Red Flag Linux Forced On Chinese Internet Cafes 295
iamhigh writes "Reports are popping up that Chinese Internet Cafes are being required to switch to Red Flag Linux. Red Flag is China's biggest Linux distro and recently received headlines for their Olympic Edition release. The regulations, effective Nov. 5th, are aimed at combating piracy and require only that cafes install either a legal version of Windows or Red Flag. However, Radio Free Asia says that cafes are being forced to install Red Flag even if they have legal versions of Windows. Obviously questions about spying and surveillance have arisen, with no comment from the Chinese Government."
Re:Where Exactly is the Danger? (Score:4, Informative)
Well if the distro includes an RPM that was custom built by the Chinese government and is specified as a dependency for other RPM's then even switching to a different RPM repo wouldn't help. Or the Red Flag installer could come with an RPM that includes a rootkit or other backdoor utilities that the RPM leaves behind even when uninstalled. So even if you switch repos after the initial install it could leave the system compromised.
Re:Poor Microsoft... (Score:4, Informative)
...but it has backfired on them hugely with this move to allow Internet Cafés to use Red Flag Linux.
Unfortunately, this isn't permission (they already had that). This is now a mandatory thing.
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Where Exactly is the Danger? (Score:3, Informative)
&& rootkit preinstalled
probably a rootkit cleaner would fix that but the site to download it is blocked by the "Great Wall of China" - dang!
Re:Where Exactly is the Danger? (Score:5, Informative)
Or they could just make some code changes to the rootkit cleaners available in the repository so that it ignores any hypothetical pre-installed rootkits. Most people are going to install programs from the official repository instead of directly downloading the source.
Re:This is stupid. (Score:4, Informative)
spying...LOL (Score:4, Informative)
I have had the occasion to visit MII in China. They can already get a screenshot of what any iCafe user is doing in real time. I saw it with my own eyes. Combine that with their requirement that iCafe users need to show their ID card when they rent a computer and there is effectively zero privacy. These were windows PC's so I'm not sure why the hurry to switch to Linux. It probably has less to do with the actual operating system and more to do with the vendor who is supporting the switchover backhanding some government lackey a Benz or three. Welcome to China.
Re:It's a silo. Anyone can set one up. (Score:4, Informative)
you're forgetting that China filters heavily. there's no reason to believe any RPM repositories other than the one hosted by the government would be accessible.
Re:Oh Sweet Irony (Score:3, Informative)
On the wikipedia page [wikipedia.org], you can read that RFL has joined the Open Source Development Labs, which may indicate some kind of cooperation with the rest of the community. I don't know enough about the interrelations between different OSS entities to say. At the RFL web site they don't talk much about the source code.
AGAINST FREE in free software (Score:2, Informative)
That move is against "free" in the spirit of open source movement.
Everyone should against it.
Re:Where Exactly is the Danger? (Score:4, Informative)
Umm, hello?
ftp://ftp.redflag-linux.com/pub/redflag/dt6sp1/SP1/ [redflag-linux.com]
At least it looks like they have both source and binary ISO images (though no directories with individual packages, and English site seems to be unmaintained).