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Firefox-GTK—Day 41© Copyright Darrell Anderson. I knew what was going to happen next and I am going to climb the soap box to rant. The Firefox browser loaded immediately after installing and then attempted to connect to http://start.mozilla.org. Wrong move, folks. This is supposed to be the honest open source world. A software package just tried phoning home on my GNU/Linux operating system without my permission! I realize that this page is the default home page, but I don’t care. Why wasn’t I asked if I wanted this page as my home page? I don’t. In a side note, I disagree with the philosophy of automatically connecting without a first-time message box. My computer is my property and I don’t knowingly allow software to connect outbound without my knowledge. “Phoning home” without informing the user is a key complaint of many people regarding proprietary software. Users possess the right to be fully informed of what software does on their computers. Installing software does not create carte blanche easement rights to software developers. There must be a meeting of the minds. Free and open source developers should understand this fundamental philosophical distinction from proprietary practices of the past. Readers need not be reminded that there currently exists an operating system that is notoriously known for unsolicited “phone home” nonsense. Although providing a default home page is a courteous gesture, users should nonetheless possess the ability to approve that default location before connecting online. When the browser is run the first time a dialog box should appear notifying the user of this selection and also providing the option of changing that default location. This approach includes automatic update checking. A message box should appear asking the user permission to connect any time software attempts an unrequested first-time outbound connection. Always. Firefox is all about “taking back the web.” Free/Libre Open Source Software (FLOSS) is all about “taking back your computer.” FLOSS is much about respecting each other as humans. Act that way and respect fundamental property boundaries. I expect this kind of thing from the proprietary world, but not the free and open source people. Free and open source software is supposed to be about “taking back the web” and taking “back my computer.” Free and open source software is supposed to be about trust. This behavior is unacceptable! I would expect the software to be designed to check for updates, or take new users to a web page to help new users get better acquainted. However, I also expect, no, I demand, that the software first asks me. This is a philosophical problem people. You just don’t do this kind of thing without the computer owner’s permission. That is why many people want to leave the proprietary world of software—the complete lack of respect for who owns the computer. Open source and free or not, this design is no better than the proprietary spyware nonsense. I knew this was going to happen because I had the same thing happen to me in Windows. Yet, just like in Windows, I never install software while I am connected. Thus, I knew the attempt would fail and be caught red-handed. Another sore point here, is that the developers have now shown that they assume every user is on broadband. They did not even bother adding some error checking to verify that the computer was online before trying to connect. I have news for you developers. Everybody is not yet on broadband and many people will not be in any foreseeable future. I believe the modern phrase for this entire episode is get a clue. What I have witnessed here is a degree of arrogance I do not like. I also know what is coming next. I have to hand-configure about a half dozen preferences in order to stop Firefox from attempting any further phone home attempt. “Oh, but don’t you want to be automatically informed if there are any Firefox or extension updates?” No, I don’t. This is my computer and I decide when or if I want to update. This is my computer. Anything about that statement that is too difficult to understand? Furthermore, I am on dial-up—a class of people the Firefox developers have demonstrated they have forgotten. The last thing I need is for my browser, my gateway to the web and the one software tool I must trust completely, to start downloading 8 MB files on dial-up without my permission. Another aspect of this episode I dislike, although I am speculating only, is that this automatic phone home nonsense is part of a marketing strategy. That is, every time somebody installs Firefox and the browser autoconnects, that connection is then counted to puff the numbers for the number of people who have allegedly installed Firefox. I hope I am wrong, but if true, then this smacks of dishonesty and false advertising. Yes, I am purposely being harsh in my words. I think harsh words are necessary. Any program that phones home or autoconnects without my permission is spyware. Period. Change the words, definitions or meanings, I don’t care. The result is the same. In my early journal entries I mentioned that I am concerned that IPTables is incapable of prohibiting certain outbound transmissions. In Windows, with the Kerio firewall, I do not worry about this kind of thing because the firewall alerts me the moment any program tries to connect that is not allowed to do so by rule. As far as I know, IPTables does not stop this kind of thing. Many people argue that stopping unsolicited outbound traffic is unnecessary with GNU/Linux. Oh really? I believe I just witnessed a phone home attempt. Harmless? Sure. Today these attempts are harmless. Tomorrow? I hope that some day I don’t have to tell people “I told you so!” This entire episode will not stop me from migrating, but has soured me and created an air of distrust. This is not a GNU/Linux problem, but a Firefox development team problem. That is all about trust. Rebuilding trust is a challenge any time trust is violated. I want to embrace the free and open source philosophy and this is how I am treated? Perhaps I am making mountains out of molehills. Perhaps not. Rant mode off. Finis. |
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