Subject: Re: [lojban] to-do list (was Re: New Members, Board of Directors, other LogFest results)

From: "Robert J. Chassell" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2002 11:50:19 +0000 (UTC)

You have to understand that many people don't want to install ANY
software downloaded from the net. there is a certain paranoia
that has set in. 

You can be safer downloading from the Net than installing from a CD
since the program goes through fewer steps from creators to you, and
the steps are more visible. When you download from the net, you can,
for example, check the MD5 sums for the programs you install with more
confidence.

Think about a recent warning example: the CD from Microsoft with a
virus in it that hurts people using Microsoft software. I doubt that
the software creators themselves wanted to damage their own code, but
they did not protect the safety of their work because they did not
monitor the stages through which it traveled.

If you are concerned, avoid CDs and -- most importantly -- avoid any
software whose license forbids you or people you trust from looking at
the source. Remember, three different groups may look at sources:
the creators, the bad guys, and the good guys.

Good security can exist, but you are in trouble when you (or people
you trust) cannot determine whether a company has installed that
security well, except by being robbed or otherwise hurt yourself,

-- 
Robert J. Chassell [email-masked]
Rattlesnake Enterprises http://www.rattlesnake.com