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class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Problems</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Problems-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Use_via_wrappers" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Use_via_wrappers"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Use via wrappers</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Use_via_wrappers-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Device_firmware" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Device_firmware"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Device firmware</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Device_firmware-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-BIOS_and_UEFI" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#BIOS_and_UEFI"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>BIOS and UEFI</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-BIOS_and_UEFI-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span 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Available in 16 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-16" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">16 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bn mw-list-item"><a href="https://bn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A6%AC%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%87%E0%A6%A8%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%B0%E0%A6%BF_%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%B2%E0%A6%AC" title="বাইনারি ব্লব – Bangla" lang="bn" hreflang="bn" data-title="বাইনারি ব্লব" data-language-autonym="বাংলা" data-language-local-name="Bangla" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>বাংলা</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ca mw-list-item"><a href="https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blob_binari" title="Blob binari – Catalan" lang="ca" hreflang="ca" data-title="Blob binari" data-language-autonym="Català" data-language-local-name="Catalan" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Català</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bin%C3%A4rblob" title="Binärblob – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Binärblob" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blob_binario" title="Blob binario – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Blob binario" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-eo mw-list-item"><a href="https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duuma_malliberumo" title="Duuma malliberumo – Esperanto" lang="eo" hreflang="eo" data-title="Duuma malliberumo" data-language-autonym="Esperanto" data-language-local-name="Esperanto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Esperanto</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%84%DA%A9%D9%87_%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%88%DB%8C%DB%8C" title="لکه دودویی – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="لکه دودویی" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B0%94%EC%9D%B4%EB%84%88%EB%A6%AC_%EB%B8%94%EB%A1%AD" title="바이너리 블롭 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="바이너리 블롭" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blob_biner" title="Blob biner – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Blob biner" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blob_binario" title="Blob binario – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Blob binario" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%90%E3%82%A4%E3%83%8A%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BB%E3%83%96%E3%83%AD%E3%83%96" title="バイナリ・ブロブ – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="バイナリ・ブロブ" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_blob" title="Binary blob – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Binary blob" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blob_binarny" title="Blob binarny – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Blob binarny" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binary_blob" title="Binary blob – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Binary blob" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B1" title="Блоб – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Блоб" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B1" title="Блоб – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Блоб" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%B0%88%E6%9C%89%E8%A8%AD%E5%82%99%E9%A9%85%E5%8B%95%E7%A8%8B%E5%BA%8F" title="專有設備驅動程序 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="專有設備驅動程序" 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class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li id="t-wikibase" class="wb-otherproject-link wb-otherproject-wikibase-dataitem mw-list-item"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q763151" title="Structured data on this page hosted by Wikidata [g]" accesskey="g"><span>Wikidata item</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> </div> <div class="vector-column-end"> <div class="vector-sticky-pinned-container"> <nav class="vector-page-tools-landmark" aria-label="Page tools"> <div id="vector-page-tools-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> </div> </nav> <nav class="vector-appearance-landmark" aria-label="Appearance"> <div id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" class="vector-pinned-container"> <div id="vector-appearance" class="vector-appearance vector-pinnable-element"> <div class="vector-pinnable-header vector-appearance-pinnable-header vector-pinnable-header-pinned" data-feature-name="appearance-pinned" data-pinnable-element-id="vector-appearance" data-pinned-container-id="vector-appearance-pinned-container" data-unpinned-container-id="vector-appearance-unpinned-container" > <div