#test automation open source tools

[yethiconsulting]

Leveraging Automation to Accelerate Test Projects

Introduction

Briefly introduce the role of automation in speeding up test projects, highlighting how automation reduces manual effort, improves accuracy, and enables faster releases.

Identify High-Impact Areas for Automation

Begin by selecting test cases that are repetitive, time-consuming, or crucial to project success, such as regression, smoke, and performance tests.

Prioritize automating areas where failures are costly or time-sensitive to save effort in the long run.

Choose the Right Automation Tools

Discuss the importance of selecting test automation software tools compatible with your tech stack and objectives (e.g., Selenium for web testing, Appium for mobile).

Emphasize scalability and ease of integration with CI/CD pipelines for efficient automation workflows.

Implement Parallel and Continuous Testing

Explain how parallel testing allows multiple test cases to run simultaneously, drastically reducing execution time.

Discuss the benefits of integrating automation with CI/CD to trigger tests automatically with each code change.

Monitor, Maintain, and Optimize Test Scripts

Address the importance of regularly reviewing and updating test scripts to ensure stability as applications evolve.

Suggest practices for self-healing scripts to reduce maintenance and maximize test reliability.

Conclusion

Wrap up with the key benefits of accelerated test projects through automation, including faster feedback, improved quality, and greater efficiency in release cycles.

[cyberstudious]

Tools of the Trade for Learning Cybersecurity

I created this post for the Studyblr Masterpost Jam, check out the tag for more cool masterposts from folks in the studyblr community!

Cybersecurity professionals use a lot of different tools to get the job done. There are plenty of fancy and expensive tools that enterprise security teams use, but luckily there are also lots of brilliant people writing free and open-source software. In this post, I'm going to list some popular free tools that you can download right now to practice and learn with.

In my opinion, one of the most important tools you can learn how to use is a virtual machine. If you're not already familiar with Linux, this is a great way to learn. VMs are helpful for separating all your security tools from your everyday OS, isolating potentially malicious files, and just generally experimenting. You'll need to use something like VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation (Workstation Pro is now free for personal use, but they make you jump through hoops to download it).

Below is a list of some popular cybersecurity-focused Linux distributions that come with lots of tools pre-installed:

Kali is a popular distro that comes loaded with tools for penetration testing

REMnux is a distro built for malware analysis

honorable mention for FLARE-VM, which is not a VM on its own, but a set of scripts for setting up a malware analysis workstation & installing tools on a Windows VM.

SANS maintains several different distros that are used in their courses. You'll need to create an account to download them, but they're all free:

Slingshot is built for penetration testing

SIFT Workstation is a distro that comes with lots of tools for digital forensics

These distros can be kind of overwhelming if you don't know how to use most of the pre-installed software yet, so just starting with a regular Linux distribution and installing tools as you want to learn them is another good choice for learning.

Free Software

Wireshark: sniff packets and explore network protocols

Ghidra and the free version of IDA Pro are the top picks for reverse engineering

for digital forensics, check out Eric Zimmerman's tools - there are many different ones for exploring & analyzing different forensic artifacts

pwntools is a super useful Python library for solving binary exploitation CTF challenges

CyberChef is a tool that makes it easy to manipulate data - encryption & decryption, encoding & decoding, formatting, conversions… CyberChef gives you a lot to work with (and there's a web version - no installation required!).

Burp Suite is a handy tool for web security testing that has a free community edition

Metasploit is a popular penetration testing framework, check out Metasploitable if you want a target to practice with

SANS also has a list of free tools that's worth checking out.

Programming Languages

Knowing how to write code isn't a hard requirement for learning cybersecurity, but it's incredibly useful. Any programming language will do, especially since learning one will make it easy to pick up others, but these are some common ones that security folks use:

Python is quick to write, easy to learn, and since it's so popular, there are lots of helpful libraries out there.

PowerShell is useful for automating things in the Windows world. It's built on .NET, so you can practically dip into writing C# if you need a bit more power.

Go is a relatively new language, but it's popular and there are some security tools written in it.

Rust is another new-ish language that's designed for memory safety and it has a wonderful community. There's a bit of a steep learning curve, but learning Rust makes you understand how memory bugs work and I think that's neat.

If you want to get into reverse engineering or malware analysis, you'll want to have a good grasp of C and C++.

Other Tools for Cybersecurity

There are lots of things you'll need that aren't specific to cybersecurity, like:

a good system for taking notes, whether that's pen & paper or software-based. I recommend using something that lets you work in plain text or close to it.

general command line familiarity + basic knowledge of CLI text editors (nano is great, but what if you have to work with a system that only has vi?)

familiarity with git and docker will be helpful

There are countless scripts and programs out there, but the most important thing is understanding what your tools do and how they work. There is no magic "hack this system" or "solve this forensics case" button. Tools are great for speeding up the process, but you have to know what the process is. Definitely take some time to learn how to use them, but don't base your entire understanding of security on code that someone else wrote. That's how you end up as a "script kiddie", and your skills and knowledge will be limited.

Feel free to send me an ask if you have questions about any specific tool or something you found that I haven't listed. I have approximate knowledge of many things, and if I don't have an answer I can at least help point you in the right direction.

[softwaredevelopmenthub25]

DevOps as Service

1. PILOT FRAMEWORK CREATION

We leverage and integrate your existing tools with our robust ecosystem of open source and licensed software.

[majakovskiy]

BROWSERS, ADBLOCKERS AND OTHER ADDONS

tl;dr: Use LibreWolf and install CleanURLs, or if not, use uBlock Origin and CleanURLs on whatever browser you use.Librewolf : https://librewolf.net/uBlock Origin : https://ublockorigin.com/CleanURLs : https://github.com/ClearURLs/Addon

BROWSERS:

I will not start an argument about the necessity of privacy respecting browsers, I assume if you're reading this rambling of mine about the subject you're at least partially interested in not leaking all your data to the internet. Most browsers you'll encounter are leaky, and they will give your data to 3rd parties, either by poor design or implementation or knowingly and happily for money, but some browsers are just more leaky than others, so your choice of browser matters. 

Apart from the ethical issues that uncontrollable data selling raises, online ads, tracking cookies and these tracking methods lead to a slower internet, higher processor and memory requirements, a messy design of webpages, and a plethora of other security issues and opportunities for bad actors ("hackers"). The sheer number of so-called attack vectors that web browsing presents is astounding. 

Just to give a brief image of it, visit the site https://privacytests.org/, it will show you a comparison of web browsers on their performance of not leaking stuff to other people. The different tests are performed daily, and the website is rather informative about these tracking methods, attack vectors. Some part may be less important to you (Tor capabilities for example), so not all privacy respecting features are created equal, but this is the closest you'll ever get to an open and easily digestable learning material on browser privacy.

At the time of writing the best option for daily use is LibreWolf, basically a fine-tuned Firefox. It also has a lot of features for advanced users, but is generally easy to use, with built in uBlock Origin, and javascript disabled (which you may want to enable for certain web pages).You may want to know that certain browsers are tracking your movement and build a profile on you without ever visiting any webpage, and this category includes Firefox, and Chromium as well.

ADBLOCKERS:

Most adblockers have long sold their souls to the devil, and they are the ones collecting data on you, and some of them are purposefully not blocking certain ads, go figure. A lot of them are not open source, or not even open on their business pactices. You wouldn't hire a security company to protect your business who has a sketchy and non-transparent working, and who you cannot verify that they are not accepting money from the Chinese Communist Party, would you? The easy answer is to use uBlock Origin, an open source, transparent, free as in freedom software, with a completely transparent working, and verifiable everything. Please note that uBlock and uBlock Origin are not the same adblocker, and the regular uBlock has been bought by - guess what - an advertising company. 

CleanURLs: Sometimes when you receive a youtube link, and you click on in, instead of youtube.com/watch?=xxxxxxx you'll get a ten times longer link with fbclid and really long alphanumerical stuff, isn't it weird? Does this link need to be this long to function? Well, the answer is no. It's just one of the tricks how websites track you with even more unnecessary cookies, that try to follow you from site A to site B (for example to figure out which youtube account belongs to which facebook user to make even more targeted ads). You can manually delete all those cross-site tracking stuff from every link you use but it's a tedious, but easily automated task. That's where CleanURLs come in, to do this instead of you. You'll be surprised how many tracking attempts are blocked in a day by this stuff.May these tools bring you a faster and cleaner internet experience.

