by George Whittaker Introduction If you use Linux and occasionally run Windows applications, whether via native Wine or through gaming layers like Proton, youâll appreciate what just dropped in Wine 10.19. Released November 14 2025, this version brings a major enhancement: official support for Windows reparse points, a filesystem feature many Windows apps rely on, and a host of other compatibility upgrades. In simpler terms: Wine now understands more of the Windows filesystem semantics, which means fewer workarounds, better application compatibility, and smoother experiences for many games and tools previously finicky under Linux. What Are Reparse Points & Why They Matter Understanding Reparse Points On Windows, a reparse point is a filesystem object (file or directory) that carries additional data, often used for symbolic links, junctions, mount points, or other redirection features. When an application opens or queries a file, the OS may check the reparse tag to determine special beh
by George Whittaker Introduction Mozilla has rolled out Firefox 145, a significant update that brings a range of usability, security and privacy enhancements, while marking a clear turning point by discontinuing official support for 32-bit Linux systems. For users on older hardware or legacy distros, this change means itâs time to consider moving to a 64-bit environment or opting for a supported version. Hereâs a detailed look at whatâs new, whatâs changed, and what you need to know. Major Changes in Firefox 145 End of 32-Bit Linux Builds One of the headline items in this release is Mozillaâs decision to stop building and distributing Firefox for 32-bit x86 Linux. As per their announcement: â32-bit Linux (on x86) is no longer widely supported by the vast majority of Linux distributions, and maintaining Firefox on this platform has become increasingly difficult and unreliable.â From Firefox 145 onward, only 64-bit (x86_64) and relevant 64-bit architectures (such as ARM64) will be offici
by George Whittaker Introduction The team behind MX Linux has just released version 25, carrying the codename âInfinityâ, and it brings a significant upgrade by building upon the stable base of Debian 13 âTrixieâ. Released on November 9, 2025, this edition doesnât just refresh the desktop, it introduces modernized tooling, updated kernels, dual init-options, and installer enhancements aimed at both newcomers and long-time users. In the sections that follow, weâll walk through the key new features of MX Linux 25, whatâs changed for each desktop edition, recommended upgrade or fresh-install paths, and why this release matters in the wider Linux-distribution ecosystem. Whatâs New in MX Linux 25 âInfinityâ Here are the headline changes and improvements that define this release: Debian 13 âTrixieâ Base By moving to Debian 13, Infinity inherits all the stability, security updates, and broader hardware support of the latest Debian stable release. The base system now aligns with Trixieâs libra
by George Whittaker Arch Linux has shipped its November 2025 ISO snapshot (2025.11.01), and while Arch remains a rolling distribution, these monthly images are a big deal, especially for new installs, labs, and homelab deployments. This time, the ISO lands alongside two important pieces: Archinstall 3.0.12 â a more polished, smarter TUI installer Pacman 7.1 â a package manager update with stricter security and better tooling If youâve been thinking about spinning up a fresh Arch box, or youâre curious what changed under the hood, this release is a very nice jumping-on point. Why Arch Still Ships Monthly ISOs in a Rolling World Arch is famous for its âinstall once, update foreverâ model. Technically, you could install from a two-year-old image and just run: sudo pacman -Syu âŚbut in practice, thatâs painful: Huge initial update downloads Possible breakage jumping across many months of changes Outdated installer tooling Thatâs why the project publishes a monthly snapshot ISO: it rolls all
by George Whittaker AMD has officially confirmed a high-severity security vulnerability in its new Zen 5âbased CPUs, and itâs a nasty one because it hits cryptography right at the source: the hardware random number generator. Hereâs a clear breakdown of whatâs going on, how bad it really is, and what you should do if youâre running Zen 5. What AMD Just Confirmed AMDâs security bulletin AMD-SB-7055, now tracked as CVE-2025-62626, describes a bug in the RDSEED instruction on Zen 5 processors. Under certain conditions, the CPU can: Return the value 0 from RDSEED far more often than true randomness would allow Still signal âsuccessâ (carry flag CF=1), so software thinks it got a good random value The issue affects the 16-bit and 32-bit forms of RDSEED on Zen 5; the 64-bit form is not affected. Because RDSEED is used to feed cryptographically secure random number generators (CSPRNGs), a broken RDSEED can poison keys, tokens, and other security-critical values. AMD classifies the impact as:
by George Whittaker The Linux kernel, foundational for servers, desktops, embedded systems, and cloud infrastructure, has been under heightened scrutiny. Several vulnerabilities have been exploited in real-world attacks, targeting critical subsystems and isolation layers. In this article, weâll walk through major examples, explain their significance, and offer actionable guidance for defenders. CVE-2025-21756 â Use-After-Free in the vsock Subsystem One of the most alarming flaws this year involves a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernelâs vsock implementation (Virtual Socket), which enables communication between virtual machines and their hosts. How the exploit works: A malicious actor inside a VM (or other privileged context) manipulates reference counters when a vsock transport is reassigned. The code ends up freeing a socket object while itâs still in use, enabling memory corruption and potentially root-level access. Why it matters: Since vsock is used for VM-to-host and
