Linux Magazine #296 - Print Issue
JULY 2025 – Pen Testing
Intruders have a way of sneaking past the defenses. All your firewall rules are never enough. If you are wondering how an attacker could get in, you need to learn to think like an attacker. The Internet offers many resources for those who want to get started with penetration testing.
On the DVD: Fedora Workstation 42 Live and Ubuntu Budgie 25.04
IN THIS ISSUE:
Kernel News
* Kernel Efficiency Improvements
* Tracking Compiler Plugin Problems
Discover Pen Testing
If you want to check your systems for security vulnerabilities, you need the right tools and a massive helping of experience. Prospective pen testers can get some practice by breaking into prefabricated training VMs.
Practicing Pen Testing
The OWASP Juice Shop has over 100 tasks that will get you up to speed on pen testing. This article guides you through your first steps.
Distro Walk – Policy Distros
Some distros are more political than technical. EU OS attempts to break free of Active Directory and Microsoft Windows and keep distro maintenance close to home.
Lomiri
Ubuntu's ambitious dream of convergence is alive and well in the now-independent Lomiri desktop.
Nushell
Nushell's data-first approach elevates shell scripting to a new level of clarity and precision.
Ptcpdump
The legacy Tcpdump is a tool no admin would want to do without, but it is a bit long in the tooth. The eBPF-based Ptcpdump aims to counter this worry. The rewrite offers extensive CLI compatibility and can even display process information.
Graphics in Python with Cairo
Build graphic elements into your Python programs with the Cairo graphics library. We'll show you how to draw an analog clock face that displays the current time.
Command Line – deborphan
The deborphan utility helps you keep track of packages and their dependencies on a Debian-based system.
Programming Snapshot – WebSockets
The WebSocket protocol helps browsers to immediately reload a page if the server-side content changes. In this month's column, Mike Schilli whips up his own WebSocket server in Go for this task.
SPICE and KiCad
Designing a power supply can be an interesting yet dangerous engineering task. You can reduce some of the inherent risk by building a model and running simulations with SPICE in KiCad.
NiceGUI Web Apps
With a Raspberry Pi and the NiceGUI Python library you can build a weather station or a Pi Rover app in less than 15 lines of Python code.
Doghouse – The Last Hurrah
Remembering the USENIX ATC before it's 50th – and last – event in July 2025.
NAPS2
How to scan documents with the NAPS2 software.
FOSSPicks
Nate explores the top FOSS including the latest KDE app suite, a secure passphrase generator, a post-apocalyptic roguelike, and an AI-powered tarot card reader.
Tutorial – FreshRSS
Avoid information pollution from social media with RSS and the FreshRSS news aggregator.