class="vector-pinnable-header-label">Appearance</div> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-pin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-appearance.unpin">hide</button> </div> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div id="bodyContent" class="vector-body" aria-labelledby="firstHeading" data-mw-ve-target-container> <div class="vector-body-before-content"> <div class="mw-indicators"> </div> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</div> </div> <div id="contentSub"><div id="mw-content-subtitle"><span class="mw-redirectedfrom">(Redirected from <a href="/w/index.php?title=Proprietary_device_driver&redirect=no" class="mw-redirect" title="Proprietary device driver">Proprietary device driver</a>)</span></div></div> <div id="mw-content-text" class="mw-body-content"><div class="mw-content-ltr mw-parser-output" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none">Software published only in binary code</div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236090951">.mw-parser-output .hatnote{font-style:italic}.mw-parser-output div.hatnote{padding-left:1.6em;margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .hatnote i{font-style:normal}.mw-parser-output .hatnote+link+.hatnote{margin-top:-0.5em}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .hatnote{display:none!important}}</style><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Not to be confused with <a href="/wiki/Binary_large_object" class="mw-redirect" title="Binary large object">Binary large object (BLOB)</a>.</div> <p>In the context of <a href="/wiki/Free_and_open-source_software" title="Free and open-source software">free and open-source software</a>, <a href="/wiki/Proprietary_software" title="Proprietary software">proprietary software</a> only available as a <a href="/wiki/Executable" title="Executable">binary executable</a> is referred to as a <b>blob</b> or <b>binary blob</b>. The term usually refers to a <a href="/wiki/Device_driver" title="Device driver">device driver</a> <a href="/wiki/Loadable_kernel_module" title="Loadable kernel module">module</a> <a href="/wiki/Linker_(computing)" title="Linker (computing)">loaded</a> into the <a href="/wiki/Kernel_(operating_system)" title="Kernel (operating system)">kernel</a> of an open-source <a href="/wiki/Operating_system" title="Operating system">operating system</a>, and is sometimes also applied to code running outside the kernel, such as system <a href="/wiki/Firmware" title="Firmware">firmware</a> images, <a href="/wiki/Microcode" title="Microcode">microcode</a> updates, or <a href="/wiki/User_space_and_kernel_space" title="User space and kernel space">userland</a> programs.<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-lyrics-39_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-lyrics-39-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The term <i><a href="/wiki/Binary_large_object" class="mw-redirect" title="Binary large object">blob</a></i> was first used in <a href="/wiki/Database_management_system" class="mw-redirect" title="Database management system">database management systems</a> to describe a collection of <a href="/wiki/Binary_data" title="Binary data">binary data</a> stored as a single entity. </p><p>When <a href="/wiki/Computer_hardware" title="Computer hardware">computer hardware</a> vendors provide complete technical documentation for their products, operating system developers are able to write hardware device drivers to be included in the operating system kernels. However, some vendors, such as <a href="/wiki/Nvidia#Open-source_software_support" title="Nvidia">Nvidia</a>, do not provide complete documentation for some of their products and instead provide binary-only drivers. This practice is most common for <a href="/wiki/Graphics_processing_unit" title="Graphics processing unit">accelerated graphics</a> drivers, <a href="/wiki/Wireless_network_interface_controller" title="Wireless network interface controller">wireless networking devices</a>, and hardware <a href="/wiki/Disk_array_controller" title="Disk array controller">RAID controllers</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Most notably, closed-source drivers are very uncommon for non-wireless <a href="/wiki/Network_interface_controller" title="Network interface controller">network interface controllers</a>, which can almost always be configured via standard utilities (like <a href="/wiki/Ifconfig" title="Ifconfig">ifconfig</a>) out of the box; <a href="/wiki/Theo_de_Raadt" title="Theo de Raadt">Theo de Raadt</a> of <a href="/wiki/OpenBSD" title="OpenBSD">OpenBSD</a> attributes this to the work done by a single <a href="/wiki/FreeBSD" title="FreeBSD">FreeBSD</a> developer.<sup id="cite_ref-lor-opencon06_8-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-lor-opencon06-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-wpaul-rocks_9-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-wpaul-rocks-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Policy_by_project">Policy by project</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Binary_blob&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Policy by project"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Some <a href="/wiki/Free_Software_Foundation" title="Free Software Foundation">FSF</a>-approved projects strive to provide a <a href="/wiki/Free_software_movement" title="Free software movement">free</a> operating system and will remove all binary blobs when no documentation for hardware or <a href="/wiki/Source_code" title="Source code">source code</a> for device drivers and all applicable firmware is available; such projects include <a href="/wiki/Linux-libre" title="Linux-libre">Linux-libre</a> kernel packaging from <a href="/wiki/FSFLA" class="mw-redirect" title="FSFLA">FSFLA</a>, <a href="/wiki/Parabola_(software)" class="mw-redirect" title="Parabola (software)">Parabola</a>, <a href="/wiki/Devuan" title="Devuan">Devuan</a>, <a href="/wiki/Trisquel" title="Trisquel">Trisquel</a>, and <a href="/wiki/LibreCMC" title="LibreCMC">LibreCMC</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-gnu/free-distros_10-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gnu/free-distros-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> However, the vast majority of open-source projects make a distinction between binary-only device drivers (blobs) and binary-only firmware (not considered blobs<sup id="cite_ref-kerneltrap/6497_11-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kerneltrap/6497-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap">: <span title="Page: ...