by George Whittaker The speculation around a successor to the Steam Deck has stirred renewed excitement, not just for a new handheld, but for what it signals in Linux-based gaming. With whispers of next-gen specs, deeper integration of SteamOS, and an evolving handheld PC ecosystem, these rumors are fueling broader hopes that Linux gaming is entering a more mature age. In this article we look at the existing rumors, how they tie into the Linux gaming landscape, why this matters, and what to watch. What the Rumours Suggest Although Valve has kept things quiet, multiple credible outlets report about the Steam Deck 2 being in development and potentially arriving well after 2026. Some of the key tid-bits: Editorials note that Valve isnât planning a mere spec refresh; it wants a âgenerational leap in compute without sacrificing battery lifeâ. A leaked hardware slide pointed to an AMD âMagnusâ-class APU built on Zen 6 architecture being tied to next-gen handhelds, including speculation about
by George Whittaker Introduction The popular penetration-testing distribution Kali Linux has dropped its latest quarterly snapshot: version 2025.3. This release continues the tradition of the rolling-release model used by the project, offering users and security professionals a refreshed toolkit, broader hardware support (especially wireless), and infrastructure enhancements under the hood. With this update, the distribution aims to streamline lab setups, bolster wireless hacking capabilities (particularly on Raspberry Pi devices), and integrate modern workflows including automated VMs and LLM-based tooling. In this article, weâll walk through the key highlights of Kali Linux 2025.3, how the changes affect users (both old and new), the upgrade path, and what to keep in mind for real-world deployment. Whatâs New in Kali Linux 2025.3 This snapshot from the Kali team brings several categories of improvements: tooling, wireless/hardware support, architecture changes, virtualization/image w
by George Whittaker Introduction In the world of modern CPUs, speculative execution, where a processor guesses ahead on branches and executes instructions before the actual code path is confirmed, has long been recognized as a performance booster. However, it has also given rise to a class of vulnerabilities collectively known as âSpectreâ attacks, where microarchitectural side states (such as the branch target buffer, caches, or predictor state) are mis-exploited to leak sensitive data. Now, a new attack variant, dubbed VMScape, exposes a previously under-appreciated weakness: the isolation between a guest virtual machine and its host (or hypervisor) in the branch predictor domain. In simpler terms: a malicious VM can influence the CPUâs branch predictor in such a way that when control returns to the host, secrets in the host or hypervisor can be exposed. This has major implications for cloud security, virtualization environments, and kernel/hypervisor protections. In this article weâ
by George Whittaker Introduction Modern computing systems rely heavily on operating-system schedulers to allocate CPU time fairly and efficiently. Yet many of these schedulers operate blindly with respect to the meaning of workloads: they cannot distinguish, for example, whether a task is latency-sensitive or batch-oriented. This mismatch, between application semantics and scheduler heuristics, is often referred to as the semantic gap. A recent research framework called SchedCP aims to close that gap. By using autonomous LLMâbased agents, the system analyzes workload characteristics, selects or synthesizes custom scheduling policies, and safely deploys them into the kernel, without human intervention. This represents a meaningful step toward self-optimizing, application-aware kernels. In this article we will explore what SchedCP is, how it works under the hood, the evidence of its effectiveness, real-world implications, and what caveats remain. Why the Problem Matters At the heart of t
by George Whittaker Introduction After years of debate and development, bcachefsâa modern copy-on-write filesystem once merged into the Linux kernelâis being removed from mainline. As of kernel 6.17, the in-kernel implementation has been excised, and future use is expected via an out-of-tree DKMS module. This marks a turning point for the bcachefs project, raising questions about its stability, adoption, and relationship with the kernel development community. In this article, weâll explore the background of bcachefs, the sequence of events leading to its removal, the technical and community dynamics involved, and implications for users, distributions, and the filesystemâs future. What Is Bcachefs? Before diving into the removal, letâs recap what bcachefs is and why it attracted attention. Origin & goals: Developed by Kent Overstreet, bcachefs emerged from ideas in the earlier bcache project (a block-device caching layer). It aimed to build a full-featured, general-purpose filesystem co
by George Whittaker Introduction The Linux Mint team has officially unveiled Linux Mint 22.2, codenamed âZaraâ, on September 4, 2025. As a Long-Term Support (LTS) release, Zara will receive updates through 2029, promising users stability, incremental improvements, and a comfortable desktop experience. This version is not about flashy overhauls; rather, itâs about refinement â applying polish to existing features, smoothing rough edges, weaving in new conveniences (like fingerprint login), and improving compatibility with modern hardware. Below, weâll delve into whatâs new in Zara, what users should know before upgrading, and how it continues Mintâs philosophy of combining usability, reliability, and elegance. Whatâs New in Linux Mint 22.2 âZaraâ Hereâs a breakdown of key changes, refinements, and enhancements in Zara. Base, Support & Kernel Stack Ubuntu 24.04 (Noble) base: Zara continues to use Ubuntu 24.04 as its upstream base, ensuring broad package compatibility and long-term securi
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