Comments on: Remote control of your computer with non-free software is unwise http://www.digitalcitizen.info/2010/01/31/remote-control-of-your-computer-with-non-free-software-is-unwise/ Free Software movement news and related interests. Sun, 18 Jul 2010 02:27:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: J.B. Nicholson-Owens http://www.digitalcitizen.info/2010/01/31/remote-control-of-your-computer-with-non-free-software-is-unwise/comment-page-1/#comment-2871 J.B. Nicholson-Owens Fri, 26 Feb 2010 04:04:03 +0000 http://www.digitalcitizen.info/?p=712#comment-2871 Thanks for the pointer. Unfortunately this does not satisfactorily address any of the points I have raised. In that FAQ you see how a programmer describes how their program works. We have no way to verify most of how uTorrent works; that FAQ is not information from someone you have reason to trust telling you how the program actually works. Checking the Javascript running in your browser isn't enough because that only covers what your browser does and some of what the uTorrent program does working with your browser. As with all proprietary software, without complete source code we can't know what the program does and what the program is capable of doing. Therefore proprietary programs are all untrustworthy by default. This isn't just a security and privacy problem. This problem is fundamentally a software freedom problem. You deserve the freedom to inspect, share, and modify published software. You should choose software that respects your software freedom. There is no substitute for letting someone you trust inspect a program's source code, modify that program to suit your needs, and distribute improved versions of the program. Thanks for the pointer. Unfortunately this does not satisfactorily address any of the points I have raised. In that FAQ you see how a programmer describes how their program works. We have no way to verify most of how uTorrent works; that FAQ is not information from someone you have reason to trust telling you how the program actually works.

Checking the Javascript running in your browser isn’t enough because that only covers what your browser does and some of what the uTorrent program does working with your browser. As with all proprietary software, without complete source code we can’t know what the program does and what the program is capable of doing. Therefore proprietary programs are all untrustworthy by default.

This isn’t just a security and privacy problem. This problem is fundamentally a software freedom problem. You deserve the freedom to inspect, share, and modify published software. You should choose software that respects your software freedom. There is no substitute for letting someone you trust inspect a program’s source code, modify that program to suit your needs, and distribute improved versions of the program.

]]> By: Fwip http://www.digitalcitizen.info/2010/01/31/remote-control-of-your-computer-with-non-free-software-is-unwise/comment-page-1/#comment-2870 Fwip Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:55:47 +0000 http://www.digitalcitizen.info/?p=712#comment-2870 I'd invite you to check out Falcon's page titled "Falcon Beta Privacy FAQ." It seems to address most of your concerns. http://falcon.utorrent.com/srp/privacy I’d invite you to check out Falcon’s page titled “Falcon Beta Privacy FAQ.” It seems to address most of your concerns.

http://falcon.utorrent.com/srp/privacy

]]> By: home furniture http://www.digitalcitizen.info/2010/01/31/remote-control-of-your-computer-with-non-free-software-is-unwise/comment-page-1/#comment-2869 home furniture Thu, 18 Feb 2010 17:23:54 +0000 http://www.digitalcitizen.info/?p=712#comment-2869 Very informative article. The points you've made regarding proprietary programs make sense. By not having access to the code, the public would not be able to know what's really happening behind the software. This is very risky with using these types of software. I would be more comfortable using a torrent app which is open source so the community can see if there's any malicious code embedded. Very informative article. The points you’ve made regarding proprietary programs make sense. By not having access to the code, the public would not be able to know what’s really happening behind the software. This is very risky with using these types of software. I would be more comfortable using a torrent app which is open source so the community can see if there’s any malicious code embedded.

]]> By: remote access http://www.digitalcitizen.info/2010/01/31/remote-control-of-your-computer-with-non-free-software-is-unwise/comment-page-1/#comment-2866 remote access Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:59:54 +0000 http://www.digitalcitizen.info/?p=712#comment-2866 People need to be very careful with torrent programs in general, and with falcon spcifically. I use utorrent exclusively but I will not be using this one. People need to be very careful with torrent programs in general, and with falcon spcifically. I use utorrent exclusively but I will not be using this one.

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