[revanthonlinetraining]

what is the best way to learn selenium with java ?

Selenium is an open-source testing tool used for web application testing. It is widely used by developers and testers to automate testing of web applications across different platforms and browsers. Java is one of the most popular programming languages used for Selenium automation testing due to its robustness, ease of use, and popularity.

https://www.revanthtechnologies.com/training/what-is-the-best-way-to-learn-selenium-with-java/

For selenium with Java online training in Hyderabad India please call / whatsapp to 9290971883 or 9247461324

[this-week-in-rust]

This Week in Rust 518

Hello and welcome to another issue of This Week in Rust! Rust is a programming language empowering everyone to build reliable and efficient software. This is a weekly summary of its progress and community. Want something mentioned? Tag us at @ThisWeekInRust on Twitter or @ThisWeekinRust on mastodon.social, or send us a pull request. Want to get involved? We love contributions.

This Week in Rust is openly developed on GitHub and archives can be viewed at this-week-in-rust.org. If you find any errors in this week's issue, please submit a PR.

Updates from Rust Community

Project/Tooling Updates

Strobe Crate

System dependencies are hard (so we made them easier)

Observations/Thoughts

Trying to invent a better substring search algorithm

Improving Node.js with Rust-Wasm Library

Mixing C# and Rust - Interop

A fresh look on incremental zero copy serialization

Make the Rust compiler 5% faster with this one weird trick

Part 3: Rowing Afloat Datatype Boats

Recreating concurrent futures combinators in smol

Unpacking some Rust ergonomics: getting a single Result from an iterator of them

Idea: "Using Rust", a living document

Object Soup is Made of Indexes

Analyzing Data 180,000x Faster with Rust

Issue #10: Serving HTML

Rust vs C on an ATTiny85; an embedded war story

Rust Walkthroughs

Analyzing Data /,000x Faster with Rust

Fully Automated Releases for Rust Projects

Make your Rust code unit testable with dependency inversion

Nine Rules to Formally Validate Rust Algorithms with Dafny (Part 2): Lessons from Verifying the range-set-blaze Crate

[video] Let's write a message broker using QUIC - Broke But Quick Episode 1

[video] Publishing Messages over QUIC Streams!! - Broke But Quick episode 2

Miscellaneous

[video] Associated types in Iterator bounds

[video] Rust and the Age of High-Integrity Languages

[video] Implementing (part of) a BitTorrent client in Rust

Crate of the Week

This week's crate is cargo-show-asm, a cargo subcommand to show the optimized assembly of any function.

Thanks to Kornel for the suggestion!

Please submit your suggestions and votes for next week!

Call for Participation

Always wanted to contribute to open-source projects but did not know where to start? Every week we highlight some tasks from the Rust community for you to pick and get started!

Some of these tasks may also have mentors available, visit the task page for more information.

* Hyperswitch (Hacktoberfest)- [FEATURE] separate payments_session from payments core * Hyperswitch (Hacktoberfest)- [NMI] Use connector_response_reference_id as reference to merchant * Hyperswitch (Hacktoberfest)- [Airwallex] Use connector_response_reference_id as reference to merchant * Hyperswitch (Hacktoberfest)- [Worldline] Use connector_response_reference_id as reference to merchant * Ockam - Make ockam project delete (no args) interactive by asking the user to choose from a list of space and project names to delete (tuify) * Ockam - Validate CBOR structs according to the cddl schema for authenticator/direct/types * Ockam - Slim down the NodeManagerWorker for node / node status

If you are a Rust project owner and are looking for contributors, please submit tasks here.

Updates from the Rust Project

397 pull requests were merged in the last week

rewrite gdb pretty-printer registration

add FileCheck annotations to mir-opt tests

add MonoItems and Instance to stable_mir

add a csky-unknown-linux-gnuabiv2hf target

add a test showing failing closure signature inference in new solver

add new simpler and more explicit syntax for check-cfg

add stable Instance::body() and RustcInternal trait

automatically enable cross-crate inlining for small functions

avoid a track_errors by bubbling up most errors from check_well_formed

avoid having rustc_smir depend on rustc_interface or rustc_driver

coverage: emit mappings for unused functions without generating stubs

coverage: emit the filenames section before encoding per-function mappings

coverage: fix inconsistent handling of function signature spans

coverage: move most per-function coverage info into mir::Body

coverage: simplify the injection of coverage statements

disable missing_copy_implementations lint on non_exhaustive types

do not bold main message in --error-format=short

don't ICE when encountering unresolved regions in fully_resolve

don't compare host param by name

don't crash on empty match in the nonexhaustive_omitted_patterns lint

duplicate ~const bounds with a non-const one in effects desugaring

eliminate rustc_attrs::builtin::handle_errors in favor of emitting errors directly

fix a performance regression in obligation deduplication

fix implied outlives check for GAT in RPITIT

fix spans for removing .await on for expressions

fix suggestion for renamed coroutines feature

implement an internal lint encouraging use of Span::eq_ctxt

implement jump threading MIR opt

implement rustc part of RFC 3127 trim-paths

improve display of parallel jobs in rustdoc-gui tester script

initiate the inner usage of cfg_match (Compiler)

lint non_exhaustive_omitted_patterns by columns

location-insensitive polonius: consider a loan escaping if an SCC has member constraints applied only

make #[repr(Rust)] incompatible with other (non-modifier) representation hints like C and simd

make rustc_onunimplemented export path agnostic

mention into_iter on borrow errors suggestions when appropriate

mention the syntax for use on mod foo; if foo doesn't exist

panic when the global allocator tries to register a TLS destructor

point at assoc fn definition on type param divergence

preserve unicode escapes in format string literals when pretty-printing AST

properly account for self ty in method disambiguation suggestion

report unused_import for empty reexports even it is pub

special case iterator chain checks for suggestion

strict provenance unwind

suggest ; after bare match expression E0308

suggest constraining assoc types in more cases

suggest relaxing implicit type Assoc: Sized; bound

suggest removing redundant arguments in format!()

uplift movability and mutability, the simple way

miri: avoid a linear scan over the entire int_to_ptr_map on each deallocation

miri: fix rounding mode check in SSE4.1 round functions

miri: intptrcast: remove information about dead allocations

disable effects in libcore again

add #[track_caller] to Option::unwrap_or_else

specialize Bytes<R>::next when R is a BufReader

make TCP connect handle EINTR correctly

on Windows make read_dir error on the empty path

hashbrown: add low-level HashTable API

codegen_gcc: add support for NonNull function attribute

codegen_gcc: fix #[inline(always)] attribute and support unsigned comparison for signed integers

codegen_gcc: fix endianness

codegen_gcc: fix int types alignment

codegen_gcc: optimize popcount implementation

codegen_gcc: optimize u128/i128 popcounts further

cargo add: Preserve more comments

cargo remove: Preserve feature comments

cargo replace: Partial-version spec support

cargo: Provide next steps for bad -Z flag

cargo: Suggest cargo-search on bad commands

cargo: adjust -Zcheck-cfg for new rustc syntax and behavior

cargo: if there's a version in the lock file only use that exact version

cargo: make the precise field of a source an Enum

cargo: print environment variables for build script executions with -vv

cargo: warn about crate name's format when creating new crate

rustdoc: align stability badge to baseline instead of bottom

rustdoc: avoid allocating strings primitive link printing

clippy: map_identity: allow closure with type annotations

clippy: map_identity: recognize tuple identity function

clippy: add lint for struct field names

clippy: don't emit needless_pass_by_ref_mut if the variable is used in an unsafe block or function

clippy: make multiple_unsafe_ops_per_block ignore await desugaring

clippy: needless pass by ref mut closure non async fn

clippy: now declare_interior_mutable_const and borrow_interior_mutable_const respect the ignore-interior-mutability configuration entry

clippy: skip if_not_else lint for '!= 0'-style checks

clippy: suggest passing function instead of calling it in closure for option_if_let_else

clippy: warn missing_enforced_import_renames by default

rust-analyzer: generate descriptors for all unstable features

rust-analyzer: add command for only opening external docs and attempt to fix vscode-remote issue

rust-analyzer: add incorrect case diagnostics for module names

rust-analyzer: fix VS Code detection for Insiders version

rust-analyzer: import trait if needed for unqualify_method_call assist

rust-analyzer: pick a better name for variables introduced by replace_is_some_with_if_let_some

rust-analyzer: store binding mode for each instance of a binding independently

perf: add NES emulation runtime benchmark

Rust Compiler Performance Triage

Approved RFCs

Changes to Rust follow the Rust RFC (request for comments) process. These are the RFCs that were approved for implementation this week:

Add f16 and f128 float types

Unicode and escape codes in literals

Final Comment Period

Every week, the team announces the 'final comment period' for RFCs and key PRs which are reaching a decision. Express your opinions now.

