Open-source News

Out today is OpenJDK Java 19 in its general availability form while adding a number of new features...

OpenJDK Java 19 Released With RISC-V Linux Port, Foreign Function API  Phoronix

Mesa's Radeon Vulkan "RADV" driver co-founder Bas Nieuwenhuizen has landed a set of micro-optimizations to the open-source driver for benefiting Vulkan ray-tracing performance...

While a number of recent Firefox releases have been rather "boring" on the Linux front with not many notable changes, Firefox 105.0 is out this morning and this time around is a bit more significant...

Firefox 105 Now Available - Better Linux Performance Under Memory Pressure  Phoronix

Ampere Computing has provided a 160-core Ampere Altra server with 128GB of RAM to the OpenMandriva project to help in speeding up their AArch64 Linux packaging and development efforts...

OpenMandriva Speeding Up Their AArch64 Linux Development With Ampere Altra  Phoronix

AMD engineers today released AOMP 16.0-0 as the newest version of their LLVM/Clang downstream compiler where they stage their latest development patches focused on Radeon GPU OpenMP offloading...

It's been two weeks since the release of LLVM 15.0 and its sub-projects like Clang 15.0 so per their rapid release rhythm, out today is LLVM 15.0.1 with the initial batch of fixes...

Linux Foundation launches European division  The Register

It Is 2022, And Time To Let Go Of The “Linux Is Hard To Use” Satire  Fossbytes

Loongson is Getting Ready for LoongArch Linux Laptops  It's FOSS News

Loongson is Getting Ready for LoongArch Linux Laptops  It's FOSS News

It Is 2022, And Time To Let Go Of The “Linux Is Hard To Use” Satire  Fossbytes

It Is 2022, And Time To Let Go Of The "Linux Is Hard To Use" Satire  Fossbytes

3 ways to use the Linux inxi command Don Watkins Tue, 09/20/2022 - 03:00

I was looking for information about the health of my laptop battery when I stumbled upon inxi. It's a command line system information tool that provides a wealth of information about your Linux computer, whether it's a laptop, desktop, or server.

The inxi command is licensed with the GPLv3, and many Linux distributions include it. According to its Git repository: "inxi strives to support the widest range of operating systems and hardware, from the most simple consumer desktops, to the most advanced professional hardware and servers."

Documentation is robust, and the project maintains a complete man page online. Once installed, you can access the man page on your system with the man inxi command.

More Linux resources Linux commands cheat sheet Advanced Linux commands cheat sheet Free online course: RHEL technical overview Linux networking cheat sheet SELinux cheat sheet Linux common commands cheat sheet What are Linux containers? Our latest Linux articles Install inxi on Linux

Generally, you can install inxi from your distribution's software repository or app center. For example, on Fedora, CentOS, Mageia, or similar:

$ sudo dnf install inxi

On Debian, Elementary, Linux Mint, or similar:

$ sudo apt install inxi

You can find more information about installation options for your Linux distribution here.

3 ways to use inxi on Linux

Once you install inxi, you can explore all its options. There are numerous options to help you learn more about your system. The most fundamental command provides a basic overview of your system:

$ inxi -b
System:
  Host: pop-os Kernel: 5.19.0-76051900-generic x86_64 bits: 64
        Desktop: GNOME 42.3.1 Distro: Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS
Machine:
  Type: Laptop System: HP product: Dev One Notebook PC v: N/A
        serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: HP model: 8A78 v: KBC Version 01.03 serial: <superuser required>
        UEFI: Insyde v: F.05 date: 06/14/2022
Battery:
  ID-1: BATT charge: 50.6 Wh (96.9%) condition: 52.2/53.2 Wh (98.0%)
CPU:
  Info: 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U with Radeon Graphics [MT MCP]
        speed (MHz): avg: 915 min/max: 400/4507
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Cezanne driver: amdgpu v: kernel
  Device-2: Quanta HP HD Camera type: USB driver: uvcvideo
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.3 driver: X: loaded: amdgpu,ati
        unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,radeon,vesa gpu: amdgpu
        resolution: 1920x1080~60Hz
  OpenGL:
        renderer: AMD RENOIR (LLVM 13.0.1 DRM 3.47 5.19.0-76051900-generic)
        v: 4.6 Mesa 22.0.5
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8822CE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter
        driver: rtw_8822ce
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 953.87 GiB used: 75.44 GiB (7.9%)
Info:
  Processes: 347 Uptime: 15m Memory: 14.96 GiB used: 2.91 GiB (19.4%)
  Shell: Bash inxi: 3.3.131. Display battery status

