Security Keys Work for Google Employees, Canonical Releases Kernel Update, Plasma 5.14 Wallpaper Revealed, Qmmp Releases New Version, Toshiba Introduces New SSDs

News briefs for July 24, 2018.

Google requires all of its 85,000 employees to use security keys, and it hasn't had one case of account takeover by phishing since, Engadget reports. The security key method is considered to be safer than two-factor authentication that requires codes sent via SMS.

Canonical has released a new kernel update to "fix the regression causing boot failures on 64-bit machines, as well as for OEM processors and systems running on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and other cloud environments", according to Softpedia News. Users of Ubuntu 18.04 and 16.04 LTS should update to the new kernel version as soon as possible. See the Linux kernel regression security notice (USN-3718-1) for more information.

New Plasma 5.14 wallpaper, "Cluster", has been revealed on Ken Vermette's blog. He writes that it's "the first wallpaper for KDE produced using the ever excellent Krita." You can see the full image here.

Qmmp, the Qt-based Linux audio player, recently released version 1.2.3. Changes in the new version include adding qmmp 0.12/1.3 config compatibility, disabling global shortcuts during configuration, fixing some gcc warnings and metadata updating issues and more. Downloads are available here.

Toshiba introduces a new lineup of SSDs based on its 96-layer, BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory. It's the first SSD to use this "breakthrough technology", and "the new XG6 series is targeted to the client PC, high-performance mobile, embedded, and gaming segments—as well as data center environments for boot drives in servers, caching and logging, and commodity storage." According to the press release, "the XG6 series will be available in capacities of 256, 512 and 1,024 gigabytes" and are currently available only as samples to select OEM customers.

Jill Franklin is an editorial professional with more than 17 years experience in technical and scientific publishing, both print and digital. As Executive Editor of Linux Journal, she wrangles writers, develops content, manages projects, meets deadlines and makes sentences sparkle. She also was Managing Editor for TUX and Embedded Linux Journal, and the book Linux in the Workplace. Before entering the Linux and open-source realm, she was Managing Editor of several scientific and scholarly journals, including Veterinary Pathology, The Journal of Mammalogy, Toxicologic Pathology and The Journal of Scientific Exploration. In a previous life, she taught English literature and composition, managed a bookstore and tended bar. When she’s not bugging writers about deadlines or editing copy, she throws pots, gardens and reads. You can contact Jill via e-mail, ljeditor@linuxjournal.com.

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