Thank you for reading the LinuxSecurity.com weekly security newsletter. The purpose of this document is to provide our readers with a quick summary of each week's most relevant Linux security headlines.

LinuxSecurity.com Feature Extras:

Securing a Linux Web Server - With the significant prevalence of Linux web servers globally, security is often touted as a strength of the platform for such a purpose. However, a Linux based web server is only as secure as its configuration and very often many are quite vulnerable to compromise. While specific configurations vary wildly due to environments or specific use, there are various general steps that can be taken to insure basic security considerations are in place.

Password guessing with Medusa 2.0 - Medusa was created by the fine folks at foofus.net, in fact the much awaited Medusa 2.0 update was released in February of 2010. For a complete change log please visit

DARPA makes finding software vulnerabilities fun (Dec 9)

The U.S. Department of Defense may have found a new way to scan millions of lines of software code for vulnerabilities, by turning the practice into a set of video games and puzzles and having volunteers do the work.
(Dec 9)

In March of 2010, WikiLeaks was just weeks away from bursting onto the world stage with the first of its major leaks from intelligence analyst Chelsea (then Bradley) Manning: the "Collateral Murder" video showing a 2007 Apache helicopter attack that killed civilians and wounded children.
NSA Spying on Online Gaming Worlds (Dec 10)

he NSA is spying on chats in World of Warcraft and other games. There's lots of information -- and a good source document. While it's fun to joke about the NSA and elves and dwarves from World of Warcraft, this kind of surveillance makes perfect sense.
NSA uses Google cookies to pinpoint targets for hacking (Dec 12)

The National Security Agency is secretly piggybacking on the tools that enable Internet advertisers to track consumers, using "cookies" and location data to pinpoint targets for government hacking and to bolster surveillance.
How These 5 Dirtbags Radically Advanced Your Digital Rights (Dec 11)

Bad facts make bad law, the saying goes. But sometimes, bad people make good law.Consider the following exhibits: a cocaine dealer, a child pornographer, a purveyor of suspect penis-enlargement pills, and two accused hackers.