You can check your battery health using the -B option. The result shows the system battery ID, charge condition, and other information:

$ inxi -B
Battery:
ID-1: BATT charge: 44.3 Wh (85.2%) condition: 52.0/53.2 Wh (97.7%)2. Display CPU info

Find out more information about the CPU with the -C option:

$ inxi -C CPU: Info: 8-core model: AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U with Radeon Graphics bits: 64 type: MT MCP cache: L2: 4 MiB Speed (MHz): avg: 400 min/max: 400/4507 cores: 1: 400 2: 400 3: 400 4: 400 5: 400 6: 400 7: 400 8: 400 9: 400 10: 400 11: 400 12: 400 13: 400 14: 400 15: 400 16: 400

The output of inxi uses colored text by default. You can change that to improve readability, as needed, by using the "color switch."

The command option is -c followed by any number between 0 and 42 to suit your tastes.

$ inxi -c 42

Here is an example of a couple of different options using color 5 and then 7:

Image by:

(Don Watkins, CC BY-SA 4.0)

The software can show hardware temperature, fan speed, and other information about your system using the sensors in your Linux system. Enter inxi -s and read the result below:

Image by:

(Don Watkins, CC BY-SA 4.0)

3. Combine options

You can combine options for inxi to get complex output when supported. For example, inxi -S provides system information, and -v provides verbose output. Combining the two gives the following:

$ inxi -S
System:
  Host: pop-os Kernel: 5.19.0-76051900-generic x86_64 bits: 64
        Desktop: GNOME 42.3.1 Distro: Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS

$ inxi -Sv
CPU: 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 PRO 5850U with Radeon Graphics (-MT MCP-)
speed/min/max: 634/400/4507 MHz Kernel: 5.19.0-76051900-generic x86_64
Up: 20m Mem: 3084.2/15318.5 MiB (20.1%) Storage: 953.87 GiB (7.9% used)
Procs: 346 Shell: Bash inxi: 3.3.13Bonus: Check the weather

Your computer isn't all inxi can gather information about. With the -w option, you can also get weather information for your locale:

$ inxi -w
Weather:
  Report: temperature: 14 C (57 F) conditions: Clear sky
  Locale: Wellington, G2, NZL
        current time: Tue 30 Aug 2022 16:28:14 (Pacific/Auckland)
        Source: WeatherBit.io

You can get weather information for other areas of the world by specifying the city and country you want along with -W:

$ inxi -W rome,italy
Weather:
  Report: temperature: 20 C (68 F) conditions: Clear sky
  Locale: Rome, Italy current time: Tue 30 Aug 2022 06:29:52
        Source: WeatherBit.ioWrap up

There are many great tools to gather information about your computer. I use different ones depending on the machine, the desktop, or my mood. What are your favorite system information tools?

I use inxi on Linux to check my laptop batter, CPU information, and even the weather.

Linux Command line Hardware What to read next Linux commands to display your hardware information This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License. Register or Login to post a comment.

Security buzzwords to avoid and what to say instead Seth Kenlon Tue, 09/20/2022 - 03:00

Technology is a little famous for coming up with "buzzwords." Other industries do it, too, of course. "Story-driven" and "rules light" tabletop games are a big thing right now, "deconstructed" burgers and burritos are a big deal in fine dining. The problem with buzzwords in tech, though, is that they potentially actually affect your life. When somebody calls an application "secure," to influence you to use their product, there's an implicit promise being made. "Secure" must mean that something's secure. It's safe for you to use and trust. The problem is, the word "secure" can actually refer to any number of things, and the tech industry often uses it as such a general term that it becomes meaningless.

