The dictionary entry for 'back door' from the Jargon file 4.0.0
Historically, back doors have often lurked in systems longer than anyone expected or planned, and a few have become
widely known. Ken Thompson's 1983 Turing Award lecture to the ACM admitted the existence of a back door in early
Unix versions that may have qualified as the most fiendishly clever security hack of all time. In this scheme, the C compiler
contained code that would recognize when the `login' command was being recompiled and insert some code recognizing
a password chosen by Thompson, giving him entry to the system whether or not an account had been created for him.
Normally such a back door could be removed by removing it from the source code for the compiler and recompiling the
compiler. But to recompile the compiler, you have to use the compiler -- so Thompson also arranged that the compiler
would recognize when it was compiling a version of itself, and insert into the recompiled compiler the code to insert
into the recompiled `login' the code to allow Thompson entry -- and, of course, the code to recognize itself and do the
whole thing again the next time around! And having done this once, he was then able to recompile the compiler from the
original sources; the hack perpetuated itself invisibly, leaving the back door in place and active but with no trace in the
sources.
What is best about Windows 2000? (Remember pick the BEST answer):
(1) It has synergy!
(2) It's by Microsoft(tm).
(3) Because PC World magazine says so.
(4) It makes it wasy to spot losers. [They don't run it!]
(5) I7 M4K3 U l33t!
The timer is reset every time you install the software.
See the false assumption? Software need not be "installed" to be used.
Software could be easily made to run directly off of CDROM. We only install onto our hard disks the many software titles we bought AS A CONVENIENCE to avoid lots of disk swapping, but this would not be a concern for a rental version of the SW now would it? Non-installable CD versions of software would also cut down on piracy. It's more desirable to pirate if you can have every pirated app all on your HD for easy access. Frequent CD swapping makes piracy less attractive, but perfect for occasional rental use! And the try before you buy nature of run-off-CD-apps would get public exposure of your SW and encourage more people to buy the full/installable version!
No need for trickery and keys and expiring and self destructing code. Run from CD. Better still, entire rentable, self-contained, applications that are fully bootable off of CD.
The myth that software is not rentable because of the difficulty of "uninstalling" it has been thoroughly debunked here by yours truly.
If transmeta can make fast chips that need no blowers, then why can't intel and AMD? Face it. We're all just used to this sloppy design.
Overheated chips that fry when the fan dies are in the chip maker's own financial interests. It lets them sell more chips while placing blame for the chip failure on 3rd party components (fans). Great racket guys!
Volkswagon used to make cars that needed no liquid cooling. Does anyone even ***ask*** can we make a car/chip/product run cooler, or is it just ***assumed*** that bulky add on cooling apparatuses will be required? If no one's asking, then we have a problem. The thinking has stopped.
Slashdot Mirror
Historically, back doors have often lurked in systems longer than anyone expected or planned, and a few have become widely known. Ken Thompson's 1983 Turing Award lecture to the ACM admitted the existence of a back door in early Unix versions that may have qualified as the most fiendishly clever security hack of all time. In this scheme, the C compiler contained code that would recognize when the `login' command was being recompiled and insert some code recognizing a password chosen by Thompson, giving him entry to the system whether or not an account had been created for him.
Normally such a back door could be removed by removing it from the source code for the compiler and recompiling the compiler. But to recompile the compiler, you have to use the compiler -- so Thompson also arranged that the compiler would recognize when it was compiling a version of itself, and insert into the recompiled compiler the code to insert into the recompiled `login' the code to allow Thompson entry -- and, of course, the code to recognize itself and do the whole thing again the next time around! And having done this once, he was then able to recompile the compiler from the original sources; the hack perpetuated itself invisibly, leaving the back door in place and active but with no trace in the sources.
Still trust the NSA?
--
What is best about Windows 2000? (Remember pick the BEST answer):
(1) It has synergy!
(2) It's by Microsoft(tm).
(3) Because PC World magazine says so.
(4) It makes it wasy to spot losers. [They don't run it!]
(5) I7 M4K3 U l33t!
--
See the false assumption? Software need not be "installed" to be used.
Software could be easily made to run directly off of CDROM. We only install onto our hard disks the many software titles we bought AS A CONVENIENCE to avoid lots of disk swapping, but this would not be a concern for a rental version of the SW now would it? Non-installable CD versions of software would also cut down on piracy. It's more desirable to pirate if you can have every pirated app all on your HD for easy access. Frequent CD swapping makes piracy less attractive, but perfect for occasional rental use! And the try before you buy nature of run-off-CD-apps would get public exposure of your SW and encourage more people to buy the full/installable version!
No need for trickery and keys and expiring and self destructing code. Run from CD. Better still, entire rentable, self-contained, applications that are fully bootable off of CD.
The myth that software is not rentable because of the difficulty of "uninstalling" it has been thoroughly debunked here by yours truly.
--
Overheated chips that fry when the fan dies are in the chip maker's own financial interests. It lets them sell more chips while placing blame for the chip failure on 3rd party components (fans). Great racket guys!
Volkswagon used to make cars that needed no liquid cooling. Does anyone even ***ask*** can we make a car/chip/product run cooler, or is it just ***assumed*** that bulky add on cooling apparatuses will be required? If no one's asking, then we have a problem. The thinking has stopped.
--