Bonum Certa Men Certa

Ars Technica, ZDNet and Bleeping Nonsense Still Misreporting to Blame 'Linux' for Malware One Can Merely Add to Linux (Distracting From Systems With Back Doors, Such as Windows)

"Doctor, it hurts me when I do this." Doctor: "so don't do this." Corporate media: "If you install malicious software or never patch, bad things can happen." Geek: "I patch my systems and don't install random stuff from dodgy Web sites."

FBI/NSA report



Summary: A revised (spun) 'report' that we alluded to last night is spreading to more sites today or overnight; but it's totally distorting the situation to make "Linux" seem a lot more dangerous than it really is

THE 'news' about "Linux" is always full of noise and FUD. Some of that comes from Microsoft front groups and Microsoft-connected publishers. That's nothing new; it has been going on for well over a decade.



So we took a quick look at the original report [PDF] some chronic (serial) liars now allude to, assuming it's that usual FUD where something one can add to Linux is portrayed as a problem with "Linux" itself (that's like calling a hole in Photoshop a "Windows" bug).

"We're omitting the links, but it definitely started with ZDNet, which also previously sought to associate Linux with terrorism, based on a distorted and cherry-picked government report that named "Gentoo" somewhere along the lines."So while FBI, NSA etc. are themselves putting back doors in all things Microsoft here they are warning about "Russia" because it is possible, on an already-compromised system, to sort of rootkit everything (as one can expect; that's a universal weakness and prevention framework exists, not only mitigation).

They suggest using a kernel not older than 3.7 (which is already very old).

The noise has already come from Microsoft Peter's (pedophile) Ars Technica, Bleeping Computer and Bleeping Computer's troll whom ZDNet hired. We're omitting the links, but it definitely started with ZDNet, which also previously sought to associate Linux with terrorism, based on a distorted and cherry-picked government report that named "Gentoo" somewhere along the lines.

"As for ZDNet, its hire from Bleeping Computer (choice of a notorious drama queen, even prior to the hire) said a lot about ZDNet's own agenda. The motivations are surface-deep."Trashy media isn't a new problem; the fact that Ars Technica had its "Open Source" section run solely by a Microsoft pedophile (until his arrest) speaks volumes, as does the fact that Mr. Goodin (Ars Technica) got sued for defamation for his inaccurate click-bait. As for ZDNet, its hire from Bleeping Computer (choice of a notorious drama queen, even prior to the hire) said a lot about ZDNet's own agenda. The motivations are surface-deep.

Bleeping Computer? Bleeping nonsense! To hell with so-called 'journalists' who instead of showing people the actual report (screenshot above) come up with headlines such as "NSA and FBI warn that new Linux malware threatens national security" (by Mr. Goodin).

"Ars Technica is owned by the same company that runs Reddit (where Microsoft critics are heavily censored), controls the site that caused Linus Torvalds to be temporarily 'ousted' from his own project, and repeatedly defamed Dr. Richard Stallman, egging on the online lynch mob."We'd rather focus on patent threats and European Patent Office corruption, but lately there has been a rise in FUD against GNU/Linux, which means that some wealthy and well-connected people are growingly afraid of it (IIS is dying). They weaponise the media. They pay that same media. The editor of Ars Technica UK admitted to me that Microsoft wasn't just the key advertiser but somewhat of a co-founder in the sponsorship sense. Ars Technica is owned by the same company that runs Reddit (where Microsoft critics are heavily censored), controls the site that caused Linus Torvalds to be temporarily 'ousted' from his own project, and repeatedly defamed Dr. Richard Stallman, egging on the online lynch mob.

Never forget what Microsoft did to Softpedia just months ago. It is another common vector of FUD, run single-handedly by a self-professed fan of Steve Ballmer. Microsoft, a very close ally of Donald Trump, plays dirty. We cannot just ignore all the FUD.

