Reflecting on Linux Security in 2003

LogError writes "Here's a look at some interesting happenings with Linux security in 2003 with comments by Bob Toxen (one of the 162 recognized developers of Berkeley UNIX and author of "Real World Linux Security") and Marcel Gagne (President of Salmar Consulting, Inc. and author of "Linux System Administration - A User's Guide" and "Moving to Linux")."

Comments

IP Theft and The Linux Community

[Anonymous Coward]

The Linux community likes to hide behind the mantra of free and open
software for all and as such has the twisted mindset that all software
should be free for everyone. This should come as no surprise seeing
that the Linux community seems to take pride in stealing anything they
can get their hands on and breaking laws designed to protect IP at the
same time.

Linux users have been advocating downloading Microsoft True Type Fonts
for years mostly because their own fonts and font system in general
has been so horrific that Linux screen fonts in most stock installs
are almost unreadable. Of course they will claim that Linux fonts are
great but if that were really the case why is the internet clogged
with Linux Font DeUglification documents written by Linux users?

They even have documents that give a step by step procedure for
stealing the Microsoft fonts and installing them on Linux systems!
Notice in particular the instructions for the Tahoma font.

http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/mini/FDU/truetype.html
http://corefonts.sourceforge.net/

Next we have Linux users violating the EULA for the X-Box and
tinkering with it so that it can run Linux.
Why on earth any sane person would want to take a bitching game
machine like X-box and ruin it by installing Linux is a mystery to me.

http://xbox-linux.sourceforge.net/index.php

http://xbox-linux.sourceforge.net/faq.php

Pay particular attention to the question about it being illegal and
how they avoid answering the question.

They are also doing the same thing with Sony Play station as well.

http://playstation2-linux.com/faq.php

None of this is going to hold up in a court of law and the Linux
people who are leading these projects are looking for some serious
trouble should Microsoft and Sony decide to pursue this matter.

Finally we have the suit filed by SCO which claims that the Linux
community at large has incorporated stolen code into it's open source
programs.

http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,936269,00.a sp

This should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the Linux
movement from the day Linux wrote the kernel.

The Linux community has proven themselves to be a fight to the end,
steal whatever can be stolen from big business because it is big
business that is killing Linux.

The Linux community has absolutely no respect for the property of
others and will resort to any type of clandestine tactics to steal
whatever isn't cemented down all in the good name of Linux.

So if you are thinking of betting your business on Linux software, you
had better think it over carefully, because if SCO should win, Linux
will be out of business.
And if SCO should lose, do you really think it is wise to bet your
entire business on software that is supported by a community that
promotes stealing and in fact is full of thieves?

Food for thought.

BREAKING NEWS!

[Vint Cerf]

Evil George "Evil" Bush uses powers of HATE and EVIL to MURDER 20,000 innocent children in Iran.

everything that's wrong with slashdot..

[bmajik]

so your first impulse upon readin this was to think i was trolling ? why, because i have an uncommon point of view ? do you disagree with my argument, my conclusion, or my employer ?

Yeah, I _could_ have mentioned that, but it should be obvious from my posting history and my user page that im certainly not hiding it. I wasn't aware that slashdot required a disclosure statement of employment for dissecting a poorly made "argument"

my post was to point out that this was hardly an article at all, and basically some free advertising for this gagne fellow. It had NOTHING to do with linux security in 2003, over half of it was a rant on how shoddy microsoft is.

I've pondered the value proposition of open source before.

I'm sure since you value open source so highly, instead of being dependant on whatever is given to you, that you also sew your own clothes and grow your own food :)

The article i responded to was not an article at all - it was an anti-MS rant and i was irate that something with an interesting title claiming to be about linux security in 2003 - was nothing more than someone pushing their ideaology.

Also - i really dislike the use of the term astroturfing. I'm _not_ being paid by MS to post to slashdot, especially the day after christmas.

I'm not blindly supportive of everything MS does - but unlike alot of people, I'm also not blindly critical. When someone has something interesting or objective to say about MS, I listen, because thats how we get better. When someone is just ranting off and sounding uninformed, occasionally I let them have it (I say occasionally because responding to each instance of this would be a 24/7 endeavour for multiple people :)