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Analysis Of Symantec's Stance On Censorship
robochan writes "According to this report in the Sydney Morning Herald, Chief Operating Officer of Symantec, John Schwarz, was quoted as 'calling for laws to make it a criminal offense to share information and tools online which could be used by malicious hackers and virus writers.' This article takes a look at the negative affects and also a couple of recent examples of "censorship legislation" backed by the COO of Symantec, and what little effect it has had on criminals, while having a substantial affect on responsible citizens."
GCC has been made illegal.
Well I, for one, welcome our new Websters Dictionary Overlords
Your hair look like poop, Bob! - Wanker.
In conclusion, whether or not Symantec's COO is just smokin' crack or understands what is at risk, any attempt to censor these critical security tools, including exploit code, from the Internet will result in a constitutional travesty followed by a significant market downturn, a degraded security community, and the commercialization of vulnerabilities where the market is driven by the criminals we are trying to "stop".
Those damn virus-helpers over at Symantec, I hope the law skins them alive.
I've found that my posts don't format quite right w/o a sig.
If you stick to shrinkwrapped software, and DON'T run ANY other form of executable, then you DON'T need anti-virus software.
So what is this "Norton AntiVirus" for? To help people who download cracked software keep their computers healthy? Sounds like a shady product to me.
Don't look at me I voted for Kodos!
If Mr. Edison had thought smarter he wouldn't sweat as much. --Nikola Tesla
My corner convenience store has buckets of Slim Jims! Now I have to get a license to eat one? Also, how do I burglar with one?
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government.
"Even exploit code has a legit purpose. Am I going to take offline/patch every sshd in my organization because of a crappy rumor that there's a remote DOS overflow? Hells, no! "
Mind if I ask where you're working, name/address or ip will suffice. TY.
The DMCA.
Really, I know what I'm doing...Ohhhh, look at the shiny buttons!
Don't forget punch card readers for all the old-school people around here!
If I point out that you are incorrect, making me a foe does not make you any more correct.
I'd like to see someone make a punchcard virus that can mutate and spread.
no really i would
So if virus abetting tools are outlawed then I imagine that the Sale, Possesion, or Manufacture of Office would be punishable by no less than 10 years' imprisonment or fine no less than $100,000.
make it a criminal offense to share information and tools online
I guess that makes MS Visual Studio and MSDN illegal?
I would seem to think it is usefull, and would be a nice replacement for buggy, proprietary, craptools, like McAfee. And Yeah, it should run on windows. /Dread
Two questions:
(I'm guessing grape goes best, but that's just a guess)
"Murphy was an optimist" - O'Toole's commentary on Murphy's Law
tools that could help virus writers? like, what? c++? visual basic? or, more realistically, nessus?
Outlook Express
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."