RFCs

No RFCs entered Final Comment Period this week.

Tracking Issues & PRs

[disposition: merge] Consider alias bounds when computing liveness in NLL (but this time sound hopefully)

[disposition: close] regression: parameter type may not live long enough

[disposition: merge] Remove support for compiler plugins.

[disposition: merge] rustdoc: Document lack of object safety on affected traits

[disposition: merge] Stabilize Ratified RISC-V Target Features

[disposition: merge] Tracking Issue for const mem::discriminant

New and Updated RFCs

[new] eRFC: #[should_move] attribute for per-function opting out of Copy semantics

Call for Testing

An important step for RFC implementation is for people to experiment with the implementation and give feedback, especially before stabilization. The following RFCs would benefit from user testing before moving forward:

No RFCs issued a call for testing this week.

If you are a feature implementer and would like your RFC to appear on the above list, add the new call-for-testing label to your RFC along with a comment providing testing instructions and/or guidance on which aspect(s) of the feature need testing.

Upcoming Events

Rusty Events between 2023-10-25 - 2023-11-22 🦀

Virtual

2023-10-30 | Virtual (Melbourne, VIC, AU) | Rust Melbourne

(Hybrid - online & in person) October 2023 Rust Melbourne Meetup

2023-10-31 | Virtual (Europe / Africa) | Rust for Lunch

Rust Meet-up

2023-11-01 | Virtual (Cardiff, UK)| Rust and C++ Cardiff

ECS with Bevy Game Engine

2023-11-01 | Virtual (Indianapolis, IN, US) | Indy Rust

Indy.rs - with Social Distancing

2023-11-02 | Virtual (Charlottesville, NC, US) | Charlottesville Rust Meetup

Crafting Interpreters in Rust Collaboratively

2023-11-07 | Virtual (Berlin, DE) | OpenTechSchool Berlin

Rust Hack and Learn | Mirror

2023-11-07 | Virtual (Buffalo, NY, US) | Buffalo Rust Meetup

Buffalo Rust User Group, First Tuesdays

2023-11-09 | Virtual (Nuremberg, DE) | Rust Nuremberg

Rust Nürnberg online

2023-11-14 | Virtual (Dallas, TX, US) | Dallas Rust

Second Tuesday

2023-11-15 | Virtual (Cardiff, UK)| Rust and C++ Cardiff

Building Our Own Locks (Atomics & Locks Chapter 9)

2023-11-15 | Virtual (Richmond, VA, US) | Linux Plumbers Conference

Rust Microconference in LPC 2023 (Nov 13-16)

2023-11-15 | Virtual (Vancouver, BC, CA) | Vancouver Rust

Rust Study/Hack/Hang-out

2023-11-16 | Virtual (Charlottesville, NC, US) | Charlottesville Rust Meetup

Crafting Interpreters in Rust Collaboratively

2023-11-07 | Virtual (Berlin, DE) | OpenTechSchool Berlin

Rust Hack and Learn | Mirror

2023-11-21 | Virtual (Washington, DC, US) | Rust DC

Mid-month Rustful

Europe

2023-10-25 | Dublin, IE | Rust Dublin

Biome, web development tooling with Rust

2023-10-25 | Paris, FR | Rust Paris

Rust for the web - Paris meetup #61

2023-10-25 | Zagreb, HR | impl Zagreb for Rust

Rust Meetup 2023/10: Lunatic

2023-10-26 | Augsburg, DE | Rust - Modern Systems Programming in Leipzig

Augsburg Rust Meetup #3

2023-10-26 | Copenhagen, DK | Copenhagen Rust Community

Rust metup #41 sponsored by Factbird

2023-10-26 | Delft, NL | Rust Nederland

Rust at TU Delft

2023-10-26 | Lille, FR | Rust Lille

Rust Lille #4 at SFEIR

2022-10-30 | Stockholm, SE | Stockholm Rust

Rust Meetup @Aira + Netlight

2023-11-01 | Cologne, DE | Rust Cologne

Web-applications with axum: Hello CRUD!

2023-11-07 | Bratislava, SK | Bratislava Rust Meetup Group

Rust Meetup by Sonalake

2023-11-07 | Brussels, BE | Rust Aarhus

Rust Aarhus - Rust and Talk beginners edition

2023-11-07 | Lyon, FR | Rust Lyon

Rust Lyon Meetup #7

2023-11-09 | Barcelona, ES | BcnRust

11th BcnRust Meetup

2023-11-09 | Reading, UK | Reading Rust Workshop

Reading Rust Meetup at Browns

2023-11-21 | Augsburg, DE | Rust - Modern Systems Programming in Leipzig

GPU processing in Rust

2023-11-23 | Biel/Bienne, CH | Rust Bern

Rust Talks Bern @ Biel: Embedded Edition

North America

2023-10-25 | Austin, TX, US | Rust ATX

Rust Lunch - Fareground

2023-10-25 | Chicago, IL, US | Deep Dish Rust

Rust Happy Hour

2023-11-01 | Brookline, MA, US | Boston Rust Meetup

Boston Common Rust Lunch

2023-11-08 | Boulder, CO, US | Boulder Rust Meetup

Let's make a Discord bot!

2023-11-14 | New York, NY, US | Rust NYC

Rust NYC Monthly Mixer: Share, Show, & Tell! 🦀

2023-11-14 | Seattle, WA, US | Cap Hill Rust Coding/Hacking/Learning

Rusty Coding/Hacking/Learning Night

2023-11-15 | Richmond, VA, US + Virtual | Linux Plumbers Conference

Rust Microconference in LPC 2023 (Nov 13-16)

2023-11-16 | Nashville, TN, US | Music City Rust Developers

Python loves Rust!

2023-11-16 | Seattle, WA, US | Seattle Rust User Group

Seattle Rust User Group Meetup

2023-11-21 | San Francisco, CA, US | San Francisco Rust Study Group

Rust Hacking in Person

2023-11-22 | Austin, TX, US | Rust ATX

Rust Lunch - Fareground

Oceania

2023-10-26 | Brisbane, QLD, AU | Rust Brisbane

October Meetup

2023-10-30 | Melbourne, VIC, AU + Virtual | Rust Melbourne

(Hybrid - in person & online) October 2023 Rust Melbourne Meetup

2023-11-21 | Christchurch, NZ | Christchurch Rust Meetup Group

Christchurch Rust meetup meeting

If you are running a Rust event please add it to the calendar to get it mentioned here. Please remember to add a link to the event too. Email the Rust Community Team for access.

Jobs

Please see the latest Who's Hiring thread on r/rust

Quote of the Week

When your Rust build times get slower after adding some procedural macros:

We call that the syn tax :ferris:

– Janet on Fosstodon

Thanks to Jacob Pratt for the suggestion!

Please submit quotes and vote for next week!

This Week in Rust is edited by: nellshamrell, llogiq, cdmistman, ericseppanen, extrawurst, andrewpollack, U007D, kolharsam, joelmarcey, mariannegoldin, bennyvasquez.

Email list hosting is sponsored by The Rust Foundation

Discuss on r/rust

[annajade456]

DevOps for Beginners: Navigating the Learning Landscape

DevOps, a revolutionary approach in the software industry, bridges the gap between development and operations by emphasizing collaboration and automation. For beginners, entering the world of DevOps might seem like a daunting task, but it doesn't have to be. In this blog, we'll provide you with a step-by-step guide to learn DevOps, from understanding its core philosophy to gaining hands-on experience with essential tools and cloud platforms. By the end of this journey, you'll be well on your way to mastering the art of DevOps.

The Beginner's Path to DevOps Mastery:

1. Grasp the DevOps Philosophy:

Start with the Basics: DevOps is more than just a set of tools; it's a cultural shift in how software development and IT operations work together. Begin your journey by understanding the fundamental principles of DevOps, which include collaboration, automation, and delivering value to customers.

