Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

The Onion Router

2021-11-01T07:14:36Z

Cicero1: expand

[[File:Tor Logo.jpg|thumbnail|The Onion Router Logo|200px]]
'''The Onion Router''' (more commonly '''Tor''') is a computer network and free [[open source]] software for [[anonymous communication]]. It enables users to surf the Internet, chat and send instant messages anonymously. The Tor network comprises many volunteer-operated [[server]]s and computers, termed ''nodes'', that relay data between users and websites. It uses a strong encryption design and is considered the strongest anonymizing software and network available on the internet. Tor makes it hard to track internet activity of specific users.

== Design ==

The Tor Project comprises a group of volunteer-operated internet servers which take messages from internet users and forward them to the intended internet website. Typically, an internet website will know the IP address and characteristics of each visitor. With Tor, the internet website thinks that the Tor server is the internet user, when in fact, the Tor server forwards the information back to the actual user without disclosing the identifying data to the website.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/about/overview.html.en|title=Tor Project Overview|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref> The Tor Project also provides software: the Tor Browser bundle, a Tor-configured web browser with anonymizing precautions, the Orbot protocol for for Android devices), and [[Tails (operating system)|Tails]], an operating system that is preconfigured to operate Tor safely, and less well-known software.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/index.html.en|title=Tor Project|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref> The operating system Whonix is developed independently of the Tor Project, but is alike to its also-Linux-based counterpart Tails in providing a Tor-enabled system with minimal user configuration.

Each user's path to a website is formed by three nodes: the guard, the middle and the exit. A unique combination of those three nodes is a ''circuit''. Tor's anonymizing strength lies in its unique encryption scheme. Only the guard node knows the user's IP address, and only the exit node knows the content of the user's communications. It is vital to strengthen Tor's anonymization with additional methods. To stay anonymous, users must enable [[HTTPS]] communications so that the nodes cannot spy on the content of their communications, and must also avoid de-anonymizing behavioral giveaways.

Various other aspects of the design of TOR make it even harder to penetrate. For instance, there are now frequently multiple middle nodes, spread across the globe, adding legal issues as well. The "exit node" can be anywhere in the world, as can the middle node, requiring any investigation to obtain warrants internationally. TOR also has "hidden services" which themselves connect to the internet via a TOR protocol. While a "hidden service" can still be hacked, each service must be hacked individually, ensuring that only sites with illegal content and a large audience are taken down.

The strength of Tor also leads it to be very slow compared to normal browsing. It is generally fast enough to download large files within a few hours and stream videos without pause. Whenever a user uses Tor, he slows down the network unnoticeably slightly for every other user. People who download large files for immoral purposes unfortunately slow down Tor.

== Vulnerabilities ==

Internet privacy and security experts consider Tor the strongest software and network for anonymizing oneself on the Internet. A user will never truly appear to be 'the average Joe'. Sufficiently enough users, however, use Tor so that in ordinary conditions no single person knows too much about who they are. Tor's encryption can be broken if the same organization or conspiring group of organizations controls all three nodes; in this case, the attacker knows everything the user sends over Tor that the website could know without Tor. To reduce the chance of a serious privacy breach in this manner, it is advised to create different Tor circuits for each different use; this is handled well by the Tor Browser bundle by default. As revealed by Edward Snowden, the [[National Security Administration]] (NSA) tries to de-anonymize Tor users by controlling its nodes. As of Snowden's 2012 revelations, the NSA can identify a small fraction of users by coincidence, but cannot identify a specific user on demand.

As the Tor developers warn users, The Onion Router "cannot help them if they use it wrong". Many Tor users have been identified because they have configured it incorrectly. For this reason, new users are advised to use pre-configured software such as the Tor Browser bundle or a specialized operating system—Tails or [[Whonix]]. There are many ways to de-anonymize users based on their behavior. ''Fingerprinting'' is the identification of a unique configuration or behavior so that it matches only one known user. ''Browser fingerprinting'' takes note of the browser, the operating system and browser settings; this can be circumvented with the Tor Browser bundle. Other behavior can be just as unique as someone's face, handwriting or fingerprint, such as his typing or mouse movement patterns.

An exit node has complete access to and control over the content of a user's communications; the user's safeguard is that the exit node does not know his IP address. If the connection to the website is not encrypted with the HTTPS protocol, the exit node can insert malicious code into the user's browser. Malicious exit nodes, a minority of all nodes, are operated by surveilling governments or hackers; the famous [[Julian Assange]] found secrets for [[Wikileaks]] by monitoring Tor communications as an exit node.

It is possible for a local network operator to prevent a computer accessing the network simply by censoring all known TOR IP's. A ''bridge'' is a server that substitutes for a guard node to bypass local network interference. Some bridge protocols are automatically packaged into Tor: 'obfs4' makes it ineffective to ban bridges by simply trying to contact all of them, 'meek' pretends to be a connection to a non-suspicious website, and 'snowflake' uses regular users' computers.

A TOR website, if breached, can be programmed to download malware that reveals the location of the computer, allowing law enforcement or other parties to find a user's location. In a notorious case, American child pornography producer Buster Hernandez was busted by exploiting a security vulnerability on his computer, having downloaded a video via Tor. A small software development company, Facebook and the government conspired to exploit a security vulnerability. Other weaknesses include various programs that take advantage of capabilities given to that type of program, such as a PDF installing extra software on a user's computer. Using antivirus software to protect against such malware is highly recommended, or else switching to an operating system like [[Linux]] that does not need an antivirus. It is wise to remember that TOR is the software used by criminals of all stripes, none of whom are beyond committing crimes against other users.

== Userbase ==
Tor has millions of daily users worldwide, and more than a million in the United States alone. Many users are normal people who do not have to fear much. A minority is of ethical users and criminals who have very much to hide. Tor is stereotyped as a dangerous criminal tool, and it is reasonable to assume that America runs state-sponsored smear campaigns on Tor. This is a non-comprehensive list of types of Tor uses and purposes for use:
* Normal users. Contrary to expectation, much traffic on Tor is from normal users who have little to hide. These people are generally just concerned about government and corporate surveillance. This emphatic rejection of unnecessary intrusions into privacy led to the [[Fourth Amendment]], which the courts have unfortunately ignored in continuing to allow the government to spy on citizens' internet activities.
* Activists. Anonymous communication, file transfer and blogging is possible for activists, whistleblowers and others who fear government persecution. Those who live under tyrannical governments, like those of China or Iran, will especially benefit.
* Firewall and network logging bypassing. A local network operator can log the websites a user visits and block any number of them he wishes. Tor allows users to bypass local firewall restrictions and prevents logging them. It is useful in work and school environments where access to a website is blocked. Tor may be the only option for those who live in countries with state-enforced internet censorship to access any website on the internet.
* Evidence erasing. Those who are researching sensitive topics or otherwise do not want traces of their browsing to be discovered on their computers use the Tor Browser or a Tor operating system.
* Criminals. Tor is notoriously popular among criminals. It enables anonymous, online [[black market]]s for trading drugs, child pornography, malware code, gambling and other illegal products. Tor is also popular among [[Software piracy|pirates]] of software, movies and music, who most often use the [[peer-to-peer]] protocol called BitTorrent, which allows files to be quickly transferred without a central file hosting server. It is rumored that a third of Tor traffic is of torrenting. The Tor Project has urged users not to torrent over Tor because it uses too many network resources and has revealed that Tor does not provide good protection to torrenting. The project also responds to the criminal use of Tor, "So yes, criminals could in theory use Tor, but they already have better options, and it seems unlikely that taking Tor away from the world will stop them from doing their bad things. At the same time, Tor and other privacy measures can fight identity theft, physical crimes like stalking, and so on"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/docs/faq-abuse.html.en|title=Tor Project Abuse FAQ|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref>

== Surveillance ==
Tor was created to protect US intelligence online, and was originally made by a US [[Navy Seal]]. Development started in 1997 by [[DARPA]], an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. However, in 2002 the Naval Research Laboratory released the code for Tor under a free license.

In 2014, the Russian government offered a $111,000 contract to "study the possibility of obtaining technical information about users."

Even subsequent government studies have concluded that Tor is difficult to infiltrate, because the government would have to penetrate all three computers handling a particular message to be able to trace it back to its origin. Because the number of active Tor nodes is large, and the middle node is assigned at random, most of the node computers on a Tor network would have to be compromised for the privacy of most messages to be broken.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-01-23/tor-anonymity-software-vs-dot-the-national-security-agency|title=The Inside Story of Tor, the Best Internet Anonymity Tool the Government Ever Built|date=January 23, 2014 |work=Bloomburg Business|accessdate=February 29, 2016}}</ref> [[Edward Snowden]]'s leaks revealed that

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [https://www.torproject.org/ Official TorProject.org]
* [http://lifehacker.com/what-is-tor-and-should-i-use-it-1527891029 What Is Tor and Should I Use It?]

[[Category:Privacy]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Information Technology]]

The Onion Router

2021-11-01T07:04:20Z

Cicero1: /* Design */ add comment about speed

[[File:Tor Logo.jpg|thumbnail|The Onion Router Logo|200px]]
'''The Onion Router''' (more commonly '''Tor''') is a computer network and free [[open source]] software for [[anonymous communication]]. It enables users to surf the Internet, chat and send instant messages anonymously. The Tor network comprises many volunteer-operated [[server]]s and computers, termed ''nodes'', that relay data between users and websites. It uses a strong encryption design and is considered the strongest anonymizing software and network available on the internet. Tor makes it hard to track internet activity of specific users.

== Design ==

The Tor Project comprises a group of volunteer-operated internet servers which take messages from internet users and forward them to the intended internet website. Typically, an internet website will know the IP address and characteristics of each visitor. With Tor, the internet website thinks that the Tor server is the internet user, when in fact, the Tor server forwards the information back to the actual user without disclosing the identifying data to the website.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/about/overview.html.en|title=Tor Project Overview|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref> The Tor Project also provides software: the Tor Browser bundle, a Tor-configured web browser with anonymizing precautions, the Orbot protocol for for Android devices), and [[Tails (operating system)|Tails]], an operating system that is preconfigured to operate Tor safely, and less well-known software.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/index.html.en|title=Tor Project|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref> The operating system Whonix is developed independently of the Tor Project, but is alike to its also-Linux-based counterpart Tails in providing a Tor-enabled system with minimal user configuration.

Each user's path to a website is formed by three nodes: the guard, the middle and the exit. A unique combination of those three nodes is a ''circuit''. Tor's anonymizing strength lies in its unique encryption scheme. Only the guard node knows the user's IP address, and only the exit node knows the content of the user's communications. It is vital to strengthen Tor's anonymization with additional methods. To stay anonymous, users must enable [[HTTPS]] communications so that the nodes cannot spy on the content of their communications, and must also avoid de-anonymizing behavioral giveaways.

Various other aspects of the design of TOR make it even harder to penetrate. For instance, there are now frequently multiple middle nodes, spread across the globe, adding legal issues as well. The "exit node" can be anywhere in the world, as can the middle node, requiring any investigation to obtain warrants internationally. TOR also has "hidden services" which themselves connect to the internet via a TOR protocol. While a "hidden service" can still be hacked, each service must be hacked individually, ensuring that only sites with illegal content and a large audience are taken down.

The strength of Tor also leads it to be very slow compared to normal browsing. It is generally fast enough to download large files within a few hours and stream videos without pause. Whenever a user uses Tor, he slows down the network unnoticeably slightly for every other user. People who download large files for immoral purposes unfortunately slow down Tor.

== Vulnerabilities ==

Internet privacy and security experts consider Tor the strongest software and network for anonymizing oneself on the Internet. A user will never truly appear to be 'the average Joe'. Sufficiently enough users, however, use Tor so that in ordinary conditions no single person knows too much about who they are. Tor's encryption can be broken if the same organization or conspiring group of organizations controls all three nodes; in this case, the attacker knows everything the user sends over Tor that the website could know without Tor. To reduce the chance of a serious privacy breach in this manner, it is advised to create different Tor circuits for each different use; this is handled well by the Tor Browser bundle by default. As revealed by Edward Snowden, the [[National Security Administration]] (NSA) tries to de-anonymize Tor users by controlling its nodes. As of Snowden's 2012 revelations, the NSA can identify a small fraction of users by coincidence, but cannot identify a specific user on demand.

As the Tor developers warn users, The Onion Router "cannot help them if they use it wrong". Many Tor users have been identified because they have configured it incorrectly. For this reason, new users are advised to use pre-configured software such as the Tor Browser bundle or a specialized operating system—Tails or [[Whonix]]. There are many ways to de-anonymize users based on their behavior. ''Fingerprinting'' is the identification of a unique configuration or behavior so that it matches only one known user. ''Browser fingerprinting'' takes note of the browser, the operating system and browser settings; this can be circumvented with the Tor Browser bundle. Other behavior can be just as unique as someone's face, handwriting or fingerprint, such as his typing or mouse movement patterns.

