ICYMI: Linux 7.1 Kernel Phasing Out i486 CPU Support

by Paul Arnote (parnote)

Google is changing how Android users install apps from outside the Play Store, introducing a new process that aims to preserve the platform’s sideloading feature, while making it more difficult for scammers to exploit it, according to an article from TechRepublic. The new installation process requires several steps that go far beyond a change in “settings”. Users must first enable developer mode, a hidden feature typically used by programmers and advanced users that require navigating deep into system settings and performing specific actions that most everyday users would never encounter. From there, users must confirm they are not being pressured by someone else to disable security protections, then comes a required device restart and reauthentication step, which Google says is meant to cut off remote access tools or active calls that scammers might be using to monitor victims in real time. The next step is the mandatory 24-hour waiting period, which Google says is meant to protect users against one of scammers’ most effective psychological tactics, the use of urgency. By forcing users to wait a full day before completing the process, the company hopes people will have time to reconsider decisions they might otherwise make under pressure. After the waiting period, users must reauthenticate, a measure intended to block remote access sessions or active scam calls that could influence their actions.

Want to use almost any computer without leaving a trace? According to an article from Lifehacker, you need to meet Tails (The Amnesic Incognito Live System), a Linux distro based on Debian that maximizes user security and privacy. It can run from a USB drive, which means you're able to plug it into any laptop or desktop with a free port (Mac or PC) and take it away again when you're done, with nothing left behind on the computer you borrowed. Tails also comes with anonymous internet browsing built in as standard, through the Tor browser and the Tor network that reroutes your online activity across several private web nodes. No one can tell who you are or where you are, and you can get online without all the tracking and monitoring that's usually associated with opening up a browser. It's perfect for hiding who you are online, and for dialing up your privacy and security protections to the absolute maximum—not to mention getting around state-level censorship, if that applies to you.

Do you still have that Gmail account from your younger years? You know, that one that reads JoeLovesSusan4Ever@gmail.com? Or maybe SchoolSUCKS@gmail.com? The ability to change that initial Gmail account name has started to roll out in the U.S., according to an article from ArsTechnica. You are limited to one email change every 12 months, and you can do so without creating a whole new account. The email and other data in your account remain untouched when you migrate to a new username, and you will continue to receive mail destined for your original address. You can also log in to your account using either username. Some Google products and third-party services that access Google data will continue to display your original email, but the new username becomes your primary Google account identifier. If you don’t want to see that old handle anywhere, the only option is still to create a totally new account. There is a Google Support page for how to affect the change, here.

A patch queued into one of the development branches ahead of the upcoming Linux 7.1 merge window is set to finally begin the process of phasing out and ultimately removing Intel 486 CPU support from the Linux kernel, according to an article from Phoronix. Anyone still using an i486 CPU with an upstream Linux kernel would be incredibly rare and no known Linux distribution vendors are still shipping with i486 CPU support, but in case you are, you can continue to be running one of the existing Linux LTS kernel versions. Linus Torvalds recently commented that he's feeling like it's time for letting the Linux kernel go of its long-present i486 CPU support as there's "zero real reason" to keep it around and waste upstream Linux kernel development efforts.

A new scientific study from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has come to the startling conclusion that a single protein is the catalyst for cognitive dysfunction — and the damage it causes can be reversed, according to an article from Inc. Scientists at UCSF’s Bakar Aging Research Institute examined activity in the hippocampus, the brain’s command center for learning and memory. Comparing young and old mice, the researchers discovered that older brains, unlike younger ones, were flooded with the FTL1 protein. To figure out whether the protein was actually the culprit or just another byproduct of the aging process, they elevated FTL1 levels in young mice, whose brains soon began to look and act old. Their neurons quit branching out into complex networks, shrinking instead into stubby extensions that no longer communicated with the efficiency of youth. But it was the next step in their experiment that ended in a revelation. Lowering the protein levels in older mice didn’t just slow or stop the fraying of the older brain. Clearing out the FTL1 clutter helped rebuild lost connections in the hippocampus and literally healed existing damage. The proof: the treated mice soon scored “significantly better” on memory tests.

