#kenthompson — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #kenthompson, aggregated by home.social.
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¿Sabían que el desarrollo del sistema operativo Unix no comenzó como un proyecto corporativo oficial, sino como una iniciativa personal de Ken Thompson para poder ejecutar un videojuego?
En 1969, tras el retiro de los Laboratorios Bell del proyecto Multics, Thompson buscaba una plataforma para correr "Space Travel", un simulador de vuelo espacial que él mismo había diseñado. Al no contar con un entorno adecuado en la computadora GE 635 —donde cada partida costaba aproximadamente 75 dólares de tiempo de procesamiento—, Thompson localizó una antigua DEC PDP-7 con apenas 8 KB de memoria y comenzó a escribir un sistema de archivos y un núcleo básico desde cero.
Este sistema inicial fue bautizado originalmente como UNICS (Uniplexed Information and Computing Service), un juego de palabras y una parodia directa hacia "Multics", el complejo sistema que pretendía reemplazar. Fue Brian Kernighan quien sugirió cambiar la ortografía a "Unix" tiempo después. Un detalle interesante es que la primera versión fue escrita íntegramente en lenguaje ensamblador; no fue sino hasta 1973 cuando Dennis Ritchie y Thompson lograron reescribir el núcleo en lenguaje C, una decisión revolucionaria que permitió que el sistema fuera portable a diferentes arquitecturas de hardware, rompiendo la dependencia absoluta entre el software y una máquina específica.
Otro hecho que define la informática moderna es el "Tiempo Unix" o "Epoch". Los sistemas basados en Unix miden el tiempo contando los segundos transcurridos desde la medianoche UTC del 1 de enero de 1970. Esta convención elegida por su simplicidad aritmética, implica que muchos sistemas actuales enfrentarán el "Efecto 2038", un desbordamiento de memoria que ocurrirá el 19 de enero de ese año cuando los contadores de 32 bits alcancen su límite máximo. Este legado, nacido de la necesidad de optimizar recursos en una máquina con menos potencia que una calculadora de bolsillo actual, es el cimiento sobre el cual operan hoy Linux, macOS y la infraestructura global de servidores.
#Unix #Historia #Computación #KenThompson #DennisRitchie #Tecnología
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#KenThompson Recalls #Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins
Thompson's vivid recollection of rowdy roomful of geeks at #BellLabs who built the digital world in a spirit of open play.
What comes through is his gratefulness for people he’d worked with, and opportunity they’d had to all experiment together in an open environment to explore the limits of new and emerging technologies. It’s a tale of curiosity, a playful sense of serendipity and the enduring value of a community.
https://thenewstack.io/ken-thompson-recalls-unixs-rowdy-lock-picking-origins/ -
#KenThompson Recalls #Unix’s Rowdy, Lock-Picking Origins
Thompson's vivid recollection of rowdy roomful of geeks at #BellLabs who built the digital world in a spirit of open play.
What comes through is his gratefulness for people he’d worked with, and opportunity they’d had to all experiment together in an open environment to explore the limits of new and emerging technologies. It’s a tale of curiosity, a playful sense of serendipity and the enduring value of a community.
