Richard Stallman, known for his instrumental role in the creation of Linux, has written an opinion piece arguing that nearly any operating system you might use today can be considered malware, and that goes for popular mobile platforms as well as desktop operating systems.
DON'T MISS: Pirate’s paradise: cCloud TV streams HBO, ESPN and 50 other live channels for free
According to Stallman’s post in The Guardian, any software that’s not distributed free of charge can be considered malware. “In the 21st century, proprietary software is computing for suckers,” he wrote.
Stallman says OS software is currently designed to spy on users, shackle them via DRM and even have backdoors that can be used for malicious purposes.
“What kinds of programs constitute malware? Operating systems, first of all,” he said. “Windows snoops on users, shackles users and, on mobiles, censors apps; it also has a universal back door that allows Microsoft to remotely impose software changes. Microsoft sabotages Windows users by showing security holes to the NSA before fixing them.”
