3 ms·

Or he is running an older version of FreeBSD that contains an older version of OpenSSL in the base.

tptacek 13y ago
For what it's worth: he's the former FreeBSD security officer, so I wouldn't worry too much about which version of FreeBSD he's using.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
  - jacques_chester 13y ago
    "Argument by authority" is not a fatal fallacy. The key insight is appealing to an irrelevant authority. For example: Oprah says heartbleed is not a problem. Maybe she's right, maybe she's not. But appealing to her authority doesn't help because she's not an authority on this topic. Colin Percival knows a lot about FreeBSD security. This appeal to authority is much stronger, because Colin Percival is the former FreeBSD Security Officer, runs a security-conscious SaaS, provides security review and consulting services, publishes on security matters, has corrected major companies' security errors and has developed novel cryptographic algorithms.
    - tptacek 13y ago
      Maybe the more precise way to say this is that an appeal to authority isn't always fallacious. It's especially not fallacious when the actual debate is about the person being appealed to. :)
    - hueving 13y ago
      I'm going to nitpick... >The key insight is appealing to an irrelevant authority. This is true, but the authority is almost never relevant to forming a valid argument. It's just a shortcut. Take the following: "X is not Y. I am a subject expert on X and Y." It may be true that X is not Y. It may also be true that I know everything there is to know about X and Y. However, it's a completely invalid argument. There is no evidence provided about why X is not Y. If someone questions why is X not Y, providing more evidence of authority does not contribute to the discourse. It is definitely a fatal fallacy if you exchanging in meaningful discourse. If you are just looking for general knowledge on topics you are vaguely familiar with, receiving knowledge backed by statements of authority is okay. But that's okay because you aren't actually arguing, you are just seeking clarification and knowledge.
awda 13y ago
It isn't that much older... stable/9 was the latest until 10 came out within the last year. The release cycle is closer to, say, Debian, than, say, Fedora.
- redbeard0x0a 13y ago
  FreeBSD 10 was just released, January 2014 if I remember correctly.
  - awda 13y ago
    I've been hearing about it from some FreeBSDers for months before that, so I can never remember the actual release date. But I would believe you on January :).
    - cperciva 13y ago
      The release was in January, but a lot of us were running Betas and Release Candidates for about three months prior to that.
      - awda 13y ago
        JeffR sounded pretty busy with preparing those betas and RCs, iirc. ;)

For what it's worth: he's the former FreeBSD security officer, so I wouldn't worry too much about which version of FreeBSD he's using.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
- jacques_chester 13y ago
  "Argument by authority" is not a fatal fallacy. The key insight is appealing to an irrelevant authority. For example: Oprah says heartbleed is not a problem. Maybe she's right, maybe she's not. But appealing to her authority doesn't help because she's not an authority on this topic. Colin Percival knows a lot about FreeBSD security. This appeal to authority is much stronger, because Colin Percival is the former FreeBSD Security Officer, runs a security-conscious SaaS, provides security review and consulting services, publishes on security matters, has corrected major companies' security errors and has developed novel cryptographic algorithms.
  - tptacek 13y ago
    Maybe the more precise way to say this is that an appeal to authority isn't always fallacious. It's especially not fallacious when the actual debate is about the person being appealed to. :)
  - hueving 13y ago
    I'm going to nitpick... >The key insight is appealing to an irrelevant authority. This is true, but the authority is almost never relevant to forming a valid argument. It's just a shortcut. Take the following: "X is not Y. I am a subject expert on X and Y." It may be true that X is not Y. It may also be true that I know everything there is to know about X and Y. However, it's a completely invalid argument. There is no evidence provided about why X is not Y. If someone questions why is X not Y, providing more evidence of authority does not contribute to the discourse. It is definitely a fatal fallacy if you exchanging in meaningful discourse. If you are just looking for general knowledge on topics you are vaguely familiar with, receiving knowledge backed by statements of authority is okay. But that's okay because you aren't actually arguing, you are just seeking clarification and knowledge.

awda 13y ago

It isn't that much older... stable/9 was the latest until 10 came out within the last year. The release cycle is closer to, say, Debian, than, say, Fedora.

redbeard0x0a 13y ago
FreeBSD 10 was just released, January 2014 if I remember correctly.
- awda 13y ago
  I've been hearing about it from some FreeBSDers for months before that, so I can never remember the actual release date. But I would believe you on January :).
  - cperciva 13y ago
    The release was in January, but a lot of us were running Betas and Release Candidates for about three months prior to that.
    - awda 13y ago
      JeffR sounded pretty busy with preparing those betas and RCs, iirc. ;)