An exit node has complete access to and control over the content of a user's communications; the user's safeguard is that the exit node does not know his IP address. If the connection to the website is not encrypted with the HTTPS protocol, the exit node can insert malicious code into the user's browser. Malicious exit nodes, a minority of all nodes, are operated by surveilling governments or hackers; the famous [[Julian Assange]] found secrets for [[Wikileaks]] by monitoring Tor communications as an exit node.

It is possible for a local network operator to prevent a computer accessing the network simply by censoring all known TOR IP's. A ''bridge'' is a server that substitutes for a guard node to bypass local network interference. Some bridge protocols are automatically packaged into Tor: 'obfs4' makes it ineffective to ban bridges by simply trying to contact all of them, 'meek' pretends to be a connection to a non-suspicious website, and 'snowflake' uses regular users' computers.

A TOR website, if breached, can be programmed to download malware that reveals the location of the computer, allowing law enforcement or other parties to find a user's location. In a notorious case, American child pornography producer Buster Hernandez was busted by exploiting a security vulnerability on his computer, having downloaded a video via Tor. A small software development company, Facebook and the government conspired to exploit a security vulnerability. Other weaknesses include various programs that take advantage of capabilities given to that type of program, such as a PDF installing extra software on a user's computer. Using antivirus software to protect against such malware is highly recommended, or else switching to an operating system like [[Linux]] that does not need an antivirus. It is wise to remember that TOR is the software used by criminals of all stripes, none of whom are beyond committing crimes against other users.

== Userbase ==
Tor has millions of daily users worldwide, and more than a million in the United States alone. Many users are normal people who do not have to fear much. A minority is of ethical users and criminals who have very much to hide. Tor is stereotyped as a dangerous criminal tool, and it is reasonable to assume that America runs state-sponsored smear campaigns on Tor. This is a non-comprehensive list of types of Tor uses and purposes for use:
* Normal users. Contrary to expectation, much traffic on Tor is from normal users who have little to hide. These people are generally just concerned about government and corporate surveillance. This emphatic rejection of unnecessary intrusions into privacy led to the [[Fourth Amendment]], which the courts have unfortunately ignored in continuing to allow the government to spy on citizens' internet activities.
* Activists. Anonymous communication, file transfer and blogging is possible for activists, whistleblowers and others who fear government persecution. Those who live under tyrannical governments, like those of China or Iran, will especially benefit.
* Firewall and network logging bypassing. A local network operator can log the websites a user visits and block any number of them he wishes. Tor allows users to bypass local firewall restrictions and prevents logging them. It is useful in work and school environments where access to a website is blocked. Tor may be the only option for those who live in countries with state-enforced internet censorship to access any website on the internet.
* Evidence erasing. Those who are researching sensitive topics or otherwise do not want traces of their browsing to be discovered on their computers use the Tor Browser or a Tor operating system.
* Criminals. Tor is notoriously popular among criminals. It enables anonymous, online [[black market]]s for trading drugs, child pornography, malware code, gambling and other illegal products. The Tor Project responds to the criminal use of Tor, "So yes, criminals could in theory use Tor, but they already have better options, and it seems unlikely that taking Tor away from the world will stop them from doing their bad things. At the same time, Tor and other privacy measures can fight identity theft, physical crimes like stalking, and so on"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/docs/faq-abuse.html.en|title=Tor Project Abuse FAQ|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref>

== Surveillance ==
Tor was created to protect US intelligence online, and was originally made by a US [[Navy Seal]]. Development started in 1997 by [[DARPA]], an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. However, in 2002 the Naval Research Laboratory released the code for Tor under a free license.

In 2014, the Russian government offered a $111,000 contract to "study the possibility of obtaining technical information about users."

Even subsequent government studies have concluded that Tor is difficult to infiltrate, because the government would have to penetrate all three computers handling a particular message to be able to trace it back to its origin. Because the number of active Tor nodes is large, and the middle node is assigned at random, most of the node computers on a Tor network would have to be compromised for the privacy of most messages to be broken.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-01-23/tor-anonymity-software-vs-dot-the-national-security-agency|title=The Inside Story of Tor, the Best Internet Anonymity Tool the Government Ever Built|date=January 23, 2014 |work=Bloomburg Business|accessdate=February 29, 2016}}</ref> [[Edward Snowden]]'s leaks revealed that

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [https://www.torproject.org/ Official TorProject.org]
* [http://lifehacker.com/what-is-tor-and-should-i-use-it-1527891029 What Is Tor and Should I Use It?]

[[Category:Privacy]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Information Technology]]

The Onion Router

2021-11-01T06:56:59Z

Cicero1: /* Design */ mention Whonix

[[File:Tor Logo.jpg|thumbnail|The Onion Router Logo|200px]]
'''The Onion Router''' (more commonly '''Tor''') is a computer network and free [[open source]] software for [[anonymous communication]]. It enables users to surf the Internet, chat and send instant messages anonymously. The Tor network comprises many volunteer-operated [[server]]s and computers, termed ''nodes'', that relay data between users and websites. It uses a strong encryption design and is considered the strongest anonymizing software and network available on the internet. Tor makes it hard to track internet activity of specific users.

== Design ==

The Tor Project comprises a group of volunteer-operated internet servers which take messages from internet users and forward them to the intended internet website. Typically, an internet website will know the IP address and characteristics of each visitor. With Tor, the internet website thinks that the Tor server is the internet user, when in fact, the Tor server forwards the information back to the actual user without disclosing the identifying data to the website.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/about/overview.html.en|title=Tor Project Overview|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref> The Tor Project also provides software: the Tor Browser bundle, a Tor-configured web browser with anonymizing precautions, the Orbot protocol for for Android devices), and [[Tails (operating system)|Tails]], an operating system that is preconfigured to operate Tor safely, and less well-known software.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/index.html.en|title=Tor Project|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref> The operating system Whonix is developed independently of the Tor Project, but is alike to its also-Linux-based counterpart Tails in providing a Tor-enabled system with minimal user configuration.

Each user's path to a website is formed by three nodes: the guard, the middle and the exit. A unique combination of those three nodes is a ''circuit''. Tor's anonymizing strength lies in its unique encryption scheme. Only the guard node knows the user's IP address, and only the exit node knows the content of the user's communications. It is vital to strengthen Tor's anonymization with additional methods. To stay anonymous, users must enable [[HTTPS]] communications so that the nodes cannot spy on the content of their communications, and must also avoid de-anonymizing behavioral giveaways.

Various other aspects of the design of TOR make it even harder to penetrate. For instance, there are now frequently multiple middle nodes, spread across the globe, adding legal issues as well. The "exit node" can be anywhere in the world, as can the middle node, requiring any investigation to obtain warrants internationally. TOR also has "hidden services" which themselves connect to the internet via a TOR protocol. While a "hidden service" can still be hacked, each service must be hacked individually, ensuring that only sites with illegal content and a large audience are taken down.

== Vulnerabilities ==

Internet privacy and security experts consider Tor the strongest software and network for anonymizing oneself on the Internet. A user will never truly appear to be 'the average Joe'. Sufficiently enough users, however, use Tor so that in ordinary conditions no single person knows too much about who they are. Tor's encryption can be broken if the same organization or conspiring group of organizations controls all three nodes; in this case, the attacker knows everything the user sends over Tor that the website could know without Tor. To reduce the chance of a serious privacy breach in this manner, it is advised to create different Tor circuits for each different use; this is handled well by the Tor Browser bundle by default. As revealed by Edward Snowden, the [[National Security Administration]] (NSA) tries to de-anonymize Tor users by controlling its nodes. As of Snowden's 2012 revelations, the NSA can identify a small fraction of users by coincidence, but cannot identify a specific user on demand.

As the Tor developers warn users, The Onion Router "cannot help them if they use it wrong". Many Tor users have been identified because they have configured it incorrectly. For this reason, new users are advised to use pre-configured software such as the Tor Browser bundle or a specialized operating system—Tails or [[Whonix]]. There are many ways to de-anonymize users based on their behavior. ''Fingerprinting'' is the identification of a unique configuration or behavior so that it matches only one known user. ''Browser fingerprinting'' takes note of the browser, the operating system and browser settings; this can be circumvented with the Tor Browser bundle. Other behavior can be just as unique as someone's face, handwriting or fingerprint, such as his typing or mouse movement patterns.

An exit node has complete access to and control over the content of a user's communications; the user's safeguard is that the exit node does not know his IP address. If the connection to the website is not encrypted with the HTTPS protocol, the exit node can insert malicious code into the user's browser. Malicious exit nodes, a minority of all nodes, are operated by surveilling governments or hackers; the famous [[Julian Assange]] found secrets for [[Wikileaks]] by monitoring Tor communications as an exit node.

It is possible for a local network operator to prevent a computer accessing the network simply by censoring all known TOR IP's. A ''bridge'' is a server that substitutes for a guard node to bypass local network interference. Some bridge protocols are automatically packaged into Tor: 'obfs4' makes it ineffective to ban bridges by simply trying to contact all of them, 'meek' pretends to be a connection to a non-suspicious website, and 'snowflake' uses regular users' computers.

A TOR website, if breached, can be programmed to download malware that reveals the location of the computer, allowing law enforcement or other parties to find a user's location. In a notorious case, American child pornography producer Buster Hernandez was busted by exploiting a security vulnerability on his computer, having downloaded a video via Tor. A small software development company, Facebook and the government conspired to exploit a security vulnerability. Other weaknesses include various programs that take advantage of capabilities given to that type of program, such as a PDF installing extra software on a user's computer. Using antivirus software to protect against such malware is highly recommended, or else switching to an operating system like [[Linux]] that does not need an antivirus. It is wise to remember that TOR is the software used by criminals of all stripes, none of whom are beyond committing crimes against other users.

== Userbase ==
Tor has millions of daily users worldwide, and more than a million in the United States alone. Many users are normal people who do not have to fear much. A minority is of ethical users and criminals who have very much to hide. Tor is stereotyped as a dangerous criminal tool, and it is reasonable to assume that America runs state-sponsored smear campaigns on Tor. This is a non-comprehensive list of types of Tor uses and purposes for use:
* Normal users. Contrary to expectation, much traffic on Tor is from normal users who have little to hide. These people are generally just concerned about government and corporate surveillance. This emphatic rejection of unnecessary intrusions into privacy led to the [[Fourth Amendment]], which the courts have unfortunately ignored in continuing to allow the government to spy on citizens' internet activities.
* Activists. Anonymous communication, file transfer and blogging is possible for activists, whistleblowers and others who fear government persecution. Those who live under tyrannical governments, like those of China or Iran, will especially benefit.
* Firewall and network logging bypassing. A local network operator can log the websites a user visits and block any number of them he wishes. Tor allows users to bypass local firewall restrictions and prevents logging them. It is useful in work and school environments where access to a website is blocked. Tor may be the only option for those who live in countries with state-enforced internet censorship to access any website on the internet.
* Evidence erasing. Those who are researching sensitive topics or otherwise do not want traces of their browsing to be discovered on their computers use the Tor Browser or a Tor operating system.
* Criminals. Tor is notoriously popular among criminals. It enables anonymous, online [[black market]]s for trading drugs, child pornography, malware code, gambling and other illegal products. The Tor Project responds to the criminal use of Tor, "So yes, criminals could in theory use Tor, but they already have better options, and it seems unlikely that taking Tor away from the world will stop them from doing their bad things. At the same time, Tor and other privacy measures can fight identity theft, physical crimes like stalking, and so on"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/docs/faq-abuse.html.en|title=Tor Project Abuse FAQ|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref>

== Surveillance ==
Tor was created to protect US intelligence online, and was originally made by a US [[Navy Seal]]. Development started in 1997 by [[DARPA]], an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. However, in 2002 the Naval Research Laboratory released the code for Tor under a free license.

In 2014, the Russian government offered a $111,000 contract to "study the possibility of obtaining technical information about users."

Even subsequent government studies have concluded that Tor is difficult to infiltrate, because the government would have to penetrate all three computers handling a particular message to be able to trace it back to its origin. Because the number of active Tor nodes is large, and the middle node is assigned at random, most of the node computers on a Tor network would have to be compromised for the privacy of most messages to be broken.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-01-23/tor-anonymity-software-vs-dot-the-national-security-agency|title=The Inside Story of Tor, the Best Internet Anonymity Tool the Government Ever Built|date=January 23, 2014 |work=Bloomburg Business|accessdate=February 29, 2016}}</ref> [[Edward Snowden]]'s leaks revealed that

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [https://www.torproject.org/ Official TorProject.org]
* [http://lifehacker.com/what-is-tor-and-should-i-use-it-1527891029 What Is Tor and Should I Use It?]

[[Category:Privacy]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Information Technology]]

The Onion Router

2021-11-01T06:54:47Z

Cicero1: /* Userbase */ rewrite

[[File:Tor Logo.jpg|thumbnail|The Onion Router Logo|200px]]
'''The Onion Router''' (more commonly '''Tor''') is a computer network and free [[open source]] software for [[anonymous communication]]. It enables users to surf the Internet, chat and send instant messages anonymously. The Tor network comprises many volunteer-operated [[server]]s and computers, termed ''nodes'', that relay data between users and websites. It uses a strong encryption design and is considered the strongest anonymizing software and network available on the internet. Tor makes it hard to track internet activity of specific users.

