Linux users didn’t need the recent NSA eavesdropping scandal to convince them that securing communication was a good idea. For years, free software developers have been creating secure tools that offer similar functionalities to all of those popular but very leaky services with ridiculous names.

You can create distributed, replicated, and high-performance storage systems using GlusterFS and some inexpensive hardware. Kurt explains.

Kurt looks at the practice of code signing and examines why so few upstream open source projects actually do it.

You won't find a perfect solution to the growing problem of drive-by attacks, but many tools are available to help you keep malicious code off your network.

News

• US gov embraces open data
• Apache Cdorked.A exploit discovered
• News Bites

New Intel CEO

• FSF scolds W3C
• Torvalds releases Kernel 3.9
• Xen new LF collaboration project

Operating Systems

• Debian 7.0“wheezy” debuts
• Windows XP most likely to be victim of attack.

Great tools and resources are available to help you write secure Ruby on Rails code. Kurt examines some tools and offers some tips.

Rootkits allow attackers to take complete control of a computer. We describe the tricks intruders use to gain access to the Linux kernel and provide guidelines on hardening the kernel against such attacks.

Forget passwords – several Internet companies have formed the FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance, which they say will replace passwords with safer and easier to use authentication methods.