Quotation: "Firmwares are not considered blobs"" class="tooltip tooltip-dashed" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed;">...</span> </sup>), allowing for certain proprietary firmware to be freely distributed as part of their kernels, and, to the disagreement of some core contributors, also support the use of proprietary device drivers that are distributed externally, providing internal compatibility interfaces for such proprietary drivers and userspace components to work with their system.<sup id="cite_ref-f-aac_12-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-f-aac-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-f-aacraid_13-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-f-aacraid-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Projects following this policy include the <a href="/wiki/Linux_kernel" title="Linux kernel">Linux kernel</a> itself, <a href="/wiki/NetBSD" title="NetBSD">NetBSD</a>, <a href="/wiki/FreeBSD" title="FreeBSD">FreeBSD</a>, <a href="/wiki/DragonFly_BSD" title="DragonFly BSD">DragonFly BSD</a>, and most <a href="/wiki/Linux_distribution" title="Linux distribution">Linux distributions</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-bsdinterview_14-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-bsdinterview-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Some of these projects do provide options for building the system without proprietary firmware, thus excluding sourceless microcode on demand.<sup id="cite_ref-f-sourceless-ucode_15-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-f-sourceless-ucode-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/OpenBSD" title="OpenBSD">OpenBSD</a> project has a notable policy of not only not accepting any binary device drivers into its source tree, but also officially not supporting any third-party proprietary device driver components on its platform, either;<sup id="cite_ref-lyrics-38_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-lyrics-38-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap">: <span title="Page: 38...
Quotation: "we refuse to accept our users being forced into depending on vendor binaries"" class="tooltip tooltip-dashed" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed;">38...</span> </sup> citing not only the potential for undetectable or irreparable security flaws, but also the encroachment onto the openness and freedom of its software.<sup id="cite_ref-deraadt_interview_200605_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-deraadt_interview_200605-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Free_Software_Foundation" title="Free Software Foundation">Free Software Foundation</a> (FSF) is actively campaigning against binary blobs.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> FSF also considers OpenBSD's policy confusingly worded, as "blobs" in the BSD community refer only to what it considers non-free drivers, and does not apply to proprietary firmware and sourceless microcode.<sup id="cite_ref-gnu/common-d_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gnu/common-d-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page: BSD">: BSD </span></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Debian" title="Debian">Debian</a> project included both free and non-free binary firmware from the <a href="/wiki/Linux_kernel" title="Linux kernel">Linux kernel</a>, clearly marking and separating the non-free packages<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> according to the <a href="/wiki/Debian_Social_Contract" title="Debian Social Contract">Debian Social Contract</a>. As of Debian 6.0 those blobs were removed.<sup id="cite_ref-gnu/common-d_19-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gnu/common-d-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page: Debian">: Debian </span></sup> </p><p>For OpenBSD, project leader <a href="/wiki/Theo_de_Raadt" title="Theo de Raadt">Theo de Raadt</a> defends the policy of asking for distribution rights only for microcode firmware. "Once they are distributed... at least the device works." Implying that the alternative would be for the members of his small project to code free firmware themselves in the assembly language of many chipsets, he pleads "don't load us up with more tasks." Despite this he favours chipsets that run without firmware and speaks warmly of Asian designs which he describes as slower to market but more mature.<sup id="cite_ref-deraadt_interview_200605_17-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-deraadt_interview_200605-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Linux_AMD_graphics_stack.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Linux_AMD_graphics_stack.svg/300px-Linux_AMD_graphics_stack.svg.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Linux_AMD_graphics_stack.svg/450px-Linux_AMD_graphics_stack.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Linux_AMD_graphics_stack.svg/600px-Linux_AMD_graphics_stack.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1280" data-file-height="720" /></a><figcaption> The proprietary Linux graphic driver, <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r886049734">.mw-parser-output .monospaced{font-family:monospace,monospace}</style><span class="monospaced"><a href="/wiki/AMD_Catalyst" class="mw-redirect" title="AMD Catalyst">libGL-fglrx-glx</a></span>, will share the same <a href="/wiki/Direct_Rendering_Manager" title="Direct Rendering Manager">DRM</a> infrastructure with <a href="/wiki/Mesa_3D" class="mw-redirect" title="Mesa 3D">Mesa 3D</a>. As there is no stable in-kernel <a href="/wiki/Application_binary_interface" title="Application binary interface">ABI</a>, AMD had to constantly adapt the former binary blob used by Catalyst.