For my NetBSD install I wanted to include _disk encryption_ to protect personal data in case the device is lost or stolen.

Its not really enough to simply encrypt home directories. Passphrases and sensitive data can linger and be extracted from locations such as system logs and swap memory. There is a trade-off to be made between how much to encrypt, the convenience of operating the system, and the ability for the system to boot.

This is how I do it...

https://www.dwarmstrong.org/netbsd-encrypt-install/

#NetBSD #RunBSD

Next #swad improvement: Make sure to #wipe #passwords from RAM directly after used. That's more of a #security precaution, because there *should* be no way how an attacker can access a running process' memory, but you never know which bugs surface 🙈.

Unexpectedly, that posed #portability issues. #C11 has #memset_s ... a pretty weird function, but suitable for wiping. It's there on #FreeBSD and on #OpenBSD. Not on #NetBSD though. But NetBSD offers the much saner #C23 function #memset_explicit. Looking at #Linux, there's neither. But there is the (non-standard!) #explicit_bzero 🤯 .. and with glibc, it requires _DEFAULT_SOURCE to be defined as soon as you compile with a C standard version given to the compiler. This function exists on some other systems as well, but there's confusion whether it should be declared in string.h or strings.h. 🤪

Here's the full set of compile-tests I'm now doing, only to find the best way to really erase memory:
https://github.com/Zirias/swad/blob/master/src/bin/swad/swad.mk#L6

And if none of these functions is found, swad uses the "hacky" way that most likely works as well: Access the normal memset function via a volatile pointer.

Mmm parallel seem to have some troubles on NetBSD. Sometimes it's just stuck, doesn't start to process the task.
For now, when BSSG will detect it's running on NetBSD, it will use the slower but more reliable sequential build process

#BSSG #NetBSD

Does #NetBSD support ZRAM?

About the #random thingie ... I need random data in #swad to generate unpredictable #session IDs.

I previously had an implementation trying the #Linux-originating #getrandom if available, with a fallback to a stupid internal #xorshift #PRNG, which could be disabled because it's obviously NOT cryptographically secure, and WAS disabled for the generation of session IDs.

Then I learned #arc4random is available on many systems nowadays (#FreeBSD, #NetBSD, even Linux with a recent-enough glibc), so I decided to add a compile check for it and replace the whole mess with nothing but an arc4random call IF it is available.

arc4random originates from #OpenBSD and provides the only sane way to get cryptographically secure random data. It automatically and transparently (re-)seeds from OS entropy sources, but uses an internal CSPRNG most of the time (nowadays typically #ChaCha20, so it's a misnomer, but hey ...). It never fails, it never blocks. It just works. Awesome.

Look at my makeshift exhibit at #IndyClassic!

#NetBSD #retrocomputing

Alt...

A Dell Dimension 4300 running a modern web browser (BadWolf) on NetBSD.

Latest 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱/𝟬𝟰/𝟭𝟰 (Valuable News - 2025/04/14) available.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2025/04/14/valuable-news-2025-04-14/

Past releases: https://vermaden.wordpress.com/news/

#verblog #vernews #news #bsd #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #linux #unix #zfs #opnsense #ghostbsd #solaris #vermadenday

@bsd_nl conference day at Maximus Brewery in Utrecht

A lovely day with a great beer 🍻 on the sunny terrace. 🏝️

Thanks to the organizers and speakers @kp #PF firewall and Benedict Reuschling #OpenZFS

#openbsd #freebsd #netbsd

Alt...

Bsdnl conference Opening

@sborrill

Interesting, though, that #NetBSD is associated with bearded warriors and orange flags on... fire?

I thought #OpenBSD was more of the flame war operating system?

(I kid! I kid!)

@bentsukun @stefano @justine

@stefano @justine Or the #NetBSD guys are putting together a posse to convince you of the error of your ways

@stefano @justine @stablehorde_generator generated the following artist's impression of the #NetBSD posse

Alt...

Bearded warriors holding orange flags

ostan101, saw this Linux only meme added some flavour for BSDs 😜 #RunBSD #DragonflyBSD #FreeBSD #NetBSD #OpenBSD

./build.sh #NetBSD

@ryoon I do but on my desktop, and I work on a laptop most of the time. I only have unaccelerated graphics, which is slow. But Chromium works well on #NetBSD current.

Framework Laptop 12 is now on pre-order:

https://frame.work/fr/en/products/laptop12-diy-intel-13gen/configuration/new

That little machine looks gorgeous and the prices are surprisingly reasonable.

