Bonum Certa Men Certa

Microsoft Security Theatre and Microsoft-Funded Media Frenzy That Stigmatises “Linux”

An old lock



Summary: Misinformation about security is all too common in today's media; the goal is to get people to embrace software with back doors and surveillance, falsely believing that it guarantees privacy and autonomy

THERE'S security, there's false or pseudo security, blatant insecurity (not even advertised as real security), "national security" (typically means back doors), and all sorts of other nonsense.



Encryption is maths, not a myth. And it's a science; there's logic behind it. Those who speak of "weakening encryption" or anything along those lines basically speak of eliminating encryption, not weakening it. To claim that it's possible to allow one entity to undermine encryption but not others is extremely dishonest. Like DRM schemes, it's only a matter of time before it's rendered obsolete. "Nothing protected by Widevine, FairPlay, or PlayReady ever delays the video surfacing on bittorrent sites," Ryan notes.

The notion that the government can take away security while still preserving general security is a mirage; it's largely responsible for the security mess we're often reading about in the corporate media. But blame is being misplaced. How can we securely bank online using encryption that has back doors in it? Moreover, if the servers have back doors in them, should we not expect data breaches to become inevitable?

"The bank is a backdoor," Ryan notes. "They are legally required to report suspicious transactions and large amounts of cash activity to the federal government immediately."

When it comes to Free software, transparency (for audits among other things) ensures that back doors in encryption will be easy to see. One can even compile the code for oneself, having audited it, just to ensure the build system and the build process are intact.

There's no need to make guesses about Microsoft back doors because in 2013 Edward Snowden leaked proof of it. Corporate media likes to pretend that this is "old news" and no longer relevant, albeit there's nothing whatsoever which can suggest a change, so we must assume the same facts are still applicable. One reader of ours wrote regarding a subject covered some days ago in a short video:

OVERVIEW



This article is a bit of an overview over a few web pages that revolve around GNU/Linux security; it's actually more about misinformation on the topic of GNU/Linux security.

The discussion is an overview of articles such as:

● A0: http://techrights.org/2020/11/07

● A1: https://threatpost.com/gitpaste-12-worm-widens-exploits/162290/

● A2: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-windows-info-stealing-malware-may-soon-target-linux-macos/

● A3: http://techrights.org/2020/12/13/human-error-zdnet/




ATTACKS BY PROXY.



Seen from A0, A1, and A2, we see an example of attacks (propaganda) about GNU/Linux by proxy. Just because something ported to GNU/Linux (or any other operating system) is insecure, doesn't mean GNU/Linux is insecure. This kind of attack by proxy is a standard propaganda weapon. You could call this kind of propaganda straw man arguments.

INSECURE CONFIGURATION DOES NOT EQUAL INSECURE SOFTWARE.



Seen from A3, we have another form of "attack by proxy"; it's worth talking about this special case of straw man argument. Propaganda like A3 boils down to person(s) implementing insecure configuration of software. The underlying software is not to blame. But here we see propaganda such as A3 attacking software when the person(s) configuring the software are to blame.




WHERE TO GO FOR SECURITY ADVICE?



Security advice should be taken from people that work on security - not propaganda websites. Forums, IRC chats, email lists and such, for the SPECIFIC software are the right place to ask for advice. Mistrust everything you read, by default; this is generally the best security advice you can get. A lot of software projects have dedicated communication channels for their users; this is a good place to hang out or drop in, when you want security advice.

Ask people with provable record working on security.

With the above information, you should be better-equipped to protect yourself from malicious propaganda.


Moments ago in IRC Ryan spoke about some of the latest FUD in the media, along with PR stunts about "secure" chips. "This attitude at Microsoft has only changed to the extent that there's security theater now and they pay off the fake news to say "PC problem" and everything open source is "Linux"," he said. "Not only this, but Microsoft wants to port "Defender", a backdoor and a piece of spyware, to Linux, which is not really having too much of a problem with malware," he added. Here's the full text of his rant:

Whenever security and usability/backwards compatibility (even with serious mistakes) clash at Microsoft, security loses.