</figcaption></figure> <p>In the <a href="/wiki/Linux_kernel" title="Linux kernel">Linux kernel</a> development community, <a href="/wiki/Linus_Torvalds" title="Linus Torvalds">Linus Torvalds</a> has made strong statements on the issue of binary-only modules, asserting: "I <i>refuse</i> to even consider tying my hands over some binary-only module", and continuing: "I want people to know that when they use binary-only modules, it's THEIR problem."<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 2008, 176 Linux kernel developers signed a <i>Position Statement on Linux Kernel Modules</i> that stated "We, the undersigned Linux kernel developers, consider any closed-source Linux kernel module or driver to be harmful and undesirable... We have repeatedly found them to be detrimental to Linux users, businesses, and the greater Linux ecosystem."<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The Linux kernel maintainer <a href="/wiki/Greg_Kroah-Hartman" title="Greg Kroah-Hartman">Greg Kroah-Hartman</a> has stated that it is illegal to redistribute closed source modules for the <a href="/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License" title="GNU General Public License">GNU General Public License-licensed</a> Linux kernel.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>However, the Linux kernel contains closed-source firmware required by various device drivers.<sup id="cite_ref-gnu/free-sys-d-g--nonfree-fw_24-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gnu/free-sys-d-g--nonfree-fw-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-gnu/common-d_19-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gnu/common-d-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> <a href="/wiki/Alexandre_Oliva" title="Alexandre Oliva">Alexandre Oliva</a>, the maintainer of <a href="/wiki/Linux-libre" title="Linux-libre">Linux-libre</a>, a version of the Linux kernel that attempts to remove all binary blobs, including sourceless microcode, wrote in 2011: "Linux hasn't been Free Software since 1996, when Mr Torvalds accepted the first pieces of non-Free Software in the distributions of Linux he has published since 1991. Over these years, while this kernel grew by a factor of 14, the amount of non-Free firmware required by Linux drivers grew by an alarming factor of 83."<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Most of the drivers for <a href="/wiki/Mobile_device" title="Mobile device">mobile devices</a> running the <a href="/wiki/Android_(operating_system)" title="Android (operating system)">Android operating system</a> are shipped in binary and are linked against a specific version of the Linux kernel. This makes it very hard to upgrade a kernel version because it may require <a href="/wiki/Reverse_engineering" title="Reverse engineering">reverse engineering</a>, reimplementing the proprietary device drivers as free software, creating and debugging wrappers, <a href="/wiki/Binary_patch" class="mw-redirect" title="Binary patch">binary patching</a>, or a combination of these steps, all of which implies that legacy devices will never get the latest Android version.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (March 2019)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Problems">Problems</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Binary_blob&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Problems"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1251242444">.mw-parser-output .ambox{border:1px solid #a2a9b1;border-left:10px solid #36c;background-color:#fbfbfb;box-sizing:border-box}.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+link+.ambox{margin-top:-1px}html body.mediawiki .mw-parser-output .ambox.mbox-small-left{margin:4px 1em 4px 0;overflow:hidden;width:238px;border-collapse:collapse;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em}.mw-parser-output .ambox-speedy{border-left:10px solid #b32424;background-color:#fee7e6}.mw-parser-output .ambox-delete{border-left:10px solid #b32424}.mw-parser-output .ambox-content{border-left:10px solid #f28500}.mw-parser-output .ambox-style{border-left:10px solid #fc3}.mw-parser-output .ambox-move{border-left:10px solid #9932cc}.mw-parser-output .ambox-protection{border-left:10px solid #a2a9b1}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-text{border:none;padding:0.25em 0.5em;width:100%}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image{border:none;padding:2px 0 2px 0.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-imageright{border:none;padding:2px 0.5em 2px 0;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-empty-cell{border:none;padding:0;width:1px}.mw-parser-output .ambox .mbox-image-div{width:52px}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .ambox{margin:0 10%}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .ambox{display:none!important}}</style><table class="box-Essay-like plainlinks metadata ambox ambox-style ambox-essay-like" role="presentation"><tbody><tr><td class="mbox-image"><div class="mbox-image-div"><span typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/40px-Edit-clear.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/60px-Edit-clear.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/f/f2/Edit-clear.svg/80px-Edit-clear.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="48" data-file-height="48" /></span></span></div></td><td class="mbox-text"><div class="mbox-text-span">This section <b>is written like a <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not#Wikipedia_is_not_a_publisher_of_original_thought" title="Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not">personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay</a></b> that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic.