Best Buy, Samsung, And Westinghouse Named In SFLC Suit Today [LWN.net]

Best Buy, Samsung, And Westinghouse Named In SFLC Suit Today

Posted Dec 18, 2009 0:40 UTC (Fri) by davi (guest, #18853)
In reply to: Best Buy, Samsung, And Westinghouse Named In SFLC Suit Today by MKesper
Parent article: Best Buy, Samsung, And Westinghouse Named In SFLC Suit Today

It is a pity the Linux kernel can not be upgraded to use the GPLv3 license.

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Best Buy, Samsung, And Westinghouse Named In SFLC Suit Today

Posted Dec 20, 2009 17:48 UTC (Sun) by smipi1 (subscriber, #57041) [Link]

Manufacturers know that most consumers are not experienced hackers. Giving
them all keys to root will probably result in many bricked products that
falls outside the warranty.

Even worse: Let's say they hand out keys to root, thereby allowing those with
the savvy to use them to prey on the other 99.5% who don't.

There are many such scenarios that manufacturers have to contend with if they
do not lock their products down. Linux with GPLv3 would therefore increase
R&D cost, making proprietary solutions more appealing. NOT good for the
Universal Appeal of Linux and all the consumer benefits that go with it.

Best Buy, Samsung, And Westinghouse Named In SFLC Suit Today

Posted Dec 20, 2009 23:27 UTC (Sun) by anselm (subscriber, #2796) [Link]

It probably wouldn't be a great stretch to set up different units with their own randomly-generated root passwords. For example, AVM does it for WPA keys on the FRITZ!Box (a WLAN router/telephony appliance). That way, a would-be cracker couldn't trivially use their own device's root password to compromise other people's devices.