is open source really useless ?

hi. i have been working for an office for a while. the office wanted to add an extra feature to its website and they had discussions on the money to buy software. i suggested that they can use open source but they laughed at me and said that since everyone has the source code, hackers can find way easily. im a beginner and i couldnt make a proper reply. is it true what they said ? it just made sense to me that since everyone has source code, it can not be really secure. can u explain it simple ? thanks.
Answer #1
they obviously have no idea what they’re talking about.
for starters, it’s true that the source code is available to everyone, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t as secure.
usually with open source software, if there’s a hole in the code, it’s fixed up earlier, because (in essence) more people are working on the source code.
and furthermore, you can tell the other people at your office that no one wants to try and hack into their computers anyway, because hackers (or really anyone in general) aren’t interested in how many cats they have or how many consecutive Friday nights that they’ve spend at home on Facebook with nothing better to do.
Sorry for the rant, but I sorta hate it when people ask a legitimate question (like you’ve done) and people don’t take it seriously.
Linux is open source, and the biggest and best servers in the world are run on linux, you can even bet that this site is run on a linux server.
There are also whole corporations that run a complete linux infrastructure, saving money for them and creating a more secure environment for their work.
The Android Mobile Operating System uses the linux ker and is currently dominating the mobile/ touch device market in many ways.
Android is open source too (for the most part) and I can guarantee that their are a good number of people at your office that are using an Android phone, putting their precious Facebook credentials into the Facebook android app.
Answer #2
I can guarantee that their are a good number of people at your office that are using an Android phone, putting their precious Facebook credentials into the Facebook android app.
OMG No!!
Good point about Linux, which is often considered to be more secure than Windows..
Answer #3
Yeah because the private keys of these servers totally were not in the clear for 2+ years and those android phones totally don’t need AV because open source, Open source != security. Computer security isn’t something you buy from a vendor its something you achive through multiple layers of protection of which the operating system is just one and its the configuration of the operating system that matters not the vendor.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_in_depth_(computing)
Answer #4
I never run anything that I don ‘t have the source code for…….When a security breach inflicts closed source systems, it is not open to decent independent scrutiny then many days, weeks or months later a “patch” or “update” may be released (assuming the company is even aware of it, or even cares)…..Now consider with open source, if the same breach is used, it will be instantly found by many people and result in an instant shite storm straight away and the affected program will either rolled back or fixed straight away and every user will be aware of it…….So anyone who thinks closed source is more secure is living in a fantasy.
Answer #5
Well.. the issue of open source being open to code a virus or trojan/keylogger, whatever, into an app – it’s possible.
People MIGHT code a keylogger into an open source download manager.
BUT – if they release the source to the (hidden keylog) version then there are 1000s of people looking at that code – they will see it and make a big stink about it.
If they don’t release the source to their (hidden keylog) version then don’t use it..
*****
Open source is probably LESS likely to be compromised – a closed source program has no code to check, only its actions can be checked.
Keyloggers can be added into a game platform like Steam or Origin (not saying they did, but could) and few would know; if they were open source, thousands would know.
Answer #6
There’s a lot of excellent open source stuff out there, some of it much better than the commercial stuff costing loads of money.
A determined hacker will get into a computer/website irrespective of what software is on it so for your employers to say open source is less secure it just total bollocks. That apart, any software can be decompiled to get the source code.
If they laughed at you they are ignorant idiots who know nothing.
Answer #7
when i told them that there can be something inside the software in close source software, they said that they buy very famous software from very trusted companies that are globally known and those companies dont put bad stuff inside software.
Answer #8
when i told them that there can be something inside the software in close source software, they said that they buy very famous software from very trusted companies that are globally known and those companies dont put bad stuff inside software.
It doesn’t matter what software they buy …….. as I said a determined hacker will get in anyway.
That said, I have been using open source stuff since the internet began (over 30 years I think) and I’ve never downloaded any that had something inserted on purpose with the intent of disrupting the user. The only thing they will get with commercial software is better support.