The “Shellshock” bug is making cyber security experts and IT folk scramble to apply fixes and develop workarounds. The flaw, which afflicts systems running Linux and Mac OS X, affects Bash, which is short for the “Bourne again shell.”
Bash is a piece of software that controls the command prompt in Linux and Mac OS X. Here’s how Red Hat, the maker of Red Hat Linux, describes the problems posed by the Bash flaw in this official blog post.
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A (flawed) patch for Linux-based systems has already been issued, and a follow-up is being developed as we speak. The flawed patch was found to be incomplete by security experts. However, Red Hat recommends that users still install it. That’s because Red Hat considers the problems associated with the first patch to not be as severe as the issues that face systems which don’t have the first patch.
In the interim, there’s a simple way to check if Linux-based sites and servers are vulnerable to the Bash/Shellshock bug. By using this Web-based tool and entering the appropriate information, you can quickly find out if you’re at risk. You can also check if your servers are vulnerable to the flaw by using this other Web-based testing tool, simply dubbed “ShellShock Tester.”
The link was originally posted by Kaspersky’s official blog. When that Bash bug-related post was first published by the anti-malware software developer, Kaspersky noted that the tool indicated 749 vulnerabilities were discovered as a result of 7,362 tests that were ran with it.
Both numbers have spiked significantly. As of this writing, the ShellShock Bash Vulnerability test tool states that 23,832 tests have been conducted using it, and 1,568 vulnerabilities were discovered as a result.
Red Hat’s official security blog states that people should upgrade to the latest version of Bash that contains the fix for the Shellshock flaw.
Meanwhile, Kaspersky states that OS X-based systems can be scanned by following the instructions contained here. At this point, Apple has yet to release an official patch that addresses the Bash bug in OS X computers.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.
I've spent a good amount of time digging into the spec sheet of the new M6 MacBook Pro (14-inch), and for all intents and purposes, this is a classic Apple "chip and connectivity" refresh. It's not a full redesign. The chassis, Liquid Retina XDR panel, speakers, ports, and battery, all of them carry over unchanged.
However, the M6 brings more cores, stronger on-device AI, higher memory bandwidth on the larger configs, and modern wireless. Here’s the practical rundown of what actually improved, and whether those gains are worth your money.
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.