From an article on Tom’s Hardware, Via Licensing Alliance (Via LA), the patent pool administrator for H.264/AVC, quietly restructured its streaming license fees recently, replacing a flat $100,000 annual cap with a tiered system that tops out at $4,500,000 per year for the largest platforms, according to a Streaming Media report published on March 17. The change applies only to previously unlicensed implementers seeking a new license in 2026 or later, with all companies that held an active AVC license as of the end of 2025 retaining their original terms. The new hike for H.264 comes in the wake of disastrous increases in HEVC/H.265 fees that led to widespread issues spanning the globe, including Asus and MSI laptops being banned in Germany.

Researchers have discovered that a particular protein in the gut is fighting an important battle against the spread of bacteria, according to an article from ScienceAlert. Through a combination of protective effects, the protein could in the future be used in treatments for conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease. The protein, intelectin-2, isn't new to scientists, but its role in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract hasn't been clear. Intelectin-2 is part of a group of proteins called lectins, which work by binding to specific sugar molecules. A team led by researchers at MIT has now found that intelectin-2 works in two ways: First, it links mucus molecules lining the GI tract, strengthening the mucus barrier that protects intestinal tissues. But if there's a breach, intelectin-2 also recognizes and traps a variety of bacterial cells, either inhibiting their growth or killing them off completely. So intelectin-2's role is a combination of defense and offense activities that protect bodily health.

Every month I receive validation that I made the right decision to stop using Google Chrome due to the (literally) monthly security updates to plug critical vulnerabilities (among other reasons). It looks like the trend continues ad nauseam, since just days after Google started rolling out a high-risk security update for Chrome users, the technology giant has now issued a new alert following the confirmation of a new zero-day exploit observed in the wild, according to an article from Forbes. This means that hackers already have a head start when it comes to using CVE-2026-5281 in attacks against the 3.5 billion users of the world’s most popular web browser. The good news is that Google has commenced another security update distribution to address this high-severity vulnerability, along with a staggering 20 others. The bad news is that it could take days, or even weeks, to reach you, according to the Google announcement. Thankfully, however, there is a way to ensure that your Chrome browser gets that Google security update right now, and you can scroll to the end of the linked article for step-by-step instructions.

A new report dubbed "BrowserGate" warns that Microsoft's LinkedIn is using hidden JavaScript scripts on its website to scan visitors' browsers for installed extensions and collect device data, according to an article from BleepingComputer. According to a report by Fairlinked e.V., which claims to be an association of commercial LinkedIn users, Microsoft's platform injects JavaScript into user sessions that checks for thousands of browser extensions and links the results to identifiable user profiles. The author claims that this behavior is used to collect sensitive personal and corporate information, as LinkedIn accounts are tied to real identities, employers, and job roles. "LinkedIn scans for over 200 products that directly compete with its own sales tools, including Apollo, Lusha, and ZoomInfo. Because LinkedIn knows each user's employer, it can map which companies use which competitor products. It is extracting the customer lists of thousands of software companies from their users' browsers without anyone's knowledge,' the report says.

Rates of diabetes are lower in high-altitude locations, but researchers have been unsure why. Now, a new study in mice reveals a possible explanation: Red blood cells, which play a pivotal role in transporting oxygen throughout the body, may lower blood sugar by converting glucose into a compound that helps release oxygen into tissues, according to an article from LiveScience. If the results can be replicated in people, they also hint that drugs in early-stage development could potentially mimic this pathway. "The work highlights the important role that red blood cells can play in diabetes regulation," study lead author Isha Jain, a biochemist at the Gladstone Institutes and the University of California, San Francisco, told Live Science. "That's the concept to be targeted in the future."

