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Malware? Are we just redefining words when we don’t like something? > malware (n) > software that is specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unautho
by colejohnson66 7y ago
Malware? Are we just redefining words when we don’t like something?
> malware (n)
> software that is specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system.
How is a dispatch system (which GCC supports) malware? Yes, Intel “cripples” AMD by requiring an Intel processor, but it’s not malware.
- wtallis 7y agoIt's sneaky, it behaves badly and counter to the user's interests, and because it's a compiler, it propagates that bad behavior (though not in a self-reproducing viral fashion). It's fairly mild on the scale of malware—I'd rank it slightly less bad than adware, but roughly on par with AV software that deletes any tools it deems to be for piracy purposes.
- harry8 7y agoI call stealing your customers cpu cycles without permission for marketing purposes malware. If you don't that's ok. We can disagree.
- colejohnson66 7y agoI literally posted the definition of malware. Where is it gaining unauthorized access?
- wtallis 7y agoYour definition isn't the only reasonable way to define the term, and you seem to be parsing it incorrectly anyways.
- Dylan16807 7y agoIt says 'or'. If it disrupts, that fits the definition you gave. Or do you think a trojan that deletes your boot sector isn't malware?
- tehbeard 7y agoSeems pretty disruptive to my layman eyes to force code to run slower on a competitors hardware.
- colejohnson66 7y agoOh for sure. I’m quibbling over the use of the word “malware”