2. Get to Know Key DevOps Tools:

Version Control: One of the first steps in DevOps is learning about version control systems like Git. These tools help you track changes in code, collaborate with team members, and manage code repositories effectively.

Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment (CI/CD): Dive into CI/CD tools like Jenkins and GitLab CI. These tools automate the building and deployment of software, ensuring a smooth and efficient development pipeline.

Configuration Management: Gain proficiency in configuration management tools such as Ansible, Puppet, or Chef. These tools automate server provisioning and configuration, allowing for consistent and reliable infrastructure management.

Containerization and Orchestration: Explore containerization using Docker and container orchestration with Kubernetes. These technologies are integral to managing and scaling applications in a DevOps environment.

3. Learn Scripting and Coding:

Scripting Languages: DevOps engineers often use scripting languages such as Python, Ruby, or Bash to automate tasks and configure systems. Learning the basics of one or more of these languages is crucial.

Infrastructure as Code (IaC): Delve into Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools like Terraform or AWS CloudFormation. IaC allows you to define and provision infrastructure using code, streamlining resource management.

4. Build Skills in Cloud Services:

Cloud Platforms: Learn about the main cloud providers, such as AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. Discover the creation, configuration, and management of cloud resources. These skills are essential as DevOps often involves deploying and managing applications in the cloud.

DevOps in the Cloud: Explore how DevOps practices can be applied within a cloud environment. Utilize services like AWS Elastic Beanstalk or Azure DevOps for automated application deployments, scaling, and management.

5. Gain Hands-On Experience:

Personal Projects: Put your knowledge to the test by working on personal projects. Create a small web application, set up a CI/CD pipeline for it, or automate server configurations. Hands-on practice is invaluable for gaining real-world experience.

Open Source Contributions: Participate in open source DevOps initiatives. Collaborating with experienced professionals and contributing to real-world projects can accelerate your learning and provide insights into industry best practices.

6. Enroll in DevOps Courses:

Structured Learning: Consider enrolling in DevOps courses or training programs to ensure a structured learning experience. Institutions like ACTE Technologies offer comprehensive DevOps training programs designed to provide hands-on experience and real-world examples. These courses cater to beginners and advanced learners, ensuring you acquire practical skills in DevOps.

In your quest to master the art of DevOps, structured training can be a game-changer. ACTE Technologies, a renowned training institution, offers comprehensive DevOps training programs that cater to learners at all levels. Whether you're starting from scratch or enhancing your existing skills, ACTE Technologies can guide you efficiently and effectively in your DevOps journey. DevOps is a transformative approach in the world of software development, and it's accessible to beginners with the right roadmap. By understanding its core philosophy, exploring key tools, gaining hands-on experience, and considering structured training, you can embark on a rewarding journey to master DevOps and become an invaluable asset in the tech industry.

[signiance]

Journey to Devops

The concept of “DevOps” has been gaining traction in the IT sector for a couple of years. It involves promoting teamwork and interaction, between software developers and IT operations groups to enhance the speed and reliability of software delivery. This strategy has become widely accepted as companies strive to provide software to meet customer needs and maintain an edge, in the industry. In this article we will explore the elements of becoming a DevOps Engineer.

Step 1: Get familiar with the basics of Software Development and IT Operations:

In order to pursue a career as a DevOps Engineer it is crucial to possess a grasp of software development and IT operations. Familiarity with programming languages like Python, Java, Ruby or PHP is essential. Additionally, having knowledge about operating systems, databases and networking is vital.

Step 2: Learn the principles of DevOps:

It is crucial to comprehend and apply the principles of DevOps. Automation, continuous integration, continuous deployment and continuous monitoring are aspects that need to be understood and implemented. It is vital to learn how these principles function and how to carry them out efficiently.

Step 3: Familiarize yourself with the DevOps toolchain:

Git: Git, a distributed version control system is extensively utilized by DevOps teams, for code repository management. It aids in monitoring code alterations facilitating collaboration, among team members and preserving a record of modifications made to the codebase.

Ansible: Ansible is an open source tool used for managing configurations deploying applications and automating tasks. It simplifies infrastructure management. Saves time when performing tasks.

Docker: Docker, on the other hand is a platform for containerization that allows DevOps engineers to bundle applications and dependencies into containers. This ensures consistency and compatibility across environments from development, to production.

Kubernetes: Kubernetes is an open-source container orchestration platform that helps manage and scale containers. It helps automate the deployment, scaling, and management of applications and micro-services.

Jenkins: Jenkins is an open-source automation server that helps automate the process of building, testing, and deploying software. It helps to automate repetitive tasks and improve the speed and efficiency of the software delivery process.

Nagios: Nagios is an open-source monitoring tool that helps us monitor the health and performance of our IT infrastructure. It also helps us to identify and resolve issues in real-time and ensure the high availability and reliability of IT systems as well.

Terraform: Terraform is an infrastructure as code (IAC) tool that helps manage and provision IT infrastructure. It helps us automate the process of provisioning and configuring IT resources and ensures consistency between development and production environments.

Step 4: Gain practical experience:

The best way to gain practical experience is by working on real projects and bootcamps. You can start by contributing to open-source projects or participating in coding challenges and hackathons. You can also attend workshops and online courses to improve your skills.

Step 5: Get certified:

Getting certified in DevOps can help you stand out from the crowd and showcase your expertise to various people. Some of the most popular certifications are:

Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA)

AWS Certified DevOps Engineer

Microsoft Certified: Azure DevOps Engineer Expert

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner

Step 6: Build a strong professional network:

Networking is one of the most important parts of becoming a DevOps Engineer. You can join online communities, attend conferences, join webinars and connect with other professionals in the field. This will help you stay up-to-date with the latest developments and also help you find job opportunities and success.

Conclusion:

You can start your journey towards a successful career in DevOps. The most important thing is to be passionate about your work and continuously learn and improve your skills. With the right skills, experience, and network, you can achieve great success in this field and earn valuable experience.

[mercyjuliet1512]

Revolutionizing Web Testing: A Deep Dive into Selenium's Automation Dynamics

In the rapidly evolving digital arena, the assurance of flawless functionality, optimal performance, and responsiveness of web applications is a non-negotiable aspect of software development. Selenium, an open-source automation framework, emerges as a formidable force in achieving these objectives. In this comprehensive exploration, we will delve into the intricacies of Selenium, unraveling its role in automation, dissecting the components comprising its toolkit, and understanding its profound impact on modern web testing practices.

1. Decoding Selenium: A Core Element of Automation Mastery

At its essence, Selenium represents a suite of tools meticulously crafted to automate web browsers. This automation plays a pivotal role in the testing domain, where the simulation of user interactions is imperative for validating the functionality and performance of web applications. Beyond testing, Selenium significantly contributes to the efficiency and reliability of the software development lifecycle.

2. The Toolbox Essentials: Navigating Selenium's Arsenal

Selenium's toolkit comprises three indispensable components, each serving a distinct purpose in the automation journey.

Selenium IDE:

Selenium IDE, a browser extension, simplifies the recording, editing, and debugging of tests. With a user-friendly interface, testers can effortlessly create and modify test cases.

Selenium WebDriver:

The crux of Selenium lies in WebDriver, a tool facilitating interaction with web browsers through diverse programming languages. This component is instrumental in crafting dynamic and programmable test scripts.

Selenium Grid:

Selenium Grid acts as a scalable solution enabling parallel test execution across multiple machines and browsers. This feature expedites the testing process by distributing test cases effectively.

3. Language Flexibility: Adaptable Automation at its Finest

A standout feature of Selenium is its support for multiple programming languages, including Java, Python, C#, and Ruby. This flexibility empowers testers and developers to harness Selenium's capabilities within their preferred programming language, fostering seamless integration into existing workflows.

4. Cross-Browser Compatibility: Ensuring Uniformity in Diversity

Selenium's prowess shines in its ability to conduct cross-browser testing with efficiency. In the era where web applications must perform consistently across various browsers, Selenium ensures uniformity in testing scenarios across Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and more. This cross-browser compatibility is paramount for delivering a consistent user experience.

5. Dynamic Web Element Handling: Mastering Change

In the dynamic landscape of web development, the adept handling of dynamic web elements stands as a critical testing aspect. Selenium excels in providing robust mechanisms to identify and interact with elements that undergo changes based on user interactions. This adaptability guarantees accurate testing even in scenarios where web elements are subject to modification.

