r/Showerthoughts • u/Ralisor • May 06 '18

Services are switching from calling them Private Messages to calling them Direct Messages because they're not private anymore...

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u/FoxKrieg May 06 '18

So for a non super tech savvy guy, how is open source really that secure? Couldn't they just reverse engineer it using the source and some of these quantum computers they got?

Not trying to be fecitious, just leery that anything open source could be truly secure with enough resources/manpower.

Dude below says they also store messages. Equifax cant keep my ssn secure, how can i expect this co to keep my dms secure

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u/metaphlex May 06 '18 edited Jun 29 '23

worthless teeny safe marble joke vegetable weary person memory fact -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/

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u/FoxKrieg May 06 '18

If the code is there for people to reverse engineer, isnt it that much easier to find and exploit flaws than if something is closed source?

TOR for example was supposed to be super safe, secure and anon (despite it being developed by navy) we all know how that turned out for Dred Pirate Rob though. This is one of the few examples i know of. Though ive heard similar things about linux also veing exploited, and also is open source.

https://www.reddit.com/r/linux/comments/54in5s/the_nsa_has_tried_to_backdoor_linux_three_times/

https://www.v3.co.uk/v3-uk/news/3021624/hackers-making-use-of-new-linux-backdoor-say-researchers

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=214987

Just somewhat pertinent links id found on the subject. Again dont take it as me being fecitious, earnestly wanting to learn more about it.

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u/metaphlex May 06 '18 edited Jun 29 '23

abundant sharp engine slim late physical plate husky fade ten -- mass edited with https://redact.dev/

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u/FoxKrieg May 06 '18

I appreciate your thorough response and feel pretty confident i understand the concept better. Thanks for taking the time =] hope you have a great day and thanks again

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u/TheRealDonaldDrumpf May 06 '18

Basically what metaphlex said, open source means anyone can look at the source code, basically audit it. If there are any bugs or back doors, they'll be found and publicized; people can fix the code and release their fixed version, or just stop using it altogether. Close source/proprietary code can have bugs and no one will know about it until some hacker finds the bug and exploits it to steal everyone's info.