Protect your right to install free software
The following is a public statement open for signature. For more information, please read our more detailed description of the issue at fsf.org/campaigns/secure-boot-vs-restricted-boot .
Microsoft has announced that if computer manufacturers want to ship their products with a Windows 8 compatibility logo, then they must implement a technology called " Secure Boot ." However, at the moment it is doubtful that this technology will correspond to its name, since rather, it will earn the name " Limited download ".
When implemented correctly, Secure Download is designed to protect against malicious programs by preventing unsigned binary data from loading during the power up phase. In practice, this means that computers implementing this technology will not load unsigned operating systems — including those that were originally signed but then modified without having to repeat the signing procedure.
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This technology will correspond to its name only if the user can independently sign the programs that he wants to use, thus having the opportunity to run free software, written on his own, or received from people he trusts. However, we are concerned that Microsoft and hardware manufacturers will implement these download restrictions so as to not allow anything but Windows to run. In this case, we prefer to call the technology " limited load ", since such a requirement imposes a catastrophic restriction on users, and in principle is not a means of ensuring security.
Please sign the following statement to demonstrate to computer manufacturers, the government and Microsoft that you care about your right to choose and are ready to defend it.
Note: This is a translation of the official FSF statement. You must sign on the original page, located on the FSF website.
Microsoft has announced that if computer manufacturers want to ship their products with a Windows 8 compatibility logo, then they must implement a technology called " Secure Boot ." However, at the moment it is doubtful that this technology will correspond to its name, since rather, it will earn the name " Limited download ".
When implemented correctly, Secure Download is designed to protect against malicious programs by preventing unsigned binary data from loading during the power up phase. In practice, this means that computers implementing this technology will not load unsigned operating systems — including those that were originally signed but then modified without having to repeat the signing procedure.
')
This technology will correspond to its name only if the user can independently sign the programs that he wants to use, thus having the opportunity to run free software, written on his own, or received from people he trusts. However, we are concerned that Microsoft and hardware manufacturers will implement these download restrictions so as to not allow anything but Windows to run. In this case, we prefer to call the technology " limited load ", since such a requirement imposes a catastrophic restriction on users, and in principle is not a means of ensuring security.
Please sign the following statement to demonstrate to computer manufacturers, the government and Microsoft that you care about your right to choose and are ready to defend it.
We, the undersigned, call on all computer manufacturers to implement the so-called "Safe Boot" UEFI in such a way as to allow the installation of free operating systems. To respect the freedom of users and truly protect their security, manufacturers are required to either allow computer owners to disable download restrictions or provide a reliable way to install and run free operating systems. We are committed to never buying or recommending computers to others that deprive the user of this critical freedom, and we will actively encourage people in our community to avoid such limited systems in every way.
Note: This is a translation of the official FSF statement. You must sign on the original page, located on the FSF website.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/130671/
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