Linux @lemmy.world cm0002 @lemmy.world 4w ago

Linux removing an outdated, insecure Microsoft USB network protocol that's still on Windows

www.neowin.net Linux removing an outdated, insecure Microsoft USB network protocol that's still on Windows

The Linux foundation seems ready to finally axe a Microsoft-made remote network protocol for USB that is still a part of modern Windows operating systems.

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Wait, isn't RNDIS what's used when you tether your Android's connection via USB? Or am I mistaking it for something else?
- Yes, and it's still in new phones. They're being disingenuous saying that it's android phones don't use it.
  
  So I may not be able to use ADB and Fastboot anymore after I get the kernel update?
- Yes, with the exception of some that switched to USB CDC NCM already. I seem to be lucky, the Pixel 6 is one of the first to have made the switch.
  
  So if my mint install updates I won't be able to use USB tethering? Is there a way to update my phone to use USB CDC NCM? Or would I have better luck recompiling my mint install to add the standard they just removed? I'm pretty new to Linux (literally made the switch last November) and I sadly have to use USB tethering when my ISP shits the bed with routing to the US
Good on them, I guess.

This kind of thing can never be removed from Windows because somewhere there is a Fortune 500 company whose entire IT infrastructure is precariously balanced such that it relies on this obscure feature -- or some other equally rickety legacy Win32/16 API crap -- and if it ever goes away their business will collapse and they'll sue Microsoft for a billion dollars.
- What are you talking about? Microsoft constatntly removes and adds features to their software and OS, no one can sue them for it.
  
  Yeah, windows 10/11 has broken a ton of stuff. I have to use RS232 plugs for programming controllers at work, and I had to buy new usb-RS232 cables for all our computers because windows 11 broke support for all the older cables. I've also had a lot of programs break.
  
  It's really frustrating to be trying to troubleshoot if an old controller is working or not, and not know if you can't connect to it because it's fried or if some new windows update is preventing the connection/software from working.
Well, that'll be a problem for anything that's got crossplay between XP and Linux in a local environment.
- someone using xp probably won't mind using some outdated linux kernel as well
  
  Much easier to get and install a copy of WinXP than old Linux.
- Could probably be patched back in if you really need it or want it. Linux is open source after all.
@cm0002 eh, does that mean I can't anymore tweak my Lumia? Fuck (yes I still have a Lumia, even many years after their death, it is still my best phone, android can't compete, an android, and I mean all of them, lags like hell on 2Gb RAM, the Lumia runs super smoothly with 1 Gb RAM)
- android, and I mean all of them, lags like hell on 2Gb RAM
  
  False. The key is the software you use. I use Lineage OS without Gapps, most apps from F-droid and my mid-range Samsung runs pretty smoothly with 2GB of RAM.
  
  This. LineageOS on any device that supports it immediately improves said device x10.
  
  I have an old as hell Galaxy tablet that had slowed down to a crawl after a few years. With LineageOS it's usable again.
- Unlikely, unless you tweak your Lumia that's plugged into a windows system remotely from a Linux system
  
  @cm0002 there's another way: using a VM
- Can't you not run your android on 2gb of ram? 🙃 That's such a weird complaint to be honest, how often did you tweak your lumia before, anyway?
So mamy cellular modems are going to break. That’s what you get for sticking to a shitty „standard” made by a corpo known from their shitty work.

45 comments