Scientists have cured type 1 diabetes in mice, without long-term immune suppression, according to another article from LiveScience. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks insulin-producing cells, and replacing them with transplanted cells from donors has historically required people to take strong immunosuppressants for life, which severely limited the reach of such transplants. But in a new study, researchers created a "chimeric," or blended immune system that contains elements of both the recipient's and the donor's immune systems. This enabled mice to tolerate a transplant of insulin-producing cells without long-term immune suppression. Much more research is needed before this kind of treatment could be available to patients in a clinic, and keeping the blended immune system balanced is tricky. But if extensive follow-up testing in humans shows the transplantation process is safe and durable, it could offer an avenue for reversing the potentially deadly disease. "This is potentially a way to cure diabetes," Dr. John DiPersio, an oncologist at Washington University in St. Louis who researches cellular therapy but was not involved in the study, told Live Science. "It does represent, in theory, a big step forward."

Early observations from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have already revealed more than 11,000 previously unknown asteroids, reshaping our view of the solar system and offering a striking preview of what's to come once full science operations begin, according to an article from Space.com. The discovery, made using preliminary data, demonstrates Rubin's ability to scan the sky quickly and deeply. Even during limited early observations, the telescope has detected thousands of moving objects in just days, far outpacing traditional asteroid surveys, according to a statement from the NSF NOIRLab.

The top official at NASA says that the chance of alien existence is a factor in how the US space agency plans its missions, according to an article from The Guardian. Speaking on April 5, 2026, NASA administrator Jared Isaacman told CNN’s Meet the Press that investigating the existence of alien life “goes to the heart of many things that we do at NASA”, adding: “Our job here is to go out and try and unlock the secrets of the universe.” One of the questions, he said, is “are we alone? The question would say that is inherent in every one of our scientific endeavors, our exploration endeavors.” Isaacman pointed to a potential moon base on the South Pole of the moon that would incorporate telescopes “that will help us continue this great search”. But the official qualified his comments, offering that he had been to space twice and “didn’t encounter any aliens up there. I have not seen anything to suggest that we have been visited by any intelligent life forms out there.” But, he added, “when you think about it, we got 2tn galaxies out there. Who knows how many star systems within each of it? I would say the odds that we will find something at some point to suggest that we are not alone are pretty high.”

Millions of Android users are now eligible to claim some cash from Google as part of a $135 million settlement, according to an article from Lifehacker. This settlement is part of a class-action lawsuit filed earlier this year alleging that Google collected unnecessary data from Android users over cellular networks. Payouts are capped at $100, though the total could be significantly less if the estimated 100 million class members receive equal amounts. Just in case you’re wondering, I wouldn’t expect this to change any egregious behavior by Google. Since they are a multi-billion dollar corporation, this paltry amount isn’t a punishment. Instead, it’s “just the cost of doing business.”

Chrome is rethinking how you browse with new vertical tabs and a cleaner reading mode to cut out clutter and boost focus, according to an article from TechRepublic. Google announced a new Chrome update on April 7. But instead of its routine fixes, the tech giant introduces two notable shifts that change how users navigate the browser. For the first time since its launch, Chrome is changing how tabs are positioned, giving users the option to switch to a vertical layout or stick with the traditional horizontal view. In addition to tab repositioning, Chrome introduced a better way to focus while reading: a reading mode that instantly cuts off distracting media, improving overall productivity.

The FBI was able to pull Signal messages from a defendant's iPhone — even though that user had deleted the app, according to an article from Lifehacker. The FBI tapped into the iPhone's notification database, where they found alerts containing incoming messages the user received. Signal has a setting that can block this vulnerability, but it has to be enabled manually. You might have heard about Signal, the encrypted chat app. But while the app is no alternative to a dedicated SCIF, it is a good option for the rest of us to communicate more securely. Signal uses end-to-end encryption (E2EE), which, very simply, means that messages are "scrambled" in transit, and can only be "unscrambled" by the sender and the recipient or recipients. If you're in a Signal chat, you'll be able to read incoming messages just like you would any other chat app — if you're an attacker, and intercept that message, all you'll find is a jumble of code. E2EE makes it difficult for anyone without your unlocked device (or your unlocked Signal app) to read your Signal message difficult, but not impossible. That's part of the reason the chat app is no option for government officials (though no third-party chat app could be). But it's also a good reminder that no matter who you are, your secure chats are not impervious to outside forces. If someone wants to break into your chats, they might find a way to do so.

