Open Source and Privacy
With the buzz in the news lately about privacy invasion, eavesdropping, and suspicious software (ex. Sony root kit), it is easy to see that there is a lot of concern over these issues. This presents another opportunity to discuss the advantages of open source. As we know with the open source model the making of the system are open to everyone including the users, which makes it very hard to hide things within the system without anyone knowing. For example if I am going to download an open source music player I can be pretty sure that there is not going to be any spyware in it. For a non-tech example we can see that in an open source style organization, in this case I will discuss a non-profit organization, there is no way the organization could use resources for suspicious or criminal activities. With all of the makings of the organization including the financial documents and lists of available resources, it would be difficult to become involved in unrelated activities. For software can be a little easier to comprehend, and I think that as government and individuals become aware of the risks of using non-open source software there will be more widespread acceptance. The model provides comfort to the users and allows free modification so even if there was something suspicious in a program it could be removed. The advantages of open source and the philosophy will allow a more secure world for computing as well as provide a model for transparent organizations.
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