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Blocklist-Update.sh

Blocklist-Update.sh is a script that I wrote to manage blocklists from bluetack etc to be used in conjunction with Transmission torrent downloader in Linux/MacOS. The script can be taylored to work with Qbittorrent as well, but the placement of the blocklists means you'd have to redirect the blocklist to go somewhere locally manageable as Transmission uses its own blocklist directory in .config. I believe there are about 10 lists there now. It works well for my needs. It can be ran weekly using crontab in standard user profile.  To download:  blocklist-update.sh To download the others:  Github
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LINUX AND SECURITY: ANOTHER LINUX TROJAN FOUND

 As seen in a report by the hacker news, yet another Linux trojan has been found. This trojan is using prehacked devices(specifically IoT) to spread spammed email documents. This brings me back to some other security incidents involving Linux. The past year you could say was the year of the kernel flaw. Google stores holding hundreds of malicious apps compatible with Android, various personal exploits, such as the one modeled after the Windows Wannacry were rewritten for Linux. Linux Mint’s own servers getting hacked to allow the attackers access to the Cinnamon edition in an attempt to clone the distro with additional goodies like backdoors. The IT world is full of malicious entities trying to gain access to personal information, including nefarious actors within world governments. Linux has been gaining a following recently and thus, this is why it is being targeted more and more these days. Windows still holds a large margin of the desktop computer share with Windows10 alone reaching above 14%, while Linux is always regarded as more of a thing for servers or something to play with. The truth is that Linux is by far more secure than Windows simply because it is extremely hard to get anything past developers and communities within Linux. The source code is completely open, the accounts are set up in such a way that you have to type in your password for almost everything, you have to turn many services on that are found enabled in Windows or Apple devices by default. While there is something to be said for Google’s decisions to lock down Android devices and the OS to prevent outside tampering, this could also cause it to be rather dificult for the user to prevent certain adware and other unwanted or malicious activity to begin with. It’s impossible to pull open a terminal and set a 3rd party hosts file or clean the trash out with a few simple commands as you can in Linux desktops. It’s also not as easy or convenient to go within Android and review the source code of many of the apps set up by default in Android itself. Android makes it easy to allow 3rd party software to be installed, but you do have to work a little to get it installed. There is no changing the kernel to patch vulnerabilities as there is in the Linux desktop. However, Google is determined to close as many doors on Malware as possible within its Google Play store. Linux follows a similar software installation idea. They only allow clean and reviewed packaged software from servers maintained by developers or trusted affiliate organizations. Often, many distributions of Linux will hold packages slightly longer to test them and prevent malware or other annoyances from getting in to the distribution itself. Many of the developers are very good about keeping the distribution clean, although, sometimes I think Canonical and the Ubuntu developers can be a bit overly zealous with this idea. Many software applications within linux found in the Ubuntu 14.04 release weren’t as fully updated in 16.04 as I would have liked. Using Ubuntu leaves one to have to find certain alternatives. Using Arch-based distributions, though not always user friendly, is the best way to go to ensure fresh, updated software, infact, Google-Chrome was already readily available in Arch, Manjaro, Antergos, etc long before it became easy to install in Ubuntu, and even now, you still have to add repositories in Ubuntu to install it. Finally, Adding repositories is another potential for security disaster as it leaves the user adding the repository to be completely at the mercy of the repository maintainer. The future does bring hope for the Linux desktop. As more and more packages become accessible through “Snap” A genius new way to keep packages and their dependencies together, it allows for easy installation, a possibility of less dependancy upon repositories, and it also makes it much simpler to maintain packages for all sorts of Linux distributions, from Ubuntu to Arch-based, snaps will have you covered. All this is not to say Linux can’t get infected, it’s only that most malware is written for servers.  

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