#[1]alternate [2]English [3]español [4]français [5]italiano [6]æU97¥æU9C¬èªU9E
   [7]Nederlands [8]polski [9]português [10]russkij [11]Türkçe
   [12]ç®U80ä½U93ä¸æU96U87 [13]ç¹U81é«U94ä¸æU96U87

   [14]Skip to main text
   [15]Free Software Supporter: email address_____ Sign up
   [16]JOIN THE FSF

   [17] [A GNU head]  GNU Operating System
   Supported by the [18]Free Software Foundation
   [19] [Search www.gnu.org]
   [20] [Other languages]
   [21]Site navigation [22]Skip
     * [23]ABOUT GNU
     * [24]PHILOSOPHY
     * [25]LICENSES
     * [26]EDUCATION
     * [27]SOFTWARE
     * [28]DISTROS
     * [29]DOCS
     * = [30]MALWARE =
     * [31]HELP GNU
     * [32]AUDIO & VIDEO
     * [33]GNU ART
     * [34]FUN
     * [35]GNU'S WHO?
     * [36]SOFTWARE DIRECTORY
     * [37]HARDWARE
     * [38]SITEMAP

Proprietary Software Is Often Malware

   [39]Table of contents

   [40]Latest additions

   Proprietary software, also called nonfree software, means software that doesn't
   [41]respect users' freedom and community. A proprietary program puts its
   developer or owner [42]in a position of power over its users. This power is in
   itself an injustice.

   The point of this directory is to show by examples that the initial injustice of
   proprietary software often leads to further injustices: malicious
   functionalities.

   Power corrupts; the proprietary program's developer is tempted to design the
   program to mistreat its users. (Software designed to function in a way that
   mistreats the user is called malware.) Of course, the developer usually does not
   do this out of malice, but rather to profit more at the users' expense. That does
   not make it any less nasty or more legitimate.

   Yielding to that temptation has become ever more frequent; nowadays it is
   standard practice. Modern proprietary software is typically an opportunity to be
   tricked, harmed, bullied or swindled.

   Online services are not released software, but in regard to all the bad aspects,
   using a service is equivalent to using a copy of released software. In
   particular, a service can be designed to mistreat the user, and many services do
   that. However, we do not list instances of malicious dis-services here, for two
   reasons. First, a service (whether malicious or not) is not a program that one
   could install a copy of, and there is no way at all for users to change it.
   Second, it is so obvious that a service can mistreat users if the owner wishes
   that we hardly need to prove it.

   However, most online services require the user to run a nonfree app. The app is
   released software, so we do list malicious functionalities of these apps.
   Mistreatment by the service itself is imposed by use of the app, so sometimes we
   mention those mistreatments too--but we try to state explicitly what is done by
   the app and what is done by the dis-service.

   When a web site provides access to a service, it very likely sends nonfree
   JavaScript software to execute in the user's browser. Such JavaScript code is
   released software, and it's morally equivalent to other nonfree apps. If it does
   malicious things, we want to mention them here.

   When talking about mobile phones, we do list [43]one other malicious
   characteristic, location tracking which is caused by the underlying radio system
   rather than by the specific software in them.

   As of December 2023, the pages in this directory list around 600 instances of
   malicious functionalities (with more than 710 references to back them up), but
   there are surely thousands more we don't know about.

   Ideally we would list every instance. If you come across an instance which we do
   not list, please write to webmasters@gnu.org to tell us about it. Please include
   a reference to a reputable article that describes the malicious behavior clearly;
   we won't list an item without documentation to point to.

   If you want to be notified when we add new items or make other changes, subscribe
   to the [44]mailing list .
   Injustices or techniques                  Products or companies
     * [45]Addictions
     * [46]Back doors ([47]1)
     * [48]Censorship
     * [49]Coercion
     * [50]Coverups
     * [51]Deception
     * [52]DRM ([53]2)
     * [54]Fraud
     * [55]Incompatibility
     * [56]Insecurity
     * [57]Interference
     * [58]Jails ([59]3)
     * [60]Manipulation
     * [61]Obsolescence
     * [62]Sabotage
     * [63]Subscriptions
     * [64]Surveillance
     * [65]Tethers ([66]4)
     * [67]Tyrants ([68]5)
     * [69]In the pipe