<span class="hide-when-compact"> Please <a class="external text" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Binary_blob&action=edit">help improve it</a> by rewriting it in an <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Writing_better_articles#Information_style_and_tone" title="Wikipedia:Writing better articles">encyclopedic style</a>.</span> <span class="date-container"><i>(<span class="date">March 2021</span>)</i></span><span class="hide-when-compact"><i> (<small><a href="/wiki/Help:Maintenance_template_removal" title="Help:Maintenance template removal">Learn how and when to remove this message</a></small>)</i></span></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>There are a number of reasons why binary blobs can be problematic.<sup id="cite_ref-kerneltrap/6497_11-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kerneltrap/6497-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Firstly, their precise operation cannot be known and bugs cannot be detected by auditing source code; bugs are frequently only diagnosed by painstaking investigation when a system begins to behave unexpectedly. Such undetected bugs may also silently expose users and systems to security hazards. The fitness for purpose of the driver thus cannot be checked, and even if a bug is found there is no easy way to fix it. </p><p>Secondly, as the <a href="/wiki/Source_code" title="Source code">source code</a> is not available, the driver cannot be readily improved by its users, cannot be ported to architectures not originally supported, nor adapted to operate for slight variants of the hardware or updated it to be workable in new kernels having the changed API and architecture. </p><p>Thirdly, using this software would force users to trust vendors or third parties not to put backdoors, spyware or malicious code into the blob. As well, the hardware vendor can decide not to support a given operating system, abandon driver maintenance at any time, or, in the event the company goes out of business, leave the driver completely unsupported. </p><p>Finally, binary blobs can be seen as drawing a line between the portion of the community that believes in free software ideals, rejecting proprietary software, and the portion that sees open source as desirable for purely technical reasons, often lacking a strong opposition to binary blobs "as long as they work". This fragmentation, and the acceptance of a growing number of proprietary components into Linux, is seen as weakening the ability of the community to resist the trend of manufacturers to increasingly refuse to provide documentation for their binaries. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Use_via_wrappers">Use via wrappers</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Binary_blob&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Use via wrappers"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>A <a href="/wiki/Driver_wrapper" title="Driver wrapper">wrapper</a> is software which allows one operating system to use a binary proprietary device driver written for another operating system. Examples of wrappers are <a href="/wiki/NDISwrapper" title="NDISwrapper">NDISwrapper</a> for <a href="/wiki/Linux" title="Linux">Linux</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Project_Evil" class="mw-redirect" title="Project Evil">Project Evil</a> for <a href="/wiki/FreeBSD" title="FreeBSD">FreeBSD</a> and <a href="/wiki/NetBSD" title="NetBSD">NetBSD</a>. These wrappers allow these operating systems to use network drivers written for <a href="/wiki/Microsoft_Windows" title="Microsoft Windows">Microsoft Windows</a> by implementing <a href="/wiki/Microsoft" title="Microsoft">Microsoft</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Network_Driver_Interface_Specification" title="Network Driver Interface Specification">NDIS</a> <a href="/wiki/API" title="API">API</a>. </p><p>Another example is providing compatibility layers so that foreign utilities could be used to service the hardware. Examples include some <a href="/wiki/Disk_array_controller" title="Disk array controller">RAID controller</a> drivers in <a href="/wiki/FreeBSD" title="FreeBSD">FreeBSD</a>, where the <a href="/wiki/System_administrator" title="System administrator">system administrator</a> would have to enable <a href="/wiki/FreeBSD#OS_compatibility_layers" title="FreeBSD">Linux compatibility layer in FreeBSD</a> and independently procure Linux-specific binary blobs directly from the hardware manufacturer in order to monitor and service the hardware.<sup id="cite_ref-f-aac_12-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-f-aac-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-f-aacraid_13-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-f-aacraid-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-opencon06-drivers-f_26-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-opencon06-drivers-f-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Circa 2005, this state of affairs prompted <a href="/wiki/OpenBSD" title="OpenBSD">OpenBSD</a> to create and popularise its <a href="/wiki/Bioctl" title="Bioctl">bio(4)</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bioctl" title="Bioctl">bioctl</a> and <a href="/wiki/Sensor_drive" class="mw-redirect" title="Sensor drive">sensor drive</a> concepts as an alternative solution for <a href="/wiki/RAID" title="RAID">RAID</a> monitoring,<sup id="cite_ref-theo-misc-38_27-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-theo-misc-38-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-lyrics-38_16-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-lyrics-38-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> both of which concepts have subsequently found its way into <a href="/wiki/NetBSD" title="NetBSD">NetBSD</a> as well. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Device_firmware">Device firmware</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Binary_blob&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Device firmware"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951"><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Firmware" title="Firmware">Firmware</a> and <a href="/wiki/Microcode" title="Microcode">Microcode</a></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Firmware" title="Firmware">Firmware</a> is the software required by the onboard <a href="/wiki/Microcontroller" title="Microcontroller">microcontrollers</a> that accompanied by some hardware, is generally not considered to be a binary blob.<sup id="cite_ref-kerneltrap/4118_28-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kerneltrap/4118-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-gnu/common-d_19-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-gnu/common-d-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap"><span title="Page: BSD">: BSD </span></sup><sup id="cite_ref-kerneltrap/6497_11-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kerneltrap/6497-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup class="reference nowrap">: <span title="Page: ...
Quotation: "Firmwares are not considered blobs"" class="tooltip tooltip-dashed" style="border-bottom: 1px dashed;">...</span> </sup> In many devices, firmware is stored in <a href="/wiki/Non-volatile" class="mw-redirect" title="Non-volatile">non-volatile</a> onboard <a href="/wiki/Flash_memory" title="Flash memory">flash memory</a>, but to decrease costs and ease to fix bugs, some devices contain only <a href="/wiki/Static_RAM" class="mw-redirect" title="Static RAM">static RAM</a> and require the host operating system to upload firmware / microcode each time they are powered on. Although the firmware is thus present in the operating system driver, it is merely copied to the device and not executed by the CPU, removing concerns about extra security flaws compared to what's already possible with a <a href="/wiki/DMA_attack" title="DMA attack">DMA attack</a> even if the firmware was already stored within the device at all times. The OpenBSD project accepts binary firmware/<a href="/wiki/Microcode" title="Microcode">microcode</a> images and will redistribute these images if the license permits;<sup id="cite_ref-kerneltrap/4118_28-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-kerneltrap/4118-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> if free and unconditional redistribution is not permitted by the vendor, the machine instructions on fetching these images may be provided in the <a href="/wiki/OpenBSD_ports" class="mw-redirect" title="OpenBSD ports">ports</a> tree (which precludes some encumbered wireless devices (e.g., Intel Wireless) from being available during the initial install).<sup id="cite_ref-o-ports_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-o-ports-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On Microsoft Windows implementations, the microcode binary may be embedded in the SYS / DLL / VXD device driver directly, as opposed to separated microcode file. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="BIOS_and_UEFI">BIOS and UEFI</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Binary_blob&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: BIOS and UEFI"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Coreboot%2BseaBIOS%2Bon-x60.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Coreboot%2BseaBIOS%2Bon-x60.JPG/170px-Coreboot%2BseaBIOS%2Bon-x60.JPG" decoding="async" width="170" height="227" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Coreboot%2BseaBIOS%2Bon-x60.JPG/255px-Coreboot%2BseaBIOS%2Bon-x60.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Coreboot%2BseaBIOS%2Bon-x60.JPG/340px-Coreboot%2BseaBIOS%2Bon-x60.JPG 2x" data-file-width="2448" data-file-height="3264" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/SeaBIOS" title="SeaBIOS">SeaBIOS</a>, an open-source implementation of BIOS, running as coreboot payload on a Lenovo <a href="/wiki/ThinkPad" title="ThinkPad">ThinkPad</a> X60</figcaption></figure> <p>The <a href="/wiki/BIOS" title="BIOS">BIOS</a>, which functions as a <a href="/wiki/Bootloader" title="Bootloader">bootloader</a> and supports legacy <a href="/wiki/Real_mode" title="Real mode">real mode</a> applications, is a crucial component of many <a href="/wiki/IBM-compatible" class="mw-redirect" title="IBM-compatible">IBM-compatible</a> computers. In the late 1990s work started on EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) with the objective to move legacy BIOS to a modern interface with a modular driver model. EFI is closed source and was eventually adopted by many industry leading hardware manufacturers as <a href="/wiki/UEFI" title="UEFI">UEFI</a> (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface). The EDK (EFI Development Kit) was developed to assist EFI firmware development projects.<sup id="cite_ref-Apress_31-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Apress-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Also in the late 1990s, the <a href="/wiki/Coreboot" title="Coreboot">coreboot</a> project was started to create an open source alternative to legacy BIOS from scratch.<sup id="cite_ref-Apress_31-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Apress-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The coreboot developer community organises around <a href="/w/index.php?title=Stefan_Reinauer&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Stefan Reinauer (page does not exist)">Stefan Reinauer</a> and is led by firmware developers with commit rights.<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Despite closed source binary firmware having been at the heart of the <a href="/wiki/X86" title="X86">x86</a> architecture coreboot only incorporates the few proprietary binaries that are necessary to provide users with a base level hardware support.