Re: [GNU-linux-libre] review PureOS ISO

[Denis 'GNUtoo' Carikli]

On Fri, 10 Jun 2016 21:45:41 -0400
Julie Marchant <address@hidden> wrote:

> Tor Browser is included. Tor Browser is libre, but it features an
> update facility which is not controlled by the developers of PureOS
> (they are delivered by the developers of Tor).
The issue is also that it also contains an add-on manager that doesn't
even distinguish between free and non-free software.
You can for instance search for "Ghostery" which is proprietary
software[1], and it will show up in the list.

Installing add-ons is strongly discouraged[2], to fix it, the feature
could either be disabled entirely, or be made to list only free
software add-ons.

I also wonder how to handle javascript: If users uses javascript,
they would either:
- Run non-free javascript.
- Run LibreJS, but that could potentially change the browser
  fingerprint, voiding the privacy protections.

Note that GuixSD is probably interested in the exact same issue: having
an FSDG compliant version of the tor-browser.

References:
-----------
[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostery says "Ghostery is a
   proprietary freeware [...] browser extension"
[2]The goal of tor-browser is to protect your privacy. Merely making
   your browser use tor isn't sufficient to do that. Browser
   modifications to make all users look the same are required.
   Since add-ons can potentially alter the fingerprint of the browser,
   their installation are strongly discouraged.

Denis.

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