Update: Now it's all over the place with needlessly alarming headlines:

Russia/Linux

Recent Techrights' Posts

The Microsofters Have Just Shared Privileged Trial Data With Microsoft
There are serious ramifications for liability accountability as Microsoft salaries sponsor these SLAPPs
Trolls With LLM Slop Are Disrupting Communications About Mass Layoffs at IBM
LLM slop to drown out the signal
[Video] IBM Shakes Hands of Prince Mohammed bin Salman
handshake of loyalty
 
Links 17/05/2025: Stabber of Salman Rushdie Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison
Links for the day
Gemini Links 17/05/2025: Happier on Gemini and Manipulating Reddit
Links for the day
ComEd and Microsoft: A Mess of Spaghetti Held Together By Circus Clowns
Reprinted with permission from Ryan Farmer
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, May 16, 2025
IRC logs for Friday, May 16, 2025
Links 16/05/2025: Microsoft Sacks Pregnant Women, People Fired on Their Birthday; Adobe Censorship Failing
Links for the day
Gemini Links 16/05/2025: "Repairing Our Way out of Commodity Fetishism" and Pre-librebooted Computers
Links for the day
The SLAPPs From Microsofters Distract From Serious Copyright Infringement by Microsoft and Apparent Business Crimes
Aside from other issues, such as strangling women
Enshittification is Everywhere: You Pay More, the Services Get Worse
"Enshittification" is a term coined by an online friend; I increasingly use this term to describe what's happening even outside the realm of technology (which it was adopted to describe)
Microsoft Reduces Office Space Ahead of More Waves of Mass Layoffs
"The Gerstnerisation of Microsoft"
Anti-Linux FUD Produced by Microsoft LLMs to Blame "Linux" for Microsoft's Own Failures
We call out some of the worst culprits
Gemini Links 16/05/2025: Hoking GPS, Grabovac, and Tanana
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, May 15, 2025
IRC logs for Thursday, May 15, 2025
Microsoft WARN Notices Proliferate in the United States
From what we've seen, this wave was more than 3% (a lot more) and the next wave/s will be even bigger (possible as imminent as weeks from now), based on insider leaks
Links 15/05/2025: Google Betrays Publishers Again, Openwashing by Sysdig
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Still Respected by Many in the Libre Graphics Community
Richard Stallman and Professor Moglen never harmed anyone
If You Read Techrights, Then You Probably Want to Read Tux Machines as Well
That site is more active than this one
Gemini Links 15/05/2025: Forced Music in Publicly Accessible Space and ~silv is Online
Links for the day
Links 15/05/2025: KOSA Censorship (USA Becomes More Like KSA) and More National Cuts
Links for the day
Bing Might Shut Down - Just Like Skype Did - Some Time in the Coming Months/Years (Parts of It Already Shut Down)
they try to bring the losses under control
Your Real Ally Would Not Defend the Company of SLAPP and Strangling of Women
who's left to tell us what's true?
Breakdown of Microsoft Layoffs Shows It's About Cost, Not Performance or Hype (Like "AI")
MSN (Microsoft) reposted this with some unnecessary spin
The Lawyers Working for the Serial Strangler From Microsoft on SLAPPing Techrights Have Apparently Lost Their Voice
the moment we mentioned that their media lawyer is leaving they went all quiet in social control media
At IBM, Relocation Can be a Trick or a Trap (IBM Gets Rid of Staff Under the Guise of "Relo")
IBM is not being honest with employees
Microsoft Rumours: This Week's Scale of Layoffs "Higher Than Reported" and More Coming Soon ("A Lot More Severe" Than May's)
The "3%" figure is false
Slopwatch: Sloppy Brian, Brittany Slop, and General Observations
Creative people don't need slop; there's just nothing good about it, slop appeals to lazy people careless about quality
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
Beyond Mass Layoffs at Microsoft: Entire Units Shut Down for Good
And it's far from over
Links 15/05/2025: Crikvenica, Analog Computer, and Slop 'Hallucinations'
Links for the day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, May 14, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, May 14, 2025