Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Breaks the Web and Linux

Coffee time



Summary: How Microsoft uses 'security' to exclude Web sites and GNU Linux distributions

Microsoft does not comply with the Web. It does not adhere to standards, either. It rejects fine keys and prominent Web folks complain about it.



One writer explains that "[a]s of Oct. 9, 2012, longer key lengths are mandatory for all digital encryption certificates that touch Windows systems.

"That must make Microsoft some new foes.""This means that Internet Explorer will refuse to access websites that do not have RSA keys with minimum lengths of 1024 bits. You won't be able to exchange encrypted emails, run ActiveX controls or install applications on Windows. This isn't new, as Microsoft started making announcements about this well over a year ago."

Then there is this about Microsoft blocking Flash based on a private whitelist: "Yeah you read that right. I just received an interesting email from Brightcove (the video delivery guys) about issues with their Flash based solution and Windows 8 running the new Internet Explorer 10."

That must make Microsoft some new foes.

These things are actually less malicious than plugging proprietary software hooks into Linux to discourage use of Free and open source virtualisation even in GNU/Linux, not to mention UEFI, which Debian agrees is a very malicious move (there is no solution to it yet). Microsoft is knowingly complicating the process of installing GNU/Linux and ways exist for spinning it as benign or beneficial.

James Bottomley, who used to work on some Microsoft stuff on behalf of his former employer Novell (e.g. on Hyper-V), speaks of a new workaround that bloggers try to grasp.

Pogson states correctly that this should not be legal. Stallman agrees. To quote Pogson: "I don’t like any solution that depends on M$. If they can revoke that key, GNU/Linux falls down. They have messed up keys before either deliberately or through incompetence. Someone should sue M$ over this mess. It’s clearly anti-competitive. Also, this doesn’t look like a solution for servers."

Why should anyone be asking Microsoft for permission to use a computer which does not even have Windows?

"Pogson states correctly that this should not be legal."News about it sometimes misses the point, but Varghese writes: "Fifteen days from today, Windows 8 will go on sale; only hardware that is certified to work with this system will be able to boot it, with signed keys being used to determine whether a genuine system is being booted.

"This will put those who boot other operating systems at a disadvantage. Given this, the Linux Foundation has come up with a means of bypassing secure boot to enable users of open source operating systems to continue to boot on hardware certified for Windows 8."

He later criticises this, as he did several times in the past. It is an important issue that even conferences cover. Here is what one UEFI apologist wrote: "The plan for supporting UEFI Secure Boot in Fedora is still pretty much as originally planned, but it's dependent upon building a binary which has the Fedora key embedded, and then getting that binary signed by Microsoft. Easy enough for us to do, but not necessarily practical for smaller distributions. There's a few possible solutions for them."

Techrights' position on this is that UEFI is anticompetitive and antitrust should therefore be pursued. Let is all remind us that there is no reformed Microsoft, it is still the same unethical corporation.

Recent Techrights' Posts

SLAPP Censorship - Part 194 Out of 200: The Court Needs to Also Look Into Microsoft-Controlled Restricted Boot Advanced by An American (Garrett) to Promote Monopoly and Back Doors Everywhere
Kill switch sold as 'security' is like euthanasia sold as a cure
Linux Kernel Becoming a Slopfest - Part 7 - Infested With or Plagued by Bot-Generated Slop, Committed by Microsofters
Slop is a security threat; even the person committing slop to Linux might not be aware that there's a back/bug door in the code
Edward Snowden Lost His Voice, Then His Leaks Lost Exposure (Access Denied)
When states want to deny people access to some information they have many tools at hand
 
