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Are You Sure This Is the Source Code?

Posted by timothy on from the not-as-simple-as-md5-sum dept.

oever writes "Software freedom is an interesting concept, but being able to study the source code is useless unless you are certain that the binary you are running corresponds to the alleged source code. It should be possible to recreate the exact binary from the source code. A simple analysis shows that this is very hard in practice, severely limiting the whole point of running free software."

3 of 311 comments (clear)

  1. Problems with verifying the binaries from source by tooslickvan · · Score: 5, Funny

    I have recompiled all my software from the source code and verified that the binaries match but for some reason there's a Ken Thompson user that is always logged in. How did Ken Thompson get into my system and how do I get rid of him?

  2. Re:What a problem by h4rr4r · · Score: 5, Funny

    Hey now, you have to be pretty IT savvy to type ./configure, make and make install all in the same day. Some of us make good money doing that, don't just go suggesting everyone should be doing it.

  3. Re:Bogus argument by NoNonAlphaCharsHere · · Score: 4, Funny

    To borrow from the Tao Te Ching: "The Source that can be told is not the Source."