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> A completely open source alternative to BIOS and UEFI is <a href="/wiki/Libreboot" title="Libreboot">libreboot</a>, which was promoted by the <a href="/wiki/Free_Software_Foundation" title="Free Software Foundation">Free Software Foundation</a> (FSF).<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Binary_blob&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239009302">.mw-parser-output .portalbox{padding:0;margin:0.5em 0;display:table;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:175px;list-style:none}.mw-parser-output .portalborder{border:1px solid var(--border-color-base,#a2a9b1);padding:0.1em;background:var(--background-color-neutral-subtle,#f8f9fa)}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-entry{display:table-row;font-size:85%;line-height:110%;height:1.9em;font-style:italic;font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-image{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em;vertical-align:middle;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .portalbox-link{display:table-cell;padding:0.2em 0.2em 0.2em 0.3em;vertical-align:middle}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .portalleft{clear:left;float:left;margin:0.5em 1em 0.5em 0}.mw-parser-output .portalright{clear:right;float:right;margin:0.5em 0 0.5em 1em}}</style><ul role="navigation" aria-label="Portals" class="noprint portalbox portalborder portalright"> <li class="portalbox-entry"><span class="portalbox-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Free_and_open-source_software_logo_%282009%29.svg/28px-Free_and_open-source_software_logo_%282009%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="28" height="28" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Free_and_open-source_software_logo_%282009%29.svg/42px-Free_and_open-source_software_logo_%282009%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/31/Free_and_open-source_software_logo_%282009%29.svg/56px-Free_and_open-source_software_logo_%282009%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512" /></span></span></span><span class="portalbox-link"><a href="/wiki/Portal:Free_and_open-source_software" title="Portal:Free and open-source software">Free and open-source software portal</a></span></li></ul> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1184024115">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col" style="column-width: 22em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Character_large_object" title="Character large object">Character large object</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Firmware" title="Firmware">Firmware</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Graphics_hardware_and_FOSS" class="mw-redirect" title="Graphics hardware and FOSS">Graphics hardware and FOSS</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/LinuxBoot" title="LinuxBoot">LinuxBoot</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Loadable_kernel_module" title="Loadable kernel module">Loadable kernel module</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Opaque_binary_blob" title="Opaque binary blob">Opaque binary blob</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proprietary_firmware" title="Proprietary firmware">Proprietary firmware</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Proprietary_software" title="Proprietary software">Proprietary software</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/NSA_ANT_catalog" class="mw-redirect" title="NSA ANT catalog">NSA ANT catalog</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/ScreenOS" title="ScreenOS">ScreenOS</a> NSA Binary blob backdoor</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wireless_security" title="Wireless security">Wireless security</a></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Binary_blob&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFMichael_Larabel2012" class="citation web cs1">Michael Larabel (2012-08-06). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTE1NDc">"Coreboot: Replacing Intel's Binary Video BIOS Blob"</a>. <a href="/wiki/Phoronix" class="mw-redirect" title="Phoronix">Phoronix</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2015-06-23</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Raspberry+Pi+GPU+Driver+Turns+Out+To+Be+Crap&rft.pub=Phoronix&rft.date=2012-10-24&rft.au=Michael+Larabel&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.phoronix.com%2Fscan.php%3Fpage%3Dnews_item%26px%3DMTIxNDk&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFJake_Edge2015" class="citation web cs1">Jake Edge (2015-06-17). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://lwn.net/Articles/648392/">"Chromium suddenly starts downloading a binary blob"</a>. <a href="/wiki/LWN.net" title="LWN.net">LWN.net</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2015-06-23</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Chromium+suddenly+starts+downloading+a+binary+blob&rft.pub=LWN.net&rft.date=2015-06-17&rft.au=Jake+Edge&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Flwn.net%2FArticles%2F648392%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-lyrics-39-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-lyrics-39_6-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.openbsd.org/lyrics.html#39">"3.9: "Blob!"<span class="cs1-kern-right"></span>"</a>. <i>OpenBSD Release Songs</i>. <a href="/wiki/OpenBSD" title="OpenBSD">OpenBSD</a>. 2006-05-01. <q>Blobs are vendor-compiled binary drivers without any source code.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=OpenBSD+Release+Songs&rft.atitle=3.9%3A+%22Blob%21%22&rft.date=2006-05-01&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.openbsd.org%2Flyrics.html%2339&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://packages.debian.org/source/sid/firmware-nonfree">"Debian packages built from the source package 'firmware-nonfree' - Binary firmware for various drivers in the Linux kernel"</a>. 