https://thenewstack.io/ken-thompson-recalls-unixs-rowdy-lock-picking-origins/ -
🤔 Oh, Russ Cox, you've saved us from the cutting-edge topic of... 1983! 🕰️ Let's revisit a lecture old enough to vote, because who doesn't love reminiscing about supply chain security with Ken Thompson, the granddaddy of trust issues? 🎩🔧
https://research.swtch.com/nih #HackerNews #RussCox #SupplyChainSecurity #KenThompson #TechHistory #HackerNews #ngated -
🤔 Oh, Russ Cox, you've saved us from the cutting-edge topic of... 1983! 🕰️ Let's revisit a lecture old enough to vote, because who doesn't love reminiscing about supply chain security with Ken Thompson, the granddaddy of trust issues? 🎩🔧
https://research.swtch.com/nih #HackerNews #RussCox #SupplyChainSecurity #KenThompson #TechHistory #HackerNews #ngated -
Libro Filosofía ante la crisis ecológica, de Marta Tafalla (resumen)
https://blogsostenible.wordpress.com/2022/08/17/libro-filosofia-ante-la-crisis-ecologica-de-marta-tafalla-tafallamarta-resumen/ #Androcentrismo, #Animales, #Antropocentrismo, #ArthurW.Galston, #CarolJ.Adams, #CrisisAmbiental, #CrisisClimática, #Ecofeminismo, #EnfermedadZoonótica, #KenThompson, #Macrogranjas, #MartaTafalla, #Rewilding, #SolucionesALaCrisis, #ValPlumwood
@blogsostenible
#ProfesPorElFuturoRadio3 -
Libro Filosofía ante la crisis ecológica, de Marta Tafalla (resumen)
https://blogsostenible.wordpress.com/2022/08/17/libro-filosofia-ante-la-crisis-ecologica-de-marta-tafalla-tafallamarta-resumen/
#Androcentrismo, #Animales, #Antropocentrismo, #CrisisAmbiental, #CrisisClimática, #Ecofeminismo, #EnfermedadZoonótica, #KenThompson, #Macrogranjas, #MartaTafalla, #Rewilding, #SolucionesALaCrisis, #ValPlumwood
@blogsostenible
#ProfesPorElFuturoRadio3 -
Libro Filosofía ante la crisis ecológica, de Marta Tafalla (resumen)
https://blogsostenible.wordpress.com/2022/08/17/libro-filosofia-ante-la-crisis-ecologica-de-marta-tafalla-tafallamarta-resumen/
#Androcentrismo, #Animales, #Antropocentrismo, #CrisisAmbiental, #CrisisClimática, #Ecofeminismo, #EnfermedadZoonótica, #KenThompson, #Macrogranjas, #MartaTafalla, #Rewilding, #SolucionesALaCrisis, #ValPlumwood
@blogsostenible
#ProfesPorElFuturoRadio3 -
Libro Filosofía ante la crisis ecológica, de Marta Tafalla (resumen)
https://blogsostenible.wordpress.com/2022/08/17/libro-filosofia-ante-la-crisis-ecologica-de-marta-tafalla-tafallamarta-resumen/ #Androcentrismo, #Animales, #Antropocentrismo, #ArthurW.Galston, #CarolJ.Adams, #CrisisAmbiental, #CrisisClimática, #Ecofeminismo, #EnfermedadZoonótica, #KenThompson, #Macrogranjas, #MartaTafalla, #Rewilding, #SolucionesALaCrisis, #ValPlumwood
@blogsostenible
#ProfesPorElFuturoRadio3 -
Libro Filosofía ante la crisis ecológica, de Marta Tafalla (resumen)
https://blogsostenible.wordpress.com/2022/08/17/libro-filosofia-ante-la-crisis-ecologica-de-marta-tafalla-tafallamarta-resumen/
#Androcentrismo, #Animales, #Antropocentrismo, #CrisisAmbiental, #CrisisClimática, #Ecofeminismo, #EnfermedadZoonótica, #KenThompson, #Macrogranjas, #MartaTafalla, #Rewilding, #SolucionesALaCrisis, #ValPlumwood
@blogsostenible
#ProfesPorElFuturoRadio3 -
This was a well-spent 4.5 hours 🙇🏽🤩:
“Oral History Of Ken Thompson” [2025], Computer History Museum (https://youtu.be/OmVHkL0IWk4).
“A Computing Legend Speaks”, David Brock, CHM (https://computerhistory.org/blog/a-computing-legend-speaks/).
#Unix #BellLabs #C #OralHistory #ComputerHistory #KenThompson
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This was a well-spent 4.5 hours 🙇🏽🤩:
“Oral History Of Ken Thompson” [2025], Computer History Museum (https://youtu.be/OmVHkL0IWk4).
“A Computing Legend Speaks”, David Brock, CHM (https://computerhistory.org/blog/a-computing-legend-speaks/).
