A little more from the Windows 8 Secure Boot Front

An article on PCWorld seems to have a little more information concerning the Windows 8 Secure Boot feature.  A feature that may have the potential to prevent user's from installing alternative operating systems like Linux or even older versions of Windows.  And it seems like Microsoft may be leaving some of the decision in the hands of the computer manufacturers as to whether or not their products may have the ability to disable the UEFI key and Secure Boot features. 

Secure Boot seems to stem from a good hearted origin; it was put in place to prevent malware from being able to manipulate boot options.  However, I can't help but feel like there are other reasons involved.  Maybe to counter act those who are using non-genuine copies of Windows?  Or to ensure that their operating system will not be replaced?  Both seem to be the byproducts of Secure Boot.  Regardless, if these features are implemented in the final release of Windows 8 (and it's release is still well enough out there); I can imagine someone out there will find a way to circumvent this. 

When it comes down to it, the whole scenario feels like the freedom of your hardware is starting to drift away more than it ever has before.  I say as long as the OS is genuine leave us alone.

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Fun with Ubuntu: What is Sudo?

Since we have been posting quite a bit of information for new Ubuntu users I thought I'd cover the topic of what is 'Sudo'?  Why do we use it/need it?  What do elevated privileges allow us to do within Ubuntu?  I will try to clear this up for those who may be unfamiliar with what it means to use 'Sudo'.

Most of the time you may hear the administrative access in Linux/Unix to be limited to the 'Root' user or the 'Super User'.  But in Ubuntu, we do not have a 'Root' user.  Instead we have the 'Sudo' program.  By running a command from the Terminal using a 'Sudo' command, you are temporarily granting your user account the same access to elevated privileges as another account (in the case of sudo that account would be the Root or Super User account).  And you can even think of the command: sudo; as 'SUper user DO' to help you remember it.  Another way to remember what it means to think of the word it sounds like: pseudo.  Which means: to be like something else (in Techie's terms).  So in a sense you want your account to be a pseudo of the admin account temporarily.

You will use sudo when you attempt to install a package or remove a packages, modify system files, add repositories, update apt, install updates, etc.  Administrative tasks are usually protected by sudo access.  When using the sudo command you will be prompted in the Terminal for your password.  In most cases, this is the same as your log on password.  Unless this has been changed by the system admin.

Running a command with sudo, will grant your user account access to super user rights for 15 minutes at a time.  After 15 minutes, if you run another sudo command you will be prompted for your password again.  And easy way to think of sudo in relation to Windows Vista/7 would be think of it as the UAC of Ubuntu.  Sudo is a powerful command when used in conjunction with other strings in the Terminal.  Use it wisely and carefully.

Even though you may not use the Terminal much, most user's are fine with using the graphical user interface.  You may occasionally bump into a situation where you need to use the command line.  And it is important that you know what sudo is.  Especially when a lot of sites will post Terminal commands, but will offer very little instruction on what those commands actually do.

I will also hit the topic of 'Sudo' briefly in an upcoming video. 

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Software of the Week: Combofix

Ok, I have to give props to the guys at Bleeping Computer and sUBS for Combofix.  I have had to use it twice this week and both times it has come to my rescue.  If you have never heard of Combofix, check it out.  It's pretty sweet (and free, so that makes it all the more awesome).  Combofix is a tool that will scan and help remove malware for Windows. It supports the modern Windows Operating Systems back to Windows XP.  And uses the Windows Recovery Console for part of the repair.

If you don't have the Windows Recovery Console installed, no problem Combofix will download and install it for you.  If you have an outdated version of the Windows Recovery Console then it will be updated by Combofix too.  Both computers I used it on were running XP (one was XP Home and one was XP Pro).  The scan took close to 10 minutes on each computer and so far has resolved both malware issues those computers were encountering.

Combofix is a powerful tool and shouldn't be used just for testing.  If you are having malware issues always be sure to do your homework for your situation and remember no two malware removal processes are the same.  Combofix can help, but ultimately you are accountable.  If malware removal is beyond your comfort zone, do then safe thing and take your computer to a professional (or your local computer geeks house).  And if you need more info on Combofixmornthe folks at Bleeping Computer, start here:

http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/combofix/how-to-use-combofix

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