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:

Review: The Official Ubuntu Book - If you haven't used Linux before, are new to Ubuntu, or would like a quick update on the latest in open source advancements for the desktop, then The Official Ubuntu Book is a great place to start. Authored by a group of some of the most experienced open source administrators and developers, this 400-page user guide details everything you need to know about how to make the most of your Ubuntu, Kubuntu (Ubuntu with KDE), and Xubuntu (Ubuntu with Xfce) computer.

Review: Zabbix 1.8 Network Monitoring - If you have anything more than a small home network, you need to be monitoring the status of your systems to ensure they are providing the services they were designed to provide. Rihards Olups has created a comprehensive reference and usability guide for the latest version of Zabbix that anyone being tasked with implementing should have by their side.

Guardian Digital is happy to announce the release of EnGarde Secure Community 3.0.22 (Version 3.0, Release 22). This release includes many updated packages and bug fixes and some feature enhancements to the EnGarde Secure Linux Installer and the SELinux policy.
Google releases Chrome 7.0 stable (Oct 20)

Nearly seven weeks after the arrival of Chrome 6 on its second birthday, Google has released version 7 of Chrome into the web browser's stable channel. The update includes hundreds of bug fixes, an updated HTML5 parser, support for directory upload and an HTML5 File API, which allows for web-based content to read files stored locally on a user's system.
Privacy? Run a background check on yourself (Oct 19)

My company hired a new employee recently and as part of my responsibilities, I ran a basic background check for our new hire. If you've never seen a professional background check, you will most likely be shocked by the level of detail that can be gleaned from public records.
Linux kernel 2.6.36 released (Oct 21)

Nearly twelve weeks after the release of Linux 2.6.35, Linus Torvalds has released Linux 2.6.36. The new version of the Linux kernel includes various performance enhancements and updates, the AppArmor security extension and support for the KDB-KMS-Debug-Shell. Other changes include a new Out-of-Memory (OOM) killer and kernel thread improvements.
Linux kernel vulnerability coughs up superuser rights (Oct 21)

The open-source Linux operating system contains a serious security flaw that can be exploited to gain superuser rights on a target system.
(Oct 19)

Little surprisingly cost remains a factor in Linux adoption. However, the survey also points out to factors such as security and technical superiority among top drivers.
(Oct 18)

Priya Nayak, who works in consumer operations under Google's "Google Accounts" wing, puts it best: "My Google Account is very valuable to me." And thus, in honor of National Cyber Security Awareness month, Nayak has taken to the Google blogs to dish out a list of helpful security measures one can use to have an online life that's hacker-free.
DNS server security: Finding and using DNSSEC tutorial resources (Oct 18)

The Domain Name System (DNS) plays a critical part in Internet communications, as it's used to translate a human-readable computer hostname into an IP address -- such as searchsecurity.co.uk to 65.214.43.49 -- so that it can be understood and used by networking equipment, computers and software programs.
(Oct 18)

Using a password manager application to automatically log into Web sites -- and to secure and manage all of your user IDs and passwords -- is a great help in organizing your digital life. But most password managers simply save your data in an encrypted file and then leave it stranded on one computer.
Kaspersky Website Struck by Hacker (Oct 20)

Well-known security vendor Kaspersky Lab's website was hit by a hacker Sunday, according to ComputerWorld.
(Oct 21)

Although many IT security professionals regard Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) as a natural extension of Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) technology, IPS is actually another type of access control mechanism rather than purely a sister IT security platform to IDS. It may surprise you to know that the term IPS is actually a lot younger than IDS.
Root privileges through vulnerability in GNU C loader (Oct 19)

A vulnerability in the library loader of the GNU C library can be exploited to obtain root privileges under Linux and other systems. Attackers could exploit the hole, for instance, to gain full control of a system by escalating their privileges after breaking into a web server with restricted access rights. Various distributors are already working on updates.
Hacker accesses University of North Florida computer server (Oct 18)

A University of North Florida (UNF) computer file containing the sensitive information of students may have been accessed by a foreign hacker.