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a new campaign in which a cluster of 108 Google Chrome extensions has been found to communicate with the same command-and-control (C2) infrastructure with the goal of collecting user data and enabling browser-level abuse by injecting ads and arbitrary JavaScript code into every web page visited, according to an article from Hacker News. According to Socket, the extensions (complete list here) are published under five distinct publisher identities – Yana Project, GameGen, SideGames, Rodeo Games, and InterAlt – and have collectively amassed about 20,000 installs in the Chrome Web Store. Of these, 54 add-ons steal Google account identity via OAuth2, 45 extensions contain a universal backdoor that opens arbitrary URLs as soon as the browser is started, and the remaining ones engage in a variety of malicious behaviors.

The last week of the release continued the same "lots of small fixes" trend, but it all really does seem pretty benign, so I've tagged the final 7.0 and pushed it out, reported Linus Torvalds on the Linux Kernel Mailing List (LKML.org) on April 12, 2026. I suspect it's a lot of AI tool use that will keep finding corner cases for us for a while, so this may be the "new normal" at least for a while. Only time will tell. Anyway, this last week was a little bit of everything: networking (core and drivers), arch fixes, tooling and self tests, and various random fixes all over the place. Let's keep testing, and obviously tomorrow the merge window for 7.1 opens. I already have four dozen pull requests pending - thank you to all the early people.

New research has linked levels of vitamin D in midlife with toxic tangles of tau protein that accumulate in the brains of those with Alzheimer's disease, according to an article from ScienceAlert. A statistical analysis of blood samples and brain scans from 793 adults showed that the more vitamin D in someone's system in middle age, the lower the amount of tau protein tangles they tended to have years later. The finding comes from an international team of researchers, and while it doesn't prove direct cause and effect, it suggests an association that's worth looking at.

The x86/asm changes merged yesterday (April 14) for the Linux 7.1 kernel with a few low-level improvements, according to an article from Phoronix. Uros Bizjak worked out a few of the x86/x86_64 Assembly improvements for the Linux 7.1 kernel. For the most part it's uneventful work this cycle, but there are two patches for removing some unnecessary memory clobbers. Avoiding the memory clobbers from the inline Assembly code can be useful for minor impact to better instruction scheduling and register allocation. The memory clobbers act as a read/write memory barrier to prevent the compiler from reordering memory loads/stores from the inline Assembly statement and to flush any values cached in registers back to memory as well as reloading values cached in registers that may have been changed in the Assembly code.

Fred Hutch Cancer Center researchers have made a significant advance in the effort to block Epstein Barr virus (EBV), a widespread infection that affects about 95% of people worldwide and is linked to several cancers, neurodegenerative conditions, and other long-term illnesses, according to an article from ScienceAlert. By working with mice engineered to produce human antibodies, the team created new monoclonal antibodies designed to stop the virus from attaching to and entering human immune cells. The findings, published in Cell Reports Medicine, show that one of these antibodies was able to completely prevent infection in mice with human-like immune systems when exposed to EBV.

Picture this: your brain is a high-performance engine. Over decades, it doesn’t just wear down, it also starts to run hot, according to an article from Texas A&M. Tiny “fires” of inflammation smolder deep within the brain’s memory center, creating a persistent brain fog that makes it harder to think, form new memories or even adapt to new environments, all the while increasing the risk to disorders like Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists call this slow burn “neuroinflammaging,” and for decades it was thought to be the inevitable price of growing older. Until now. A landmark study from researchers at the Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine suggests the inflammatory tide responsible for brain aging and brain fog might actually be reversible. And the solution doesn’t involve brain surgery, but a simple nasal spray. Led by Dr. Ashok Shetty, university distinguished professor and associate director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, along with senior research scientists Dr. Madhu Leelavathi Narayana and Dr. Maheedhar Kodali, the team developed a nasal spray that, with just two doses, dramatically reduced brain inflammation, restored the brain’s cellular power plants and significantly improved memory. The most surprising part? It all happened within weeks and lasted for months.