I have to resist ordering such a machine for #OpenBSD 7.7...

What about #NetBSD 10.1?

But is it supported by BSD...? Only one way to find out! 🤓

Launching BSSG - My Journey from Dynamic CMS to Bash Static Site Generator

https://it-notes.dragas.net/2025/04/07/launching-bssg-my-journey-from-dynamic-cms-to-bash-static-site-generator/

#ITNotes #NoteHUB #blogging #bssg #freebsd #linux #netbsd #openbsd #ownyourdata #server #ssg #web

I just launched the new @BoxyBSD self-service portal where you can finally manage your BSD based box instances on your own - and I really love this minimalistic and terminal alike design.

The installer currently supports #FreeBSD, #OpenBSD, #NetBSD, #DragonflyBSD, #MidnightBSD and also #Illumos (#OpenSolaris).

Have fun and #RUNBSD!

Registration for BSDCan 2025 is open!

Tutorials Jun 11-12
Talks & BOFs Jun 13-14,

See https://blog.bsdcan.org/blog/ and register at https://www.bsdcan.org/2025/registration.html

#bsdcan #conference #unixlike #bsd #netbsd #freebsd #openbsd #freesoftware #development #sysadmin #devops #security #networking #libresoftware

@usul

... On #NetBSD ???

What in the holy name of Cthulhu is this?

@jpmens

At EuroBSDCon 2025, we're eager to read your paper, BOF or tutorial submission!

Please go to https://2025.eurobsdcon.org/ for info, submit at https://events.eurobsdcon.org/2025/cfp

See you in Zagreb in September!

#eurobsdcon #conference #unixlike #bsd #netbsd #freebsd #openbsd #freesoftware #development #devops #sysadmin #networking #libresoftware #security

All right, pkgsrc 2025Q1 has just been announced on the mailing lists.

It's not even on pkgsrc.org yet! 😉

#pkgsrc #NetBSD

Happy #WorldSparrowDay! By the NetBSD community. Just like these resilient little birds, #NetBSD is adaptable and thrives in diverse environments. Let's appreciate the small but mighty! 🐦💻 #OpenSource #Linux #MacOS #RunBSD

Registration is open for #bsdcan, program published - see the blog post at https://blog.bsdcan.org/2025/03/18/bsdcan-2025-talks-tutorials-and-registration/ for details, or go to https://bsdcan.org (direct to registration link: https://indico.bsdcan.org/event/5/registrations/8/) #bsd #unix #openbsd #freebsd #netbsd #development #devops #sysadmin #freesoftware #libresoftware

Now that it's official, I can announce it - although I may have dropped a few hints earlier! 😉

My talk "Why (and how) we’re migrating many of our servers from Linux to the BSDs" has been accepted, and I’ll be honored to present it in June at BSDCan in Ottawa.

The joy of meeting BSD friends in person again (and those I haven’t had the chance to meet live yet) will be immense, and the honor of sharing my story in Canada is truly beyond measure, especially considering the level of other talks and all the people attending.

Of course, I’ll be bringing various BSD Cafe gadgets with me!

For more information, here’s @mwl 's post with further details: https://blog.bsdcan.org/2025/03/18/bsdcan-2025-talks-tutorials-and-registration/

#BSDCan #RunBSD #BSD #FreeBSD #NetBSD #OpenBSD

EuroBSDcon 2025 in Zagreb

- Call for Papers runs until June 21st, 2025 https://2025.eurobsdcon.org/cfp/

Conference 2025-09-25 - 2025-09-28

Tutorials September 25-26 2025
Talks September 27-28 2025

https://2025.eurobsdcon.org/

#eurobsdcon #bsd #unix #conference #openbsd #freebsd #netbsd #development #devops #sysadmin

Latest 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 - 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱/𝟬𝟯/𝟭𝟳 (Valuable News - 2025/03/17) available.

https://vermaden.wordpress.com/2025/03/17/valuable-news-2025-03-17/

Past releases: https://vermaden.wordpress.com/news/

#verblog #vernews #news #bsd #freebsd #openbsd #netbsd #linux #unix #zfs #opnsense #ghostbsd #solaris #vermadenday

Well, I did not go back to the gym and I certainly did not install #NetBSD today...

Ah well, there is always tomorrow.

Oh wait, tomorrow is Monday... ☹️

@tripplehelix

I'm guessing you're taking about #FreeBSD.

Both #NetBSD and #OpenBSD give you a working #X11 immediately after install.

#NomadBSD even gives you #xfce