6. Integration with Testing Frameworks: Orchestrating Efficient Test Management

Selenium seamlessly integrates with renowned testing frameworks like JUnit and TestNG. This integration enhances the efficiency of test management, execution, and reporting. Testing frameworks offer a structured approach to test development, simplifying the management, execution, and analysis of test results.

7. Parallel Test Execution: Turbocharging Processes

Selenium Grid emerges as a powerhouse solution for accelerating test execution. By facilitating parallel execution of tests across multiple machines and browsers, Selenium Grid substantially reduces test execution time. This parallelization proves invaluable, especially when dealing with extensive test suites that require swift execution.

8. Community Support and Continuous Advancement: Sustaining an Ecosystem

Selenium thrives on the strength of its community. With a dynamic community of developers, testers, and automation enthusiasts, Selenium undergoes continuous refinement and enhancement. Regular updates, bug fixes, and the introduction of new features ensure that Selenium aligns seamlessly with the ever-evolving web technology landscape.

Conclusion: Selenium as the Cornerstone of Automated Precision

In conclusion, Selenium stands tall as a cornerstone in the realm of automation, particularly in web testing. Its adaptability, cross-browser testing capabilities, integration with testing frameworks, and support for parallel test execution position it as an indispensable tool for ensuring the quality and reliability of web applications.

Whether you're a seasoned tester or a developer navigating the intricacies of web testing, Selenium equips you to streamline your testing processes. Its impact resonates in the delivery of high-quality software, contributing to the seamless user experience expected in the dynamic digital landscape.

As we delve into the myriad facets of Selenium, we uncover its transformative power in reshaping testing practices and fortifying the foundations of robust and reliable web applications. Embrace the influence of Selenium, and let it be your guiding force in the captivating journey of web automation.

[zerosecurity]

OpenAI Used to Exploit Real-World Security Vulnerabilities

Researchers from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) have uncovered the capability of AI agents to autonomously exploit real-world security vulnerabilities by leveraging large language models (LLMs). This suggests that these AI-powered agents can pose a significant threat to the security and integrity of various systems and networks.

GPT-4 Outperforms All Other Models in Vulnerability Exploitation

The research team, consisting of Richard Fang, Rohan Bindu, Akul Gupta, and Daniel Kang, reported that OpenAI's GPT-4 LLM can successfully exploit vulnerabilities in real-world systems when provided with a CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) advisory describing the flaw. In their study, the researchers collected a dataset of 15 "one-day vulnerabilities" – vulnerabilities that have been disclosed but not yet patched – including those categorized as critical severity in the CVE description. "When given the CVE description, GPT-4 is capable of exploiting 87 percent of these vulnerabilities compared to 0 percent for every other model we test (GPT-3.5, open-source LLMs) and open-source vulnerability scanners (ZAP and Metasploit)," the authors explained in their paper. This stark discrepancy in performance highlights the alarming capabilities of the GPT-4 model in comparison to other widely used tools and models. What are AI Agents? AI agents are a combination of large language models and automation software. These agents can autonomously perform tasks and make decisions based on their understanding of the world, which is derived from their training on vast amounts of data. In the context of this research, the AI agents were wired to a chatbot model and the ReAct automation framework implemented in LangChain, giving them the ability to understand and act upon security vulnerabilities.

Concerning Implications for Cybersecurity and the Future of Exploitation

The researchers' findings have profound implications for the cybersecurity landscape. Daniel Kang, an assistant professor at UIUC, warned that the ability of AI agents to autonomously carry out exploits that open-source vulnerability scanners cannot find is a game-changer. "If you extrapolate to what future models can do, it seems likely they will be much more capable than what script kiddies can get access to today," Kang said. This suggests that as AI models continue to advance, the capabilities of these AI agents in exploiting vulnerabilities will likely surpass what is currently accessible to even skilled cybercriminals, posing a significant and escalating threat to organizations and individuals alike.

Challenges in Defending Against LLM-Powered Exploits

The researchers explored various approaches to mitigating the risks posed by these AI agents. They found that denying the LLM agent (GPT-4) access to the relevant CVE description reduced its success rate from 87 percent to just seven percent. However, Kang believes that limiting the public availability of security information is not a viable solution. "I personally don't think security through obscurity is tenable, which seems to be the prevailing wisdom amongst security researchers," he explained. "I'm hoping my work, and other work, will encourage proactive security measures such as updating packages regularly when security patches come out."

Cost-Effective Exploitation and Potential for Escalation

The researchers also examined the cost-effectiveness of these AI-powered attacks. They computed the cost to conduct a successful LLM agent attack and found it to be $8.80 per exploit, which is about 2.8 times less than it would cost to hire a human penetration tester for 30 minutes. This staggering cost-effectiveness, combined with the potential for AI models to surpass the capabilities of even skilled cybercriminals, suggests that the threat posed by these AI agents is not only immediate but also likely to escalate rapidly in the future. As the AI landscape continues to evolve, the cybersecurity community faces a daunting challenge in staying ahead of these AI-powered exploitation techniques. The race to develop effective countermeasures and proactive security measures has become an urgent priority, as the implications of these findings could have far-reaching consequences for the security and resilience of digital systems worldwide. Read the full article

[cocowebdesign]

Selecting the Best Content Management System for Your Business Website

The content management system (CMS) powering your business website significantly impacts its capabilities, performance, and ease of use over time. With web developers today spoiled for choice between open source CMS options like WordPress and Drupal or proprietary systems like Adobe Experience Manager and HubSpot, the evaluation process proves daunting for companies. When embarking on a website project or redesign, stay focused on your organization’s unique needs, resources, and business priorities when weighing the pros and cons of various CMS platforms.

First, take time to thoroughly consider what types of content, assets, and functionality matter most to your brand and audience day to day. For example, blogging, news publishing and journalist teams center heavily around text creation and workflow. Multimedia creatives and marketers, however, need robust digital asset management and organization. Let your website designer align technology recommendations to your primary content focus and goals.

Also, realistically assess the technical skills and resources your team brings to the table for effectively managing the CMS if opting for an open source platform like Drupal or Joomla. While extremely powerful, these systems demand solid web development expertise to customize, which represents an added cost. Simpler tools like WordPress may suffice.

Evaluate prospective CMS options in regards to built-in workflow capabilities as well, like approvals, permissions, and multi-channel content publishing abilities out of the box. Understanding your collaborators’ needs shaping real-world content operations keeps implementations smoother. Select CMS tools accordingly.

Importantly, test and ensure any short-listed CMS easily integrates with your other vital back-end systems like ecommerce engines, CRM platforms, marketing automation tools, etc. An experienced website designer already familiar with related integrations will recognize any limitations or hurdles.

Lastly, the ultimate CMS decision should effectively balance your desired functionality wishlist, readiness of staff resources to leverage the platform fully, and sufficient ease of use for non-technical folks who will actually manage content. With an expert website designer guiding the process holistically using these criteria, your ideal CMS solution match for current and future needs emerges.

[thara333]

Streamlining Web Application Testing with Selenium: An In-Depth Exploration

The landscape of web development demands meticulous attention to the seamless functioning of applications across diverse platforms and browsers. Enter Selenium, an open-source framework that has emerged as a cornerstone for automated web application testing. In this blog, we delve into the pivotal aspects and advantages of Selenium tests, shedding light on its significance within the software development lifecycle.

Decoding Selenium Tests: Automated Precision in Testing

Selenium tests stand as automated scripts meticulously crafted using the Selenium framework, a widely embraced open-source tool designed explicitly for web application testing. These scripts represent the pinnacle of automation, meticulously validating web application functionality by replicating user interactions, providing insights akin to real-world user experiences.

Versatility Across Development Ecosystems

Selenium's prowess is evident in its support for multiple programming languages, including Java, Python, C#, Ruby, and more. This adaptability ensures Selenium seamlessly integrates into different development environments, allowing teams to leverage their preferred programming language for automated testing.

Critical Aspects of Selenium Tests

Let's delve into key facets that underscore the indispensable nature of Selenium tests in the testing toolkit:

Cross-Browser Compatibility: Selenium's capability to support a variety of browsers ensures consistent performance across platforms, a crucial factor in delivering a uniform user experience across the digital landscape.

Platform Independence: Selenium's platform-agnostic nature allows it to operate seamlessly on Windows, Linux, and macOS. This flexibility proves advantageous for development teams working in diverse computing environments.