Researchers have found a way to make the immune system's T cells far more effective at attacking cancer. By blocking a protein known as Ant2, they were able to change how these cells produce and use energy, essentially rewiring their internal power supply, according to an article from ScienceDaily. This transformation makes T cells more active, more durable, and better equipped to destroy tumors. The discovery points to new treatment strategies that strengthen the body's natural defenses, offering a more precise approach to cancer therapy. A new study suggests a path toward next-generation cancer treatments by training the immune system to respond more efficiently and aggressively. The research was led by PhD student Omri Yosef and Prof. Michael Berger from the Faculty of Medicine at Hebrew University, working with Prof. Magdalena Huber of Philipps University of Marburg and Prof. Eyal Gottlieb of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Together, the international team found that adjusting how immune cells handle energy can greatly improve their ability to eliminate cancer. At the center of this work is a key idea: when T cells, which play a central role in immune defense, are forced to alter how they convert energy, they become much better at detecting and attacking cancer cells.

A largely overlooked plant compound found in common fruits and vegetables is drawing new scientific attention for its potential effects on aging and brain health, according to an article from SciTechDaily. A little-known nutrient found in everyday fruits and vegetables may be doing far more in the body than scientists once believed. Researchers from the University of Seville and the University of Kent report that phytoene, a colorless carotenoid present in foods like tomatoes, carrots, oranges, and peppers, can extend lifespan and protect against key processes linked to Alzheimer’s disease, at least in a widely used laboratory model. See? Your momma was right … always eat your fruits and vegetables.

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) officially recognized a fifth form of diabetes in 2025, after decades of controversy, according to an article from Science Alert. It's now urging other health authorities, like the World Health Organization (WHO), to follow suit. Type 5 diabetes is rarely discussed or researched, and yet it is thought to impact up to 25 million people worldwide, especially those in low- and middle-income nations where access to medical care is limited. It was first described in 1955 in Jamaica, then forgotten about for many years. Even once it was acknowledged by the WHO in the 1980s, the diagnosis created controversy. For going on seven decades, scientists have debated whether type 5 diabetes exists at all, and in 1999, WHO withdrew the classification due to a lack of evidence. There has been little agreement on how to diagnose type 5 diabetes or how to treat it. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition that destroys the pancreas's ability to produce insulin. Type 2 diabetes is an insensitivity to insulin due to diet and lifestyle. Type 3c diabetes is commonly caused by damage to the pancreas. Gestational diabetes is triggered by hormonal changes during pregnancy. Type 5 diabetes seems to stem from nutrient deficiency.

Scientists at Stanford Medicine have identified a naturally occurring molecule that appears to mimic some of the weight loss effects of semaglutide, the drug widely known as Ozempic, according to an article from Science Daily. In animal studies, the molecule reduced appetite and body weight while avoiding several common side effects such as nausea, constipation, and muscle loss. The molecule, called BRP, works through a different but related biological pathway and activates distinct groups of neurons in the brain. This suggests it may offer a more precise way to control appetite and metabolism.

Carl Richell, the CEO and founder of Linux hardware vendor System76, shared today on fediverse that the upcoming Colorado Age Attestation bill has been amended to exclude Linux distros and Open Source apps, according to an article from 9To5Linux. As you may know, several US states are discussing a Digital Age Assurance Act law that mandates that operating system providers and application developers implement age verification measures to protect minors online, which may require users to input their birthdate during the initial setup. System76 CEO Carl Richell has been in discussions with Colorado Senator Matt Ball, the co-author of the Colorado OS age attestation bill, to exclude open source software from the upcoming age attestation bill, and today he received an updated version of the bill that does exactly that. The amended age attestation bill apparently excludes all open source operating systems and applications, as well as code repositories like GitHub and GitLab, and containers like Docker or Podman.