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El Reg published a story that quotes GNU evangelist and free-software advocate saying just about what we would expect him to say today about the current state of technology:
LinuxGNU firebrand Richard Stallman says Windows and Mac OS are malware, Amazon is Orwellian, and anyone who trusts the internet-of-things is an ass. In a column for The Guardian, Stallman preaches to the non-technical masses about the evils of proprietary software and vendor lock-in, and how closed-door coding facilitates clandestine deals with nation state spy agencies."What kinds of programs constitute malware? Operating systems, first of all," Stallman testifies.
"Apple systems are malware too: MacOS snoops and shackles; iOS snoops, shackles, censors apps and has a backdoor.
"Even Android contains malware in a non-free component: a back door for remote forcible installation or de-installation of any app."
Stallman references a a Bloomberg report in saying Microsoft "sabotages" Windows users by disclosing vulnerabilities to the NSA before patches are released. It isn't just Windows and MacOS that Stallman brands malware: Barbie dolls, smart TVs, and cars also earn his ire thanks to the potential for marketers to secretly pry on a child's worst fears or listen in to lounge room conversations.
I'm not sure that I'm going to worry about Barbie dolls listening on conversations, but I understand his concerns. I have often wondered about the expansion of sophisticated computer technology into all aspects of life, such as in HDTVs and cars. The possibilities for abuse are many, and we have learned over recent years governments are not immune from exploiting vulnerabilities to commit serious crimes and violations of our civil liberties.
[Editor's Comment: Original Submission]
(Score: 2) by Nerdfest on Tuesday May 26 2015, @02:52AM
Microsoft is not just sabotaging windows. Despite some of their recent (PR) gestures towards open software, they're allegedly up to their old tricks of spreading FUD about open source software by having affiliate companies exaggerate and open source bugs as much as possible. "VENOM", "Logjam", etc ... think the security researchers came up with those media friendly names?
Oh well, I guess it's still better than "Get the Facts".
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Hairyfeet on Tuesday May 26 2015, @12:50PM
Oh good damned Lord....really? Are you REALLY gonna blame your bugs on "teh ebil M$" over the simple fact that "many eyes" is a provable myth, is that really your position?
Face the facts Nerdfest, when Google started using the Linux kernel in Android and ChromeOS they painted a giant fucking bullseye on Linux. You wanted millions of users? You got it sparky, along with the legion of malware writer looking to exploit them. Linux has NOT, I repeat NOT been properly vetted nor had too damned much of the code audited, see Heartbleed and Shellshock, 2 of the most used pieces of Linux code on the planet. Linux was able to skate by on security by obscurity for so long because server admins? They tend to be really smart guys with degrees that only run the least permissions and watch every byte of code they run.....that is a lousy target for a malware writer as even if they manage to get the code in it won't stay long, making it a low value target. Now home users, the majority of which have no damned clue what is supposed to even be running on their device? Now THAT is a big juicy steak of a target!
So if you think things are bad now you ain't seen nothing yet, and "teh ebil M4" isn't gonna have a damned thing to do with it, you can thank Google (along with all those "IoT" devices you been cheering) for making anything Linux worth taking a big old bite of.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Nerdfest on Tuesday May 26 2015, @04:50PM
If you read what I said, you'll notice that I'm not blaming them for the bugs, I'm blaming them for 'marketing' them, to try and cause distrust of FOSS. It is fair game as there have been a couple of serious bugs, but they are in a somewhat glass house (especially given the near certainly of back-doors), or they would be if FOSS developers had the millions in marketing dollars to spread feat about Windows bugs.
Feel free to continue your rant though, just be aware that the people who discovered the bugs (a Google researcher for HeartBleed, I think) didn't *name* them "Heartbleed" or "ShellShock". Have a look into who did.
(Score: 2) by Hairyfeet on Thursday May 28 2015, @01:42AM
They didn't have to "market" shit, bugs like Heartbleed and Shellshock cost billions to clean up and anytime you cost billions when you fuck up? It IS gonna be big news friend, that is the kind of shit that grabs headlines.
Besides you want to give Linux bad press you don't need bugs, all you have to do is look at its self appointed "prophet" RMS who thinks its perfectly acceptable to yank off his socks on stage and eat some toe funk [youtube.com] like some crazy bum. Can you even imagine Cook, Nadella, or Torvalds doing anything so fucking disgusting on fricking stage no less? If I was trying to sell a company a MSFT OS over Linux all I would do is show a clip of Nadella presenting along with a list of his accomplishments and then that video of RMS along with his quotes about being a "squatter" and how "voluntary" pedophilia is okay and just say "now which person would YOU like bringing publicity about the operating system YOUR company is gonna be using?". Bet I'd be cashing the check before the presentation was over, and I wouldn't need any "corporate conspiracy" from "teh ebil M$" to pull it off either.
ACs are never seen so don't bother. Always ready to show SJWs for the racists they are.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 27 2015, @02:53AM
over the simple fact that "many eyes" is a provable myth
It's not a myth. The simple fact is that the code is available to all, so there will, in all likelihood, be some people who look at the code. Not everyone, and the detection of bugs and exploits isn't perfect by any means, but it's more probable than not that people will look at the code. Before you bring up your straw man about the "is-ought fallacy", know that merely saying that some people will likely look at the code and that this is better than being beholden to a company producing proprietary software is not an example of that. Pointing to some well-known and dangerous exploits does not disprove this point, either, because no one has made any claims of perfection. Proprietary software has had all sorts of horrible exploits, bugs, and backdoors, and you don't even have the freedom to check the code, meaning that that possibility is not even there; you're beholden to some greedy company who will likely cooperate with the government willingly or quickly do so under threat of force. Free Software is about freedom and not practical benefits, but it has those practical benefits as well.
Microsoft, Google, Apple, Sony, etc. are *all* quite evil; not just Microsoft. Their business practices are harmful to users, and proprietary software is more dangerous than ever in this suspicious-less spying age where computers are ubiquitous.
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Thursday May 28 2015, @05:59AM
Heartbleed is a security bug disclosed in April 2014 in the OpenSSL cryptography library.
Shellshock, also known as Bashdoor, is a family of security bugs in the widely used Unix Bash shell.
Neither of these have anything to do with Linux. They are userland programs and libraries. Bash can run on Windows as can OpenSSL. You might as well blame Microsoft for Flash bugs.
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A