== Design ==

The Tor Project comprises a group of volunteer-operated internet servers which take messages from internet users and forward them to the intended internet website. Typically, an internet website will know the IP address and characteristics of each visitor. With Tor, the internet website thinks that the Tor server is the internet user, when in fact, the Tor server forwards the information back to the actual user without disclosing the identifying data to the website.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/about/overview.html.en|title=Tor Project Overview|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref> The Tor Project also provides software including the Tor Browser bundle, a Tor-configured web browser with anonymizing precautions, the Orbot protocol for for Android devices), and [[Tails (operating system)|Tails]], an operating system that is preconfigured to operate Tor safely.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/index.html.en|title=Tor Project|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref>

Each user's path to a website is formed by three nodes: the guard, the middle and the exit. A unique combination of those three nodes is a ''circuit''. Tor's anonymizing strength lies in its unique encryption scheme. Only the guard node knows the user's IP address, and only the exit node knows the content of the user's communications. It is vital to strengthen Tor's anonymization with additional methods. To stay anonymous, users must enable [[HTTPS]] communications so that the nodes cannot spy on the content of their communications, and must also avoid de-anonymizing behavioral giveaways.

Various other aspects of the design of TOR make it even harder to penetrate. For instance, there are now frequently multiple middle nodes, spread across the globe, adding legal issues as well. The "exit node" can be anywhere in the world, as can the middle node, requiring any investigation to obtain warrants internationally. TOR also has "hidden services" which themselves connect to the internet via a TOR protocol. While a "hidden service" can still be hacked, each service must be hacked individually, ensuring that only sites with illegal content and a large audience are taken down.

== Vulnerabilities ==

Internet privacy and security experts consider Tor the strongest software and network for anonymizing oneself on the Internet. A user will never truly appear to be 'the average Joe'. Sufficiently enough users, however, use Tor so that in ordinary conditions no single person knows too much about who they are. Tor's encryption can be broken if the same organization or conspiring group of organizations controls all three nodes; in this case, the attacker knows everything the user sends over Tor that the website could know without Tor. To reduce the chance of a serious privacy breach in this manner, it is advised to create different Tor circuits for each different use; this is handled well by the Tor Browser bundle by default. As revealed by Edward Snowden, the [[National Security Administration]] (NSA) tries to de-anonymize Tor users by controlling its nodes. As of Snowden's 2012 revelations, the NSA can identify a small fraction of users by coincidence, but cannot identify a specific user on demand.

As the Tor developers warn users, The Onion Router "cannot help them if they use it wrong". Many Tor users have been identified because they have configured it incorrectly. For this reason, new users are advised to use pre-configured software such as the Tor Browser bundle or a specialized operating system—Tails or [[Whonix]]. There are many ways to de-anonymize users based on their behavior. ''Fingerprinting'' is the identification of a unique configuration or behavior so that it matches only one known user. ''Browser fingerprinting'' takes note of the browser, the operating system and browser settings; this can be circumvented with the Tor Browser bundle. Other behavior can be just as unique as someone's face, handwriting or fingerprint, such as his typing or mouse movement patterns.

An exit node has complete access to and control over the content of a user's communications; the user's safeguard is that the exit node does not know his IP address. If the connection to the website is not encrypted with the HTTPS protocol, the exit node can insert malicious code into the user's browser. Malicious exit nodes, a minority of all nodes, are operated by surveilling governments or hackers; the famous [[Julian Assange]] found secrets for [[Wikileaks]] by monitoring Tor communications as an exit node.

It is possible for a local network operator to prevent a computer accessing the network simply by censoring all known TOR IP's. A ''bridge'' is a server that substitutes for a guard node to bypass local network interference. Some bridge protocols are automatically packaged into Tor: 'obfs4' makes it ineffective to ban bridges by simply trying to contact all of them, 'meek' pretends to be a connection to a non-suspicious website, and 'snowflake' uses regular users' computers.

A TOR website, if breached, can be programmed to download malware that reveals the location of the computer, allowing law enforcement or other parties to find a user's location. In a notorious case, American child pornography producer Buster Hernandez was busted by exploiting a security vulnerability on his computer, having downloaded a video via Tor. A small software development company, Facebook and the government conspired to exploit a security vulnerability. Other weaknesses include various programs that take advantage of capabilities given to that type of program, such as a PDF installing extra software on a user's computer. Using antivirus software to protect against such malware is highly recommended, or else switching to an operating system like [[Linux]] that does not need an antivirus. It is wise to remember that TOR is the software used by criminals of all stripes, none of whom are beyond committing crimes against other users.

== Userbase ==
Tor has millions of daily users worldwide, and more than a million in the United States alone. Many users are normal people who do not have to fear much. A minority is of ethical users and criminals who have very much to hide. Tor is stereotyped as a dangerous criminal tool, and it is reasonable to assume that America runs state-sponsored smear campaigns on Tor. This is a non-comprehensive list of types of Tor uses and purposes for use:
* Normal users. Contrary to expectation, much traffic on Tor is from normal users who have little to hide. These people are generally just concerned about government and corporate surveillance. This emphatic rejection of unnecessary intrusions into privacy led to the [[Fourth Amendment]], which the courts have unfortunately ignored in continuing to allow the government to spy on citizens' internet activities.
* Activists. Anonymous communication, file transfer and blogging is possible for activists, whistleblowers and others who fear government persecution. Those who live under tyrannical governments, like those of China or Iran, will especially benefit.
* Firewall and network logging bypassing. A local network operator can log the websites a user visits and block any number of them he wishes. Tor allows users to bypass local firewall restrictions and prevents logging them. It is useful in work and school environments where access to a website is blocked. Tor may be the only option for those who live in countries with state-enforced internet censorship to access any website on the internet.
* Evidence erasing. Those who are researching sensitive topics or otherwise do not want traces of their browsing to be discovered on their computers use the Tor Browser or a Tor operating system.
* Criminals. Tor is notoriously popular among criminals. It enables anonymous, online [[black market]]s for trading drugs, child pornography, malware code, gambling and other illegal products. The Tor Project responds to the criminal use of Tor, "So yes, criminals could in theory use Tor, but they already have better options, and it seems unlikely that taking Tor away from the world will stop them from doing their bad things. At the same time, Tor and other privacy measures can fight identity theft, physical crimes like stalking, and so on"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/docs/faq-abuse.html.en|title=Tor Project Abuse FAQ|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref>

== Surveillance ==
Tor was created to protect US intelligence online, and was originally made by a US [[Navy Seal]]. Development started in 1997 by [[DARPA]], an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. However, in 2002 the Naval Research Laboratory released the code for Tor under a free license.

In 2014, the Russian government offered a $111,000 contract to "study the possibility of obtaining technical information about users."

Even subsequent government studies have concluded that Tor is difficult to infiltrate, because the government would have to penetrate all three computers handling a particular message to be able to trace it back to its origin. Because the number of active Tor nodes is large, and the middle node is assigned at random, most of the node computers on a Tor network would have to be compromised for the privacy of most messages to be broken.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-01-23/tor-anonymity-software-vs-dot-the-national-security-agency|title=The Inside Story of Tor, the Best Internet Anonymity Tool the Government Ever Built|date=January 23, 2014 |work=Bloomburg Business|accessdate=February 29, 2016}}</ref> [[Edward Snowden]]'s leaks revealed that

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [https://www.torproject.org/ Official TorProject.org]
* [http://lifehacker.com/what-is-tor-and-should-i-use-it-1527891029 What Is Tor and Should I Use It?]

[[Category:Privacy]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Information Technology]]

The Onion Router

2021-11-01T06:30:01Z

Cicero1: expand

[[File:Tor Logo.jpg|thumbnail|The Onion Router Logo|200px]]
'''The Onion Router''' (more commonly '''Tor''') is a computer network and free [[open source]] software for [[anonymous communication]]. It enables users to surf the Internet, chat and send instant messages anonymously. The Tor network comprises many volunteer-operated [[server]]s and computers, termed ''nodes'', that relay data between users and websites. It uses a strong encryption design and is considered the strongest anonymizing software and network available on the internet. Tor makes it hard to track internet activity of specific users.

== Design ==

The Tor Project comprises a group of volunteer-operated internet servers which take messages from internet users and forward them to the intended internet website. Typically, an internet website will know the IP address and characteristics of each visitor. With Tor, the internet website thinks that the Tor server is the internet user, when in fact, the Tor server forwards the information back to the actual user without disclosing the identifying data to the website.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/about/overview.html.en|title=Tor Project Overview|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref> The Tor Project also provides software including the Tor Browser bundle, a Tor-configured web browser with anonymizing precautions, the Orbot protocol for for Android devices), and [[Tails (operating system)|Tails]], an operating system that is preconfigured to operate Tor safely.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/index.html.en|title=Tor Project|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref>

Each user's path to a website is formed by three nodes: the guard, the middle and the exit. A unique combination of those three nodes is a ''circuit''. Tor's anonymizing strength lies in its unique encryption scheme. Only the guard node knows the user's IP address, and only the exit node knows the content of the user's communications. It is vital to strengthen Tor's anonymization with additional methods. To stay anonymous, users must enable [[HTTPS]] communications so that the nodes cannot spy on the content of their communications, and must also avoid de-anonymizing behavioral giveaways.

Various other aspects of the design of TOR make it even harder to penetrate. For instance, there are now frequently multiple middle nodes, spread across the globe, adding legal issues as well. The "exit node" can be anywhere in the world, as can the middle node, requiring any investigation to obtain warrants internationally. TOR also has "hidden services" which themselves connect to the internet via a TOR protocol. While a "hidden service" can still be hacked, each service must be hacked individually, ensuring that only sites with illegal content and a large audience are taken down.

== Vulnerabilities ==

Internet privacy and security experts consider Tor the strongest software and network for anonymizing oneself on the Internet. A user will never truly appear to be 'the average Joe'. Sufficiently enough users, however, use Tor so that in ordinary conditions no single person knows too much about who they are. Tor's encryption can be broken if the same organization or conspiring group of organizations controls all three nodes; in this case, the attacker knows everything the user sends over Tor that the website could know without Tor. To reduce the chance of a serious privacy breach in this manner, it is advised to create different Tor circuits for each different use; this is handled well by the Tor Browser bundle by default. As revealed by Edward Snowden, the [[National Security Administration]] (NSA) tries to de-anonymize Tor users by controlling its nodes. As of Snowden's 2012 revelations, the NSA can identify a small fraction of users by coincidence, but cannot identify a specific user on demand.

As the Tor developers warn users, The Onion Router "cannot help them if they use it wrong". Many Tor users have been identified because they have configured it incorrectly. For this reason, new users are advised to use pre-configured software such as the Tor Browser bundle or a specialized operating system—Tails or [[Whonix]]. There are many ways to de-anonymize users based on their behavior. ''Fingerprinting'' is the identification of a unique configuration or behavior so that it matches only one known user. ''Browser fingerprinting'' takes note of the browser, the operating system and browser settings; this can be circumvented with the Tor Browser bundle. Other behavior can be just as unique as someone's face, handwriting or fingerprint, such as his typing or mouse movement patterns.

An exit node has complete access to and control over the content of a user's communications; the user's safeguard is that the exit node does not know his IP address. If the connection to the website is not encrypted with the HTTPS protocol, the exit node can insert malicious code into the user's browser. Malicious exit nodes, a minority of all nodes, are operated by surveilling governments or hackers; the famous [[Julian Assange]] found secrets for [[Wikileaks]] by monitoring Tor communications as an exit node.

It is possible for a local network operator to prevent a computer accessing the network simply by censoring all known TOR IP's. A ''bridge'' is a server that substitutes for a guard node to bypass local network interference. Some bridge protocols are automatically packaged into Tor: 'obfs4' makes it ineffective to ban bridges by simply trying to contact all of them, 'meek' pretends to be a connection to a non-suspicious website, and 'snowflake' uses regular users' computers.

A TOR website, if breached, can be programmed to download malware that reveals the location of the computer, allowing law enforcement or other parties to find a user's location. In a notorious case, American child pornography producer Buster Hernandez was busted by exploiting a security vulnerability on his computer, having downloaded a video via Tor. A small software development company, Facebook and the government conspired to exploit a security vulnerability. Other weaknesses include various programs that take advantage of capabilities given to that type of program, such as a PDF installing extra software on a user's computer. Using antivirus software to protect against such malware is highly recommended, or else switching to an operating system like [[Linux]] that does not need an antivirus. It is wise to remember that TOR is the software used by criminals of all stripes, none of whom are beyond committing crimes against other users.

== Userbase ==
The Tor project responds to the criminal use of Tor by saying, "So yes, criminals could in theory use Tor, but they already have better options, and it seems unlikely that taking Tor away from the world will stop them from doing their bad things. At the same time, Tor and other privacy measures can fight identity theft, physical crimes like stalking, and so on"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.torproject.org/docs/faq-abuse.html.en|title=Tor Project Abuse FAQ|accessdate=February 8, 2016}}</ref> Tor is used by a wide variety of people for both legal and illegal purposes. Tor has been used to establish online [[black market]]s and to conduct internet gambling. It has also helped oppressed people hide their identity online and allows them to more safely speak out against tyrannical governments.