This is the company that hooked up Windows 98 and even XP to the internet with no security model, administrator logins for everyone, and no firewall.

Then waited until the news was actually reporting on what a worm farm Windows had become and how once you had it connected to the internet, it was a matter of about 3 minutes before it was infected.

This attitude at Microsoft has only changed to the extent that there's security theater now and they pay off the fake news to say "PC problem" and everything open source is "Linux".

Every day, we find out that the cyberattack was worse and it's pretty much all thanks to Microsoft's shitty software design and the antivirus concept failing to actually keep pace with threats in the modern world.

Not only this, but Microsoft wants to port "Defender", a backdoor and a piece of spyware, to Linux, which is not really having too much of a problem with malware, even though antivirus is relatively unheard of.

The biggest threat vector on Linux is a seriously misconfigured system that involves not the kernel, but some piece of userspace software.

Which....does happen, but it's a lot harder to do that on Linux because of the concept of trusted software sources, open source being a lousy way to hide backdoors and malicious payloads for obvious reasons, and just the overall higher intelligence of its users.

Also, not being buried under an OS that's 90% crap that harkens back to the 90s and 2000s because some business will whine if Internet Explorer and the driver model from Windows XP isn't there.


People who value real security and accurate information about threats will stay away from media that overlaps the PR industry. They want us to believe that companies which actively undermine security are in fact the biggest champions of security; similarly, those mass surveillance giants are often being portrayed as guardians of people's privacy.

Recent Techrights' Posts

Slopwatch: LinuxSecurity, UbuntuPIT, and Google News
We've also just noticed more slop from UbuntuPIT
 