#Unix #BellLabs #C #OralHistory #ComputerHistory #KenThompson
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Ken Thompson recalls Unix's rowdy, lock-picking origins
https://thenewstack.io/ken-thompson-recalls-unixs-rowdy-lock-picking-origins/
#HackerNews #KenThompson #UnixHistory #TechInnovation #SoftwareDevelopment #LockPicking
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Ken Thompson recalls Unix's rowdy, lock-picking origins
https://thenewstack.io/ken-thompson-recalls-unixs-rowdy-lock-picking-origins/
#HackerNews #KenThompson #UnixHistory #TechInnovation #SoftwareDevelopment #LockPicking
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🚪👋 Ian Lance Taylor says goodbye to Google after only 19 years and a side project called Go that no one's ever heard of 🤔. Apparently, he's been blessed to work with some obscure names like Rob Pike and Ken Thompson 🙄. Who knew Go would become “just another programming language”? 🎉
https://www.airs.com/blog/archives/670 #IanLanceTaylor #GoodbyeGoogle #GoProgramming #RobPike #KenThompson #HackerNews #ngated -
🚪👋 Ian Lance Taylor says goodbye to Google after only 19 years and a side project called Go that no one's ever heard of 🤔. Apparently, he's been blessed to work with some obscure names like Rob Pike and Ken Thompson 🙄. Who knew Go would become “just another programming language”? 🎉
https://www.airs.com/blog/archives/670 #IanLanceTaylor #GoodbyeGoogle #GoProgramming #RobPike #KenThompson #HackerNews #ngated -
Ken Thompson vuela un MiG.
Además de pionero del cómputo, del
lenguaje B, compiladores, Multics, UNIX, Plan9, UTF8, Go, máquinas de ajedrez computado, etc, a Ken Thompson le gustaba volar aviones. Despuntó el vicio en esto de ir a Rusia para volar en un MiG-29 Fulcrum.Como si fuese un relato de un viaje, aprovechó la web de los Bell Labs para contar la aventura:
gopher://texto-plano.xyz:70/0/~peron/docs/ken_thompson_mig.txt
#gopher #kenthompson #unix #mig -
Ken Thompson vuela un MiG.
Además de pionero del cómputo, del
lenguaje B, compiladores, Multics, UNIX, Plan9, UTF8, Go, máquinas de ajedrez computado, etc, a Ken Thompson le gustaba volar aviones. Despuntó el vicio en esto de ir a Rusia para volar en un MiG-29 Fulcrum.Como si fuese un relato de un viaje, aprovechó la web de los Bell Labs para contar la aventura:
gopher://texto-plano.xyz:70/0/~peron/docs/ken_thompson_mig.txt
#gopher #kenthompson #unix #mig -
Vývoj jazyka C - text Dennise Ritchieho o počátcích C v rocích 1969-73
#c #Cprogramminglanguage #programming #DennisRitchie #KenThompson #unix #history #computers #paper #translation #preklad #historie #jazykC #retropocitace
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Vývoj jazyka C - text Dennise Ritchieho o počátcích C v rocích 1969-73
#c #Cprogramminglanguage #programming #DennisRitchie #KenThompson #unix #history #computers #paper #translation #preklad #historie #jazykC #retropocitace
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Vývoj jazyka C - text Dennise Ritchieho o počátcích C v rocích 1969-73
#c #Cprogramminglanguage #programming #DennisRitchie #KenThompson #unix #history #computers #paper #translation #preklad #historie #jazykC #retropocitace
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Vývoj jazyka C - text Dennise Ritchieho o počátcích C v rocích 1969-73
#c #Cprogramminglanguage #programming #DennisRitchie #KenThompson #unix #history #computers #paper #translation #preklad #historie #jazykC #retropocitace
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Vývoj jazyka C - text Dennise Ritchieho o počátcích C v rocích 1969-73
#c #Cprogramminglanguage #programming #DennisRitchie #KenThompson #unix #history #computers #paper #translation #preklad #historie #jazykC #retropocitace
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I implemented Ken Thompson’s Reflections on Trusting Trust (1984 Turing Award Lecture) compiler #backdoor for the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC). The backdoor maintains persistence by re-injecting itself to any new versions of the compiler built. The secondary payload modifies a test application by adding a backdoor password to allow authentication bypass:
$ cat testapp.c
#include <string.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
if (argc == 2 && !strcmp(argv[1], "secret"))
{
printf("access granted!\n");
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}
else
{
printf("access denied!\n");
return EXIT_FAILURE;
}
}
$ gcc -Wall -O2 -o testapp.c -o testapp
$ ./testapp kensentme
access granted!
$I spent most time (around two hours) writing the generalized tooling that produces the final quine version of the malicious payload. Now that this is done, the actual code can be adjusted trivially to exploit more target code without any need to adjust the self-reproducing section of the code. This method of exploitation could be extended to target various binaries: SSH Server, Linux Kernel, Setuid binaries and similar. While itself written in C, the secondary payloads can target any programming languages supported by GCC.
It should be noted that GCC build checks for malicious compiler changes such as this. This check can – of course – also be bypassed. However, most serious projects have measures in place to avoid hacks of this nature.