== Surveillance ==
Tor was created to protect US intelligence online, and was originally made by a US [[Navy Seal]]. Development started in 1997 by [[DARPA]], an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military. However, in 2002 the Naval Research Laboratory released the code for Tor under a free license.

In 2014, the Russian government offered a $111,000 contract to "study the possibility of obtaining technical information about users."

Even subsequent government studies have concluded that Tor is difficult to infiltrate, because the government would have to penetrate all three computers handling a particular message to be able to trace it back to its origin. Because the number of active Tor nodes is large, and the middle node is assigned at random, most of the node computers on a Tor network would have to be compromised for the privacy of most messages to be broken.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-01-23/tor-anonymity-software-vs-dot-the-national-security-agency|title=The Inside Story of Tor, the Best Internet Anonymity Tool the Government Ever Built|date=January 23, 2014 |work=Bloomburg Business|accessdate=February 29, 2016}}</ref> [[Edward Snowden]]'s leaks revealed that

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [https://www.torproject.org/ Official TorProject.org]
* [http://lifehacker.com/what-is-tor-and-should-i-use-it-1527891029 What Is Tor and Should I Use It?]

[[Category:Privacy]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Information Technology]]

The Onion Router

2021-11-01T06:18:43Z

Cicero1: expand and rewrite

Law school

2021-11-01T05:12:06Z

Cicero1: add some sections

A '''law school''' is an educational institution that trains [[lawyer]]s. It is universally required for lawyers in the United States. Typically, a student must spend three years in law school to earn a [[J.D.]] (''Juris Doctor'', Latin for 'doctor of law') degree. Some law schools may also offer a PhD in law. Most prospective lawyers need an undergraduate degree to be admitted, and admission to law school is competitive. A J.D. degree, along with passing the [[bar examination]], will grant a person legal license to work as an attorney.

== Universities ==

There are roughly 200 law schools in the United States, most of which are part of a larger university. The most prestigious law schools are themselves within prestigious universities, such as [[Harvard Law School]]. Technical (science-focused) institutes and liberal arts colleges are unlikely to have an attached law school.

== Admissions ==

Law schools are selective in their admissions, and the occupation of a lawyer is highly desired. The [[Law School Admission Test]] (LSAT) is universally taken by applicants, assessing one's abilities in logic and reading.

== See also ==
* [[Jurisprudence]]
* [[Medical school]]

[[Category:Education]]
[[Category:Law Schools]]

Law school

2021-11-01T04:47:32Z

Cicero1: start infant article

Conservapedia:Vandal

2021-11-01T04:30:09Z

Cicero1: redirect

#REDIRECT [[Conservapedia:Vandalism]]

Conservapedia:Community Portal

2021-11-01T00:17:24Z

Cicero1: /* Changing my username */ possible method

<center>''(this page redirects from [[CP:COMPORT]])''</center>
<center>''This is the place to discuss issues of interest to the Conservapedia community.''</center>

[[Community Portal/Archives]]

''This page contains some material that has been moved from [[Talk:Main_Page]]. We are attempting to get general discussion of issues relating to Conservapedia's content and policies on this page, leaving the main talk page for its original purpose of discussing the content of the Main Page.''

__NEWSECTIONLINK__

==Eulogy==

Many eulogies are for people who are still alive. Aristotle called this speaking epideicticly. I don't know what I'm talking about.

All who know me know what a positive person I am, having admired Trump, but I am still learning. In that spirit, allow me to eulogize my favorite same-sex-loving person, Christopher Ciccone.

I was just looking at my 1985 high school yearbook. The four years of classes voted Madonna (Ciccone) "Best female vocalist". Most every girl in those classes was out of my league at the time, so I guess I have to admit they knew more than me about some things. Anyway, it turns out Christopher claimed he designed Madonna's looks. People say her singing wasn't that great despite being the vocalist on a number of good songs, so her looks probably were a significant part of her appeal, and Christopher would deserve a lot of credit for her success.

Christopher became a well-respected interior designer and designed Madonna's beautiful and exquisitely tasteful mansion when she was rich and famous. And when she turned on him, he wrote a book about her that was fair about her trying to improve her sympathy towards her male companions, but still proved she was disloyal to people, said he nearly threw a punch at her pretty-boy newlywed husband for patronizing him and walked out of her life when she wouldn't stop doing to him all the things caused by what people have come to dislike about her. What's not to love about Christopher Ciccone? [[User:VargasMilan|VargasMilan]] ([[User talk:VargasMilan|talk]]) Sunday, 07:16, 7 February 2021 (EST)

==Commentary on the foregoing==

You'll notice I used the word "love" in what could be taken in two different senses. This is a portal for communication among encyclopedia writers, so I think the writers who profess such ability should be able to handle this much ambiguity. If they think otherwise, I might mention it would be just as much their fault as mine for not seeing that as something upon which to be remarked.

People can use the word "love" in numerous ways and end in ambiguity and indeed contradiction. If you pay attention, you'll realize in one sense "love" can be Divine, in another ungodly. In one sense: fruits of the spirit (Isaiah 11)!; in another: sterility. [[User:VargasMilan|VargasMilan]] ([[User talk:VargasMilan|talk]]) Friday, 06:18, 12 February 2021 (EST)

== Main page news ==

Hello everybody there are important news I want share on main page. how can I introduce news? --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 21:15, 16 February 2021 (EST)
:You can put it on [[User_talk:Aschlafly]] or [[User_talk:TerryH]]. At least in theory, [[Talk:Main_Page]] is the page for this purpose. [[User:PeterKa|PeterKa]] ([[User talk:PeterKa|talk]]) 12:29, 17 February 2021 (EST)

== Photo upload ==

Hello, I want to know how I can upload photo file here? --[[User:Alex Kosh|Alex Kosh]] ([[User talk:Alex Kosh|talk]]) 19:11, 10 March 2021 (EST)
:Hi, you can post specific requests here: [[Conservapedia:Image upload requests]] ([[CP:IUR]]).
:Ideally, please find images which are either in the [[public domain]], or under [[Creative Commons]] licenses. If you need any assistance, have questions, or need ideas on where to look, let me know. --[[User:DavidB4|DavidB4]] ([[User talk:DavidB4|TALK]]) 21:51, 10 March 2021 (EST)

== New Project Started ==

Hello Conservapedia editors! Yesterday I started [[Conservapedia:Project Current Events]] and I just wanted to invite anyone that wants to help out on the Project. The idea is similar to Wikipedia’s “Current Event WikiProject”, which I am the lead coordinator of, so hopefully Conservapedia can stay up to date on major current events. One such event that Wikipedia is barely talking about is [[45 Office]], which Donald Trump created yesterday. Because of my status on Wikipedia, I know a lot of the behind the scenes things, so hopefully I can grow Conservapedia just as much as I did Wikipedia. Feel free to join the Project. --[[User:Elijahandskip|Elijahandskip]] ([[User talk:Elijahandskip|talk]]) 12:17, 30 March 2021 (EDT)

== Discussion for a possible new Wikipedia Article ==

Should a new article be started for discussions on Wikipedia that have major effects? (An example of one is [[Elijahandskip#Biden–Ukraine conspiracy theory article]]). Or, should the discussion details be added to [[Wikipedia]] or [[Examples of Bias in Wikipedia]]. I don't really know if they should go in the examples of bias article, because some aren't really a "bias" per say, but have extreme lasting effects on Wikipedia. Also, if you think a new article, what would the articles title be? --[[User:Elijahandskip|Elijahandskip]] ([[User talk:Elijahandskip|talk]]) 18:07, 14 May 2021 (EDT)
:My recommendation would be to create the page on WP's Ukraine conspiracy theory article if you have enough to make it not a just stub, and put a link to it from the Bias in WP portal to it. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 18:13, 14 May 2021 (EDT)
::Well I wasn't just thinking about that discussion in general. I have been a part of tons of 'major' discussion on Wikipedia. One also involved Wikipedia removing information about US Governor Impeachment efforts (Both Republican and Democratic governor impeachment efforts). I also participated and know the history of a discussion where Wikipedia was about to say the assassination of an Italian Diplomat was no notable for Wikipedia. I would be perfectly fine creating an article just for that discussion, but what about the other discussions that had controversy on Wikipedia? --[[User:Elijahandskip|Elijahandskip]] ([[User talk:Elijahandskip|talk]]) 18:17, 14 May 2021 (EDT)
:::Me personally, I'm all for bringing controversial questions that are squashed in Wikipedia here, and even making full-blown mainspace articles of them (see for example [[Murder of Seth Rich]], [[Clinton donors in the Panama Papers]] and [[Naked short selling]], for example. These are all full-blown articles that were censored in WP). The problem is not making just stub articles out of them. If there is only stub material, then it can go into the Biases in WP article with a link back to WP referencing the controversy. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 18:28, 14 May 2021 (EDT)
:::The difference between a full-blown mainspace article and stubs usually will be the links to external sources, and not just links to WP talk pages. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 18:36, 14 May 2021 (EDT)
:::If Wikipedia is suppressing well-researched work by an editor, properly sourced with external links, we want that work (generally in most cases). [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 18:38, 14 May 2021 (EDT)
::::Yeah. That is good advice. I will wait for a day or so to let a few other people drop their opinions. But that is a really good idea. --[[User:Elijahandskip|Elijahandskip]] ([[User talk:Elijahandskip|talk]]) 19:30, 14 May 2021 (EDT)

:::::It sounds good in theory, at least. I don't want us to just become "anti-Wikipedia" though, but rather a place where discussion like that isn't stifled. Rob is right to point out those examples...the Seth Rich article in particular stands out to me, because that information was heavily suppressed on numerous platforms. When our page went up, there seemed to be a lot of interest. --[[User:DavidB4|DavidB4]] ([[User talk:DavidB4|TALK]]) 20:50, 14 May 2021 (EDT)

::::::We definitely should make articles for the Seth Rich article. Anything Wikipedia rejects is good for this site. [[User:Pokeria1|Pokeria1]] ([[User talk:Pokeria1|talk]]) 21:04, 14 May 2021 (EDT)

::::::i would say that we should also be lobbying search engines to teplace Wikipedia with this site as its more reliable. Or maybe with a more neutral version of this site

[[Category:Conservapedia| ]]

== Conservapedia Scope ==

Just thought I'd ask the community here, but does anyone like the idea of Conservapedia allowing for a scope about as large as Wikipedia, but with obvious exceptions (e.g. no media that glorifies sin or is beyond vile). Perhaps allowing for some subjects that Wikipedia would not allow under their general notability guideline. Example: I made a [[Bulbasaur]] article & might make more [[Pokemon]] articles to accommodate the growing base of conservative gamers -- Wikipedia won't allow for articles on "non-notable" subjects and tend to take it too far, and perhaps this is an issue that Conservapedia can address. Although Wikipedia has an article on Bulbasaur, there are several other Pokemon that they simply merge in a list & so I wondered if a way to differentiate is have a subject on all Pokemon. There's probably a lot of students who would be eager to write essays on Pokemon if it were, let's say, a homework subject. At same time, having a guide for parents about Pokemon and the series because some conservative parents might feel uncomfortable about the series. [[User:Patriotic Gamer|Patriotic Gamer]] ([[User talk:Patriotic Gamer|talk]]) 12:59, May 28, 2021 (EDT)

== Template:Infobox Film ==

I noticed in the [[Template:Infobox Film|Infobox Film template]] that there is no space included for production companies. Could the article be temporarily unlocked so I can add a production company space to that infobox? [[User:Northwest|Northwest]] ([[User talk:Northwest|talk]]) 21:59, August 31, 2021 (EDT)
:Thanks for that, now [[Template:Infobox Film/doc|its related article]] will need editing as well to bring it in line. [[User:Northwest|Northwest]] ([[User talk:Northwest|talk]]) 22:39, August 31, 2021 (EDT)

== Added introduction to myself on forum ==

hey everyone, i just found this site and am so excited to learn together. already edited a few pages. I added a song to the Greatest Conservative Songs page and corrected the Hebrew on the Tower of Babel page. Looking forward to meeting you all online.

:Welcome to our site and thanks for the contributions you've made so far. Just be sure to sign your posts when you post here and on talk pages. [[User:Northwest|Northwest]] ([[User talk:Northwest|talk]]) 23:03, September 1, 2021 (EDT)

==Orphan pages==
Orphan pages, particularly orphan stubs, have become a real problem at Conservapedia. [https://conservapedia.com/Special:LonelyPages] When creating new content, please follow these Guidelines: [[Conservapedia:Guidelines#Article_length]]. Stub pages (pages with less than 300 words), and particularly uncategorized stubs, orphaned stubs, stubs with few or no outgoing links have the detrimental effect of lowering our Google rankings. To avoid an accidental deletion during a routine cleanup of the server, when creating a stub, please integrate your new article into the whole wiki by de-orphaning it, adding a Category, and have a few good quality external links. Thank you. [[User:RobSmith|RobS]][[User talk:RobSmith|Free Kyle!]] 15:04, September 15, 2021 (EDT)

== Offline Conservapedia archive ==

I've undertaken an effort to create an offline archive of Conservapedia in OpenZim format that can be used for any of the following:
* Homeschool parents who want to give their kids access without opening them up to the rest of the internet.
* People in rural (homesteaders) or remote areas (missionaries) with little or no internet access.
* Preppers who are trying to keep archives of important data in case the access to the internet is lost or severely censored.

