"When Geeks Attack"
Feb. 5th, 2004 05:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cosmolinguistAs a semi-geek, I'm used to the things I hear from my geeky friends and the things I read in places like this being over my head to some degree. I am trying to learn things, and this is to be expected.
So it's almost like culture-shock for me to come across something like this article on the BBC, which I read for "normal" news and generally have a favorable opinion of (it's better than American news!).
It's ridiculous, of course, to portray "geeks" in such a light, comparing them to arsonists and vandals. But it's also irksome: most of the people who read this won't be approaching it with the perspective I do, and they might not know that it's ridiculous to think of open-source "zealots" as being wrathful, or MyDoom being the result of vengeful geeks.
The "open-source row" was also explained in a way I'm not used to seeing--admittedly, the Slashdot types are far from unbiased ... but that's because they udnerstand that SCO's lawsuits are a bogus ploy to make money. It's not even a very good ploy--SCO won't specify what code Linux allegedly "stole," and if they did, it would just be rewritten. But none of this was mentioned--while the author does say that Linux devotees probably don't have have that much to worry about, the reason he gives is not that SCO doesn't need any help causing its demise, but that the use of Linux is spreading "litigation or no litigation." Ooo. Those open-source zealots sure do live on the edge, don't they?
The whole article is just unpleasant--with few facts and loaded language, it reminds me why I like to read geek news.
So it's almost like culture-shock for me to come across something like this article on the BBC, which I read for "normal" news and generally have a favorable opinion of (it's better than American news!).
Linux cyber-battle turns nasty
By Stephen Evans
BBC North America Business Correspondent
The MyDoom virus has triggered a new wave of attacks on company websites. It is also looks like a new front in a war waged by those who want to preserve the open-source Linux operating system.
It's usually no easier to fathom the motives of virus creators than it is of any other perpetrator of damage for damage's sake.
Deep in the darkness of the psyche, vandals and arsonists no doubt have their reasons - and so, presumably, do the run-of-the-mill geeks who wreak damage on the unsuspecting computer user.
It's just that the reasoning isn't easy for most of the rest of us to understand.
But, in the case of the MyDoom computer worm, the motivation seems clearer.
It has attacked a company based in Utah called SCO, bringing down its website with a barrage of data sent from countless computers into which the worm had been insinuated, unbeknownst to the users.
There seems little doubt that SCO was targeted - illegally and unacceptably, lest anyone be in any doubt - because it has enraged many people devoted to the Linux operating system.
Two years ago, SCO claimed that it owned more than 800,000 lines of the system which had always been available for free and to anyone since its invention in 1991.
On top of that, SCO has sued IBM, accusing it of infringing on SCO intellectual property in the way it uses Linux.
For good measure, SCO is seeking at least a billion dollars from IBM.
If anyone's anger has no measure, it is the wrath of internet zealots who believe that code should be free to all (open source).
So, it seems likely that the perpetrators of the MyDoom virus and its variants are internet vandals with a specific grudge.
SCO is the big, bad company that violates one of their sacred principles, as they would see it.
There's no proof, of course, but it must be one of the theories at the top of any investigator's list.
Not that Linux devotees probably have that much to worry about.
Despite the law-suits against users by SCO, sales of computer servers using Linux have soared - up on one estimate by 50% in the past year, litigation or no litigation.
Meanwhile the court dispute between SCO and Linux users (rather than the cyberspace war between SCO and the hackers) is scheduled for next year in a court in Utah.
The users are putting in place formidable defences. A group called Open Source Development Labs has set up a fund of $10 million with the backing of IBM and a host of other big Linux users.
In the meantime, experts are pondering the implications of the MyDoom attack.
It is probably the most successful virus in this form of internet warfare, where a wickedly ingenious program persuades thousands of computers to bombard a single website on a particular date.
It's hard to see how any website could withstand that kind of clever evil.
The attack also raises the possibility of internet blackmail, with companies threatened by individuals or even an individual who might be anywhere.
This attack, though, is not blackmail.
It is about malice not money.
It's ridiculous, of course, to portray "geeks" in such a light, comparing them to arsonists and vandals. But it's also irksome: most of the people who read this won't be approaching it with the perspective I do, and they might not know that it's ridiculous to think of open-source "zealots" as being wrathful, or MyDoom being the result of vengeful geeks.
The "open-source row" was also explained in a way I'm not used to seeing--admittedly, the Slashdot types are far from unbiased ... but that's because they udnerstand that SCO's lawsuits are a bogus ploy to make money. It's not even a very good ploy--SCO won't specify what code Linux allegedly "stole," and if they did, it would just be rewritten. But none of this was mentioned--while the author does say that Linux devotees probably don't have have that much to worry about, the reason he gives is not that SCO doesn't need any help causing its demise, but that the use of Linux is spreading "litigation or no litigation." Ooo. Those open-source zealots sure do live on the edge, don't they?
The whole article is just unpleasant--with few facts and loaded language, it reminds me why I like to read geek news.
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Date: 2004-02-05 06:22 pm (UTC)The reason its okay when Slashdot is extremely anti-SCO biased but this article from the BBC was bad is one of reputation and goals. Slashdot is a geek forum, not a news service. The BBC, on the other hand, is a news service, and is expected to behave at a higher standard.
When someone on Slashdot says "Bill Gates worships the Devil", its an opinion. When a reporter at the Beeb posts an article on the BBC website that says "Bill Gates worships the Devil", a lot of people, because of the reputation of the BBC as a reliable news source, will accept it as fact.
For myself, I've always been a big fan of the BBC, and usually trust it more than I trust news on this side of the Big Pond. But factless and innuendo-laced articles like this one make me question that devotion.
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Date: 2004-02-05 08:21 pm (UTC)I am also a fan of the BBC, and thus had feelings of betrayal when I read this.
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Date: 2004-02-06 07:32 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-06 09:35 am (UTC)I didn't actually install it, but that's okay because I'd still be telling you that installation varies among the different distributions. Whichever one you choose, though, a gaggle of information can be found on the 'net (including instructions for installing it), not to mention other stuff that's useful for Linux in general. Being able to ask people things is nice, and even if you don't have geeky friends as I do, there are online resources (even communities on LiveJournal like
Other than that, the biggest thing I can think of involving gettng started is getting peripheral things like printers to work. I've had some difficulty with this, but my friends and the Internet have helped ... and even when I'm frustrated with it, I'm still happier than I would be if I were using Windows. :-) Learning the new system is worth it, I think, because it's so nice, it's flexible, powerful, stable, secure ... oh yeah, and free! It's not perfect but I think it's worth it.
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Date: 2004-02-06 09:55 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-06 10:07 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-06 10:24 am (UTC)Re:
Date: 2004-02-06 12:52 pm (UTC)I do appreciate the colorful metaphor ... and I also really appreciate the notion that someone is willing to think about using Linux for philosophical reasons, rather than the technical ones that have seemed predominant among Linux users, even those who agree with the philosophy. In fact, I am just such a person myself--you might not think it to listen to me now, but a few months ago I knew nothing about Linux, and a few years ago I declared that I hated computers. But I've found them much more fun than I originally thought, especially once I quit doing Windows.
Attracting users like this is a good sign for Linux; it means it's starting to get to people as a viable alternative to Windows tyranny, which I think is really cool. Especially in the face of stupid articles in mainstream news sources that present Linux as something used by fanatics.
Re:
Date: 2004-02-06 01:04 pm (UTC)Anyway, I'm big on personal philosophy--breathing it, living it, being it--and am even stronger against tyranny. The shadow of the spectra of a handful of companies ruling my world does not appeal to me.
I'll figure this whole Linux thing out.