-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
____/ 7 on Wednesday 13 Jul 2011 22:20 : \____
> Roy Schestowitz wrote:
>
>> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>> Hash: SHA1
>>
>> FLOSS: Accept no substitutes
>>
>> ,----[ Quote ]
>> | Free-as-in-freedom software is very often free-as-in-beer, too. This is
>> | normally a good thing. But one open source project developer is calling
>> | out a troubling problem with free software: counterfeit applications.
>> |
>> | The problem, according to VideoLAN developer Ludovic Fauvet, is this:
>> | VideoLAN's highly regarded VLC Media Player, which is licensed under the
>> | GPL, is being redistributed by various organizations' websites, some of
>> | which claim that VLC is actually their application to distribute. These
>> | websites attract users with paid Google AdWords ads that come up in
>> | various media-player related searches.
>> |
>> | Right off the bat, this would be a clear violation of VideoLAN's
>> | intellectual property, but it gets worse. Many of the sites that
>> | redistribute VLC have wrapped the binary in installers that also install
>> | malware in the form of adware and spyware on unsuspecting user's
>> | computers, too.
>> |
>> | "What bothers us the most is that many of them are bundling VLC with
>> | various crapware to monetize it in ways that mislead our users by
>> | thinking theyâre downloading an original version. This is not
>> | acceptable. The result is a poor product that doesnât work as intended,
>> | that canât be uninstalled and that clearly abuses its users and their
>> | privacy," Fauvet wrote in his blog.
>> `----
>>
>> http://www.itworld.com/security/182757/floss-accept-no-substitutes
>
>
> Without freedom software, the closed source world won't be able
> make money from windummies prepared to pay for free software
> that have been repackaged as expensive proprietary software.
A lot of proprietary software, even Windows and Mac OS X, exploits
Free/libre software, sometimes illegally. That's a fact.
- --
~~ Best of wishes
Dr. Roy S. Schestowitz (Ph.D. Medical Biophysics), Imaging Researcher
http://Schestowitz.com | GNU/Linux administration | PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
Editor @ http://techrights.org & Broadcaster @ http://bytesmedia.co.uk/
GPL-licensed 3-D Othello @ http://othellomaster.com
Non-profit search engine proposal @ http://iuron.com
Contact E-mail address (direct): s at schestowitz dot com
Contact Internet phone (SIP): schestowitz@xxxxxxxxx (24/7)
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.4.10 (GNU/Linux)
iEYEARECAAYFAk4eD5gACgkQU4xAY3RXLo4cIACfeKlSp5TidCN7nb3YdUNIyoc0
s30An0uL6GGJCFPX5CWbAcykQsr3juek
=/sw4
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
|
|
