OpenBSD project out of cash

Created by Stuart Yeates (University of Oxford) on March 22, 2006

The OpenBSD project is out of cash. They've been operating at a 20K USD loss in each of the last two years and have gone public with their issues.

While at first glance this is a case of one of the BSD family of operating systems losing out to the momentum of Linux in the POSIX market, OpenBSD is the most security-focused of all the open source operating systems and includes OpenSSH, the de-facto standard method of secure remote connection in the POSIX world.

OpenSSH is a FREE version of the SSH protocol suite of network connectivity tools that increasing numbers of people on the Internet are coming to rely on. Many users of telnet, rlogin, ftp, and other such programs might not realize that their password is transmitted across the Internet unencrypted, but it is. OpenSSH encrypts all traffic (including passwords) to effectively eliminate eavesdropping, connection hijacking, and other network-level attacks. Additionally, OpenSSH provides a myriad of secure tunneling capabilities, as well as a variety of authentication methods.

One of the issues may be that Theo, the lead developer (and often seen from the outside as the only developer) is seen as prickly and paranoid, but then this is a man who the open source software world has delegated their security worries and paranoia too. This is a space where a healthy paranoia is a good thing.

If you're wondering how you can keep your open source project from floundering from lack of cash, come to our Open Source and Sustainability 2006 Conference.

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6885 reads

The Gem Report has new,

Submitted by Stuart Yeates (University of Oxford) on March 29, 2006 - 1:57am.

The Gem Report has new, indepth coverage. http://www.thejemreport.com/mambo/content/view/239/1/

Guilt and donations? There

Submitted by Henry E. Schaffer (North Carolina State University) on March 31, 2006 - 6:17pm.

Guilt and donations? There are a lot of open source projects that are wonderful. I refuse to feel guilty about not sending money to all of them. There is only so much that I can do, and I choose what I do. I am an Associate Member of the FSF, and I have released code as Open Source.

I encourage everyone to do something within their means, but you don't have to make the same choices that I did. Meanwhile, I'll continue to use open ssh, scp, etc. without feelings of guilt.

		OpenBSD project out of cash Created by Stuart Yeates (University of Oxford) on March 22, 2006 The OpenBSD project is out of cash. They've been operating at a 20K USD loss in each of the last two years and have gone public with their issues. While at first glance this is a case of one of the BSD family of operating systems losing out to the momentum of Linux in the POSIX market, OpenBSD is the most security-focused of all the open source operating systems and includes OpenSSH, the de-facto standard method of secure remote connection in the POSIX world. OpenSSH is a FREE version of the SSH protocol suite of network connectivity tools that increasing numbers of people on the Internet are coming to rely on. Many users of telnet, rlogin, ftp, and other such programs might not realize that their password is transmitted across the Internet unencrypted, but it is. OpenSSH encrypts all traffic (including passwords) to effectively eliminate eavesdropping, connection hijacking, and other network-level attacks. Additionally, OpenSSH provides a myriad of secure tunneling capabilities, as well as a variety of authentication methods. One of the issues may be that Theo, the lead developer (and often seen from the outside as the only developer) is seen as prickly and paranoid, but then this is a man who the open source software world has delegated their security worries and paranoia too. This is a space where a healthy paranoia is a good thing. If you're wondering how you can keep your open source project from floundering from lack of cash, come to our Open Source and Sustainability 2006 Conference. BSD \| Cyber-Security \| Cybersecurity \| funding \| IT Funding \| Linux \| money \| Open Source \| Open Standards \| OpenBSD \| OpenSSH \| SSH Stuart's blog Login or register to post comments 6885 reads The Gem Report has new, Submitted by Stuart Yeates (University of Oxford) on March 29, 2006 - 1:57am. The Gem Report has new, indepth coverage. http://www.thejemreport.com/mambo/content/view/239/1/ Login or register to post comments Guilt and donations? There Submitted by Henry E. Schaffer (North Carolina State University) on March 31, 2006 - 6:17pm. Guilt and donations? There are a lot of open source projects that are wonderful. I refuse to feel guilty about not sending money to all of them. There is only so much that I can do, and I choose what I do. I am an Associate Member of the FSF, and I have released code as Open Source. I encourage everyone to do something within their means, but you don't have to make the same choices that I did. Meanwhile, I'll continue to use open ssh, scp, etc. without feelings of guilt. Login or register to post comments
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