     * [70]Appliances
     * [71]Cars
     * [72]Conferencing
     * [73]EdTech
     * [74]Games
     * [75]Mobiles
     * [76]Webpages

     * [77]Adobe
     * [78]Amazon
     * [79]Apple
     * [80]Google
     * [81]Microsoft

    1. Back door:  any feature of a program that enables someone who is not supposed
       to be in control of the computer where it is installed to send it commands.
    2. Digital restrictions management, or "DRM":  functionalities designed to
       restrict what users can do with the data in their computers.
    3. Jail:  system that imposes censorship on application programs.
    4. Tether:  functionality that requires permanent (or very frequent) connection
       to a server.
    5. Tyrant:  system that rejects any operating system not "authorized" by the
       manufacturer.

   Users of proprietary software are defenseless against these forms of
   mistreatment. The way to avoid them is by insisting on [82]free
   (freedom-respecting) software. Since free software is controlled by its users,
   they have a pretty good defense against malicious software functionality.

Latest additions

   2024-01

   [83]UHD Blu-ray denies your freedom -- The anatomy of an Authoritarian
   Subjugation System

   2022-07

   [84]UEFI makes computers vulnerable to advanced persistent threats that are
   almost impossible to detect once installed...
     * 2024-03
       [85]GM is spying on drivers who own or rent their cars, and give away
       detailed driving data to insurance companies through data brokers. These
       companies then analyze the data, and hike up insurance prices if they think
       the data denotes "risky driving". For the car to make this data available to
       anyone but the owner or renter of the car should be a crime. If the car is
       owned by a rental company, that company should not have access to it either.
     * 2023-12
       Surveillance cameras put in by government A to surveil for it may be
       surveilling for government B as well. That's because A put in a product
       [86]made by B with nonfree software.
       (Please note that this article misuses the word "[87]hack" to mean "break
       security".)
     * 2023-11
       Microsoft has been annoying people who wanted to close the proprietary
       program OneDrive on their computers, [88]forcing them to give the reason why
       they were closing it. This prompt was removed after public pressure.
       This is a reminder that angry users still have the power to make developers
       of proprietary software remove small annoyances. Don't count on public outcry
       to make them remove more profitable malware, though. Run away from
       proprietary software!
     * 2023-12
       [89]Newag, a Polish railway manufacturer, puts DRM inside trains to prevent
       third-party repairs.
          + The train's software contains code to detect if the GPS coordinates are
            near some third party repairers, or the train has not been running for
            some time. If yes, the train will be "locked up" (i.e. bricked). It was
            also possible to unlock it by pressing a secret combination of buttons
            in the cockpit, but this ability was removed by a manufacturer's
            software update.
          + The train will also lock up after a certain date, which is hardcoded in
            the software.
          + The company pushes a software update that detects if the DRM code has
            been bypassed, i.e. the lock should have been engaged but the train is
            still operational. If yes, the controller cabin screen will display a
            scary message warning about "copyright violation".
     * 2023-11
       [90]x86 and ARM based computers shipped with UEFI are potentially vulnerable
       to a design omission called LogoFAIL. A cracker can replace the BIOS logo
       with a fake one that contains malicious code. Users can't fix this omission
       because it is in the nonfree UEFI firmware that users can't replace.

   [91]More items...
     ____________________________________________________________________________

   [92]^
   [93]BACK TO TOP
   [94]Set language

   Available for this page:

   [en] [95]English   [es] [96]español   [fr] [97]français   [it] [98]italiano
   [ja] [99]¥¬   [nl] [100]Nederlands   [pl] [101]polski   [pt-br] [102]português
   [ru] [103]russkij   [tr] [104]Türkçe   [zh-cn] [105]­   [zh-tw] [106]­
     ____________________________________________________________________________

   [107]BACK TO TOP ^

     [108] [FSF logo]  "The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit with a
     worldwide mission to promote computer user freedom. We defend the rights of
     all software users".

   [109]JOIN [110]DONATE [111]SHOP

   Please send general FSF & GNU inquiries to [112]. There are also
   [113]other ways to contact the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or
   suggestions can be sent to [114].

   Please see the [115]Translations README for information on coordinating and
   contributing translations of this article.

   Copyright © 2013-2024 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

   This page is licensed under a [116]Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
   License.