Because "secure" can mean both so much and so little, it's important to use the word "secure" carefully. In fact, it's often best not to use the word at all, and instead, just say what you actually mean.

More on security The defensive coding guide 10 layers of Linux container security SELinux coloring book More security articles When "secure" means encrypted

Sometimes "secure" is imprecise shorthand for encrypted. In this context, "secure" refers to some degree of difficulty for outside observers to eavesdrop on your data.

Don't say this: "This website is resilient and secure."

That sounds pretty good! You're probably imagining a website that has several options for 2-factor authentication, zero-knowledge data storage, and steadfast anonymity policies.

Say this instead: "This website has a 99% uptime guarantee, and its traffic is encrypted and verifiable with SSL."

Not only is the intent of the promise clear now, it also explains how "secure" is achieved (it uses SSL) and what the scope of "secure" is.

Note that there's explicitly no promise here about privacy or anonymity.

When "secure" means restricted access

Sometimes the term "secure" refers to application or device access. Without clarification, "secure" could mean anything from the useless security by obscurity model, to a simple htaccess password, to biometric scanners.

Don't say this: "We've secured the system for your protection."

Say this instead: "Our system uses 2-factor authentication."

When "secure" means data storage

The term "secure" can also refer to the way your data is stored on a server or a device.

Don't say this: "This device stores your data with security in mind."

Say this instead: "This device uses full disk encryption to protect your data."

When remote storage is involved, "secure" may instead refer to who has access to stored data.

Don't say this: "Your data is secure."

Say this instead: "Your data is encrypted using PGP, and only you have the private key."

When "secure" means privacy

These days, the term "privacy" is almost as broad and imprecise as "security." On one hand, you might think that "secure" must mean "private," but that's true only when "secure" has been defined. Is something private because it has a password barrier to entry? Or is something private because it's been encrypted and only you have the keys? Or is it private because the vendor storing your data knows nothing about you (aside from an IP address?) It's not enough to declare "privacy" any more than it is to declare "security" without qualification.

Don't say this: "Your data is secure with us."

Say this instead: "Your data is encrypted with PGP, and only you have the private key. We require no personal data from you, and can only identify you by your IP address."

Some sites make claims about how long IP addresses are retained in logs, and promises about never surrendering data to authorities without warrants, and so on. Those are beyond the scope of technological "security," and have everything to do with trust, so don't confuse them for technical specifications.

Say what you mean

Technology is a complex topic with a lot of potential for confusion. Communication is important, and while shorthand and jargon can be useful in some settings, generally it's better to be precise. When you're proud of the "security" of your project, don't generalize it with a broad term. Make it clear to others what you're doing to protect your users, and make it equally clear what you consider out of scope, and communicate these things often. "Security" is a great feature, but it's a broad one, so don't be afraid to brag about the specifics.

Consider these thoughtful approaches to define what security really means in your open source project.

Image by:

JanBaby, via Pixabay CC0.

Security and privacy What to read next Why transparency is critical to your open source project's security Encrypting and decrypting files with OpenSSL This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License. Register or Login to post a comment.

The post How to Monitor Linux Users Activity with psacct or acct Tools first appeared on Tecmint: Linux Howtos, Tutorials & Guides .

psacct or acct both are open source utilities for monitoring users’ activities on the Linux system. These utilities run in the background and keep track of each user’s activity on your system as well

The post How to Monitor Linux Users Activity with psacct or acct Tools first appeared on Tecmint: Linux Howtos, Tutorials & Guides.

Can the HP EliteBook 840 G9 run Linux?  XDA Developers

The post How to Install UrBackup [Server/Client] Backup System in Ubuntu first appeared on Tecmint: Linux Howtos, Tutorials & Guides .

Backups are an integral part of any operating system. They ensure that critical copies of data are always available in the unfortunate event that the system crashes or something goes wrong. Urbackup is an

The post How to Install UrBackup [Server/Client] Backup System in Ubuntu first appeared on Tecmint: Linux Howtos, Tutorials & Guides.