I'm using the <code>mwoffliner</code> tool but I discovered that the version of Mediawiki running on the site needs to be updated for compatibility with that tool. I went ahead and created a clone of Conservapedia on my home computer using the latest version on Docker. As I started to archive the site with <code>mwoffliner</code> there are a few pages that I stumbled upon that had issues causing errors with the archival. I would like to offer my help to the community at large with contributing back these corrections and to share the finished ZIM file when it is ready. Is there anyone who would like to join me in this effort? It would be especially helpful if someone could help by upgrading the site from the current version of 1.24.2 to 1.36.1 or later. I'm willing to pitch in if needed.

Thanks! -- [[User:John6|John6]] ([[User talk:John6|talk]]) 22:26, September 15, 2021 (EDT)

:I know the current version level of the site is incompatible with some modern tools, and that is unfortunate. While I have no say in the upgrade decision, my understanding is that it probably won't be happening for some time. 1.24 offers features and options with were removed or changed in later versions.
:As for the issues you noted, you might want to check logs, and see if any pages in particular are giving you issues. There are a few pages with weird (typically ASCII) symbol codes, or NBS characters, which can mess with API calls. You might want to see if you can identify specific problematic pages, and exclude them, so you can archive the rest (if you are able to do so at all, with this wiki version). --[[User:DavidB4|DavidB4]] ([[User talk:DavidB4|TALK]]) 02:16, September 16, 2021 (EDT)

:: It is hard for me to tell how many of the issues were a result of the export and rebuild process on the newer version of Mediawiki. The best way to know is to perform the export from the live site. Is there anything I can contribute to help get us ready to upgrade to a newer version? What features were removed and can I help to migrate to something new? [[User:John6|John6]] ([[User talk:John6|talk]]) 18:26, September 17, 2021 (EDT)

== Changing my username ==

Hello, is there a way for me to usurp another person's username? [[User:Cicero|Cicero]] was permanently blocked in 2007, having made no non-deleted contributions. [[User:Cicero1|Cicero1]] ([[User talk:Cicero1|talk]]) 18:06, October 31, 2021 (EDT)
:I don't think so. [[User:Conservative|Conservative]] ([[User talk:Conservative|talk]]) 19:41, October 31, 2021 (EDT)
::I recall that the MediaWiki software allows users to be renamed. First move the usurpee to a different name like "User (old)", and then move the usurper to the requested username. I am not sure if this works on all wikis. [[User:Cicero1|Cicero1]] ([[User talk:Cicero1|talk]]) 20:17, October 31, 2021 (EDT)

GNU/Linux

2021-10-31T22:49:25Z

Cicero1: /* Practical Overview */ accuracy

[[Image:Tuxie.jpg|thumb|right|"Tux", the Linux mascot|90px]]
Note: [[Linux]] redirects here to avoid confusion and excessive schismatic confusion.
'''GNU/Linux'''" refers to either of:
* the [[Linux kernel]] - A kernel is the very core of an [[operating system]] such as Windows which uses the NT Kernel. The Linux kernel was developed in the C language and some assembly language by [[Linus Torvalds]] in the early 1990s.
* the '''GNU/Linux''' operating system is the formal name for Linux which is almost always coupled with base software and libraries developed by [[Richard Stallman]]

==Practical Overview==

GNU/Linux is a bit of a mouthful, and is usually what is referred to as simply [[Linux]]. There is a rather political debate in the GNU/Linux community as to what the operating system itself should be called. Technically and legally it is GNU/Linux as Linux alone is simply a kernel and nobody really runs an operating system which is just a kernel.

Linux uses the [[GPL]] "copyleft" licensing format, which allows all users access to the source code of the entire operating system, from the kernel to the highest library layers. Most common [[software]] used in Linux operating systems are at least [[open-source]] and preferably free and open source (free and open source). Free software in this meaning should not be confused with 'freeware', a broader term for software that can be acquired without pay.

Some people mistakenly believe that there is something communist, socialist, or otherwise liberal, about Linux. They point to the word "copyleft", and the fact that it's given away for free, as things might be expected to be in a socialist society. "Copyleft" is simply a play on the word "copyright", indicating that it is an alternative view of what copyright protection gives. (Briefly, the copyleft forbids copying other people's work for one's own profit, but otherwise allows copying.) Also, the Free Software Foundation repeatedly emphasizes that "free software" means "free as in free speech, not as in free beer." That is, no one is required to give away something that they worked on. But information, once published, can be distributed freely. Information gets distributed freely all the time. The web page you are looking at now is freely distributed information.

End users of free and open source software have the ability to view, modify, and repackage and redistribute modifications to the source code of the software. Not only can they do this, but these modifiers may call the new product their product entirely. It does not need to be credited to the previous coder, even if the modification is very slight. Because most of the GNU/Linux world from the operating system to its software and libraries are free and not for-profit, it has been correlated with [[Communism]] in the minds of some conservatives. In reality, this is a rather silly notion. If anything, it could be said that GNU/Linux has the better parts of communism without a totalitarian elite dictatorship. In its essence, communism is a society without a centralized government, and Linux can represent "true" communism just as well as "ideal" [[libertarianism]]. All-in-all, it is a radical approach to the for-profit model of Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, and other software development companies.

Almost ironically, GNU/Linux is the go-to operating system for [[server]]s in computing. Most web sites' servers run either Linux or [[BSD]], a similar operating system family. Both Linux and BSD are Unix-based and were intrinsically designed to handle secure networking from the get-go. Windows, on the other hand, was an addon to the Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS), which was not a network-oriented platform. Henceforth, every version of [[Microsoft Windows]] has suffered many major security exploits. Reports of far-spreading [[malware]] for Windows make the "tech news" every so often. In contrast, few malware target Linux because it is more secure when facing malicious computer programs by design and because of Linux's smaller and less gullible userbase. Moreover, backdoors (methods to subvert a computer's security measures) in Windows are exploited by the [[National Security Administration]] (NSA). Microsoft, in the name of security, discovers security vulnerabilities but leaves them be for the NSA's benefit, or otherwise intentionally creates them. After some time, it patches the backdoors and creates new ones for the NSA to exploit again.

Many would argue, whether conservative or a liberal, if one wants to avoid major security risks in their day-to-day computing, they should run a GNU/Linux distribution on their personal computer. A distribution ('distro') is a package of software combined with the Linux kernel that works as an operating system. There have been hundreds of Linux distributions in the history of computing, which have fulfilled wide-ranging individual needs. Most Linux distributions are based on an older one. Easy-to-use distributions include [[Ubuntu]], [[Linux Mint|Mint]], Manjaro, Fedora, and Arch. Some other distributions, such as [[Debian]], are difficult for novices, but popular among professionals and advanced users. (See [[Richard Stallman]], a founder of the FOSS movement, and his lectures available on [[YouTube]] for more information on the moral and ethical advantages of using GNU/Linux and avoiding non-free software at all costs.)

Many enterprises are switching to Linux every single day, whether they are implementing it in a traffic meter or a school network system. Despite the constant influx of personal users to Linux from Windows and Mac OS X, it appears that Linux's market share has actually decreased because more people are first owning a computer and using its default operating system. Commonly cited reasons to switch to Linux include:
* Performance. Linux runs faster than its proprietary counterparts, needs less computer resources, and takes up less hard drive space.
* More control. Linux does not force users to keep unnecessary software on their computers, or force updates. It does not endlessly frustrate users with the assumption that they are stupid.
* Security. As explained above, Linux is designed to be more secure against malware, and less hackers target it. Regular Linux users do not need antivirus software, so they save precious computing resources and money.
* Privacy. There is no large-scale, forced telemetry or surveillance in Linux. As a result, people choose Linux who fear government prosecution, whether for just or unjust reasons.
* Customizability. Users can choose from a variety of desktop environments that offer distinct aesthetic designs and user experiences. Windows and Mac OS X users are stuck on one desktop environment. There are many customization options for the looks of various parts of the desktop.

Microsoft and Apple run smear campaigns on Linux, which is stereotyped as a feature-lacking operating system that is only for computer geeks. There are rumors that Apple intentionally sabotages the running of Linux on its computers. There are honestly real reasons why some users may find GNU/Linux distributions worse than the non-free Windows and Mac OS X:
* Software. Many proprietary software companies do not offer Linux versions. It is possible for them to 'port' their programs to Linux, but they have refused to, probably because Linux's userbase is smaller and averse to proprietary software. The free software Wine can try to run Windows applications, with varying levels of success. Wine rates itself as 'Garbage' for running the latest versions of popular and complex proprietary software such as Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Office. There are open-source alternatives to practically every Windows software, which can easily be found via a search engine. The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) and LibreOffice are alternatives to the two aforementioned software. Admittedly, the open-source apps lack the more advanced features of their proprietary counterparts, which each of their corporations spend millions of dollars a year developing, but the average user will not use those features anyway. (There are companies and organizations, both for-profit and non-profit, that develop software targeted at Linux, but they are smaller than their competitors.)
* Gaming. Wine does not work well on recent games, but is excellent on old ones. Gaming on Linux is getting better, with more support added every year. [[Video game]] players may try to emulate Windows with a 'virtual machine', or may keep a copy of Windows 10 on their computer, which they can boot up when they want to play a game and elsewise boot up Linux.
* Audio and Video Production. Open-source software is considered especially lacking in this area. As with video gamers, audio and video editors may want to keep their proprietary operating system to use for their advanced software.

==History==

The '''GNU/Linux''' operating system is [[free software]] created to replace the [[Unix]] [[operating system]]. The system aims towards POSIX compliance, though it is not officially compliant and therefore cannot bear the trademark "UNIX."
The GNU project was started by programmer [[Richard Stallman]] and was the impetus behind the creation of the [[Free Software Foundation]]. Except for the small but essential [[operation system kernel|kernel]] (called [[Linux]] after its creator, Finnish grad student [[Linus Torvalds]]), substantial components of the operating system code were created by Stallman and other FSF contributors. There's a dispute over whether the FSF should be credited when mentioning the use of Linux. The trade press refer to the overall system as "Linux", which annoys Stallman to no end. Essays on the FSF website promote the use of the term "GNU/Linux" when referring to a system with Linux kernel and GNU project core components.

The Linux [[Operation system kernel|kernel]] communicates with the hardware and provides for many complex and essential operations such as process scheduling, memory management and file system operation. This is required to support the needs of all applications run on the system (such as the graphical user interface, media players, and servers). Most of these applications are not part of the Linux kernel project, and are part of separate projects, including GNU, but those who are unaware of or not concerned about the history of the project commonly used "Linux" to refer to the whole operating system. The Linux kernel was initially developed by [[Linus Torvalds]] as an experimental project to run a UNIX-like system on x86-based PC hardware.

At this point, a very substantial portion of the software commonly used on a desktop system are not GNU software projects, such as [[KDE]] (graphical desktop environment), Firefox, OpenOffice.org, and Python (high-level programming language). On the other hand, even these popular products rely on basic services provided by GNU, such as the C runtime library (libc), compiler framework (gcc), and core POSIX command line utilities. Additionally, the GNU project includes several more substantial applications, such as the graphical desktop environment GNOME, which compete heavily with their alternatives.

GNU/Linux distinguishes itself from other operating systems such as proprietary UNIX and [[Microsoft Windows]] in that the [[source code]] for a complete working system is distributed under various [[open source]] licenses. In essence, this means that anybody can modify the code to their needs, and that the development most components happens in an open community, rather than in a closed commercial environment. Any improvements to the code will be contributed to the community, and any software that is based upon viral licenses will be, in turn, licenses under these. The Linux kernel itself is licensed under the GNU [[General Public License]] (GPL).

GNU/Linux is also different to the closed source operating system vendors in that the software is distributed by many different companies. Major GNU/Linux distributions include [http://www.redhat.com/ Red Hat], [http://www.novell.com/linux/ SUSE], [[Debian]] and [[Ubuntu]]. There are literally hundreds of GNU/Linux distributions as can be seen on [http://distrowatch.com DistroWatch.com].

Numerous sources,<ref>http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/index.php?p=210 Intellectual Property - Left?</ref><ref>https://www.flickr.com/photos/daviderickson/718933691/</ref> including Steve Ballmer,<ref>[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/07/31/ms_ballmer_linux_is_communism/ MS' Ballmer: Linux is communism]</ref> one of the driving minds behind the success of Microsoft, have claimed that the Open Source movement is inherently Communist. They are apparently bothered that the rest of the world has created an operating system, that many consider superior to Windows, that people can obtain without putting money into Microsoft's pocket. This is like being annoyed that one's attempt to sell air for a profit has been undercut.

