____/ waterskidoo on Saturday 28 July 2007 03:46 : \____
> On 2007-07-28, Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> ____/ waterskidoo on Friday 27 July 2007 23:23 : \____
>
>> Governments (not just in America) have access to the source code of Windows.
>> Not all of them...
>
> I wasn't aware of that.
>
>> Additionally, yes... you do make a good point because not so long ago
>> someone submitted a back door patch, which the patchmaster wasn't wise
>> enough to check carefully, so it made it into many blogs. I used to be
>> highly involved with WordPress for 2-3 years, but not anymore. I just
>> product the stats for the mailing lists and I use WordPress in 3 blogs. I
>> learned a lot from it about the power of collaboration and transparency. The
>> code is hardened because so many eyes are watching it every day as they
>> develop plugins and write patches. The code turns into elegant poetry over
>> time. It makes it maintenable, secure, and well designed.
>
> Yea, personally I think both methods can work and both methods can fail.
> Look at something like IBM's aix which is one of the top systems for
> mission critical situations. Then again, who is policing IBM?
> We have to rely on IBM to catch a rogue coder.
> Same thing as you point out for open source. We have to rely on someone
> smart enough to catch the clever coding. Since we are human, poop will
> happen.
> What scares me is when I see govt agencies involved in the actual production
> code and modifying said code to fit their *needs*.
> Personally I believe *overall* Home Land Security, in it's basic form
> is a nasty evil that we are unfortunately forced to live with because
> their are groups of people that want us dead. IMHO it's worth a little
> inconvenience to thwart the potential attacks by these nuts.
> When it is used as an excuse over and over again to re-write the
> Constitution and Bill Of Rights (USA) however, now we have an
> immense problem.
> It's really very weird and changing times that we all live in.
>
> My opinion is that with the exception of governments like China
> has releasing their own *versions* of Linux, open source software
> and the many eyes approach may have the ultimate advantage.
> If bug squashing is any indication, open source is far ahead
> of closed source in terms of the speed in which things get
> fixed.
> That's a good thing.
> Also the minute we see "Red Vista* head for the hills!
> (IOW China's *custom version* of Windows Vista)
They are actively working on their own version of OpenOffice.org. They could
plant some doors *therein* if they wanted to. The gaps can be extended and
transcend layers. The question is -- will people bite the bait?
As for your point about HS, they duck questions about back doors, but they
won't truly deny this either, AFAICT. They hope that folks like Bin Laden will
be naive enough to assume that Windows is 'clean' and then toss it on their
laptop. The down side of course is that every Average Joe is then treated
equally (bad) and, without warrant (who needs them when you leave no traces
anyway?), everyone's PC can be probed. This the equivalent of full rectal
examination or a Nanny States where a policeman with some special badge can
just enter your apartment any time s/he feels like it and then go through your
drawers (and you can't even protest against it).
Of course, some people would be apathetic. They have nothing to hide. Neither
do I. BUT... they fail to see the boarder pictures and worse things to come.
Example: someone who does not like you plants something in your house/computer
and you then get caught (framed). Remember the case about a teacher who almost
faced jail (never mind ridicule and hassle) when p0rnographic popups appeared
before students? Malware was to blame, but it took months (lawyer time) to
prove this.
Some people got caught with kiddie pr0n. Even a teenager exposed some judge who
had that filth on his PC. He used some holes in Windows to invade many PCs.
What if someone had such files pulled by some malware, of which there is
plenty nowadays (again, blame back doors)?
On the Windows side, computing has become chaotic. 100-150 million PCs are
apparently 0wn3d, but the media is reluctant to admit it. They avoid inciting
panic. Most computers are probably infected in one way or another (even
spyware).
Okay, I've lost focus here, I'll admit, but I tend to write in just one quick
pass.
To use another example of danger of nanny states, watch the growing levels of
censorship? How long will it be before sites like Groklaw or BoycottNovell are
pressured to shut down? Remember that politics and industry are
working /together/. If you don't believe this, then watch how Big Media used
congressmen to kill Internet radio (their competition and a disruptive
technology).
It's not just politics and vile content that might be censored. Probing,
censorhip, the end of anonymity, and taxation (remember that software patents
were not valid a decade ago) are all means of giving more control to those in
position of power, usually very wealthy people.
--
~~ Best of wishes
Roy S. Schestowitz | It is no longer uncommon to be uncommon
http://Schestowitz.com | RHAT Linux | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
05:20:02 up 41 days, 10:48, 5 users, load average: 1.05, 1.64, 1.95
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