RE: [dvd-discuss] goldfish -- cautious!!!

["Michael A Rolenz" <Michael.A.Rolenz(at)aero.org>]

If you don't know the source code, then compiling it yourself won't 
help...remember the DEC VAX command file "virus" o the late 80s. A useful 
enough command file that had interspersed instructions to write a set of 
characters to a command file and then at the end execute that file. Since 
it was executed in the root by an operator reformatting the disk did 
wonders to the whole system.

WRT to even trusted software, has Symantec, McAfee etc,  considered what 
Palladium and some of that ilk will do to their trustworthyness? MS$ may 
not let them get insight into what is going on. If they do, then they may 
be limited in what they can do or may be stopped from doing things that 
MS$ perceives as "bad" or reducing their market share (the DoJ just 
doesn't get the incidiousness of having control of an OS for nefariouis 
ends. I make no distinction between MS$ messing with my computer and the 
latest Virii)




Jeme A Brelin <jeme@brelin.net>
Sent by: owner-dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu
11/12/2002 01:15 AM
Please respond to dvd-discuss

 
        To:     Openlaw DMCA Forum <dvd-discuss@eon.law.harvard.edu>
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        Subject:        RE: [dvd-discuss] goldfish -- cautious!!!



On Mon, 11 Nov 2002, Richard Hartman wrote:
> First rule: never double-click on something that
> was sent to you.

No, first rule is "Don't use proprietary software."

Down the line are rules such as these:
Don't use software that can run an arbitrary executable through
"clicking".

Don't use software that doesn't respect a strict set of user/system
permissions.


> First & foremost, though: scan, scan, scan!

First and foremost, though:
Don't run anything you didn't compile yourself.

J.
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