SLAPP Censorship - Part 195 Out of 200: Two Years Since Garrett, Graveley and Lozza Worked in Parallel to Censor Techrights
It began in September 2024, shortly after we had sued Garrett
Linux Kernel Becoming a Slopfest - Part 8 - In Conclusion
this can invite more SCO-like problems in the future
Germany, Like Switzerland, Will Dump Microsoft's Proprietary Software and Disservices, Then Dump Windows for GNU/Linux
This impacts not only the Windows revenue; this corrodes any "rents" Microsoft was getting from "subscriptions"
Microsoft Shuts Down More Studios, Morale Low, More Mass Layoffs Ahead of Reports
They pretend it's not happening or that it's a lot smaller than it actually is
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, September 22, 2026
IRC logs for Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Gemini Links 23/09/2026: Ljubljana, Poetry, and FORTRAN
Links for the day
The EPO's Central Staff Committee (CSC) Shows Job Insecurity at Europe's Second-Largest Institution
Who would want to join a company with such low job security?
There Are Thousands More Microsoft Layoffs (Including Silent Layoffs), Not Hundreds
Microsoft does have layoffs and today is no exception (except Microsoft talks about it)
Gemini Links 22/09/2026: Disability Studies, Slop Boosters, and TkInter
Links for the day
Links 22/09/2026: Flock is Collapsing Amid Mass Backlash and Internet Society Collaborates With the 'Epstein Class' (Trafficking of Women)
Links for the day
Raspberry Pi Has Microsoft Secrets Inside, Now DRM
now we deal with SBCs that have DRM in them, put there for commercial reasons
2 Hours Ago The Register MS Published a Page That Says "AI" 42 Times Because It Was Paid to Do So
Still inflating the bubble for money
Gemini Links 22/09/2026: Scout Night, Cybernetic Capitalism, and Thoughts on Companies Forcing People to Adopt Plagiarism Engines
Links for the day
Links 22/09/2026: "An Arsenal of Surveillance" and Slop Bots Suggest Starting Wars
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 193 Out of 200: Breaks GNU and Linux, Tries to Silence Critics, Loses All Money, Looks for Microsoft Allies and Sponsors
The latest emotional knee-jerk reactions serve to confirm what we have long said
Things Will Only Get Better (as We Go Backwards)
It only gets better. If you go back in time.
UK High Court Shows SRA is Totally Useless in Curbing SLAPPs, This Has Impact on Our Reporting on the SRA Next Week
We'll carry on our coverage and soon finish the current series that so we can get on with more time-sensitive ones
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, September 21, 2026
IRC logs for Monday, September 21, 2026
Links 21/09/2026: "Lies of the Hey Hi (AI) Industry" and Solar Power Is Getting Cheap
Links for the day
Gemini Links 21/09/2026: Equinox and Beginner's Guide to Gemini
Links for the day
Links 21/09/2026: "Back On My Bicycle" and American Regime's War on Media Escalates Further
Links for the day
SLAPP Censorship - Part 192 Out of 200: The Hired Guns of Garrett and Graveley Sent Us USB Sticks (One to Me, One to My Wife) Showing Lozza Talking to Garrett About Censoring/Deplatforming Techrights the Same Time Graveley Was Copy-Pasting Garrett's Lawsuit
Next year we plan to bring this matter to the Court of Appeal
Linux Kernel Becoming a Slopfest - Part 6 - Seeing Who Contaminates Linux With Slop (And Also Admits It)
Today we begin looking at some culprits
2026: The Year Galleries Realised the Need to Flag or Cull Slop Images
Society needs to shun slopfarms, people who use LLM slop (for anything at all), companies that use bots (which they dub "agents"), and so-called 'coders' who volley garbage into project and software hubs
Software Freedom Day Celebrated in 5 or 6 Continent
Software Freedom Day (SFD) 2026 was big this year
SLAPP Censorship - Part 191 Out of 200: Garrett, Graveley and Lozza
They talk to and coordinate with one another
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Sunday, September 20, 2026
IRC logs for Sunday, September 20, 2026
Gemini Links 21/09/2026: Digital Hoarder, GTD, Minimalism vs Digital Minimalism, Rejection of LLMs
Links for the day