In 2005 [[Forbes.com]] posted an article estimating Linux ran 60% of the world's top [[supercomputer]]s at that time.<ref>https://www.forbes.com/2005/03/15/cz_dl_0315linux_print.html</ref> In 2003 the [[IBM]] GNU/Linux Technology Center concluded that GNU/Linux has enterprise class reliability.<ref>http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-rel/?ca=dgr-lnxw01LTP</ref> GNU/Linux servers can run without reboot for years as can usually be seen at the longest uptimes URL on Netcraft.com.<ref>http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/today/top.avg.html</ref> Another location to check on Linux uptime statistics is the [http://counter.li.org/reports/uptimestats.php Machine uptimes] page at [http://counter.li.org/ Linux Counter].

Owing to the nature of open source software, many variants of a GUN/Linux distribution may be created by using the original code and making changes to it to suit a particular need. For example, there is also an [[Ubuntu Christian Edition]].<ref>[http://www.whatwouldjesusdownload.com/christianubuntu/2006/07/about-ubuntu-christian-edition.html Ubuntu Christian Edition]</ref>

[[Image:Gnomesword large.png|right|thumb|250px|Screenshot of [[Ubuntu Christian Edition]].]]

GNU/Linux is quite possibly becoming one of the most commonly adopted operating systems in the world. However, this is difficult to quantify with hard evidence since most Linux distributions are given away for "free" and there are few sales records or marketing numbers to review. While personal computers in the United States and other "first world nations" still overwhelmingly use [[Microsoft]] operating systems such as Windows XP, GNU/Linux is a common choice for web servers, file servers and embedded platforms, thanks to its perceived reliability, low/no cost, and the fact that modifications to the source code can readily be made by anyone. For example, Linux has seen widespread use in numerous mass-produced consumer electronic devices such as broadband residential routers, Digital Video Recorders, and cellphones.

As an example, in March 2007 the server hosting the Conservapedia web site was running the GNU/Linux operating system<ref>[http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://www.conservapedia.com NetCraft site report for Conservapedia.com]</ref>

==Linux as the 'Best of the Public'==
The ongoing development of the GNU/Linux operating system represents perhaps the single most important example of the [[Best of the public|'best of the public']] collaboration model in the field of technology. The excellent stability and security of GNU/Linux, both in server and consumer versions, provide a powerful example of the success of this model.

Since development is oftentimes carried out by volunteers or enthusiasts, over the years Linux-based operating systems have received a handful of out-of-the-box features unseen in other operating systems. One such example is the concept of multi-seat, where one computer with multiple local keyboards, mice, and monitors can be simultaneously used by multiple people - each with independent logins, profiles, and security protected files.<ref>[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xorg_multiseat]</ref> Other operating systems either require third party software to add in this functionality,<ref>[https://www.ibik.ru/]</ref> have not had it built in and enabled, or this functionality is outright denied to the user.<ref>[https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/344930/multiseat-on-mac-os]</ref>

==GNU/Linux Pre-Installed==
From its inception, it has been difficult to find new computers outside of the server market available with GNU/Linux pre-installed. Although specialty companies like [http://system76.com System76] and [http://www.zareason.com Zareason] do sell computers equipped with desktop versions of [[Linux]] (specifically [[Ubuntu]]), until recently, mainstream computer manufacturers like [[Dell]] and [[HP]] resisted this trend. Users typically need to download the GNU/Linux distribution of their choice and install it on a computer themselves. Because many home computer users find the installation of an operating system a difficult task, this added step hinders the increase in the number of computers using a desktop version of [[Linux]]. This situation drastically changed in 2007 when [[Dell]] started selling laptop and desktop computers to the general public with Linux pre-installed.<ref>[http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/alliances/en/linux?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz Dell and Linux]</ref>

During 2008, a new type of low cost laptop computer, the "netbook" was introduced by most of the major manufacturers. To keep costs down, Linux was offered on most of the lines as an alternative to Windows XP (Windows Vista being unable to run on the low powered computers), bringing GNU/Linux into the mainstream computer market for the first time.

==Misconceptions about GNU/Linux==
GNU/Linux is in often referred to as GNU/Linux, because Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibraries, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full Operating System as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called "Linux", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is actually the kernel, a minuscule program in the operating system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. Therefore, the so-called "Linux" distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

==See also==
* [[Apple Computer]]
* [[Apple Computer|Apple]] [[iOS]] for [[iPhone]]-[[iPad]]
* [[Android (operating system)|Android]]
* [[BlackBerry OS|Blackberry]]
* [[Microsoft]] Windows Phone with [[Windows 8]]
* [[Tails (operating system)]]
* [[Ubuntu]]
* [[CentOS]]
* [[Phoronix]]
* [[Debian]]
* [[Arch Linux]]

==External links==
* http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.en.html

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Mobile Operating Systems]]
[[Category:Operating Systems]]
[[Category:Apps]]

Conservapedia:Vandalism

2021-10-31T22:41:47Z

Cicero1: better link

Vandalism is when a user (or multiple users or edits at once) makes unhelpful, spam, or troll edits to an article or a talk page on Conservapedia. Vandals will typically add spam/random content, or blank out an article; these are common ways to spot vandals.
__NOTOC__
== Long-term abuse ==
Long-term vandals create very many sockpuppet accounts. Do not attempt to discuss with them, whether through edit summaries or talk page messages. These people will not stop vandalizing just because you politely asked them to. They in fact want you to react to them. Vandals know that their vandalism is quickly reverted; they take pleasure in the reactions of Conservapedia editors.

== Motivations of vandals ==
Most vandals are children or teenagers. Mature adults and those teenagers who are mature enough do not find vandalism amusing. Those adults who do love vandalism often suffer from low self-esteem and take pride in destroying others' work. A few vandals with enough technical expertise have created numerous upon numerous accounts for vandalism. They are easily spotted and know this, and live to see others react wildly to their vandalism. Do not be one of these "others". Unlike Wikipedia, Conservapedia does not create numerous webpages about vandals,<ref>See the huge list [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Long-term_abuse Wikipedia:Long-term abuse] of repeat vandals, spammers, trolls and misinformation pushers.</ref> which simply incites their vandalism efforts. Many vandals also vandalize other wikis such as Wikipedia. A minority of vandals are politically motivated; they most often stop vandalizing once they realize that Conservapedia writers quickly discover and undo vandalism.

== Dealing with vandalism ==
If you suspect vandalism or [[parody]] in article content, hang the {{[[Template:CPPOV]]}}.

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Conservapedia:Guidelines]]
*[[Conservapedia:Parody]]
*[[CP:VIP|Useful if you intend on vandalising]]
*[[Vandalbot]]

[[Category:Conservapedia Administration]]

Conservapedia:Vandalism

2021-10-31T22:20:24Z

Cicero1: expand

Vandalism is when a user (or multiple users or edits at once) makes unhelpful, spam, or troll edits to an article or a talk page on Conservapedia. Vandals will typically add spam/random content, or blank out an article; these are common ways to spot vandals.
__NOTOC__
== Long-term abuse ==
Long-term vandals create very many sockpuppet accounts. Do not attempt to discuss with them, whether through edit summaries or talk page messages. These people will not stop vandalizing just because you politely asked them to. They in fact want you to react to them. Vandals know that their vandalism is quickly reverted; they take pleasure in the reactions of Conservapedia editors.

== Motivations of vandals ==
Most vandals are children or teenagers. Mature adults and those teenagers who are mature enough do not find vandalism amusing. Those adults who do love vandalism often suffer from low self-esteem and take pride in destroying others' work. A few vandals with enough technical expertise have created numerous upon numerous accounts for vandalism. They are easily spotted and know this, and live to see others react wildly to their vandalism. Do not be one of these "others". Unlike Wikipedia, Conservapedia does not create numerous webpages about vandals,<ref>See the huge list [[wiki:Wikipedia:Long-term abuse|Wikipedia:Long-term abuse]] of repeat vandals, spammers, trolls and misinformation pushers.</ref> which simply incites their vandalism efforts. Many vandals also vandalize other wikis such as Wikipedia. A minority of vandals are politically motivated; they most often stop vandalizing once they realize that Conservapedia writers quickly discover and undo vandalism.

== Dealing with vandalism ==
If you suspect vandalism or [[parody]] in article content, hang the {{[[Template:CPPOV]]}}.

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

==See also==
*[[Conservapedia:Guidelines]]
*[[Conservapedia:Parody]]
*[[CP:VIP|Useful if you intend on vandalising]]
*[[Vandalbot]]

[[Category:Conservapedia Administration]]

Conservapedia:Community Portal

2021-10-31T22:06:07Z

Cicero1: /* Changing my username */ new section

GNU/Linux

2021-10-31T21:28:22Z

Cicero1: /* Practical Overview */ inaccuracy

[[Image:Tuxie.jpg|thumb|right|"Tux", the Linux mascot|90px]]
Note: [[Linux]] redirects here to avoid confusion and excessive schismatic confusion.
'''GNU/Linux'''" refers to either of:
* the [[Linux kernel]] - A kernel is the very core of an [[operating system]] such as Windows which uses the NT Kernel. The Linux kernel was developed in the C language and some assembly language by [[Linus Torvalds]] in the early 1990s.
* the '''GNU/Linux''' operating system is the formal name for Linux which is almost always coupled with base software and libraries developed by [[Richard Stallman]]

==Practical Overview==

GNU/Linux is a bit of a mouthful, and is usually what is referred to as simply [[Linux]]. There is a rather political debate in the GNU/Linux community as to what the operating system itself should be called. Technically and legally it is GNU/Linux as Linux alone is simply a kernel and nobody really runs an operating system which is just a kernel.

Linux uses the [[GPL]] "copyleft" licensing format, which allows all users access to the source code of the entire operating system, from the kernel to the highest library layers. Most common [[software]] used in Linux operating systems are at least [[open-source]] and preferably free and open source (free and open source). Free software in this meaning should not be confused with 'freeware', a broader term for software that can be acquired without pay.

Some people mistakenly believe that there is something communist, socialist, or otherwise liberal, about Linux. They point to the word "copyleft", and the fact that it's given away for free, as things might be expected to be in a socialist society. "Copyleft" is simply a play on the word "copyright", indicating that it is an alternative view of what copyright protection gives. (Briefly, the copyleft forbids copying other people's work for one's own profit, but otherwise allows copying.) Also, the Free Software Foundation repeatedly emphasizes that "free software" means "free as in free speech, not as in free beer." That is, no one is required to give away something that they worked on. But information, once published, can be distributed freely. Information gets distributed freely all the time. The web page you are looking at now is freely distributed information.

End users of free and open source software have the ability to view, modify, and repackage and redistribute modifications to the source code of the software. Not only can they do this, but these modifiers may call the new product their product entirely. It does not need to be credited to the previous coder, even if the modification is very slight. Because most of the GNU/Linux world from the operating system to its software and libraries are free and not for-profit, it has been correlated with [[Communism]] in the minds of some conservatives. In reality, this is a rather silly notion. If anything, it could be said that GNU/Linux has the better parts of communism without a totalitarian elite dictatorship. In its essence, communism is a society without a centralized government, and Linux can represent "true" communism just as well as "ideal" [[libertarianism]]. All-in-all, it is a radical approach to the for-profit model of Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, and other software development companies.

Almost ironically, GNU/Linux is the go-to operating system for [[server]]s in computing. Most web sites' servers run either Linux or [[BSD]], a similar operating system family. Both Linux and BSD are Unix-based and were intrinsically designed to handle secure networking from the get-go. Windows, on the other hand, was an addon to the Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS), which was not a network-oriented platform. Henceforth, every version of [[Microsoft Windows]] has suffered many major security exploits. Reports of far-spreading [[malware]] for Windows make the "tech news" every so often. In contrast, few malware target Linux because it is more secure when facing malicious computer programs by design and because of Linux's smaller and less gullible userbase. Moreover, backdoors (methods to subvert a computer's security measures) in Windows are exploited by the [[National Security Administration]] (NSA). Microsoft, in the name of security, discovers security vulnerabilities but leaves them be for the NSA's benefit, or otherwise intentionally creates them. After some time, it patches the backdoors and creates new ones for the NSA to exploit again.

Many would argue, whether conservative or a liberal, if one wants to avoid major security risks in their day-to-day computing, they should run a GNU/Linux distribution on their personal computer. A distribution ('distro') is a package of software combined with the Linux kernel that works as an operating system. There have been hundreds of Linux distributions in the history of computing, which have fulfilled wide-ranging individual needs. Most Linux distributions are based on an older one. Easy-to-use distributions include [[Ubuntu]], [[Linux Mint|Mint]], Manjaro, Fedora, and Arch. Some other distributions, such as [[Debian]], are difficult for novices, but popular among professionals and advanced users. (See [[Richard Stallman]], a founder of the FOSS movement, and his lectures available on [[YouTube]] for more information on the moral and ethical advantages of using GNU/Linux and avoiding non-free software at all costs.)

