| ??? 02/17/08 06:24 Modified: 02/18/08 16:56 Read: times |
#150950 - Have you gone one assumption too far? Responding to: ???'s previous message |
Jeff Post said:
Richard Erlacher said:
I agree with you, in that I would allow and even encourage such discussion, but wouldn't encourage it in a public forum, as the probability of doing good is small, while the risk of doing harm is large. Would you rather it be discussed in a nonpublic, secret forum? To which only the powerful and privileged would have access? That way lies tyranny. One of the side effects of freedom is that you have to accept some risks. I opt for freedom instead of being a "safe" captive. Yes, at least I'd prefer it not be discussed on 8052.COM. I'd prefer the notion not be promoted here, where there are so many who apparently already believe cheating, lying, and misappropriating someone else's work and passing it off as ones own is OK. We are currently encumbered by an administration that thinks it has the right to spy on citizens and destroy the Constitution in order to "protect" us from "terrorists". Same argument used by demagogues and tyrants throughout history. Same tune, different lyrics. I don't buy it. Well, I didn't vote for 'em. The black hats already know more about how to steal code than you and I put together. And any script kiddie who wants access to that information knows where to find it. Refusing to allow discussion of the subject on a forum such as this is the logical and moral equivalent of hiding one's head in the sand.
The courts here in the U.S. have already established that selling guns to known criminals is not, in itself, a crime, despite the fact that it's against the law to sell to known felons, the difference being that the criminals who aren't yet known felons simply haven't been convicted yet. So Sears should stop selling crowbars because they can be used as burglary tools? I think you've construed my comment to mean precisely the opposite of what it says. The sad fact that there are many who'd like to break into our houses for various reasons does not suggest in any way that we, in this forum, should help them, No, we should help others to protect themselves from such people, while keeping in mind that crowbars do have legitimate uses. Crowbars yes, I've used one legitimately today. You, however, in that previous comment, didn't name a single legitimate use for cracking, though you did mention one or two that might be considered justifed, though not legitimate. The only legitimate reason for cracking the locks and copying the internal code in an MCU that comes to mind right now, would be if I had permission from the owner of the code to do so, as he would allow that I modify or study his code, but he was unable to provide it in a more convenient form. Encouraging people to attack protected devices for the purpose of gaining unwelcome access to them, however, is not what I think should be encouraged in this forum. Whoa! What did anyone say in this thread that could be construed as encouraging such people? I seem to have gotten the opposite impression. Many people, notably Republicans, believe that sex education promotes sexual promiscuity. If intelligent discussion of sex promotes sexual promiscuity then intelligent discussion of code cracking certainly will promote code cracking. Cracking is, in and of itself, an illegitimate goal, as it is the equivalent of breaking the lock on your front door and entering your house with neither your knowledge nor your permission. I think the knowledgeable people here can recognize when an amateur script kiddie posts a question that is intended to help him break into somewhere he shouldn't be (the professionals won't post here), and will tell him to take a hike.
It's not the script kiddies I'd worry about. They're busy enough on the www. It's the lazy individual who wants someone else to do his homework, design his semester project, and, subsequently, tell him how to steal some third party's code so he can copy it and claim it as his own that concerns me. Whereas there may be a dozen or more potentially justifiable cases, worldwide, each year, of someone looking inside a locked MCU, I'd bet there are a dozen instances a day, here, in the U.S. of people attempting to swipe someone else's code, representing multiple man-years of effort, so he can replicate it and claim/use it as his own. For each such case in the U.S, I'd be there are a thousand in countries where intellectual property is not respected. Moreover, I don't want those youngsters, who come here to get their help with the homework they've put off entirely too long, to think cracking is just another shortcut they're free to use. Discussing it here as though it's common practice, will leave that impression. Also, I seriously doubt that anyone will tell anyone who's stroking their ego to take a hike. RE |
