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+<!--#include virtual="/server/header.html" -->
+<!-- Parent-Version: 1.84 -->
+<title>Your Freedom Needs Free Software
+- GNU Project - Free Software Foundation</title>
+<!--#include virtual="/philosophy/po/your-freedom-needs-free-software.translist" -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/banner.html" -->
+<h2>Your Freedom Needs Free Software</h2>
+
+<p>Many of us know that governments can threaten the human rights of
+software users through censorship and surveillance of the Internet.
+Many do not realize that the software they run on their home or work
+computers can be an even worse threat. Thinking of software as
+&lsquo;just a tool&rsquo;, they suppose that it obeys them, when in
+fact it often obeys others instead.</p>
+
+<p>The software running in most computers is <a
+href="/philosophy/categories.html#ProprietarySoftware">non-free,
+proprietary software</a>: controlled by software companies, not
+by its users. Users can't check what these programs do, nor
+prevent them from doing what they don't want. Most people accept
+this because they have seen no other way, but it is simply wrong
+to give developers power over the users' computer.</p>
+
+<p>This unjust power, as usual, tempts its wielders to further
+misdeeds. If a computer talks to a network, and you don't control the
+software in it, it can easily spy on you. Microsoft Windows spies on
+users; for instance, it reports what words a user searches for in her
+own files, and what other programs are installed. RealPlayer spies
+too; it reports what the user plays. Cell phones are full of non-free
+software, which spies. Cell phones send out localizing signals even
+when &lsquo;off&rsquo;, many can send out your precise GPS location
+whether you wish or not, and some models can be switched on remotely
+as listening devices. Users can't fix these malicious features
+because they don't have control.</p>
+
+<p>Some proprietary software is designed to restrict and attack its
+users. <a href="http://badvista.org/">Windows Vista</a> is a big
+advance in this field; the reason it requires replacement of old
+hardware is that the new models are designed to support unbreakable
+restrictions. Microsoft thus requires users to pay for shiny new
+shackles. It is also designed to permit forced updating by corporate
+authority. Hence the <a href="http://badvista.org/">BadVista.org</a>
+campaign, which urges Windows users not to &lsquo;upgrade&rsquo; to
+Vista. (For the equally malicious Windows 7 and Windows 8, we now have
+<a href="http://windows7sins.org/">Windows7Sins.org</a> and
+<a href="http://upgradefromwindows8.org/">UpgradeFromWindows8.org</a>.)
+Mac OS also contains features designed to restrict its users.</p>
+
+<p>Microsoft has installed back doors for the US government's use in
+the past (<a
+href="http://www.heise.de/tp/artikel/5/5263/1.html">reported on
+heise.de</a>). We cannot check whether they have successors today.
+Other proprietary programs may or may not have back doors, but since
+we cannot check them, we cannot trust them.</p>
+
+<p>The only way to assure that your software is working for you is to
+insist on Free/Libre software. This means users get the source code,
+are free to study and change it, and are free to redistribute it with
+or without changes. The <a href="/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html">GNU/Linux
+system</a>, developed <a href="/gnu/gnu.html">specifically for users'
+freedom</a>, includes office applications, multimedia, games, and
+everything you really need to run a computer.
+See <a href="http://www.gnewsense.org/">gNewSense.org</a> for
+a <a href="/distros/distros.html">totally Free/Libre version of GNU/Linux</a>.</p>
+
+<p>A special problem occurs when activists for social change use
+proprietary software, because its developers, who control it, may be
+companies they wish to protest&mdash;or that work hand in glove with the
+states whose policies they oppose. Control of our software by a
+proprietary software company, whether it be Microsoft, Apple, Adobe or
+Skype, means control of what we can say, and to whom. This threatens
+our freedom in all areas of life.</p>
+
+<p>There is also danger in using a company's server to do your word
+processing or email&mdash;and not just if you are in China, as US lawyer
+Michael Springmann discovered. In 2003, AOL not only handed over to
+the police his confidential discussions with clients, it also made his
+email and his address list disappear, and didn't admit this was
+intentional until one of its staff made a slip. Springmann gave up on
+getting his data back.</p>
+
+<p>The US is not the only state that doesn't respect human rights, so
+keep your data on your own computer, and your backups under your own
+custody&mdash;and run your computer with Free/Libre software.</p>
+
+</div><!-- for id="content", starts in the include above -->
+<!--#include virtual="/server/footer.html" -->
+<div id="footer">
+<div class="unprintable">
+
+<p>Please send general FSF &amp; GNU inquiries to
+<a href="mailto:gnu@gnu.org">&lt;gnu@gnu.org&gt;</a>.
+There are also <a href="/contact/">other ways to contact</a>
+the FSF. Broken links and other corrections or suggestions can be sent
+to <a href="mailto:webmasters@gnu.org">&lt;webmasters@gnu.org&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+<p><!-- TRANSLATORS: Ignore the original text in this paragraph,
+ replace it with the translation of these two:
+
+ We work hard and do our best to provide accurate, good quality
+ translations. However, we are not exempt from imperfection.
+ Please send your comments and general suggestions in this regard
+ to <a href="mailto:web-translators@gnu.org">
+ &lt;web-translators@gnu.org&gt;</a>.</p>
+
+ <p>For information on coordinating and submitting translations of
+ our web pages, see <a
+ href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+ README</a>. -->
+Please see the <a
+href="/server/standards/README.translations.html">Translations
+README</a> for information on coordinating and submitting translations
+of this article.</p>
+</div>
+
+<!-- Regarding copyright, in general, standalone pages (as opposed to
+ files generated as part of manuals) on the GNU web server should
+ be under CC BY-ND 4.0. Please do NOT change or remove this
+ without talking with the webmasters or licensing team first.
+ Please make sure the copyright date is consistent with the
+ document. For web pages, it is ok to list just the latest year the
+ document was modified, or published.
+
+ If you wish to list earlier years, that is ok too.
+ Either "2001, 2002, 2003" or "2001-2003" are ok for specifying
+ years, as long as each year in the range is in fact a copyrightable
+ year, i.e., a year in which the document was published (including
+ being publicly visible on the web or in a revision control system).
+
+ There is more detail about copyright years in the GNU Maintainers
+ Information document, www.gnu.org/prep/maintain. -->
+
+<p>Copyright &copy; 2007, 2017 Richard Stallman</p>
+
+<p>This page is licensed under a <a rel="license"
+href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative
+Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.</p>
+
+<!--#include virtual="/server/bottom-notes.html" -->
+
+<p class="unprintable">Updated:
+<!-- timestamp start -->
+$Date: 2017/08/27 14:56:06 $
+<!-- timestamp end -->
+</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+</body>
+</html>