Microsoft update servers left all Azure RHEL instances hackable (2016)

THE various sites of CBS, notably ZDNet, told us some days ago that most of Azure had become GNU/Linux instances. I've carefully and meticulously picked all the articles about it that I was able to find, taking note that mostly Microsoft boosters were pushing that story (see comments in the second page in relation to more recent articles). With the long weekend (Independence Day) having just begun we suppose we won't be missing more such stories, so a time for rebuttal seems about right. We'll keep it short or at least concise because past articles have already explained where we stand on these matters.

"Microsoft was thus never ever a friend of what later became FS or OSS or FOSS or FLOSS. Microsoft was very much antithetical to it and it still is."GNU/Linux is a system which goes back to the 1980s, not so long after Micro-Soft had been founded by a couple of sociopaths with a 'Jihad' (Bill Gates' word) against Free software (see Gates' infamous open letter to "hobbyists"). They sought to stop the sharing of code (which up to that point was still rather common and predated software patents). Microsoft was thus never ever a friend of what later became FS or OSS or FOSS or FLOSS. Microsoft was very much antithetical to it and it still is. In our "Openwashing" section (in daily links, which we now publish more frequently) we often explain and also show how Microsoft merely paints itself as "open" whilst in practice all the core products remain proprietary software. Azure is proprietary software. Windows is proprietary software. Office is proprietary software. Visual Studio is proprietary software. Exchange is proprietary software. SharePoint is proprietary software. SQL Server is proprietary software. And so on...

What isn't proprietary software at Microsoft? Usually a few bits and pieces which on their own are pretty useless (like a calculator with surveillance telemetry in it). Last week we wrote that if Linux values security and autonomy, then it will reject the company that started PRISM with the NSA. Microsoft cannot be trusted with security and privacy (see the article at the top; we've screenshot it). The corporate media, i.e. the likes of ZDNet and Microsoft 'fan' sites (not grassroots), have been endlessly repeating the ridiculous lie which is “Microsoft loves Linux” (in image form and in text; I saw it about a dozen times over the past week alone), but if you call yourself a "journalist" and also say “Microsoft loves Linux,” may we also suggest you publish articles about how Donald Trump's rape survivors are all "liars" and Lance Armstrong is actually a decent person?

"What isn't proprietary software at Microsoft? Usually a few bits and pieces which on their own are pretty useless (like a calculator with surveillance telemetry in it)."We're aware that, as Eren Niazi‏ put it, many media companies are nowadays marketing companies (deception and PR are their business model). He also told me: "Microsoft has a master plan for open source and it’s not good. Open Source is about Freedom, not control. Don’t you all think it’s a little suspicious what Microsoft paid for GitHub?"

For those who don't know, Niazi‏ is one of the key people behind Open Source and he largely shares my views on Microsoft, including the hijacking of the "Open Source" brand (he sent me many dozens of replies like the above).

“Microsoft has a master plan for open source and it’s not good. Open Source is about Freedom, not control. Don’t you all think it’s a little suspicious what Microsoft paid for GitHub?”
      --Eren Niazi‏Microsoft is just trying to swallow everything "Open Source" and, if possible, everything "Linux" as well. This isn't love. This is subjugation. They try to control not only Windows but also the competition of Windows. Their goals have not changed and nowadays they try to hijack the Linux brand (brand dilution), associating Vista 10 with "Linux" -- and Googlebombing accordingly -- using WSL (WeaSeL). At the end of the day Microsoft wants everyone just using Microsoft at the server side (Azure, no matter the OS) and the desktop side. Love GNU/Linux? Then install WSL from the "store" and check out Microsoft "goodies" like Visual Studio Code and the new "Terminal". ⬆

"A computer on every desk and in every home, running Microsoft software." This is the mission statement of Microsoft itself; it is the definition of the conditions under which Microsoft itself can declare overall victory.

--Microsoft, internal document [PDF]