Community > ReactOS Newsletter Archive > ReactOS Newsletter: Volume 1, Issue 5
Volume 1, Issue 5
by Stuart on 2005-11-13
topReactOS Weekly Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 5
The Number keeps creeping up, and I believe, with this Issue, the ReactOS Weekly Newsletter equals the amount of editions Splash, the former ReactOS Newsletter, released
topFreeloader: What is it?
Freeloader (abbreviated freeldr [Why is abbreviated such a long word? -Ed.]), is the ReactOS Bootloader, licensed under the GPL.
topWhat does it do?
- It parses the ReactOS registry, and examines particular keys for certain values to act upon.
- It loads so-called "Boot Drivers" i.e. a very minimal set of drivers needed for low-level disk access.
- It has internal read-only filesystem support for FAT and Ext2 partitions.
- Freeldr also detects what hardware you have, so it can load the correct boot drivers
- It loads Ntoskrnl, and the HAL
- Has a string of command arguments, programmable via the ini file.
Freeldr also composes, and interprets, the ARC Paths (ARC Standing for Advanced RISC Computing), that are used in Windows NT 4.0 and later, for the boot.ini settings.
It can also Multi-Boot with other Operating Systems. With Windows 9x, Freeldr becomes the default boot manager. From the Boot Menu, you can select either ReactOS or Windows 9x (Or even MS-DOS, God forbid you still using that as a Primary OS...)
With Windows NT/2000/XP/2003, things get a little more interesting. ReactOS setup detects whether NTLDR (The Windows NT Boot Loader) is installed, and, if it is, adds its own boot sector to the Primary Partition, and writes a link in boot.ini, that points to the Boot Sector file, that loads Freeldr. This is referred to as 'Chain Loading'.
Freeldr can also be loaded directly via GRUB (GRand Unified Bootloader), but that requires a lot of effort. Most Common method of loading Freeldr is GRUB -> NTLDR -> Freeldr.
Freeldr also has it's limitations. It requires a FAT16 or FAT32 Primary Partitions, for example.
topSecurity in ReactOS
As far as security in ReactOS goes, there are two methodologies:
- Windows Security
- UNIX/Linux/BSD Security
Windows Security, while often an Oxymoron outside of the Windows Server groups, is ultimately the most compatible with the software ReactOS runs. However, it has a fundamental flaw; Most software will only install when given Admin priviledges. This is a major problem in Business environments, since it opens the system up quite needlessly to intrusion.
UNIX, and it's varients, have followed best security practice from the beginning. You run as a local user, and only input an Administrative Password when absolutely needed. It also means software doesn't "Just run", like on Windows, that could potentially install itself, and affect the system without the user seeing any of it.
It has been put forward to use Samba-TNG (Samba being the well known File and Print Server Software for Unices), on ReactOS, as a replacement for the Windows NT Domain Controller, if it can be ported to the Win32 Architecture (Bearing in mind, both focus on Unix Support).
Security also covers File System Permissions. It needn't be said most advanced file systems (Such as UFS, NTFS, and Ext2/3), include native support for file permissions. Now, ReactOS can only use FAT16/FAT32 file systems... so, how can security possibly be implemented, when the most unsecure foundations are currently being used?
The Answer ia a FAT Security Policy. In effect, another FAT Driver on top of the normal one, would control who sees what. It's not 100% secure, but it would be enough to stop Mr and Mrs. Joe Public from compromising it easily. More information on this can be found on the Wiki.
topEye on SVN
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Implemented
- RtlRemoveUnicodePrefix
- RtlInsertUnicodePrefix
- RtlFindUnicodePrefix
- RtlSplay
- RtlSplayTree
- RtlDelete - Most of it
- RtlRealPredecessor
- RtlRealSucessor
- RtlPinAtomInAtomTable
- ObLogSecurityDescriptor
- WaitNamedPipeW
Major changes in Trunk
- Device Driver Install Wizard Added
- Added Tonga GMT+13 Regional Timezone
- New Plug-and-Play Serial Mouse Driver
- WS2_32 work by Alex Ionescu added to branch
- TCP/IP control panel applet begun
- Win32k test added to build
- Work is continuing on MSConfig, especially on Startup and Service listings
- sc.exe added to build, and bootcd
- devmgr.exe added to bootcd
- old rosapps tests makefiles removed, replaced by xml files
- Work has started on converting tcpsvcs to a proper NT Service
- Moved the initialization of USB keyboard and mouse to DriverEntry
- Information on Windows Installer Service Added
- Freeldr now unconditionally supports Xbox
- Boot processor is now set as the Active Processor in Kelnit1
- Process Manager now shuts down before registry
- More shutdown messages added And of course,More Compile Fixes, and MSVC Fixes
What's up for Next Week?
Next Week, I'll be covering how ReactOS intends to expand itself, to platforms beyond x86, into the realms of the Xbox [Still x86, I'll grant], PowerPC, and Xen Architectures.
As always, feedback is welcome, as are any requests you'd like to see featured.
Until Next Week.. Happy Compiling!
Stuart "TwoTailedFox" Robbins
ReactOS Weekly Newsletter Editor
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