SourceForge Account Hijacks Popular Networking Tool Nmap

In recent days Sourceforge download site came into the news because some abandoned software project that took over were offered through the website and then foresaw the installation of adware. Because of all the commotion SourceForge decided to stop this practice, claiming that it no longer would bundle adware with these abandoned projects. Additionally, it would join only occur with active projects whose developers had given permission.

That pledge has already been violated, says Nmap developer Gordon Lyon. Nmap is a very popular tool for scanning networks. The Nmap Development mailing list Lyon late today that SourceForge his account on the download has been hijacked. The old Nmap page is now empty and all content has been transferred to another page where only SourceForge has the control.

"For now they only offer the official Nmap-files (as long as you do not click on the fake download buttons) and we have not yet caught trojaniseren of Nmap as they did with GIMP. But we trust them for no meter," says Lyon. He points to an earlier incident with Download.com in 2011 was caught when the malware bundled with the installer Nmap. The developer will ask nmap to remove the hijacked Nmap-page. "But more importantly, we want to reiterate that you should download Nmap only of our official Nmap SSL site."

Professor: Cyber Criminal Is Not A Full Hacker

Hackers are often portrayed as evil geniuses, but a better description of who is talented, albeit sometimes mischievous, craftsman. They also play a key role in society by things safer else to think about problems and systems. That suggests Kevin Steinmetz , professor of sociology, anthropology and social work at Kansas State University.

Hacking is according to him, more than breaking into computer networks and security systems. "Hackers are often portrayed as criminals who steal in the dark money. Hacking is much more than that. It can also consist of the development of free and open source software." The professor is concerned with the study of the hacker culture and digital crime. In his latest research on the question of what is a hacker and what it means to hack.

"If there's one thing that they have taught me is to not be afraid to bend the rules or an idea on its head and put things challenging," said the professor in an interview about his research the Wichita Eagle . "We need to encourage people to think differently and to draw the status quo in doubt." Part of both hacking and craftsmanship consists of finding and solving problems. Hacking also has many similarities with craftsmanship. Steinmetz designates the self as a technological craft passing boundaries.

Hacking has evolved over the years. Yet hackers engaged in security currently getting all the attention, according to the research of the professor. The reason that security at the moment is so popular is because here play all interesting problems, says a hacker who spoke Steinmetz. The research also shows that hacking is no longer associated with the subculture where it originally came from. Namely people who are interested in technology and computers. Hacking is now used in a variety of domains. The media usually about hackers who are guilty of cyber crime, breaking into networks and steal credit card information.

However, this stereotyping fog that hacking is more to the process than the end result. Without craftsmanship is someone who commits crimes with digital may therefore not a hacker. "If people are engaged in this type of behavior because they want only final results, my research shows that they can not be regarded as a complete hacker" said Steinmetz. "They need to embrace the qualities of a professional, someone who loves his job and goes up here." The research of the professor was published in the British Journal of Criminology.

FSF: Apple's iOS Is Harmful To Free Society

Smartphones, tablets and smart watches at this time are a terror to the freedom of users, while Apple's iOS is the absolute pinnacle. Before warns John Sullivan, executive director of the Free Software Foundation (FSF). The FSF is a non-profit organization that aims to promote "free software". This is software that users can modify the code, sharing and dissemination.

This year the organization celebrates its 30th anniversary, with the necessary reach, Sullivan says. However, there are now several areas requiring attention. This refers in particular to mobile and wearables where users have less and less freedom."IOS is the epitome of everything that we need to avoid in order to have a free society: a single gatekeeper that states that it is illegal to software that is not authorized by him, to be installed on your phone", so let him opposite Opensource .com know.

Sullivan calls it fortunate that there are currently more Android users than iOS users. "But between hardware drivers and applications they use mostly proprietary software or make them connect to a service where they have no control over." The FSF director notes that future versions of Android anytime "proprietary" can be made. "And that's frightening." Sullivan also want users to mobile, embedded and wearable systems can continue to adjust freely.

The same should apply for eg laptop hardware. "Companies like Intel chips in their build machines that run proprietary software that provides remote access to the computer," the FSF director continues. He also calls for decentralized and encrypted alternatives to services like Facebook, Google and iCloud. "If the software you run on the machine of some company runs have not the ability to inspect or modify. Time after time, this leads to abuse, such as privacy violations by both governments and individuals."