Bogdan Deac

PEAKS No. 17: Switch to fish

Hi there! I switched from zsh to fish and it’s faster. Moreover, it works great with the default configuration which makes me happy. I have enough things to tweak. Just give it a try. 🛡️ Security & Privacy * Next.js released version 15.2.3 (and backported patches for v12-14)

PEAKS No. 16: A Book Lover's Digital Discovery

Hi there! I'm always on the hunt for great resources to fuel my learning journey, and books have always been my go-to for structured knowledge. Last week, I stumbled upon something exciting I just had to share - Humble! This fantastic platform offers ebooks and other digital goodies

PEAKS No. 15: Finding Beauty Beyond the Digital World

Last week, two objects arrived at my doorstep: a TIMEMORE Chestnut C3 ESP Pro manual coffee grinder and a Bellroy Folio Mini wallet. Both are true masterpieces of craftsmanship. What struck me was the impeccable attention to detail—the way form, feel, and function harmonize so perfectly in these tangible

PEAKS No. 14: A Lot About Apple

Last week I listened to Matteo Franceschetti from Eight Sleep and now I'm questioning my long-standing belief that caffeine drives my programming performance. It helps for sure, but what if strategic rest could debug my productivity further. We will see 😄. 🛡️ Security & Privacy * Apple has removed its optional

PEAKS No. 13: Zed Editor, Deep Work, and Apple Encryption Risks

Hi there! I hope you're all having a fantastic week. Here are my top highlights from the past few days: * Zed Editor: I recently made the switch from Neovim to Zed, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it! Zed's speed and ease of configuration have won

PEAKS No. 12: Linux UEFI Exploits, Webcam Manipulation, and AI's Latest Moves

Hi there! Last week, I started investigating a strange issue regarding Mendeley citations inserted in a Word document. For some reason, the citations break when the document is opened on another computer, which is the last thing you want to happen before a submission deadline. Nevertheless, I managed to compile

PEAKS No. 11: Security Review of eBPF Verifier, Undersea Internet Cable Outage and Robot Marathon

Hi there! I’m a bit behind on this newsletter issue, but it’s a busy time for me! I hope you find it both useful and interesting. Here are my highlights from last week. 🛡️ Security & Privacy * Reverse engineering the inactivity reboot security feature in iOS 18 available here.

PEAKS No. 10: iOS Auto-Reboot Security, LG's Stretching Screens, and AI's Next Leap

Hi there! We're packed with significant developments across security, AI, and innovation. Apple and Google are stepping up their security game with new features for iOS and Android, while the AI landscape continues to evolve with OpenAI's upcoming autonomous agent. In hardware news, LG's

PEAKS Newsletter No. 9

Hi there! Last week, I did quite a bit of driving and caught up on some great podcasts. I wanted to share my top three takeaways from Nir Eyal's "How to Stay Focused and Beat Distraction": * Only 10% of distractions come from outside sources (like notifications)

PEAKS Newsletter No. 8

Hi there! Just a little tip. This period try to secure your immune system. I recently went out to pick Rosa canina fruits a couple of times, and I had a wonderful time making tea and delicious nectar from them. Did you know that these fruits are packed with vitamin

PEAKS Newsletter No. 7

Hi there! Welcome to this week's tech and security peaks! It's been quite an eventful period, with several critical security vulnerabilities coming to light. But don't worry, I've got you covered. I've also discovered a collection of useful tools that

PEAKS Newsletter No. 6

Hi there! The last week I found a lot of amazing things that I want to share with you. That’s the reason why I publish this issue earlier than it was planned. There are some good to know security updates, handy tools and some tech new, especially about AI.

PEAKS Newsletter No. 5

Hi there! A quick introduction: this issue is packed with eBPF goodness. Enjoy! 🛡️Security & Privacy * Airbnb had 35,000 support tickets regarding surveillance devices found by customers in Aribnb properties in the last decade. More here. * An Authy (2FA app) vulnerability allowed an attacker to obtain the phone numbers

PEAKS Newsletter No. 4

Hey there! It's been a while since I last wrote here. I've been through a busy period with many ups and downs, but things are starting to settle down. Now, I'm back with a new issue that covers the most important security events, awesome

PEAKS Newsletter No. 3

Hello, I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to share an update on my progress this month. As part of my ongoing efforts to achieve the goals I set in July, I've been dedicated to enhancing my skills in the realm of cybersecurity. One of my

PEAKS Newsletter No. 2

Hey there! I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to share some exciting news with you this month regarding my cybersecurity journey. Back in 2020, I successfully completed my master's degree in security, and it was a challenging yet rewarding experience that provided me with a

PEAKS Newsletter No. 1

Hey there! Guess what? I'm super excited to announce that I'm launching a brand-new newsletter! Woohoo! 🎉 And let me tell you, there are a bunch of reasons why this is going to be awesome! First and foremost, this newsletter is going to be a fantastic way

drops

Linker drops

Some notes about linkers, targeting ELF, Linux and C/C++. Basics * A linker is a computer program. It takes one or more object files and combine them into a single executable, library or other object file. * An object file is generated by a compiler or an assembler and is composed

security

Hands-on: Exploit RISC-V CPU using Return-Oriented Programming

In a previous article, I’ve described a step-by-step Return-Oriented Programming (ROP) attack on RISC-V CPU architecture from a theoretical point of view. In this one, I will present a practical attack on a RISC-V CPU deployed on an FPGA. At the end of this article, you will know: * how

debugging

Reverse Debugging and other stories

Debugging can be very hard A bug is an undesired state that makes our system behave in a wrong manner. The symptom can be a crash, a wrong result, an unintended operation, etc. In most cases, the bugs are discovered based on symptoms. However, to solve them we have to

poetry

libpcap

Nu e om fără greșeală, Nu e software fără bug, Vin pachetele-n rafală Și de timp încerc să trag. libpcap-ul dă și zbiară: “Vin într-una, mii si mii, Buffer-ele dau pe-afară, Zi un’ să le pun de știi!” Fibra dă să se topească, Urlă fan-urile-n cor, RAM-ul mai mai să

poetry

Procesoare

Astăzi, în continuare, Rime despre procesoare. Ce este un procesor? Păi, este un gânditor, Ce-i făcut, în mare parte, Din nisip de calitate. El asmute pe octeți Miliarde de MOSFEȚi Și-n tandem ei oscilează, Dau din cozi și procesează, La frecvențe colosale Filmulețele virale. If you enjoy my work please

security

Return oriented programming on RISC-V - Part 1

There is a wide spread tendency nowadays to offload computation tasks from CPU to hardware dedicated units that offer better performance in terms of execution time and performance/watt, compared to generic processors. This approach involves the design of new hardware components, in silicon, that outperform the CPUs in tasks

poetry

Două lumi

Azi vom studia în parte Două lumi îndepărtate. Prima, are stăpânire Peste hardware, peste fire, Dirijează cu succese O orchestră de procese Și mai are în dotare Sistemul de operare. Iar a doua, pricăjită, E de user folosită, Ce privește seriale Din memorii virtuale. If you enjoy my work please

poetry

Vine vine primăvara

Vine vine primăvara, Cu gândaci în toată țara, Colorați, grăsuți, zemoși, Proaspeți de sub pietre scoși. Ei se plimbă pe la soare, Bâzâie, dau din picioare, Și încearcă-n orice mod Să se infiltreze-n cod. Iar pe noi copiii cuminți, Vor să ne scoată din minți. Hai să-i prindem în glosar,