Open- vs. closed-source (also looking for good image viewer)

Oskar_Hanberg · Post by **Oskar_Hanberg** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 1:12 pm

Well.. if you DO get a virus it gets the same rights as the current user, so if you're admin you give it more toys.

Deathlike2 · Post by **Deathlike2** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:50 pm

Oskar_Hanberg wrote:Sure.. the "public" can find bugs even in a program where the source code is the programmers own secret, All I'm saying is its more SIMPLE to do so if the developer chose to let his code be viewable to the public.

That may be true, but on the other hand, the fixes the public provides may not actually be a good solution to fix the problem. Nach would tell you that a fair majority of patches for ZSNES (either submitted or not) clearly are BAD patches that make zero sense. That's why you can't just add idiotic patches to any open source app. This is why it doesn't always work, not that people don't mind patches to add/fix stuff, but they have to actually be decent. Closed source doesn't have to worry about people writing stupid code to fix a problem once identified.

franpa · Post by **franpa** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 3:58 pm

Deathlike2 wrote:Closed source doesn't have to worry about people writing stupid code to fix a problem once identified.

unless people running the project are stupid to begin with.

Deathlike2 · Post by **Deathlike2** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 4:03 pm

franpa wrote:
Deathlike2 wrote:Closed source doesn't have to worry about people writing stupid code to fix a problem once identified.
unless people running the project are stupid to begin with.

Well, your statement applies to both open+closed source so the issue is moot.

funkyass · Post by **funkyass** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 9:24 pm

blackmyst wrote:

Will somebody explain to me exactly what the deal is with not running as admin? In the 8 years I've owned a PC for myself, never once have I had any problems doing it. On the other hand, some family members of mine would run as a user and still have their PC lock up or break from all the shit that it gathered. Isn't it just a matter of common sense and a good virusscanner+firewall?

Seriously, I'm interested in hearing this.

The deal is this: if something infects my account, it only affects my account.

If my account had admin privledges, then everything is affected on that machine/network.

not running as admin minimizes collateral damage. It makes removing infections and malware easier, because it limits where they can hide. Windows users don't have that luxury however, most software is built with the assumption that the user is running as admin by default.

MisterJones · Post by **MisterJones** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 10:47 pm

"Run as" is at times a blessing.