Sean Michael Kerner

The Metasploit open source vulnerability testing framework is out this week with a new release boosting its exploit count and adding new Java, brute force and exploit automation technologies. Alongside the new Metasploit 3.4 release, Rapid7, the lead commercial vendor behind the project, is releasing a commercial version dubbed Metasploit Express 3.4, offering a new […]

Among the promises of open source software is that there is no vendor lock-in. It’s a promise that new open source startup ForgeRock is aiming to deliver upon by supporting and extending the OpenSSO open source single sign-on and identity management platform formerly supported by Sun Microsystems. Many former Sun employees have found a home […]

Mozilla is now searching for a new CEO. Outgoing chief executive John Lilly announced this week that he plans to step down from the top post at the firm, best known for its Firefox Web browser and a host of other open source projects. Lilly said he will be joining venture capital firm Greylock Partners […]

First there was light beer, and now we’ve got light Linux, courtesy of the Ubuntu Light effort. In an effort to produce a fast-loading Linux operating system, Canonical, the lead sponsor of Ubuntu Linux, is now involved in producing a lighter-weight desktop — codenamed Unity — that will help to power a new version of […]

What do Web users want from their browser? That’s the question the Mozilla will try to answer with the next generation of its open source Web browser, Firefox 4. With Firefox 4, Mozilla plans on including its new Jetpack add-on technology as well as integrating data synchronization with Mozilla Weave while boosting performance and improving […]

Virtualization technology has long found a home in Red Hat’s Fedora community Linux distribution. Ever since Fedora 4 emerged in 2005, virtualization technologies have continued to advance in the distro and that remains the case with the upcoming Fedora 13 release set for later this month. Unlike Fedora’s early virtualization features, which all leveraged the […]

Sitting at the heart of every Linux OS distribution is a Linux kernel. When it comes to the upcoming Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6 release, the issue of which kernel is being used is not a cut and dried answer, however. RHEL 6 is currently in its first beta release, with a feature freeze […]

Since the very first release of Google’s Chrome browser, JavaScript performance has been a key metric used to highlight its speed compared to the competition. This week, with the release of Google Chrome 5.0.375.29 Beta channel edition for Linux, Mac, and Windows, Google is boosting JavaScript performance yet again. Chrome’s JavaScript delivery is powered by […]

Think you can scare Linux vendors into submission with a patent challenge? Think again. Linux vendors Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL) and Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) have won a patent verdict in a Texas jury trial. In an October 2007 lawsuit, intellectual property firm IP Innovation LLC had claimed that the Linux vendors were infringing on its […]

LAS VEGAS — According to IDC analyst Cindy Borovick, 2010 will be the first year in which the number of deployed virtual servers will outnumber the number of physical ones. While the number of virtualized servers are growing, the real driver that IDC is seeing pushing enterprises forward is the need for IT to create […]