Some links:
- Ken Thompson's "Reflections on Trusting Trust" paper: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rdriley/487/papers/Thompson_1984_ReflectionsonTrustingTrust.pdf
- David A. Wheeler: "Fully Countering Trusting Trust through Diverse Double-Compiling (DDC) - Countering Trojan Horse attacks on Compilers" https://dwheeler.com/trusting-trust/#hacking #exploitdevelopment #kenthompson #infosec #cybersecurity @vegard
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I implemented Ken Thompson’s Reflections on Trusting Trust (1984 Turing Award Lecture) compiler #backdoor for the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC). The backdoor maintains persistence by re-injecting itself to any new versions of the compiler built. The secondary payload modifies a test application by adding a backdoor password to allow authentication bypass:
$ cat testapp.c
#include <string.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
if (argc == 2 && !strcmp(argv[1], "secret"))
{
printf("access granted!\n");
return EXIT_SUCCESS;
}
else
{
printf("access denied!\n");
return EXIT_FAILURE;
}
}
$ gcc -Wall -O2 -o testapp.c -o testapp
$ ./testapp kensentme
access granted!
$I spent most time (around two hours) writing the generalized tooling that produces the final quine version of the malicious payload. Now that this is done, the actual code can be adjusted trivially to exploit more target code without any need to adjust the self-reproducing section of the code. This method of exploitation could be extended to target various binaries: SSH Server, Linux Kernel, Setuid binaries and similar. While itself written in C, the secondary payloads can target any programming languages supported by GCC.
It should be noted that GCC build checks for malicious compiler changes such as this. This check can – of course – also be bypassed. However, most serious projects have measures in place to avoid hacks of this nature.
Some links:
- Ken Thompson's "Reflections on Trusting Trust" paper: https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rdriley/487/papers/Thompson_1984_ReflectionsonTrustingTrust.pdf
- David A. Wheeler: "Fully Countering Trusting Trust through Diverse Double-Compiling (DDC) - Countering Trojan Horse attacks on Compilers" https://dwheeler.com/trusting-trust/#hacking #exploitdevelopment #kenthompson #infosec #cybersecurity @vegard
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"Interview With Ken Thompson, May 1999", Computer (https://www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/archive/spring03/cs333/thompson).
Via HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39674931
#ComputerHistory #Unix #BellLabs #C #Plan9 #Limbo #Inferno #Linux #Interview #KenThompson
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"Interview With Ken Thompson, May 1999", Computer (https://www.cs.princeton.edu/courses/archive/spring03/cs333/thompson).
Via HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39674931
#ComputerHistory #Unix #BellLabs #C #Plan9 #Limbo #Inferno #Linux #Interview #KenThompson
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The shameful and shady attempt to subvert #democracy in #Michigan by the #Trump #FakeElectors as part of the #January6th #FailedCoupAttempt are highlighted today by @Wikipedia 👉 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_prosecution_of_fake_electors
The names of those involved are:
#LauraCox
#TerriLynnLand
#KenThompson
#MeshawnMaddock
#MatthewMaddock
#MicheleLundgren
#DaireRendon
#KathyBerden
#MayraRodriguez
Please add additional #FalseElectors in replies to help #SaveAmerica. 🙏 -
The shameful and shady attempt to subvert #democracy in #Michigan by the #Trump #FakeElectors as part of the #January6th #FailedCoupAttempt are highlighted today by @Wikipedia 👉 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_prosecution_of_fake_electors
The names of those involved are:
#LauraCox
#TerriLynnLand
#KenThompson
#MeshawnMaddock
#MatthewMaddock
#MicheleLundgren
#DaireRendon
#KathyBerden
#MayraRodriguez
Please add additional #FalseElectors in replies to help #SaveAmerica. 🙏 -
The shameful and shady attempt to subvert #democracy in #Michigan by the #Trump #FakeElectors as part of the #January6th #FailedCoupAttempt are highlighted today by @Wikipedia 👉 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_prosecution_of_fake_electors
The names of those involved are:
#LauraCox
#TerriLynnLand
#KenThompson
#MeshawnMaddock
#MatthewMaddock
#MicheleLundgren
#DaireRendon
#KathyBerden
#MayraRodriguez
Please add additional #FalseElectors in replies to help #SaveAmerica. 🙏 -
The shameful and shady attempt to subvert #democracy in #Michigan by the #Trump #FakeElectors as part of the #January6th #FailedCoupAttempt are highlighted today by @Wikipedia 👉 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_prosecution_of_fake_electors
The names of those involved are:
#LauraCox
#TerriLynnLand
#KenThompson
#MeshawnMaddock
#MatthewMaddock
#MicheleLundgren
#DaireRendon
#KathyBerden
#MayraRodriguez
Please add additional #FalseElectors in replies to help #SaveAmerica. 🙏 -
The shameful and shady attempt to subvert #democracy in #Michigan by the #Trump #FakeElectors as part of the #January6th #FailedCoupAttempt are highlighted today by @Wikipedia 👉 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_prosecution_of_fake_electors
The names of those involved are:
#LauraCox
#TerriLynnLand
#KenThompson
#MeshawnMaddock
#MatthewMaddock
#MicheleLundgren
#DaireRendon
#KathyBerden
#MayraRodriguez
Please add additional #FalseElectors in replies to help #SaveAmerica. 🙏 -
At last we see how #KenThompson implemented this famous #backdoor in a #Unix #compiler for #C 😍:
“Running the ‘Reflections on Trusting Trust’ Compiler”, Russ Cox (https://research.swtch.com/nih).
On HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38020792
On Lobsters: https://lobste.rs/s/bsazfc/running_reflections_on_trusting_trust
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At last we see how #KenThompson implemented this famous #backdoor in a #Unix #compiler for #C 😍:
“Running the ‘Reflections on Trusting Trust’ Compiler”, Russ Cox (https://research.swtch.com/nih).
On HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38020792
On Lobsters: https://lobste.rs/s/bsazfc/running_reflections_on_trusting_trust
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Trusting Trust code: Amazing analysis of the actual source code for Ken Thompson's deep backdoor in early Unix
https://research.swtch.com/nih
#kenthompson #computing #security #backdoor #trust #unix #+ -
CW: Ken Thompson’s OS
At the latest #SCALE conference, #KenThompson, one of the creators of #Unix and #Plan9, was asked what operating system he uses today. He said that he’s used MacOS for the longest time, but because he’s becoming unhappy with Apple’s direction, he is now switching to #Linux.
But the surprising part is that he’s using the distro #Raspbian, the distro bundled with the #RaspberryPi, based on #Debian.
Learn more about Raspbian:
https://www.raspbian.org/Or read the article:
https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/17/ken_thompson_is_a_maccie/ -
What Operating System Does Co-Creator Of UNIX, Ken Thompson Now Prefer?
Raspbian (Raspberry Pi OS) :raspberrypi:
#programming #UNIX #Linux #RaspberryPi #Pi #sbc #singleboardcomputer #KenThompson #FOSS
https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/17/ken_thompson_is_a_maccie/
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What Operating System Does Co-Creator Of UNIX, Ken Thompson Now Prefer?
Raspbian (Raspberry Pi OS) :raspberrypi:
#programming #UNIX #Linux #RaspberryPi #Pi #sbc #singleboardcomputer #KenThompson #FOSS
https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/17/ken_thompson_is_a_maccie/
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CW: Long thread/8
#10yrsago American insurers charge reckless rich drivers less than safe poor drivers https://consumerfed.org/pdfs/PR.AutoInsurancePremiums1.28.13.pdf
#5yrsago What #KenThompson’s seminal (terrifying!) “#OnTrustingTrust” tells us about the #Spectre and #Meltdown bugs https://community.cadence.com/cadence_blogs_8/b/breakfast-bytes/posts/why-you-shouldn-t-trust-ken-thompson
#5yrsago Analysis of North America’s weeds reveal the crops, trade, and cuisine of early indigenous people https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278416517301447
8/
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CW: Long thread/8
#10yrsago American insurers charge reckless rich drivers less than safe poor drivers https://consumerfed.org/pdfs/PR.AutoInsurancePremiums1.28.13.pdf
#5yrsago What #KenThompson’s seminal (terrifying!) “#OnTrustingTrust” tells us about the #Spectre and #Meltdown bugs https://community.cadence.com/cadence_blogs_8/b/breakfast-bytes/posts/why-you-shouldn-t-trust-ken-thompson
#5yrsago Analysis of North America’s weeds reveal the crops, trade, and cuisine of early indigenous people https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0278416517301447
8/
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Here's the interview with #KenThompson who wrote #GREP
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY6q5dv_B-o&ab_channel=VintageComputerFederation
