking autocorrect-on-steroids programme.

Please get some anti-schizophrenic medications soon!

All your vulns are belong to us! CISA wants to maintain gov control of CVE program

Seems like the gibbon got mad at someone! Probably a democrat.

Monty Widenius 'heartbroken' at the extent of Oracle's MySQL job cuts

It’s Oracle. What’d you expect?

It was just a question of time, and I am sure those who were laid off knew it was coming. You saw what Oracle did with Solaris, and now, unsurprisingly, they did the same with MySQL.

Nano11 cuts Windows 11 down to size, grabbing just 2.8 GB of disk space

2,8 GB?

Impressive? For today's standards, yes, absolutely. But, 30 years ago, nah, this would be humongous!

Either way, this all just goes to show how bloated OSes are today. And sadly, GNU/Linux seems to be taking a similar path, especially since Agent P got involved and embedded the daemon equivalent of Emacs into the OS.

More packages poisoned in npm attack, but would-be crypto thieves left pocket change

It’s simpler than it needs to be.

Just pin your dependencies, dammit!

Even better, don’t install worthless packages which you can implement yourself.

Sure, the don’t-reinvent-the-wheel folks would disagree, but this is the prise you pay for “trusting” a semi-unknown dev on the internet. Like, why do you even need a package like is-arrayish in the first place?!

Forget disappearing messages – now Signal will store 100MB of them for you for free

Feature creep!

Signal, please, just stop all the feature creeping. First you added the MobileCoin bloat, then goddamn Stories... And now, you try to emulate Proton Drive?!?

While, at the same time, you remove extremely useful features like SMS integration.

What the hell!?

Anthropic's Claude Code runs code to test if it is safe – which might be a big mistake

Re: "four tips for safe use of AI security review"

Don’t use AI in security.

FTFY