Re: [tlug] RMS is at it again...again

["SL Baur" <steve@example.com>]

On 10/2/08, Edward Middleton <emiddleton@example.com> wrote:

> Well as Stephen J. Turnbull pointed out at past Nomi.  Do you check the
>  source of every piece of source before you compile and run it.  Do you
>  check it sufficiently to insure a sophisticated organization with plenty
>  of resources couldn't insert a Trojan without you finding it.  Where do
>  you source your hardware, where is it manufactured, how is it
>  delivered?  Who manufactures your tin foil ;)

Steve has been around me too much in the past year, I'm
sure he'll calm down after awhile ... :-)

People have accepted ActiveX and worse, Javascript.  Blind
downloading of code to your machine is just pleading for
trouble.  Once you accept the premise of that, it does not
matter what other "security" you have, you are counting
the days until you are pwned.

Gee, now with this Web 2.0 crap, Linux and Mac OS X hosts
are just as vulnerable as the latest dung from Redmond.

I agree with Stallman, though for different reasons.  Network
connections do not always work and when they do not, bad
things can happen if data you absolutely, positively must have
is at the other end of the broken wire.  My email went down
this week (RC hung imap daemon), while getting it restored
the (internal corporate) service guy asked me what I did on
September 8th.  I told him, "I have can't remember, but if I
had my email I could tell you".  And as it turned out, after my
email was restored, it took all of a few seconds to verify that was
the first Monday after a Sunday flight across the Pacific and I
was jet lagged up the ying-yang and did not do much of
anything.

Security is just a side issue.  It will be even less of an issue
as the kids using social networking sites who have bared
their lives to world have children who do the same thing.

-sb