"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H) [LWN.net]

The H is reporting that a Linux distribution, supposedly created by the "Anonymous" activist group, has been taken down by SourceForge due to security concerns. The distribution is based on Ubuntu 11.10 with additional privacy and security tools like Tor. "In a statement released late last night, SourceForge explained that it had taken the distribution off its servers as significant concerns were raised concerning the software bundle's authenticity and possible maliciousness. SourceForge stated that while it tends to consider projects to be amoral and thus even host software that could be considered controversial, it decided to take Anonymous-OS down as soon as it became clear that it might include malicious software and did not appear to be officially connected with the Anonymous movement. Almost as soon as the release of Anonymous-OS was announced on a new Tumblr page, the activist group stated via its Twitter account that Anonymous-OS is a fake and contains trojans."

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"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 16, 2012 16:23 UTC (Fri) by JEFFREY (guest, #79095) [Link] (1 responses)

I'd be suspicious of the OS, given the name "Anonymous-OS." It seems obvious that an authentic one would have been called "AnonymOS."

"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 16, 2012 18:08 UTC (Fri) by jzbiciak (guest, #5246) [Link]

Is it bad that I thought almost the same thing? *chuckle*

"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 16, 2012 16:26 UTC (Fri) by JEFFREY (guest, #79095) [Link] (2 responses)

An actually, I think Anonymous should send a C&D letter out to protect itself from trademark erosion.

"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 16, 2012 17:04 UTC (Fri) by dskoll (subscriber, #1630) [Link]

Yes, because working within the law is a real hallmark of Anonymous.

"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 16, 2012 18:38 UTC (Fri) by sorpigal (subscriber, #36106) [Link]

I'm not sure how you can send a C&D or retain a lawyer if you are the subconscious of the internet. I'm also not sure how you can be "Officially connected" to a stand alone complex like anonymous. Who could possibly certify that it is?

"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 16, 2012 17:00 UTC (Fri) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link] (4 responses)

Is there actually any sign that it contains malicious software? All I see is one BBC News article in which people say that they don't know what it contains and therefore it *might* contain malicious software but they haven't looked yet. Notwithstanding the fairly awful quality of BBC News Online's science and technology coverage, you could use that argumetn about *anything*.

"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 16, 2012 17:30 UTC (Fri) by Duncan (guest, #6647) [Link] (1 responses)

... Especially blackbox software that the creator insists that you waive your rights to damages for, without giving you the right to examine the source code for what you're waiving your rights on!

... Which is exactly why people like me cannot legally run most proprietary software even if we wanted, because to run it legally (at least where EULAs are considered potentially valid) means agreeing to be liable for something we don't have the right to examine to see what we're actually agreeing to assume liability for running.

Of course freedomware doesn't have this problem, even if it includes the same damage waivers (as most software including gpl-ed software does), because the sources are available to examine and to demonstrably and practically build and run for myself, should I choose to do so.

"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 16, 2012 22:24 UTC (Fri) by k3ninho (subscriber, #50375) [Link]

I like the irony of 'it might work against you' without questioning that of a whole bunch of other, proprietary and cloud-powered, software.

>Which is exactly why people like me cannot legally run most proprietary software even if we wanted, because to run it legally (at least where EULAs are considered potentially valid) means agreeing to be liable for something we don't have the right to examine to see what we're actually agreeing to assume liability for running.

I wish I knew which terms in that mess were unenforceable.

K3n.

"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 16, 2012 20:31 UTC (Fri) by SEMW (guest, #52697) [Link]

> Is there actually any sign that it contains malicious software?

No direct evidence AFAIK, but there is the fact that the distro maker's response to the malware allegations on their tumblr was:

"Please people… in our world, in Linux and opensource world, there is not virus."

Which allows three possibilities. Either
(a) they aren't aware that malware, rootkits etc. for GNU/Linux exist, or
(b) they are aware of them but are confused enough to believe that all the good things they've heard about Linux security somehow stops magically prevents a distro maker from shipping a pre-compromised distro, or
(c) they have riddled the OS with malware and are targeting people who *do* believe one of (a) or (b).

Hanlon's razor would suggest the first two, but the third one still seems likely. In none of the three cases should anyone go within a mile of the thing.

"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 17, 2012 7:00 UTC (Sat) by mindfaq (guest, #72880) [Link]

According to TFA it contains at least Adobe Flash, several Windows Libraries(?) und MS fonts. Whether you consider that "malicious software" is up to you but it sure is somewhat dubious regarding its status of redistributability. ;-)

"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 16, 2012 23:56 UTC (Fri) by pabs (subscriber, #43278) [Link] (3 responses)

Here is a distribution for people who require anonymity:

https://tails.boum.org/

"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 20, 2012 16:22 UTC (Tue) by obspsr (subscriber, #56917) [Link] (2 responses)

I think that this sort of initiative was really badly presented and deserves the rejection by main sites of the community :

The "anonymous" word use is completely misunderstood by these guys.
Which people is ready to give a try to software coming from Anonymous-... , their horrible logos and so on ??? :-(((

The free community does not care about "anonymous" but real kind courageous people like Stallmens, Linu's Torvalds, Kernigan, Ritchie, not fake people hidden after ridiculous nicknames.

We are sick of nicknamed people who are KILLING the net with all their anonymous political comments, anonymous spamming, anonymous viruses, etc, etc ...

If you are honest you can give some code and your name, even to Big Brother !!!

End of comment.
Serge Montagnac.

"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 20, 2012 20:54 UTC (Tue) by nix (subscriber, #2304) [Link]

If you are honest you can give some code and your name, even to Big Brother !!!

Sure. And then Big Brother sends his secret police around to teach you the error of your ways, and you vanish in dead of night and, if you are very lucky, come back much quieter and with injuries you will never talk about.

Your argument applies only to people lucky enough to live in free societies, in those periods of time when those societies are actually free (because they all periodically go through periods when they need a good spring-cleaning, and in such periods non-anonymous critics, and non-anonymous enablers of criticism, are at risk, if not as much at risk as those in openly totalitarian societies.)

(Your argument that pseudonyms are necessarily bad is also untrue. Ask, heck, any woman unwise enough to post anything at all on the Internet under a recognisably female name. Pseudonyms don't even damage reputation assessment: if a pseudonym is long-lived, it is every bit as valuable to its owner, and as useful in determining reputations, as is any conventional name. e.g. the name I'm posting this under is now seventeen years old, as old as I was when I started using it. Strangely I don't plan to do anything that would damage its reputation: it's *my* reputation now, even if this is a pseudonym and not the name my parents call me by.)

"Anonymous" Linux sparks concerns (The H)

Posted Mar 21, 2012 8:26 UTC (Wed) by jezuch (subscriber, #52988) [Link]

> If you are honest you can give some code and your name, even to Big Brother !!!

I think you should really, really watch this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXkI4t7nuc

But don't feel bad, this is a very common fallacy :)