Georgia Learns Why Open Source is Better
Georgia has some concerns about closed-source code:Kaspersky anti-virus, one of the most popular software programmes worldwide, has unofficially been declared a spy programme in Georgia. State organizations are avoiding installing Kaspersky, afraid of information leaks.
“The reason is that Kaspersky anti-virus is projected by Eugene Kaspersky, CEO of Kaspersky Lab, who is of Russian origin. Officials from the Ministry of Defence are afraid that with the help of Kaspersky software it will be possible for the leak of confidential news to occur,” George Kofenlu, Product Manager of UGT, told The FINANCIAL.
Maybe they'd like to start using ClamWin: free and open to scrutiny.
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6 comments:
"Western software product declared as harmful by former Soviet protectorate."
This is surprising?
Well, actually, Georgia is worried about the *Russian* angle, not the Western one: Saakashvili is hugely pro-Western.
Saakashvili is a moron though. He was the one who started the war because he knew he could play the cards and sympathies of the Western world by provoking Russia. I'm not going to say that Russia isn't culpable as well, because I know they want that land as their own.
As for the whole issue about closed source virus scanners: it makes no difference. Give me an assembler and I can bypass them both just as easily. For virus scanning, Kaspersky does a far better job that Clamwin. (Yes, I am an open source advocate... where it makes sense to do so.) As great as free software is for some, it's not the be-all end-all of software development, unlike what RMS has to say.
Think realistically.
@Entroy: why do you say Kaspersky is better than ClamWin?
Years of personal experience tell me that Kaspersky is better than ClamWin.
I really don't care that much for all the hurrah-huzzah around open source software any more. I've listened to rabid anti-establishment nutcases like RMS go on and on about how "open, free and transparent" is better over the evil "closed and hidden" and I just don't buy it any more. It's great to use the software where it makes sense to do so, but claiming it's the be-all-end-all-saviour-of-the-planet-zomg-GPL-isthemagiccureforcancer is just blind stupidity.
Some crackpot deux ex machina scheme is not the answer, open or not.
I don't think RMS really claims free software is better in a technical sense, but better in a moral sense.
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