Multi-Language Support: The compatibility of Selenium with multiple programming languages empowers development teams to choose their preferred language. This adaptability fosters collaboration and efficiency within the testing and development processes.

Open Source and Community Support: Selenium's open-source lineage has birthed a robust and supportive community. This collaborative environment ensures continuous development, regular updates, and a plethora of resources for users.

Extensibility and Integration: Selenium effortlessly integrates with various testing frameworks and CI/CD tools, enhancing its capabilities. This seamless integration streamlines the testing process, facilitating efficient automation within continuous integration pipelines.

Dynamic Web Application Support: Selenium excels in the testing of dynamic web applications that leverage technologies like AJAX and JavaScript. Its ability to interact with and validate dynamic elements ensures a comprehensive evaluation of modern web applications.

Parallel Test Execution: Selenium Grid facilitates parallel test execution on multiple machines and browsers simultaneously. This feature significantly reduces overall test execution time, proving invaluable for testing large suites of test cases efficiently.

Headless Browser Testing: Selenium's support for headless browser testing is particularly beneficial in scenarios where a graphical user interface is unnecessary. This feature streamlines testing in background processes or on servers, contributing to faster and more efficient testing.

Conclusion: Elevating Software Quality through Selenium Precision

In conclusion, Selenium tests emerge as a linchpin in the software development lifecycle, automating the testing of web applications and contributing to enhanced efficiency and accelerated feedback cycles. Professionals aspiring to deepen their understanding and proficiency in utilizing Selenium for effective web application testing can embark on dedicated training programs. Embrace the transformative power of Selenium and unlock a realm of possibilities in the domain of web automation.

[mariacallous]

Geolocation is one of the main methods of open-source research. Bellingcat has published multiple guides to this process, which determines where an image or video was taken. Given that geolocations can be time-consuming, researchers are always on the lookout for tools which can ease or automate parts of the process. That’s where new AI tools come in – particularly chatbots, with their impressive ability to find and process information. But that ability is far from perfect. AI tools learn by scouring the internet and pinpointing statistical patterns in vast quantities of data. “Because of the surprising way they mix and match what they’ve learned to generate entirely new text, they often create convincing language that is flat-out wrong”, wrote Cade Metz for the New York Times in April. “AI researchers call this tendency to make stuff up a ‘hallucination’”, Metz continued. Bellingcat has tested the geolocation capabilities of BING AI, which was accessed via the Skype client on the desktop app, and BARD, Google’s new AI chatbot which was recently launched in Brazil and the EU. Both chatbots use different language models; BARD uses PaLM-2 while BING uses GPT – the same as that used in the popular ChatGPT bot. While many AIs can generate images, most cannot analyse them and are therefore useless for the purposes of direct geolocation. Unlike AIs such as ChatGPT, BING and BARD can work with uploaded images. 

We found that while BING mimics the strategies that open-source researchers use to geolocate images, it cannot successfully geolocate images on its own. BARD’s results are not much more impressive, but it seemed more cautious in its reasoning and less prone to AI ‘hallucinations’.  Both required extensive prompting from the user before they could arrive at any halfway satisfactory geolocation. Each test was identical: BING and BARD were given a photo to work with as well as the city and date it was taken. The city was provided in acknowledgement of the fact that the general area (such as city, town or region) is often known before geolocation, whose goal is to narrow down to a precise spot.

It was then asked to produce precise coordinates of the image. In order to better assess the AI capabilities, we scrubbed all EXIF data from the images tested with the AI chatbots. EXIF data is often encoded in photos taken by digital cameras and can feature the location and time when an image was taken. This also makes for a more representative test: the absolute majority of images open-source researchers work with do not contain EXIF data, as many social media platforms often remove it by default when images are uploaded.

The First Test

The first image we gave BING to geolocate is this one. It depicts a very recognisable landmark — the City Hall in Edmonton, capital of the Canadian province of Alberta. The precise coordinates of this image are (53.54482855223936, 113.49005530756185). The author took it at 7:12 PM local time on June 13, 2022.

BING provided a location for this image in just a few seconds, though its answer was incorrect. It claimed that the photo had been taken at the High Level Bridge over the North Saskatchewan River, providing the coordinates “53.532°N 113.499°W” and a link to a corresponding Wikipedia page. Here the AI leads the researcher astray, as there is clearly no bridge in the source photo. However, it also noted that there were “downtown skyscrapers in the background”. Some of these, such as the very visible CN Tower, are also visible from the High Level Bridge.

We gave BING a second prompt.

We told AI that the image depicted a building with a pyramid-shaped roof and was taken at a public square.

To this prompt, BING responded with correct identification of landmarks:

It looks like the Sir Winston Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton with the City Hall in the background.   The City Hall has a distinctive pyramid-shaped roof made of glass.

Based on this geolocation, we can surmise that BING can identify very prominent landmarks that would be easy to identify manually, but requires extra prompting to do so. 

BARD displayed similar results. It was unable to geolocate an image provided without any further hints:

I’ve looked at the image you sent me, and I’m not able to geolocate it. The image doesn’t contain any identifying landmarks, and the date and time it was taken are not visible. I also tried a reverse image search, but I didn’t find any matches

We then told it that the photo was taken in Edmonton, Canada. 

BARD could work with that. It gave me a set of recognisable landmarks in Edmonton and asked whether I could identify the buildings in the image in any of them. However, BARD did not name any distinguishing features in the buildings seen in the image, several of which are at some distance from the City Hall. 

We prompted it again, drawing its focus towards the most relevant building: “The image has a pyramid-shaped glass roof.”

That’s when BARD was able to correctly identify the landmark:

“Oh, that’s a good detail to know. Based on that, I think the most likely location of the image is City Hall in Edmonton. It has a pyramid-shaped glass roof and is located in the heart of the city.”

The Second Test

For the second geolocation, we gave BING and BARD another puzzle from Edmonton. 

This image was taken on Churchill Square in downtown Edmonton, in front of the City Centre shopping mall. 

Several commercial logos can be seen on the building’s facade. The EPCOR Waterfall, an art installation, is visible in the foreground. With all these features, geolocating the image manually should not be a problem. The coordinates of this image are 53.54397674546276, -113.49009302380333. It was taken at 9:36 AM local time on June 8, 2022. 

When first prompted, BING identified the location as the High Level Bridge, like in the first answer. 

This incorrect geolocation is potentially indicative of a certain pattern in AI’s thinking: it latched on the skyscrapers in the background as one of the identifiers, and it defaults to the High Level Bridge as a primary landmark. 

When we pointed out that no bridge can be seen in the video, BING then identified the location as Edmonton City Hall. In its reply, it singled out the fact that the City Hall has a “distinctive pyramid-shaped roof made of glass.”

Although there’s clearly no building with a pyramid-shaped roof in the image and the landmark identification is incorrect, Edmonton’s City Hall stands out of sight, approximately 80 metres away on the other side of Churchill Square.

BARD’s reply was cautious. It states that it wasn’t able to “geolocate it with certainty” as “the image doesn’t contain any identifying landmarks.” BARD thinks there’s a large river in the background and that the image was taken in one of the parks along the North Saskatchewan River. 

When we drew BARD’s attention to the presence of a large building with antennae on its roof and several skyscrapers in the distance, it incorrectly identified the image as Terwillegar Park. Interestingly, BARD has misplaced a landmark in its identification process: 

Based on the information you provided, I think the most likely location for the image is Terwillegar Park. It is a large park with a variety of trails, picnic areas, and a golf course. It is also home to the Edmonton Space and Science Centre, which has a satellite dish on its roof. The skyscrapers in the background are likely the buildings in downtown Edmonton. Here is a link to the Edmonton Space and Science Centre: https://www.spacecentre.ca/

Edmonton does not have a science centre with this name. The link provided by BARD leads to the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, which is in Vancouver. Given that BARD saw things in the image that are not there — a river in the background and park’s greenery, as well as a landmark that is located thousands of kilometers away from its chosen location — this geolocation may be a result of AI “hallucination”. 

We then told BARD that we could see a sign in the image that said ‘EPCOR Waterfall’. It responded that “I’m a language model and don’t have the capacity to help with that.” 

We then tested the AI’s abilities further by describing the shape of the shopping centre building and the commercial logos on its facade. Such symbols are often important first clues when geolocating any image. However, BING and BARD were not able to identify the building. We can surmise that these AI applications cannot identify commercial logos. Further tests also suggest this: BING and BARD were provided with separate, clear images of the logos of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the Toronto Dominion Bank, both of which are visible on the shopping centre in red and green respectively. 

