Ubuntu / Linux news and application reviews.

Secure Text Editor EncryptPad Sees New Release

| Date: January 17, 2017 | View Comments | Tags: encryption, encryptpad, linux, macosx, security, ubuntu, windows

EncryptPad, a free, open source text editor for sensitive information, was updated to version 0.3.2.5 recently, bringing numerous bug fixes along with some minor new features.
EncryptPad

EncryptPad: Secure Text Editor That Protects Files With Passwords, Keys, Or Both

| Date: July 22, 2016 | View Comments | Tags: cloud, encryption, linux, macosx, security, text editor, ubuntu, windows

EncryptPad is a free and open source text editor for sensitive information, which protects files with passwords, key files, or both, available for Linux, Windows and Mac. The app can also be used to encrypt binary files, such as images, videos, and so on.

EncryptPad

DNSCrypt: How To Encrypt DNS Traffic In Ubuntu Or Linux Mint [Updated]

| Date: January 14, 2015 | View Comments | Tags: customization, dns, encryption, linux, security, ubuntu

This article was posted a while back but I've decided to repost it because there's a new PPA that you can use to install dnscrypt-proxy in Ubuntu ( 14.04) and also, some parts of the article needed to be updated.

DNSCrypt is a protocol for securing communications between a client and a DNS resolver, preventing spying, spoofing or man-in-the-middle attacks. To use it, you'll need a tool called dnscrypt-proxy, which "can be used directly as your local resolver or as a DNS forwarder, authenticating requests using the DNSCrypt protocol and passing them to an upstream server".

EncFS 1.8 RC1 Available For Download

| Date: January 06, 2015 | View Comments | Tags: cloud, encryption, linux, security, ubuntu

EncFS is a FUSE-based cryptographic filesystem which encrypts individual files. As some of you might know, an EncFS security audit that was conducted in February 2014, revealed some potential vulnerabilities:

ownCloud Ubuntu Package Affected By Multiple Critical Security Issues, Nobody To Fix It [Updated]

| Date: October 24, 2014 | View Comments | Tags: cloud, linux, owncloud, security, ubuntu

ownCloud

ownCloud developer Lukas Reschke has sent an email to the Ubuntu Devel mailing list, requesting that ownCloud (server) is removed from the Ubuntu repositories because the package is old and there are multiple critical security bugs for which no fixes have been backported. He adds that:

Suspicious TrueCrypt Announcement Declares The Tool Insecure, Development Stopped

| Date: May 29, 2014 | View Comments | Tags: linux, macosx, security, truecrypt, windows

TrueCrypt was an application which could be used to create virtual encrypted disks within a file or encrypt entire partitions or storage devices. I said "was" because Truecrypt's homepage started redirecting to its SourceForge page and a warning is displayed at the top of the page:

"WARNING: Using TrueCrypt is not secure as it may contain unfixed security issues

This page exists only to help migrate existing data encrypted by TrueCrypt.

The development of TrueCrypt was ended in 5/2014 after Microsoft terminated support of Windows XP. Windows 8/7/Vista and later offer integrated support for encrypted disks and virtual disk images. Such integrated support is also available on other platforms (click here for more information). You should migrate any data encrypted by TrueCrypt to encrypted disks or virtual disk images supported on your platform".

Gufw Firewall 13.10 Released With New Features, Refreshed Layout

| Date: June 25, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: firewall, gufw, linux, security, ubuntu

Gufw, a firewall that uses UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) under the hood, has been updated recently, getting a new layout and some important new features.


Oracle Releases Critical Security Update For Java 7 (7u13) and Java 6 (6u39), PPA Updated

| Date: February 03, 2013 | View Comments | Tags: Java, linux, oracle, security, ubuntu

oracle java vulnerability

Oracle has released updates for Java 7: 7u13 and Java 6: 6u39, which come with a Critical Patch Update for 50 new security issues, of which 49 could be used to execute code remotely, without authentication.

The updates were scheduled for February 19th, but because of the vulnerabilities affecting Java Runtime Environment (JRE) in browsers, Oracle has decided to accelerate their release, specially since some browsers have automatically blocked the Java browser plugin because of these security issues.

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