Many enterprises are switching to Linux every single day, whether they are implementing it in a traffic meter or a school network system. Despite the constant influx of personal users to Linux from Windows and Mac OS X, it appears that Linux's market share has actually decreased because more people are first owning a computer and using its default operating system. Commonly cited reasons to switch to Linux include:
* Performance. Linux runs faster than its proprietary counterparts, needs less computer resources, and takes up less hard drive space.
* More control. Linux does not force users to keep unnecessary software on their computers, or force updates. It does not endlessly frustrate users with the assumption that they are stupid.
* Security. As explained above, Linux is designed to be more secure against malware, and less hackers target it. Regular Linux users do not need antivirus software, so they save precious computing resources and money.
* Privacy. There is no large-scale, forced telemetry in Linux. As a result, people choose Linux who fear government prosecution, whether for just or unjust reasons.
* Customizability. Users can choose from a variety of desktop environments that offer distinct aesthetic designs and user experiences. Windows and Mac OS X users are stuck on one desktop environment. There are many customization options for the looks of various parts of the desktop.

Microsoft and Apple run smear campaigns on Linux, which is stereotyped as a feature-lacking operating system that is only for computer geeks. There are rumors that Apple intentionally sabotages the running of Linux on its computers. There are honestly real reasons why some users may find GNU/Linux distributions worse than the non-free Windows and Mac OS X:
* Software. Many proprietary software companies do not offer Linux versions. It is possible for them to 'port' their programs to Linux, but they have refused to, probably because Linux's userbase is smaller and averse to proprietary software. The free software Wine can try to run Windows applications, with varying levels of success. Wine rates itself as 'Garbage' for running the latest versions of popular and complex proprietary software such as Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Office. There are open-source alternatives to practically every Windows software, which can easily be found via a search engine. The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) and LibreOffice are alternatives to the two aforementioned software. Admittedly, the open-source apps lack the more advanced features of their proprietary counterparts, which each of their corporations spend millions of dollars a year developing, but the average user will not use those features anyway. (There are companies and organizations, both for-profit and non-profit, that develop software targeted at Linux, but they are smaller than their competitors.)
* Gaming. Wine does not work well on recent games, but is excellent on old ones. Gaming on Linux is getting better, with more support added every year. [[Video game]] players may try to emulate Windows with a 'virtual machine', or may keep a copy of Windows 10 on their computer, which they can boot up when they want to play a game and elsewise boot up Linux.
* Audio and Video Production. Open-source software is considered especially lacking in this area. As with video gamers, audio and video editors may want to keep their proprietary operating system to use for their advanced software.

==History==

The '''GNU/Linux''' operating system is [[free software]] created to replace the [[Unix]] [[operating system]]. The system aims towards POSIX compliance, though it is not officially compliant and therefore cannot bear the trademark "UNIX."
The GNU project was started by programmer [[Richard Stallman]] and was the impetus behind the creation of the [[Free Software Foundation]]. Except for the small but essential [[operation system kernel|kernel]] (called [[Linux]] after its creator, Finnish grad student [[Linus Torvalds]]), substantial components of the operating system code were created by Stallman and other FSF contributors. There's a dispute over whether the FSF should be credited when mentioning the use of Linux. The trade press refer to the overall system as "Linux", which annoys Stallman to no end. Essays on the FSF website promote the use of the term "GNU/Linux" when referring to a system with Linux kernel and GNU project core components.

The Linux [[Operation system kernel|kernel]] communicates with the hardware and provides for many complex and essential operations such as process scheduling, memory management and file system operation. This is required to support the needs of all applications run on the system (such as the graphical user interface, media players, and servers). Most of these applications are not part of the Linux kernel project, and are part of separate projects, including GNU, but those who are unaware of or not concerned about the history of the project commonly used "Linux" to refer to the whole operating system. The Linux kernel was initially developed by [[Linus Torvalds]] as an experimental project to run a UNIX-like system on x86-based PC hardware.

At this point, a very substantial portion of the software commonly used on a desktop system are not GNU software projects, such as [[KDE]] (graphical desktop environment), Firefox, OpenOffice.org, and Python (high-level programming language). On the other hand, even these popular products rely on basic services provided by GNU, such as the C runtime library (libc), compiler framework (gcc), and core POSIX command line utilities. Additionally, the GNU project includes several more substantial applications, such as the graphical desktop environment GNOME, which compete heavily with their alternatives.

GNU/Linux distinguishes itself from other operating systems such as proprietary UNIX and [[Microsoft Windows]] in that the [[source code]] for a complete working system is distributed under various [[open source]] licenses. In essence, this means that anybody can modify the code to their needs, and that the development most components happens in an open community, rather than in a closed commercial environment. Any improvements to the code will be contributed to the community, and any software that is based upon viral licenses will be, in turn, licenses under these. The Linux kernel itself is licensed under the GNU [[General Public License]] (GPL).

GNU/Linux is also different to the closed source operating system vendors in that the software is distributed by many different companies. Major GNU/Linux distributions include [http://www.redhat.com/ Red Hat], [http://www.novell.com/linux/ SUSE], [[Debian]] and [[Ubuntu]]. There are literally hundreds of GNU/Linux distributions as can be seen on [http://distrowatch.com DistroWatch.com].

Numerous sources,<ref>http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/index.php?p=210 Intellectual Property - Left?</ref><ref>https://www.flickr.com/photos/daviderickson/718933691/</ref> including Steve Ballmer,<ref>[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/07/31/ms_ballmer_linux_is_communism/ MS' Ballmer: Linux is communism]</ref> one of the driving minds behind the success of Microsoft, have claimed that the Open Source movement is inherently Communist. They are apparently bothered that the rest of the world has created an operating system, that many consider superior to Windows, that people can obtain without putting money into Microsoft's pocket. This is like being annoyed that one's attempt to sell air for a profit has been undercut.

In 2005 [[Forbes.com]] posted an article estimating Linux ran 60% of the world's top [[supercomputer]]s at that time.<ref>https://www.forbes.com/2005/03/15/cz_dl_0315linux_print.html</ref> In 2003 the [[IBM]] GNU/Linux Technology Center concluded that GNU/Linux has enterprise class reliability.<ref>http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-rel/?ca=dgr-lnxw01LTP</ref> GNU/Linux servers can run without reboot for years as can usually be seen at the longest uptimes URL on Netcraft.com.<ref>http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/today/top.avg.html</ref> Another location to check on Linux uptime statistics is the [http://counter.li.org/reports/uptimestats.php Machine uptimes] page at [http://counter.li.org/ Linux Counter].

Owing to the nature of open source software, many variants of a GUN/Linux distribution may be created by using the original code and making changes to it to suit a particular need. For example, there is also an [[Ubuntu Christian Edition]].<ref>[http://www.whatwouldjesusdownload.com/christianubuntu/2006/07/about-ubuntu-christian-edition.html Ubuntu Christian Edition]</ref>

[[Image:Gnomesword large.png|right|thumb|250px|Screenshot of [[Ubuntu Christian Edition]].]]

GNU/Linux is quite possibly becoming one of the most commonly adopted operating systems in the world. However, this is difficult to quantify with hard evidence since most Linux distributions are given away for "free" and there are few sales records or marketing numbers to review. While personal computers in the United States and other "first world nations" still overwhelmingly use [[Microsoft]] operating systems such as Windows XP, GNU/Linux is a common choice for web servers, file servers and embedded platforms, thanks to its perceived reliability, low/no cost, and the fact that modifications to the source code can readily be made by anyone. For example, Linux has seen widespread use in numerous mass-produced consumer electronic devices such as broadband residential routers, Digital Video Recorders, and cellphones.

As an example, in March 2007 the server hosting the Conservapedia web site was running the GNU/Linux operating system<ref>[http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://www.conservapedia.com NetCraft site report for Conservapedia.com]</ref>

==Linux as the 'Best of the Public'==
The ongoing development of the GNU/Linux operating system represents perhaps the single most important example of the [[Best of the public|'best of the public']] collaboration model in the field of technology. The excellent stability and security of GNU/Linux, both in server and consumer versions, provide a powerful example of the success of this model.

Since development is oftentimes carried out by volunteers or enthusiasts, over the years Linux-based operating systems have received a handful of out-of-the-box features unseen in other operating systems. One such example is the concept of multi-seat, where one computer with multiple local keyboards, mice, and monitors can be simultaneously used by multiple people - each with independent logins, profiles, and security protected files.<ref>[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xorg_multiseat]</ref> Other operating systems either require third party software to add in this functionality,<ref>[https://www.ibik.ru/]</ref> have not had it built in and enabled, or this functionality is outright denied to the user.<ref>[https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/344930/multiseat-on-mac-os]</ref>

==GNU/Linux Pre-Installed==
From its inception, it has been difficult to find new computers outside of the server market available with GNU/Linux pre-installed. Although specialty companies like [http://system76.com System76] and [http://www.zareason.com Zareason] do sell computers equipped with desktop versions of [[Linux]] (specifically [[Ubuntu]]), until recently, mainstream computer manufacturers like [[Dell]] and [[HP]] resisted this trend. Users typically need to download the GNU/Linux distribution of their choice and install it on a computer themselves. Because many home computer users find the installation of an operating system a difficult task, this added step hinders the increase in the number of computers using a desktop version of [[Linux]]. This situation drastically changed in 2007 when [[Dell]] started selling laptop and desktop computers to the general public with Linux pre-installed.<ref>[http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/alliances/en/linux?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz Dell and Linux]</ref>

During 2008, a new type of low cost laptop computer, the "netbook" was introduced by most of the major manufacturers. To keep costs down, Linux was offered on most of the lines as an alternative to Windows XP (Windows Vista being unable to run on the low powered computers), bringing GNU/Linux into the mainstream computer market for the first time.

==Misconceptions about GNU/Linux==
GNU/Linux is in often referred to as GNU/Linux, because Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibraries, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full Operating System as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called "Linux", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is actually the kernel, a minuscule program in the operating system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. Therefore, the so-called "Linux" distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

==See also==
* [[Apple Computer]]
* [[Apple Computer|Apple]] [[iOS]] for [[iPhone]]-[[iPad]]
* [[Android (operating system)|Android]]
* [[BlackBerry OS|Blackberry]]
* [[Microsoft]] Windows Phone with [[Windows 8]]
* [[Tails (operating system)]]
* [[Ubuntu]]
* [[CentOS]]
* [[Phoronix]]
* [[Debian]]
* [[Arch Linux]]

==External links==
* http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.en.html

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Mobile Operating Systems]]
[[Category:Operating Systems]]
[[Category:Apps]]

GNU/Linux

2021-10-31T21:27:42Z

Cicero1: /* Practical Overview */ improvements

[[Image:Tuxie.jpg|thumb|right|"Tux", the Linux mascot|90px]]
Note: [[Linux]] redirects here to avoid confusion and excessive schismatic confusion.
'''GNU/Linux'''" refers to either of:
* the [[Linux kernel]] - A kernel is the very core of an [[operating system]] such as Windows which uses the NT Kernel. The Linux kernel was developed in the C language and some assembly language by [[Linus Torvalds]] in the early 1990s.
* the '''GNU/Linux''' operating system is the formal name for Linux which is almost always coupled with base software and libraries developed by [[Richard Stallman]]

==Practical Overview==

GNU/Linux is a bit of a mouthful, and is usually what is referred to as simply [[Linux]]. There is a rather political debate in the GNU/Linux community as to what the operating system itself should be called. Technically and legally it is GNU/Linux as Linux alone is simply a kernel and nobody really runs an operating system which is just a kernel.

Linux uses the [[GPL]] "copyleft" licensing format, which allows all users access to the source code of the entire operating system, from the kernel to the highest library layers. Most common [[software]] used in Linux operating systems are at least [[open-source]] and preferably free and open source (free and open source). Free software in this meaning should not be confused with 'freeware', a broader term for software that can be acquired without pay.

Some people mistakenly believe that there is something communist, socialist, or otherwise liberal, about Linux. They point to the word "copyleft", and the fact that it's given away for free, as things might be expected to be in a socialist society. "Copyleft" is simply a play on the word "copyright", indicating that it is an alternative view of what copyright protection gives. (Briefly, the copyleft forbids copying other people's work for one's own profit, but otherwise allows copying.) Also, the Free Software Foundation repeatedly emphasizes that "free software" means "free as in free speech, not as in free beer." That is, no one is required to give away something that they worked on. But information, once published, can be distributed freely. Information gets distributed freely all the time. The web page you are looking at now is freely distributed information.

End users of free and open source software have the ability to view, modify, and repackage and redistribute modifications to the source code of the software. Not only can they do this, but these modifiers may call the new product their product entirely. It does not need to be credited to the previous coder, even if the modification is very slight. Because most of the GNU/Linux world from the operating system to its software and libraries are free and not for-profit, it has been correlated with [[Communism]] in the minds of some conservatives. In reality, this is a rather silly notion. If anything, it could be said that GNU/Linux has the better parts of communism without a totalitarian elite dictatorship. In its essence, communism is a society without a centralized government, and Linux can represent "true" communism just as well as "ideal" [[libertarianism]]. All-in-all, it is a radical approach to the for-profit model of Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, and other software development companies.

