Annoying Computer News
The BBC has a short piece on the latest threat, Shellshock: ‘Deadly serious’ new vulnerability found.
There is a relatively simple exploit that allows hackers to take control of computers using BASH [Bourne Again Shell for Linux] which includes Apache servers, multiple flavors of Linux, and Mac OSX computers. A patch has been released but there are questions about the totality of the ‘fix’.
BASH has been around since at least 1990, so this problem is buried in some dense C code which explains why it took so long for the exploit to appear, and why it may not be easy to fix.
On a personal note, they have added insult to injury by installing a third fiber bundle across the street from me, and I still have only two choices for broadband Internet services. The name of the contractor was ‘Fibore’, which is too sophisticated for Alabama, so they may be from up North.
September 25, 2014 29 Comments
