On Thu, 13 Nov 2003, Gadi Evron <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > point (3) - when one doesn't have the source code, one finds it more > difficult, AGAIN, to a level, to find holes in the software.
OK, yes, "to a level". But: > NOT every kid in the world who *knows* how to read code, also knows how > to even.. use a disassembler. If that takes some kids off the software's > "back". it is a plus. Is it a major one? I think it is. Sorry, I think in an Internet-connected world, it is not. Many people have pointed out that it only takes one person to find the flaw and create an exploit, which is published or leaks out. Then how many kiddiez or worm instances will there be at the gate, armed with it? I didn't save every message for this thread, so if you responded to Jeremiah, my apologies for missing it. But I think this is very significant: On Wed, 12 Nov 2003, Jeremiah Cornelius <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Almost every one of the vulnerabilities that I reference were discovered > by independent 3rd parties, with access only to derived binary objects. > MS - with privileged access to sources - never discovered any of these > flaws internally. So if closed source (only object code made public) is really a "major" advantage (your word) for the home team with respect to security, why would the above be true? I think if Microsoft (or any other company) wants to claim credibly that closed source is a major security advantage, they need an order of magnitude more people reviewing their own code. (It would only be the combination of the two that would make a difference, and frankly that isn't even the most important thing in my view.) MS in particular stands out because they have billions in the bank... and they couldn't hire people as clever as the people outside their organization finding these vulns. without the source, if they really wanted to? Come on. -- Brent J. Nordquist <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> N0BJN Other contact information: http://kepler.acns.bethel.edu/~bjn/contact.html * Fast pipe * Always on * Get out of the way - Tim Bray http://tinyurl.com/7sti _______________________________________________ Full-Disclosure - We believe in it. Charter: http://lists.netsys.com/full-disclosure-charter.html