Almost ironically, GNU/Linux is the go-to operating system for [[server]]s in computing. Most web sites' servers run either Linux or [[BSD]], a similar operating system family. Both Linux and BSD are Unix-based and were intrinsically designed to handle secure networking from the get-go. Windows, on the other hand, was an addon to the Microsoft Disk Operating System (MS-DOS), which was not a network-oriented platform. Henceforth, every version of [[Microsoft Windows]] has suffered many major security exploits. Reports of far-spreading [[malware]] for Windows make the "tech news" every so often. In contrast, few malware target Linux because it is more secure when facing malicious computer programs by design and because of Linux's smaller and less gullible userbase. Moreover, backdoors (methods to subvert a computer's security measures) in Windows are exploited by the [[National Security Administration]] (NSA). Microsoft, in the name of security, discovers security vulnerabilities but leaves them be for the NSA's benefit, or otherwise intentionally creates them. After some time, it patches the backdoors and creates new ones for the NSA to exploit again.

Many would argue, whether conservative or a liberal, if one wants to avoid major security risks in their day-to-day computing, they should run a GNU/Linux distribution on their personal computer. A distribution ('distro') is a package of software combined with the Linux kernel that works as an operating system. There have been hundreds of Linux distributions in the history of computing, which have fulfilled wide-ranging individual needs. Most Linux distributions are based on an older one. Easy-to-use distributions include [[Ubuntu]], [[Linux Mint|Mint]], Manjaro, Fedora, and Arch. Some other distributions, such as [[Debian]], are difficult for novices, but popular among professionals and advanced users. (See [[Richard Stallman]], a founder of the FOSS movement, and his lectures available on [[YouTube]] for more information on the moral and ethical advantages of using GNU/Linux and avoiding non-free software at all costs.)

Many enterprises are switching to Linux every single day, whether they are implementing it in a traffic meter or a school network system. Despite the constant influx of personal users to Linux from Windows and Mac OS X, it appears that Linux's market share has actually decreased because more people are first owning a computer and using its default operating system. Commonly cited reasons to switch to Linux include:
* Performance. Linux runs faster than its proprietary counterparts, needs less computer resources, and takes up less hard drive space.
* More control. Linux does not force users to keep unnecessary software on their computers, or force updates. It does not endlessly frustrate users with the assumption that they are stupid.
* Security. As explained above, Linux is designed to be more secure against malware, and less hackers target it. Regular Linux users do not need antivirus software, so they save precious computing resources and money.
* Privacy. There is no large-scale, forced telemetry in Linux. As a result, people choose Linux who fear government prosecution, whether for just or unjust reasons.
* Customizability. Users can choose from a variety of desktop environments that offer distinct aesthetic designs and user experiences. Windows and Mac OS X users are stuck on one desktop environment. There are many customization options for the looks of various parts of the desktop.

Windows and Apple run smear campaigns on Linux, which is stereotyped as a feature-lacking operating system that is only for computer geeks. There are rumors that Apple intentionally sabotages the running of Linux on its computers. There are honestly real reasons why some users may find GNU/Linux distributions worse than the non-free Windows and Mac OS X:
* Software. Many proprietary software companies do not offer Linux versions. It is possible for them to 'port' their programs to Linux, but they have refused to, probably because Linux's userbase is smaller and averse to proprietary software. The free software Wine can try to run Windows applications, with varying levels of success. Wine rates itself as 'Garbage' for running the latest versions of popular and complex proprietary software such as Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Office. There are open-source alternatives to practically every Windows software, which can easily be found via a search engine. The GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) and LibreOffice are alternatives to the two aforementioned software. Admittedly, the open-source apps lack the more advanced features of their proprietary counterparts, which each of their corporations spend millions of dollars a year developing, but the average user will not use those features anyway. (There are companies and organizations, both for-profit and non-profit, that develop software targeted at Linux, but they are smaller than their competitors.)
* Gaming. Wine does not work well on recent games, but is excellent on old ones. Gaming on Linux is getting better, with more support added every year. [[Video game]] players may try to emulate Windows with a 'virtual machine', or may keep a copy of Windows 10 on their computer, which they can boot up when they want to play a game and elsewise boot up Linux.
* Audio and Video Production. Open-source software is considered especially lacking in this area. As with video gamers, audio and video editors may want to keep their proprietary operating system to use for their advanced software.

==History==

The '''GNU/Linux''' operating system is [[free software]] created to replace the [[Unix]] [[operating system]]. The system aims towards POSIX compliance, though it is not officially compliant and therefore cannot bear the trademark "UNIX."
The GNU project was started by programmer [[Richard Stallman]] and was the impetus behind the creation of the [[Free Software Foundation]]. Except for the small but essential [[operation system kernel|kernel]] (called [[Linux]] after its creator, Finnish grad student [[Linus Torvalds]]), substantial components of the operating system code were created by Stallman and other FSF contributors. There's a dispute over whether the FSF should be credited when mentioning the use of Linux. The trade press refer to the overall system as "Linux", which annoys Stallman to no end. Essays on the FSF website promote the use of the term "GNU/Linux" when referring to a system with Linux kernel and GNU project core components.

The Linux [[Operation system kernel|kernel]] communicates with the hardware and provides for many complex and essential operations such as process scheduling, memory management and file system operation. This is required to support the needs of all applications run on the system (such as the graphical user interface, media players, and servers). Most of these applications are not part of the Linux kernel project, and are part of separate projects, including GNU, but those who are unaware of or not concerned about the history of the project commonly used "Linux" to refer to the whole operating system. The Linux kernel was initially developed by [[Linus Torvalds]] as an experimental project to run a UNIX-like system on x86-based PC hardware.

At this point, a very substantial portion of the software commonly used on a desktop system are not GNU software projects, such as [[KDE]] (graphical desktop environment), Firefox, OpenOffice.org, and Python (high-level programming language). On the other hand, even these popular products rely on basic services provided by GNU, such as the C runtime library (libc), compiler framework (gcc), and core POSIX command line utilities. Additionally, the GNU project includes several more substantial applications, such as the graphical desktop environment GNOME, which compete heavily with their alternatives.

GNU/Linux distinguishes itself from other operating systems such as proprietary UNIX and [[Microsoft Windows]] in that the [[source code]] for a complete working system is distributed under various [[open source]] licenses. In essence, this means that anybody can modify the code to their needs, and that the development most components happens in an open community, rather than in a closed commercial environment. Any improvements to the code will be contributed to the community, and any software that is based upon viral licenses will be, in turn, licenses under these. The Linux kernel itself is licensed under the GNU [[General Public License]] (GPL).

GNU/Linux is also different to the closed source operating system vendors in that the software is distributed by many different companies. Major GNU/Linux distributions include [http://www.redhat.com/ Red Hat], [http://www.novell.com/linux/ SUSE], [[Debian]] and [[Ubuntu]]. There are literally hundreds of GNU/Linux distributions as can be seen on [http://distrowatch.com DistroWatch.com].

Numerous sources,<ref>http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/index.php?p=210 Intellectual Property - Left?</ref><ref>https://www.flickr.com/photos/daviderickson/718933691/</ref> including Steve Ballmer,<ref>[http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/07/31/ms_ballmer_linux_is_communism/ MS' Ballmer: Linux is communism]</ref> one of the driving minds behind the success of Microsoft, have claimed that the Open Source movement is inherently Communist. They are apparently bothered that the rest of the world has created an operating system, that many consider superior to Windows, that people can obtain without putting money into Microsoft's pocket. This is like being annoyed that one's attempt to sell air for a profit has been undercut.

In 2005 [[Forbes.com]] posted an article estimating Linux ran 60% of the world's top [[supercomputer]]s at that time.<ref>https://www.forbes.com/2005/03/15/cz_dl_0315linux_print.html</ref> In 2003 the [[IBM]] GNU/Linux Technology Center concluded that GNU/Linux has enterprise class reliability.<ref>http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-rel/?ca=dgr-lnxw01LTP</ref> GNU/Linux servers can run without reboot for years as can usually be seen at the longest uptimes URL on Netcraft.com.<ref>http://uptime.netcraft.com/up/today/top.avg.html</ref> Another location to check on Linux uptime statistics is the [http://counter.li.org/reports/uptimestats.php Machine uptimes] page at [http://counter.li.org/ Linux Counter].

Owing to the nature of open source software, many variants of a GUN/Linux distribution may be created by using the original code and making changes to it to suit a particular need. For example, there is also an [[Ubuntu Christian Edition]].<ref>[http://www.whatwouldjesusdownload.com/christianubuntu/2006/07/about-ubuntu-christian-edition.html Ubuntu Christian Edition]</ref>

[[Image:Gnomesword large.png|right|thumb|250px|Screenshot of [[Ubuntu Christian Edition]].]]

GNU/Linux is quite possibly becoming one of the most commonly adopted operating systems in the world. However, this is difficult to quantify with hard evidence since most Linux distributions are given away for "free" and there are few sales records or marketing numbers to review. While personal computers in the United States and other "first world nations" still overwhelmingly use [[Microsoft]] operating systems such as Windows XP, GNU/Linux is a common choice for web servers, file servers and embedded platforms, thanks to its perceived reliability, low/no cost, and the fact that modifications to the source code can readily be made by anyone. For example, Linux has seen widespread use in numerous mass-produced consumer electronic devices such as broadband residential routers, Digital Video Recorders, and cellphones.

As an example, in March 2007 the server hosting the Conservapedia web site was running the GNU/Linux operating system<ref>[http://toolbar.netcraft.com/site_report?url=http://www.conservapedia.com NetCraft site report for Conservapedia.com]</ref>

==Linux as the 'Best of the Public'==
The ongoing development of the GNU/Linux operating system represents perhaps the single most important example of the [[Best of the public|'best of the public']] collaboration model in the field of technology. The excellent stability and security of GNU/Linux, both in server and consumer versions, provide a powerful example of the success of this model.

Since development is oftentimes carried out by volunteers or enthusiasts, over the years Linux-based operating systems have received a handful of out-of-the-box features unseen in other operating systems. One such example is the concept of multi-seat, where one computer with multiple local keyboards, mice, and monitors can be simultaneously used by multiple people - each with independent logins, profiles, and security protected files.<ref>[https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Xorg_multiseat]</ref> Other operating systems either require third party software to add in this functionality,<ref>[https://www.ibik.ru/]</ref> have not had it built in and enabled, or this functionality is outright denied to the user.<ref>[https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/344930/multiseat-on-mac-os]</ref>

==GNU/Linux Pre-Installed==
From its inception, it has been difficult to find new computers outside of the server market available with GNU/Linux pre-installed. Although specialty companies like [http://system76.com System76] and [http://www.zareason.com Zareason] do sell computers equipped with desktop versions of [[Linux]] (specifically [[Ubuntu]]), until recently, mainstream computer manufacturers like [[Dell]] and [[HP]] resisted this trend. Users typically need to download the GNU/Linux distribution of their choice and install it on a computer themselves. Because many home computer users find the installation of an operating system a difficult task, this added step hinders the increase in the number of computers using a desktop version of [[Linux]]. This situation drastically changed in 2007 when [[Dell]] started selling laptop and desktop computers to the general public with Linux pre-installed.<ref>[http://www.dell.com/content/topics/global.aspx/alliances/en/linux?c=us&cs=555&l=en&s=biz Dell and Linux]</ref>

During 2008, a new type of low cost laptop computer, the "netbook" was introduced by most of the major manufacturers. To keep costs down, Linux was offered on most of the lines as an alternative to Windows XP (Windows Vista being unable to run on the low powered computers), bringing GNU/Linux into the mainstream computer market for the first time.

==Misconceptions about GNU/Linux==
GNU/Linux is in often referred to as GNU/Linux, because Linux is not an operating system unto itself, but rather another free component of a fully functioning GNU system made useful by the GNU corelibraries, shell utilities and vital system components comprising a full Operating System as defined by POSIX. Many computer users run a modified version of the GNU system every day, without realizing it. Through a peculiar turn of events, the version of GNU which is widely used today is often called "Linux", and many of its users are not aware that it is basically the GNU system, developed by the GNU Project. There really is a Linux, and these people are using it, but it is just a part of the system they use. Linux is actually the kernel, a minuscule program in the operating system that allocates the machine's resources to the other programs that you run. The kernel is an essential part of an operating system, but useless by itself; it can only function in the context of a complete operating system. Linux is normally used in combination with the GNU operating system: the whole system is basically GNU with Linux added, or GNU/Linux. Therefore, the so-called "Linux" distributions are really distributions of GNU/Linux.

==See also==
* [[Apple Computer]]
* [[Apple Computer|Apple]] [[iOS]] for [[iPhone]]-[[iPad]]
* [[Android (operating system)|Android]]
* [[BlackBerry OS|Blackberry]]
* [[Microsoft]] Windows Phone with [[Windows 8]]
* [[Tails (operating system)]]
* [[Ubuntu]]
* [[CentOS]]
* [[Phoronix]]
* [[Debian]]
* [[Arch Linux]]

==External links==
* http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.en.html

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

[[Category:Linux]]
[[Category:Mobile Operating Systems]]
[[Category:Operating Systems]]
[[Category:Apps]]