Thread: Security on Nits?
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meanwhile is offline meanwhile
2008-04-13 , 20:37
Posts: 66 | Thanked: 17 times | Joined on Apr 2008
#6
Originally Posted by peterjb31 View Post
Its important to note that while software like keyloggers could be installed on an nit it would require the user to install it. This is why one should only install software from trusted sources.
...Which would restrict most users to Nokia's own software and very little else.

One of the advantages of open source software is that if you have the skills you can look at what the software does, so you could find out if it had maliscious code in it.
Yes: if you have excellent programming skills and nothing else to do, this is certainly an option. Hands up everyone that will work for..?

The real security advantage of Open Source is the hope that enough people are looking at the code for a project so nastiness will be revealed by one of the people on the project. I have my doubts that development is active enough on the platform for this to work.

However I would agree with openness as a crude heuristic for greater trustworthiness: if I was an attacker, I'd write a useful non-open source program for the platform - probably a good PIM.


Its also important to note that because of the linux architecture no software can be automatically be installed from visiting a website as you have to set any file downloaded as executable.
My concern is definitely with the apps that users choose to install.