Security of the mind

 Security is a very dynamic sort of thing quite often.  It changes a lot over time, but it also often stays the same in many ways.  For the average user out there, they only have the know-how to rely on the OS for all potential security threats.  We all have experience using the internet every single day, but some don't utilize the best security tool on earth...  your own sound judgment. But sound judgment often derives from experience.  From experience comes confidence, and from confidence comes a sound mind.  Confidence should never be cocky though, because that will get you into trouble eventually.

When you consider that Apple hasn't offered a security update for a PowerPC OS since 2009...  we really are on our own with OS X.  But that's okay, because we the users dictate how secure we are through our own habits online.  And I am guilty myself of not having the confidence in some to be their own best security in my past writing here.  I don't know if that ever hurt anyone's confidence back then, but I certainly didn't help it either.  This changes now to a personal policy of encouraging confidence once people are put on the right path.  I'm going to instill confidence rather than fear. 

We notice things much easier when of a calm mind, and awareness is very important with security.  

So the point here is don't allow the lack of security updates on OS X to ever stop you from using it online.  Look no further than TenFourFox for modern web compatibility and security.  We really owe so much to Cameron Kaiser, because he alone has kept Mac OS PowerPC a viable internet platform.  So let's give him the respect he deserves.

I have been away from PowerPC Linux for a few years now, and need to re familiarize myself with it again, so for the next few months at least, my writing will be Mac OS related, and to me that's a great place to start after a two year hiatus here.

So for the next few months I will be doing a series of writings on OS X PowerPC security in 2020/2021, and how to best protect yourself.  To instill in you what I have to offer in me to keep yourself safe on operating systems that are 11+ years old now.  Only now instead of a Sawtooth, I'm using a G4 mini that dual boots Tiger and Leopard.

You're all going to have hardened ceramic armour shells when I'm done with you!  I hope you all can deal with that! 

8 comments:

  1. Wise words - looking forward to the series.
    Absolutely agree regarding Cameron Kaiser - his dedication to TFF has been a lifeline to the PPC community.

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  2. Good stuff! I agree, Cameron Kaiser is a godsend. I have two topics to share that are related to this series.

    The first topic is the "Authentication bypass when clock is reset" sudo vulnerability. I cloned the repository at https://github.com/mackyle/sudo-osx-update . I then entered into the cloned directory and ran the included build script.

    The second topic is upgrading bash. I forget the exact security issue with our bundled bash. Using tigerbrew I ran brew install bash. After this completes I added /usr/local/bin/bash to /etc/shells. I also made the built in Mac OS terminal app use /usr/local/bin/bash.

    I look forward to the series!

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  3. Great words. I was missing having good readings in this site.
    BTW.. I'm curious for knowing what hardware authors are running (if any change occurred during this time)

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    1. Hey man. I remember getting an email from you a few months ago, but totally forgetting to respond. Sorry about that. I'm doing well by the way, you?

      As for the author situation... all the authors still have their accounts here, but other than fiftysixk, I have not had any communication with them. We have a pretty easy going vibe around here. So for now it's just myself, fiftysixk and Dronecatcher. But the reboot is still young, so I'm sure the others will notice. But it's totally up to them if they ever post again.

      We were all on a sort of unspoken hiatus for two years. Life happens. :)

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    2. Also, if you ever feel you want to contribute here, then just let me know, and I will send you an author invite.

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  4. Thanks, Doing good too.
    Was a dry time without good reads and inspiration on this blog.
    I owe a lot to this place, when I discovered it I like 8 years ago I had an ibook that was my only computer for years, and was proud of using PowerPC computers since then. Also thanks to this blog I became a sys-admin from being a lineman fixing wires.
    If in the future I could collaborate I will do it.

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  5. It's great to hear from you again!

    PowerPC macs showed me a whole new world out of the Windows ecosystem. Running Debian on PowerPC macs also had a very positive impact on my career. They will always be special to me for those two reasons.

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