BING identified the CBC logo as that of Stack Overflow or Netflix; BARD believed it to be the logo of Adobe. BING identified the bank’s logo as belonging to Mozilla and Microsoft; BARD claimed that it was that of Spotify.

The Third Test

Next, we gave AI several other images to work with. Like the two photos above, it’s not difficult to geolocate them manually. They contain easily identifiable attributes, but no prominent landmarks.

The coordinates for this image are 45.426383532825426, -75.6910384286611, at the intersection of Rideau and William Street in Ottawa. Dennis Kovtun took it on June 15, 2023, at 4:04 pm. 

We asked BING AI to geolocate this image, providing it with the city where it was taken and the date. We also informed the AI that the image didn’t contain any usable EXIF data. 

In its first response, BING AI immediately shared its methodology. It said that it conducts geolocations using these methods:

As we can see here, BING AI uses the same steps that a human researcher could reasonably follow to geolocate an image. This behaviour is expected of AI, as a self-teaching software. It appears to have searched the Internet for geolocation methodologies published on various open-source research websites, and produced subsequent responses as if it had followed them. How well it is able to do these steps is another question. 

For example, the AI analysed the image for EXIF data, though it was told no EXIF data was associated with it. BING AI generated a very detailed set of results, including the camera model and its exposure settings, the time it was taken and even that it had the flash off. Such details are impossible to obtain from a photo that has no EXIF data associated with it. 

This analysis generated by BING AI is another example of an AI ‘hallucination’. The only EXIF data associated with the image is the file name. The camera model and settings are all incorrect and cannot be determined from the image. 

BING AI also said it performed a reverse image search, providing the following URL: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ottawatourism/albums/72157625865960107

The AI claimed that the link contains a photo album with pictures of some of Ottawa’s landmarks and a map that shows where the images were taken.

AI concluded that part of its search by stating, 

I can see that there is an image that looks very similar to mine, and it has a pin on the map that shows its location. I can click on the pin and see its GPS coordinates, which are 45.4248° N, 75.6926° W. Therefore, using reverse image search, I can deduce that the image was taken at 45.4248° N, 75.6926° W in Ottawa, Canada.

This geolocation is wrong, but is not too far from the actual coordinates — it shows the entrance to Westin hotel, just a few hundred metres away from the correct location. 

However, the way AI has arrived at these coordinates is far more suspect. The Flickr image the AI linked to doesn’t exist. Inputting the link in a browser produced a 404 error. This link also doesn’t appear in the Wayback Machine, a digital archive of old internet content. 

It is possible that this is yet another example of AI “hallucination,” where BING generated a link that doesn’t exist or relied on an old dataset of links. 

In this instance, it is impossible to determine which images BING AI used for reference when performing this geolocation, and if it in fact used them. BING also says that would use either Google Maps or Google Earth to perform the geolocation — another widespread practice amongst OSINT researchers. It would look for any landmarks that would aid geolocation.

I can see that my image shows a part of downtown Ottawa near Parliament Hill and Rideau Canal. I can zoom in on this area and see if there are any labels or markers that show the GPS coordinates of any point on the map. I can also use the right-click menu to select “What’s here?” or “Measure distance” to get the GPS coordinates of any point on the map. I can try to find a point on the map that corresponds to where the image was taken from, such as the center of the road or the edge of the sidewalk. For example, I can right-click on a point near the center of Wellington Street and select “What’s here?”. I can see a pop-up window that shows its GPS coordinates, which are 45.4248° N, 75.6926° W.

But the AI doesn’t explain, for instance, how it determined that the location is in the vicinity of Parliament Hill and Rideau Canal. The AI deduced that correctly, but didn’t share its reasoning. As our second test demonstrated, it’s unlikely that BING was able to use commercial signage for this purpose. Finally, the AI looked for identifying attributes in the image. It responded:

I can see that there are some clues or hints in this image, such as: •  The sign on the left side of the image says “Parliament Hill”, which is a landmark in Ottawa. •  The flag on top of Parliament Hill is a Canadian flag with a red maple leaf in the center. •  The language on some of the signs is English with French translations. •  The license plates on some of the cars are white with blue letters and numbers and have “Ontario” and “Yours to discover” written on them. •  The weather is sunny and clear, with some clouds in the sky… Using clues or hints from the image itself, I can only deduce the general location of the image, but not the exact GPS coordinates.

While the AI failed to produce a geolocation based on this method, it’s worth examining the “hints” it identified. 

For a start, there’s no sign on the left side of the image pointing towards Parliament. In fact, parliament itself is not pictured, and neither are any other buildings or landmarks atop the Parliament Hill, let alone those flying a Canadian flag. There are only two visible street signs in the image — a street map pictured in the image, which is too far to see clearly, and the public transport sign above it (red circle on a pillar). There is a vehicle in the image with an Ontario licence plate, which can be read clearly, but the AI already knows that the image has been taken in the city located in that province. 

Hence, it appears that the AI is “hallucinating” here as well, and its findings are guesses based upon the broad location of the image: Ottawa. Parliament Hill is the most recognisable landmark in Ottawa. Ottawa is located in Ontario. Based on these factors, the AI “saw” these characteristics in the image, even though they weren’t there or were extremely difficult to recognise. Thus BING generates responses based on its search for whatever it considers relevant content on the Internet.

The results of BARD’s efforts with this image did not lead to its successful geolocation. Once again, this AI seemed more cautious and aware of its limitations.

Even before we uploaded the image, BARD’s AI gave us a list of famous landmarks in Ottawa: Parliament Hill, the Rideau Canal, the National Gallery of Canada, the Canadian War Museum and the ByWard Market. 

BARD also identified the image as Parliament Hill. 

We prompted BARD again to correct it, pointing out that there was no distinctive clocktower in the photo, which showed cafes and shops.

BARD’s AI readily accepted the correction and provided a list of other possible locations. These included the ByWard Market, Sparks Street, Bank Street and Elgin Street — all commercial areas with plenty of restaurants and cafes. So after much prompting, BARD’s AI reached the correct location – the ByWard Market. It was nevertheless unable to further refine the geolocation, which is less helpful given the large size of the market and surrounding streets. Thus, even these results are little assistance in geolocating an image quickly, easily and precisely. We were also only able to determine that the answer BARD provided was somewhat correct only because we already knew the answer and we knew the area well. In a situation where the location of the image is unknown, whatever BARD produces is likely to be even less helpful. 

A Mimic with Limits

These examples demonstrate that BING and BARD struggle with analysing images and are prone to seeing details which are not there. They also suggest that the AI chatbots we tested imitate the methods of human open source researchers. This could be partially responsible for their poor performance. Geoffrey Hinton, a British-Canadian computer scientist and AI specialist, believes that such “confabulations” (his preferred term for AI ‘hallucinations’) are a feature of AI learning models.

“Confabulation is a signature of human memory. These models are doing something just like people,” he said in an interview with MIT Technology review this May.  Using an AI chatbot to fully geolocate an image is inadvisable. At this stage of AI’s development, it might be used to assist with very simple geolocations, perhaps pointing a researcher to an area that may warrant a closer look. However, even such results need to be double-checked and verified and cannot be fully trusted. 

[logicssphereblog]

The Power of Software Development: Transforming Ideas into Reality

Introduction: Software development is the driving force behind technological innovation in our digital age. From mobile applications to enterprise systems, software development has the power to transform ideas into functional and impactful solutions. In this short blog, we will explore the significance of software development and its ability to shape our modern world.

Solving Real-World Problems: Software development enables us to address real-world challenges and improve efficiency across various industries. For instance, in the healthcare sector, software solutions have revolutionized patient management systems, electronic health records, and telemedicine platforms, enhancing the quality and accessibility of healthcare services. Similarly, in the transportation industry, software plays a crucial role in logistics optimization, route planning, and driver management, leading to cost savings and improved delivery times.

Enhancing User Experiences: Well-designed software applications can significantly enhance user experiences. Whether it's a user-friendly mobile app or a sleek web interface, software developers strive to create intuitive and engaging experiences for users. By leveraging user-centered design principles and incorporating feedback from usability testing, software developers can create interfaces that are visually appealing, easy to navigate, and seamlessly integrate with users' daily lives.

