The UNIX List
Tell HN: H&R Block tax software installs a TLS backdoor
Just a PSA for folks here in the US because tax season is coming up and some of you may be using H&R Block Business 2025. I discovered that the software installs a root CA named "WK ATX ServerHost 2024" (expiry 2049) into your local machine trusted root certificate store. They also helpfully include the private key to this certificate in a DLL file. This certificate does not identify itself as "H&R Block" anywhere and does not get uninstalled when you uninstall the so
Show HN: Unifast – a Rust Markdown/MDX compiler that's 25x faster than remark
Hi HN,I built Unifast, a markdown/MDX compiler written in Rust.It focuses on a simpler compiler pipeline and, in my benchmarks, compiles around 25x faster than the usual remark/rehype-based setup.This started as a personal project because I felt the existing markdown toolchain was powerful, but sometimes more layered and complex than I wanted for straightforward compilation.It’s still very early, so I’d really appreciate bug reports, feedback, and feature requests.Repo / docs:
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Tell HN: Your AI startup is a Next.js page, OpenAI_API_KEY, & Stripe invoice
Your AI startup is a Next.js page, OPENAI_API_KEY, & Stripe invoice, that's it.<p>Gemini, ChatGPT, etc. are unique products that add value.<p>Your AI startup is vaporware.
Launch HN: Sitefire (YC W26) – Automating actions to improve AI visibility
Hi HN! We're Vincent and Jochen from sitefire (https://sitefire.ai). Our platform makes it easy for brands to improve their visibility in AI search.We’ve been working together for years and have backgrounds in RL/optimization at Stanford and software engineering. We came to this idea after speaking with marketing teams who were seeing declining traffic due to Google’s AI Overviews and didn’t know what to do.This space can feel esoteric. Many case studies, few actual studies.
Wine Registry Seeks Co-Founder
Seeking technical co-founder | Curated wine registry marketplace | Napa, CA (remote-friendly) | EquityThe problem: Wedding registries are a $19B market. Wine is almost entirely absent from it. Nobody has built a purpose-built wine registry that connects couples directly with winery partners.What I'm building: Everwine: a registry and marketplace where couples build a personalized wine registry (guided by a taste/occasion survey), guests purchase through a single unified checkout, and w
Screaming into the AI Void
Disclaimer that this post is about AI and its use in engineering.I’m a senior engineer and have been in the professional business for 12 years and I have no idea how much, or if I should even use AI for anything. I feel much like I did when I left my former religion: in a new world where I’m struggling to find identity and what my values actually are.I value craftsmanship - but I also value getting things done. I’ve always advocated for using the strongest tools, pushing for debuggers over print
Show HN: Agent Use Interface (AUI) – let users bring their own AI agent
As I started building AI integrations, I came to realize that for many projects, the the best agentic experience is one that simply enables the user's personal agent to take actions within your app.The existing options like MCP or A2A are quite involved and for simple apps that are already URL parameter driven, those options seem like overkill.This led me to prototype the Agent Use Interface (AUI) spec.The idea is simple: a lightweight, open spec that makes any app "agent-navigable.&qu
Hitori
HitoriHitori – a small, logical application written to allow one to play the eponymous puzzle game, which is similar in theme to more popular puzzles such as Sudoku. https://archivegame.org/hitori/
UniX AI Makes Its Official Debut at CES 2026, Marking a New Era of Mass-Produced Humanoid Robotics
The MarketWatch News Department was not involved in the creation of this content. LAS VEGAS, Jan. 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The International Consumer Electronics Show of 2026 becomes a place to ...
Whatever happened to Unix workstations?
These powerful computers ruled technical tasks in the '80s and '90s. Can you still find one today?
Show HN: Fortress Language: Cybersecurity DSL
Fortress is a new programming language made for cybersecurity that mix Python like ease with C like speed.It is made for OSINT, Recon and reporting.Example code -->compute("Hello World") //This prints Hello WorldIt is cross platform for mac, windows and linux.Download from here --> https://forthackers.pages.dev/ (official website)or go to github -->https://github.com/CzaxStudio/FortressThanks for your time.
Show HN: GLinksWWW – A browser for power users tired of repetitive copy-pasting
I built gLinksWWW, a lightweight standalone browser (Windows/Linux) designed for heavy multitaskers who are exhausted by repetitive workflows. Its core feature is a built-in 18-slot multi-clipboard manager that allows you to store and paste data using dedicated hotkeys (0-9, F1-F8), effectively breaking the single copy-paste limitation. It also features a unique retro-classic UI, zero-tracking privacy, and a native download progress tracker on the taskbar. Detailed feature list, screenshots
Show HN: Dialtone watcher – what is my laptop doing and am I normal
Hi HN we are Andrew and Dex. We built dialtone watcher, a small Go agent for macOS and Linux with a very specific goal: tell me what my machine is doing all day and help me compare that with others.What it does so far:- Watches running processes, CPU and memory use, and active network endpoints.- Groups traffic into human sized summaries by process, domain, and coarse protocol like HTTPS, DNS, QUIC, and Postgres.- Stores a local summary and can post bounded rollups to the dialtoneapp.com api so
Show HN: ResonanceNet – Proof-of-Training Blockchain
I built a Proof-of-Training L1 blockchain where miners train a shared MinGRU neural network instead of computing SHA-256 hashes. Every block makes the model smarter.Key differences from Bitcoin:
- Miners compete on validation loss improvement, not hash targets
- Each block contains a verifiable model checkpoint
- The network produces a publicly available AI model as a byproduct
- MinGRU architecture is ~388x more parameter-efficient than TransformersTechnical details:
- 65K lines of C++20, build
Show HN: Lag – Super fast comms (now avail on CLI)
I have been building a latency focused voice communication service. We have rolled out the webapp and desktop apps and we thought whats next.We created a CLI tui based application that allows you to communicate with voice through your terminal. Currently works on macos and most linux flavours (we are still trying to test these on different platforms)We are also releasing (soon) a self hosted voice stack that you can run in your own terminal as well as releasing the interactive MCP that will allo
Built a 1.3M-line agent-native OS in Rust while homeless. What now?
I’m going to be straight about my situation because I don’t know where else to turn.My dad was diagnosed with cancer. While he was in hospital, the council emptied his house. Everything I owned was in that house. £20,000+ of equipment, years of research, a server with thousands of hours of work. Locks of my kids’ hair. Photos. All thrown in a tip.My family turned my dying dad against me. I ended up living with someone suffering from paranoid psychosis. That’s where I built most of what I’m about
Show HN: SysUpdate – Universal Linux package manager updater
Hi HN,<p>I wrote SysUpdate because I kept forgetting which package manager a distro used when jumping between systems.<p>The tool detects the distro and updates all available package managers automatically (apt, dnf, pacman, zypper, etc).<p>It’s a simple Bash tool and should work on most distributions.<p>Tested on:
Arch, Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, OpenSUSE Tumbleweed.<p>Feedback or distro edge cases are welcome.
Best Linux-Friendly Network Security Providers for Small Business: Top 5 Compared
Compare the top 5 Linux-friendly network security providers for small businesses. Discover reliable tools, features, and protection solutions designed for Linux environments.
NVIDIA hiring engineers to optimize Linux gaming performance
NVIDIA hiring engineers to optimize Linux gaming via Proton. Could signal handheld gaming push or desktop improvements. What this means for gamers.
A Modder Just Ported Linux to the PlayStation 5
A crafty modder finds a way to install Linux on the PS5, offering an eye-catching look at what Sony's console can truly do ...