this post was submitted on 08 Aug 2021
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Open Source

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Open Source is an interesting alternative, which adds the possibility of collaboration and customization in the development of the software, it allows developers to use the code or part of it for their own projects, this naturally offers many advantages. Now, many times I read several clearly wrong opinions about it. OpenSource is more secure and more private than closed source, which is completely false, it is not, it is not the first time that I have discovered Trojans and other malware in OpenSource. It is true that a developer can review the code, although this is not always easy in very complex software with up to millions of lines of code, many also pointing to external scripts, which also require revision. For this reason, many developers do not do it, limiting themselves to changing certain codes to adapt it to their needs or to create their own product. For this reason, security and privacy always depends on the activity of the creator / creators and the corresponding community, if any, to detect possible infiltrations by hackers, who also have access to the code of this software. The normal user, without great knowledge, has no possibility of verification, far from passing the product through VirusTotal or the AV that he uses. You must trust the product's TOS and PP, in many cases not much better for privacy than other proprietary products. Of course, the free argument is also false, not all OSS is free, it can even have high costs. For this reason, I think that, to maintain the freedom and the great advantages that the OpenSource movement has, to put an end to these mistaken opinions and to make users aware of the real value that this movement has, so as not to lead them to a field of disappointment.

Preferably use OpenSource, but like any other software, avoid blind trust and check the application before using it and above all, importantly, always read the TOS and PP of the product, this avoids many annoyances. Avoid products whithout updates for a long time, which shows a lack of attention on the part of the developer.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 years ago (6 children)

My experience is that open source tends to result in a much higher quality of code than closed source projects. The mere fact that the code is in the open tends to be a psychological factor leading people to write better code because they know that lots of people will see it. This difference can also be seen when companies open source projects.

While open source does not guarantee that the code will be more secure, it certainly does help in that regard. When the code is developed in the open it's a lot harder to sneak in things like backdoors into it. The incentives are different as well since there's no rush to meet deadlines that often lead to cutting corners. It's also possible for third parties to audit open source products. The users don't have to personally do this validation and can rely on the community around the project.

More importantly, I think the real value of open source lies in the fact that it's not driven by commercial incentives. Let's say you found a perfect commercial product that addresses your needs. Sooner or later this product will stop working the way you want. Companies need to be profitable to continue existing and that means that their software has to evolve and chase what current fads are, if you didn't want changes then you're out of luck. If a company goes out of business you're also out of luck.

Meanwhile, open source projects can exist on minimal funding, and even when original developers take a project in a different direction the project can be forked. Mate and Cinnamon forks of GNOME are perfect examples of this. If you're using MacOS or Windows then you're stuck with whatever MS and Apple decide is best.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 3 years ago (1 children)

More importantly, I think the real value of open source lies in the fact that it’s not driven by commercial incentives. Let’s say you found a perfect commercial product that addresses your needs. Sooner or later this product will stop working the way you want. Companies need to be profitable to continue existing and that means that their software has to evolve and chase what current fads are, if you didn’t want changes then you’re out of luck. If a company goes out of business you’re also out of luck.

Nah, there are a lot of open source companies. Also very big ones. There are also many that open source large parts or just some applications. If they do a change that the community doesn't like, they do a fork.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 years ago

The discussion is regarding whether the source is open or closed and proprietary. Open source developed by a company is still open, people can still look at it, fork it, and so on. My point was that when a company has a closed source product then you end up with the problems I described.

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