Empowering Businesses: Software development empowers businesses by providing them with custom solutions tailored to their specific needs. From customer relationship management (CRM) systems to inventory management software, businesses can leverage software to streamline operations, automate repetitive tasks, and gain valuable insights from data analysis. This allows organizations to make informed decisions, improve productivity, and stay ahead in a competitive market.

Enabling Innovation: Software development is at the forefront of innovation, constantly pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Through advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, and data analytics, software developers have the tools to develop intelligent systems that can automate processes, make predictions, and provide personalized recommendations. These innovations have led to breakthroughs in fields like healthcare diagnostics, autonomous vehicles, and personalized marketing strategies.

Collaboration and Open Source: Collaboration is a key aspect of software development. The open-source movement has fostered a culture of sharing and collaboration, allowing developers worldwide to contribute to projects, share code, and build upon existing solutions. This collaborative nature of software development encourages knowledge sharing and helps accelerate innovation.

Continuous Improvement: Software development is a dynamic field that embraces continuous improvement. Developers are constantly refining their skills, adopting new technologies, and staying up to date with industry trends. This dedication to continuous learning and improvement ensures that software solutions are efficient, secure, and capable of adapting to changing user needs.

Conclusion: Software development is a powerful tool that shapes our modern world, enabling us to solve problems, enhance user experiences, empower businesses, and drive innovation. From healthcare to transportation, education to entertainment, software development is at the core of technological advancements across industries. As technology continues to evolve, software developers will play a pivotal role in creating the software solutions that will shape our future.

[jayakody2000lk]

Open source 24-channel USB high-voltage driver

When it comes to automation and control systems, there's often a need for multiple digitally controlled output terminals with high-voltage handling capabilities. Many existing modules are bulky, expensive, or require numerous additional components to function. To address this gap, I've developed a fully open-source, USB-controlled 24-channel high-voltage driver. This device provides precise, flexible control in a compact and user-friendly package. The project is open hardware, released under the CERN-OHL-W license, ensuring transparency from hardware schematics to firmware code. The driver module communicates via USB using a simple virtual COM port, eliminating the need for special drivers and complex setups.

At the core of the system are three TPIC6B595 shift registers, each supplying eight open-drain outputs that can handle up to 50V and sink currents of up to 150mA per channel. These registers are daisy-chained to achieve a total of 24 outputs. The outputs are designed for low-side switching and include integrated clamping diodes, making them suitable for driving inductive loads such as relays and solenoids. Data is clocked into the registers through serial input from a microcontroller, allowing for fast and reliable state updates across all channels with just a few lines of code.

The logic and communication for this module are managed by the STC15W204S microcontroller, a cost-effective yet powerful 8051-based MCU with enhanced UART performance and an integrated oscillator. This chip is paired with a CH340N USB-to-UART bridge, which presents the device as a standard virtual COM port to the host PC. Upon connection, the microcontroller listens for a set of AT-style commands sent over the serial connection. These commands are straightforward and user-friendly, for example, "ON=65280" activates the middle 8 outputs, "CLR" turns off all channels, and "VER" retrieves the firmware version. Additionally, there is a command to save the current output state to the built-in EEPROM, enabling the system to restore its output to a known state after power cycles. This interface design is perfect for scripting, automation, or integration with software tools such as Python, LabVIEW, or custom control GUIs.

The PCB is designed using KiCad and features a 2-layer layout measuring 75.25mm × 33.75mm. It includes 2.54mm pitch headers for output connections and is equipped with a USB Type-C connector. Power can be supplied through either USB or an external regulated 5V source, which can be selected via onboard jumper settings. The layout ensures clean signal routing and minimizes crosstalk or interference, even when switching high-voltage loads. Careful decoupling and protection components provide robustness for real-world applications.

The PCB for this module was fabricated by PCBWay, who generously sponsored this project. PCBWay offers high-quality PCB manufacturing and assembling services. Also, they offer CNC and 3D printing services. The PCB of this module is available to order from PCBWay. Check out the PCBWay website for its manufacturing capabilities and pricing.

The firmware for the STC15W204S is written in C using SDCC. It is easy to expand the command set, introduce new communication modes, or add timed control logic as needed. The current implementation allows full 24-bit output control using a base 10 numerical mask, making it both scriptable and human-readable. Thanks to the preloaded bootloader of the STC15W204S, firmware updates can be performed through the same serial interface. Details about this process are covered in the project documentation. Like the hardware, the firmware is released under the MIT License and is available in the project repository.

The system has been tested with a variety of 12V and 24V inductive and resistive loads, including relay banks, solenoids, and LED arrays. Since the outputs are open-drain, external voltages up to 50V can be safely switched on each channel making it ideal for a range of industrial, laboratory, or artistic applications. Output timing is reliable, with clean edge transitions observed during scope testing, and no signal integrity issues even during full 24-channel toggling. It is recommended to use individual heatsinks for the driver ICs when driving high-current inductive loads with this module. While the printed circuit board has heat transfer traces, the addition of individual heatsinks can increase the durability of the module.

Potential use cases for this module include automated test benches, home automation systems, signal routing for instrumentation, nixie tube multiplexing, and other high-voltage control tasks. The command-based protocol makes it easy to script operations or integrate this module into a larger system.

For those who wish to explore the schematics, command protocol, design rationale, and usage examples in greater depth, I have published comprehensive documentation and resources in the project wiki. This includes detailed assembly instructions, firmware flashing guidance, and tips on customizing the firmware for enhanced functionality.

All source files - including schematics, PCB layout, firmware code, and the bill of materials - are freely available at https://github.com/dilshan/24ch-usb-high-voltage-driver.

[mercyjuliet1512]

Level Up Your Selenium Skills: The Ultimate Course for Test Automation

Are you looking to enhance your test automation skills and become a proficient Selenium user? Look no further! In this article, we will introduce you to the ultimate course that can help you level up your Selenium skills and take your test automation abilities to new heights. Whether you are a beginner or have some prior experience with Selenium, this course is designed to cater to all skill levels. So, let's dive into the details and explore the exciting journey of becoming a Selenium pro!

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By investing in test automation education, you empower yourself with the knowledge and skills required to excel in the competitive job market. Test automation specialists are in high demand, and having expertise in Selenium can open numerous career opportunities. Furthermore, by leveraging Selenium, you can save time, reduce effort, and deliver reliable results, making it an indispensable tool for any software tester.

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Selenium is a powerful open-source framework that has revolutionized the world of test automation. It provides robust capabilities for automating web browsers and enables testers to perform cross-browser testing effortlessly. With Selenium, you can write automation scripts in various programming languages like Java, Python, C#, and more. Its vast ecosystem of plugins and frameworks further extends its potential, making it the go-to choice for many automation professionals.

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Selenium boasts a rich set of features that make it highly suitable for test automation. Some of the notable features include:

Cross-Browser Compatibility: Selenium allows you to test web applications across multiple browsers, ensuring your website functions flawlessly regardless of the platform.

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Now that you understand the significance of Selenium in test automation, let's explore the ultimate course that can skyrocket your skills in this domain. This comprehensive course is designed by industry experts with extensive experience in test automation using Selenium. It covers everything from the fundamentals to advanced topics, ensuring a comprehensive and well-rounded learning experience.

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Here's a glimpse of what you can expect to learn from this ultimate Selenium course:

Introduction to Selenium and its various components

Understanding Selenium WebDriver and its core functionalities

Hands-on exercises to master Selenium IDE and Selenium Grid

In-depth exploration of best practices for test automation using Selenium

Utilizing TestNG for efficient test case management and optimization

Advanced techniques for handling dynamic elements, AJAX, and other challenging scenarios

Integrating Selenium with frameworks like JUnit and Cucumber for improved test reporting and maintenance

Leveraging Selenium with Continuous Integration tools like Jenkins for seamless integration into the development pipeline

Exploring Selenium's compatibility with cloud platforms for distributed test execution

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In conclusion, if you are looking to take your test automation skills to the next level, investing in the ultimate Selenium course at ACTE Technologies is the perfect choice. With Selenium's powerful capabilities and the comprehensive curriculum of this course, you will acquire the knowledge and expertise needed to excel in the field of test automation. So, why wait? Embark on this exciting journey and empower yourself with the skills that will set you apart in the competitive IT industry. Level up your Selenium skills and unlock endless opportunities!