Links 09/10/2025: Farewell to Jane Goodall, California Bans Algorithmic Price-Fixing
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: Lost Wages and a Saga Of Continuing To Use Palm PDAs
Links for the day
Richard Stallman's Talk in Helsinki is Done. Tomorrow Göteborg.
There are scarce details in Finnish about Dr. Stallman's talk
New XBox Leaks Probably Serve to Confirm XBox's Collapse (Many More Layoffs)
It's very much consistent with what many other sites have reported lately
The Slop Song
The train wreck marches on
LLM Slop/Advanced Plagiarism Flooding the Zone With Capital That Does Not Exist
Many publishers out there still participate in this bubble instead of calling it what it is
Links 09/10/2025: Sacked Microsoft Workers Make "Sackbird", IBM Taps CockroachDB for PostgreSQL
Links for the day
"Happy Hacking Day" Richard Stallman Talk This Afternoon (From 14:00 to 16:00) at Haaga-Helia University in Pasila
Richard Stallman in Helsinki, Finland
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, October 08, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, October 08, 2025
Links 09/10/2025: Impact of Microsoft Layoffs, More Data Breaches
Links for the day
Gemini Links 09/10/2025: Autumn Blues and C IRC Bot
Links for the day
Slopwatch Appreciated by Real Authors of GNU/Linux Articles
We do try to keep on top of those things
Upgraded R.R.R.R.R.R. Today
The Web of 2025 is full of garbage, not limited to slopfarms
Freedom From Proprietary Prisons
Forking always an option
IBM's Watson Died in 1956, Now Watson Dies Again
IBM is becoming just a reseller of GAFAM and other stuff
Microsoft Says That Constant Mass Layoffs Are Success, the Media Isn't Buying This Microsoft Narrative Anymore
If people in the media feel an obligation to repeat whatever lies Microsoft tells, what point will there be to the media?
Links 08/10/2025: "Mali Puts Free Speech on Trial" And Apple Enforces Dictatorship
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: ‘Death to Spotify’ and Law to Ban Loud Commercials on Streaming (Dis)Services
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: Real Innovation and Nina.chat is Dead
Links for the day
Links 08/10/2025: Y2K38 Bug is a Vulnerability, Chat Control in Europe a Threat
Links for the day
Microsoft Windows is No Longer an Operating System, It's Surveillance Project
Why is this even legal to preload on PCs outside the US?
How and Why Once-Legitimate Sites Turn Into Slopfarms
Many sites will go offline and many social control networks will shut down once they realise or even openly admit they spend money and time gardening a bunch of bots and slop
UbuntuPIT Became a Slopfarm and Gnoppix Tarnishes Its Own Brand With Slop
It fits all the characteristics of mildly-edited (if at all) slop
Slopwatch: Linux Journal and Other Slopfarms
GAFAM needs to go the way of the dodo
Gemini Links 08/10/2025: "Seek Seek Revolution" and Gradient Backgrounds
Links for the day
Qualcomm Arduino Takes Aim at Raspberry Pi
Qualcomm is a Microsoft partner
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, October 07, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, October 07, 2025
Stagnation of the Economy and What Free Software Can (or Could) Do For It
If your economic model is based on a pyramid of lies, it won't last very long
Social Control Media is Sinking
it would rightly seem like the era of centralised "social" sites (they're not social, they're about controlling the users) is ending, not overnight but gradually
Participation in Cancel Culture Detrimental to One's Career
A cautionary tale
Passion Wins
we've increased the number of birds we feed to 100+
How Solderpunk and Sean Conner Started Gemini Protocol (and, Collectively, Geminispace) Back in 2019
Based on the "official" history
Arduino is Now a Patent Bully (Qualcomm)
Qualcomm has just bought Arduino
Many Years of Microsoft Cancellations and Faked (Acquired) Revenue "Growth"
XBox is basically the "next Skype"
The Comment TheLayoff.com Has Just Censored for Criticising a Ridiculous Puff Piece of IBM Management
If comments get censored for their "style" rather than their substance, then society will be worse off
The Power of Writing Down Facts
The more we write and publish, the more people will know what happened
Microsoft's Non-Denying Denial About XBox's Death is Already Being Shattered to Pieces
Like Microsoft's 'open' 'hey hi', heralding meaningless non-committing agreements with AMD is little more than vapourware
Slopwatch: UbuntuPIT Joins the Slopfarms Club
Slopfarms gonna slop
Links 07/10/2025: Privacy at Risk, GAFAM Remains Off the Hook
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/10/2025: Modern Retro Console Idea and Batch vs Bash
Links for the day
Links 07/10/2025: International Criminal Court (ICC) Convicts Ali Kushayb; Moroccan Imprisoned for 'Offensive' Shirt
Links for the day
Links 07/10/2025: EU' Chat Control is Back, US Cracks Down on Democracy
Links for the day
Techrights Pursues Justice and Truth Because, Without Those, Society Descends Into Chaos
most people reject dogma and pseudoscience
Upcoming Talks by Richard Stallman in Helsinki, Göteborg, and Rome
Join with him and share the software
Something Bad is Happening in the Open Source Initiative (OSI)
The latest OSI blog post is from a Microsoft operative and a few weeks ago the Executive Director left
TLS 1.3 Dominates Geminispace (99% of Known Capsules)
it's nowadays safe to assume almost every capsule can handle TLS 1.3
Why soylentnews.org Has Been Having Technical Difficulties Lately
The network has been going up and down quite a lot this past week
A Statement Against Violence
The facts are on our side
They've Run Out of Things to Rebrand or Label as "AI"
The next few years will be interesting because if Microsoft lays off tens of thousands of workers each year, there won't be much left except mountains of debt and dying brands
The Register MS is Still Being Paid to Participate in the "AI" Ponzi Scheme Which Will Crash the Economy
The Register MS is hoping to get lucky by tricking people into a scam
Richard Stallman Confirms His Talk in Göteborg This Coming Friday
"The hosts say that the list will not be given to the state"
Most of the "Linux" Results This Morning in Google News Are LLM Slop From the Same Slopfarm, Plagiarising Phoronix
The main question is, does Google even care at this point?
Gemini Links 07/10/2025: Civil War and "Goodbye Web"
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, October 06, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, October 06, 2025