My Gentoo based Linux laptop which is still running the older kernel 5.3.15. A short while back, I had a failed attempt to upgrade the kernel to 5.4.2 as the disk which encrypted with dm-crypt couldn’t be decrypted on boot. Since the older kernel 5.3.15 was working fine and free time was I what I lacked of, it seemed logical to just not doing anything about it. Today while updating all the packages on my Gentoo laptop, I notice there was a newer kernel available: 5.6.3. So let’s try to install this newest kernel again and see if the issue with Luks/dm-crypt still persists. ...

On Linux to list running services and open ports, I either use netstat or ss (socket stat?) most recently. Though netstat is available on FreeBSD, the syntax is completely different. Today, I have the need to list the running services with the port display. On FreeBSD, we can do this using sockstat command. root@bsd1:~ # sockstat -4 -l USER COMMAND PID FD PROTO LOCAL ADDRESS FOREIGN ADDRESS minio minio 49274 10 tcp46 *:9000 *:* root sendmail 675 4 tcp4 127.0.0.1:25 *:* root sshd 672 4 tcp4 *:22 *:* ntpd ntpd 616 21 udp4 *:123 *:* ntpd ntpd 616 22 udp4 149.171.180.154:123 *:* ntpd ntpd 616 25 udp4 127.0.0.1:123 *:* root syslogd 523 7 udp4 *:514 *:* Here are some other options which can be passed to the sockstat command: ...

Lenovo has “quietely” released another firmware (1.46) for ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 6. Changes in this release: CHANGES IN THIS RELEASE Version 1.46 [Important updates] - Update includes a security fix. [New functions or enhancements] Nothing. [Problem fixes] Nothing. I am not able to find out what the “important security fix” is. However, I’m happy to report that the firmware update went well on X1 Carbon Gen 6 running Fedora 31. ...

If you’re still running ThinkPad P1 Gen 1 (Type 20MD, 20ME) like me, there is an exciting news, at least to me. Lenovo just released a new BIOS/UEFI firmware updated at version 1.27 on Mar 20, 2020. Changes in this releases: CHANGES IN THIS RELEASE Version 1.27 [Important updates] - Addresses CVE-2019-0185 (https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2019-0185) Refer to Lenovo's Security Advisory page for additionalinformation about LEN-27714 "Multi-vendor BIOS Security Vulnerabilities". (https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/product_security/LEN-27714) - Security fix addresses LEN-29406 "ST Microelectronics TPM Firmware ECDSA Signature Generation Vulnerability". Refer to Lenovo's Security Advisory page for additionalinformation. (https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/solutions/LEN-29406) - Addresses CVE-2019-14607 (https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2019-14607) [New functions or enhancements] - Updated the CPU microcode. - Supported BIOS password authentication before entering into MEBx. [Problem fixes] - Nothing. On a Fedora (31/32) laptop, to update the firmware is very easy nowaday. Here are the 2 commands to run: ...

Though a new firmware was release for ThinkPad X1 Carbon G6 since last month, 2020/01/23, I only found about this today. Unlike the firmware for Dell’s laptop, once can easily update it with fwupmgr if your Linux system supports it. Here’s what’s changed in this release. CHANGES IN THIS RELEASE Version 1.45 <1.45> UEFI: 1.45 / ECP: 1.20 - (Fix) Fixed an issue where a system hardware controller device might disappear at 2nd boot. To update it on Fedora 31, run: ...