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Yes! If it’s not opt in. Software should not make outgoing connections or accept incoming connections unless requested by the user.

beardog 4y ago
If no software auto updated by default the world would have way worse botnet issues.
charcircuit 4y ago
Why? In a world where the vast majority of computers are internet connected. This is just how software is constructed nowadays. Especially web development which is ahead of the ancient development practises common in libre software. Just open your network tab and see how many requests it makes without asking you.
- redeeman 4y ago
  yes, but all that is user hostile stuff that nobody really wants. modern websites are a cancer that we really quite could do without
  - charcircuit 4y ago
    >yes, but all that is user hostile stuff that nobody really wants. The proof is in the pudding. You claim nobody wants these things yet there are billions of people using these kinds of sites.
    - JohnFen 4y ago
      That vast majority of whom don't understand what's happening. Don't confuse ignorance or apathy with wanting it.
- barnabee 4y ago
  No. My computer having an internet connection is not an automatic invitation for anyone's software to use it. Just because a lot of software sucks doesn't mean it's acceptable or we should lie down and give up. We should work on improving OS capability/permissions models so that apps can't do this by default. In the absence of better protections, I absolutely audit which processes make connections from my machine and uninstall those that make unwanted connections that can't easily be uninstalled (with a small number of unfortunate exceptions where the need to use certain software outweighs the desire to maintain a reasonable system). This doesn't mean no connections ever, it means no conections users don't ask for and no connections that don't provide value to the user. It certainly means no phoning home or stats/crash data connection without explicit opt-in.

beardog 4y ago

If no software auto updated by default the world would have way worse botnet issues.

charcircuit 4y ago

Why? In a world where the vast majority of computers are internet connected. This is just how software is constructed nowadays. Especially web development which is ahead of the ancient development practises common in libre software. Just open your network tab and see how many requests it makes without asking you.

redeeman 4y ago
yes, but all that is user hostile stuff that nobody really wants. modern websites are a cancer that we really quite could do without
- charcircuit 4y ago
  >yes, but all that is user hostile stuff that nobody really wants. The proof is in the pudding. You claim nobody wants these things yet there are billions of people using these kinds of sites.
  - JohnFen 4y ago
    That vast majority of whom don't understand what's happening. Don't confuse ignorance or apathy with wanting it.
barnabee 4y ago
No. My computer having an internet connection is not an automatic invitation for anyone's software to use it. Just because a lot of software sucks doesn't mean it's acceptable or we should lie down and give up. We should work on improving OS capability/permissions models so that apps can't do this by default. In the absence of better protections, I absolutely audit which processes make connections from my machine and uninstall those that make unwanted connections that can't easily be uninstalled (with a small number of unfortunate exceptions where the need to use certain software outweighs the desire to maintain a reasonable system). This doesn't mean no connections ever, it means no conections users don't ask for and no connections that don't provide value to the user. It certainly means no phoning home or stats/crash data connection without explicit opt-in.