   [117]Copyright Infringement Notification

   Updated: $Date: 2024/04/13 10:46:03 $

References

   1. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html
   2. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.en.html
   3. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.es.html
   4. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.fr.html
   5. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.it.html
   6. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.ja.html
   7. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.nl.html
   8. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.pl.html
   9. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.pt-br.html
  10. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.ru.html
  11. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.tr.html
  12. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.zh-cn.html
  13. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.zh-tw.html
  14. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#content
  15. http://www.fsf.org/fss
  16. https://www.fsf.org/associate/support_freedom?referrer=4052
  17. http://www.gnu.org/
  18. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#mission-statement
  19. http://www.gnu.org/cgi-bin/estseek.cgi
  20. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#language-container
  21. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#navigation
  22. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#content
  23. http://www.gnu.org/gnu/gnu.html
  24. http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/philosophy.html
  25. http://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html
  26. http://www.gnu.org/education/education.html
  27. http://www.gnu.org/software/software.html
  28. http://www.gnu.org/distros/distros.html
  29. http://www.gnu.org/doc/doc.html
  30. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html
  31. http://www.gnu.org/help/help.html
  32. http://www.gnu.org/audio-video/audio-video.html
  33. http://www.gnu.org/graphics/graphics.html
  34. http://www.gnu.org/fun/humor.html
  35. http://www.gnu.org/people/people.html
  36. http://directory.fsf.org/
  37. https://h-node.org/
  38. http://www.gnu.org/server/sitemap.html
  39. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#TOC
  40. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#latest
  41. http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
  42. http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html
  43. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-mobiles.html#phone-communications
  44. https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/www-malware-commits
  45. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-addictions.html
  46. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-back-doors.html
  47. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#f1
  48. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-censorship.html
  49. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-coercion.html
  50. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-coverups.html
  51. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-deception.html
  52. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-drm.html
  53. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#f2
  54. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-fraud.html
  55. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-incompatibility.html
  56. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-insecurity.html
  57. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-interference.html
  58. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-jails.html
  59. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#f3
  60. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-manipulation.html
  61. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-obsolescence.html
  62. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-sabotage.html
  63. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-subscriptions.html
  64. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-surveillance.html
  65. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-tethers.html
  66. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#f4
  67. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-tyrants.html
  68. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#f5
  69. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/potential-malware.html
  70. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-appliances.html
  71. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-cars.html
  72. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-in-online-conferencing.html
  73. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-edtech.html
  74. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-games.html
  75. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-mobiles.html
  76. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-webpages.html
  77. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-adobe.html
  78. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-amazon.html
  79. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-apple.html
  80. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-google.html
  81. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/malware-microsoft.html
  82. http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-even-more-important.html
  83. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/articles/uhd-bluray-denies-your-freedom.html
  84. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary-insecurity.html#uefi-rootkit
  85. https://web.archive.org/web/20240311120515/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/technology/carmakers-driver-tracking-insurance.html
  86. https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-cctv-moscow-spying-schemes-investigation/32747767.html
  87. http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/words-to-avoid.html#Hacker
  88. https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/8/23952878/microsoft-onedrive-windows-close-app-notification
  89. https://badcyber.com/dieselgate-but-for-trains-some-heavyweight-hardware-hacking/
  90. https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/logofail-attack-can-install-uefi-bootkits-through-bootup-logos/
  91. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/all.html
  92. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#top
  93. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#top
  94. http://www.gnu.org/server/select-language.html?callback=/proprietary/proprietary.html
  95. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.en.html
  96. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.es.html
  97. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.fr.html
  98. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.it.html
  99. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.ja.html
 100. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.nl.html
 101. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.pl.html
 102. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.pt-br.html
 103. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.ru.html
 104. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.tr.html
 105. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.zh-cn.html
 106. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.zh-tw.html
 107. http://www.gnu.org/proprietary/proprietary.html#header
 108. http://www.fsf.org/
 109. http://www.fsf.org/associate/support_freedom?referrer=4052
 110. http://donate.fsf.org/
 111. http://shop.fsf.org/
 112. mailto:gnu@gnu.org
 113. http://www.gnu.org/contact/
 114. mailto:webmasters@gnu.org
 115. http://www.gnu.org/server/standards/README.translations.html
 116. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
 117. http://www.fsf.org/about/dmca-notice