2010<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2010-03-25</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Debian+packages+built+from+the+source+package+%27firmware-nonfree%27+-+Binary+firmware+for+various+drivers+in+the+Linux+kernel&rft.date=2010&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fpackages.debian.org%2Fsource%2Fsid%2Ffirmware-nonfree&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-lor-opencon06-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-lor-opencon06_8-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFConstantine_A._Murenin2006" class="citation web cs1 cs1-prop-foreign-lang-source">Constantine A. Murenin (2006-12-10). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.linux.org.ru/news/hardware/1690470">"Почему так важно иметь документацию по программированию железа"</a>. <i>Linux.org.ru</i> (in Russian).</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Linux.org.ru&rft.atitle=%D0%9F%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B5%D0%BC%D1%83+%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BA+%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%B6%D0%BD%D0%BE+%D0%B8%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%8C+%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BA%D1%83%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B0%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%8E+%D0%BF%D0%BE+%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%BC%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8E+%D0%B6%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B0&rft.date=2006-12-10&rft.au=Constantine+A.+Murenin&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linux.org.ru%2Fnews%2Fhardware%2F1690470&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-wpaul-rocks-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-wpaul-rocks_9-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTheo_de_Raadt2016" class="citation conference cs1"><a href="/wiki/Theo_de_Raadt" title="Theo de Raadt">Theo de Raadt</a> (2016-12-03). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="//www.openbsd.org/papers/opencon06-docs/mgp00011.html">"Page 11: The hardware: ethernet"</a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="//www.openbsd.org/papers/opencon06-docs/"><i>Open Documentation for Hardware</i></a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="//web.archive.org/web/20070109032258/http://www.opencon.org/program.php">OpenCON 2006, 2–3 December 2006</a>. Courtyard Venice Airport, Venice/Tessera, Italy. <q>Only a few recalcitrant vendors remain closed. / ethernet 95% documented 99% working / Open documentation largely due to the effort of one man: Bill Paul</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=conference&rft.atitle=Page+11%3A+The+hardware%3A+ethernet&rft.btitle=Open+Documentation+for+Hardware&rft.place=Courtyard+Venice+Airport%2C+Venice%2FTessera%2C+Italy&rft.date=2016-12-03&rft.au=Theo+de+Raadt&rft_id=%2F%2Fwww.openbsd.org%2Fpapers%2Fopencon06-docs%2Fmgp00011.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-gnu/free-distros-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-gnu/free-distros_10-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-distros.html">"List of Free GNU/Linux Distributions"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/GNU_Project" title="GNU Project">GNU Project</a></i>. <a href="/wiki/Free_Software_Foundation" title="Free Software Foundation">Free Software Foundation</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=GNU+Project&rft.atitle=List+of+Free+GNU%2FLinux+Distributions&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gnu.org%2Fdistros%2Ffree-distros.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-kerneltrap/6497-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-kerneltrap/6497_11-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-kerneltrap/6497_11-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-kerneltrap/6497_11-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFAndrews2006" class="citation web cs1">Andrews, Jeremy (2006-04-19). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071211025952/http://kerneltrap.org/node/6497">"Interview with Jonathan Gray and Damien Bergamini"</a>. kerneltrap.org. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://kerneltrap.org/node/6497">the original</a> on 2007-12-11<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2008-01-06</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Interview+with+Jonathan+Gray+and+Damien+Bergamini&rft.pub=kerneltrap.org&rft.date=2006-04-19&rft.aulast=Andrews&rft.aufirst=Jeremy&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fkerneltrap.org%2Fnode%2F6497&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-f-aac-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-f-aac_12-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-f-aac_12-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFScott_LongAdaptec,_Inc2000" class="citation web cs1">Scott Long; <a href="/wiki/Adaptec" title="Adaptec">Adaptec, Inc</a> (2000). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://bxr.su/f/share/man/man4/aac.4">"aac(4) — Adaptec AdvancedRAID Controller driver"</a>. <i>BSD Cross Reference</i>. <a href="/wiki/FreeBSD" title="FreeBSD">FreeBSD</a>. <q>If the kernel is compiled with the COMPAT_LINUX option, or the aac_linux.ko and linux.ko modules are loaded...</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=BSD+Cross+Reference&rft.atitle=aac%284%29+%E2%80%94+Adaptec+AdvancedRAID+Controller+driver&rft.date=2000&rft.au=Scott+Long&rft.au=Adaptec%2C+Inc&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fbxr.su%2Ff%2Fshare%2Fman%2Fman4%2Faac.4&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1">"aac -- Adaptec AdvancedRAID Controller driver". <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://mdoc.su/f/aac.4"><i>FreeBSD Manual Pages</i></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=aac+--+Adaptec+AdvancedRAID+Controller+driver&rft.btitle=FreeBSD+Manual+Pages&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fmdoc.su%2Ff%2Faac.4&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> </span></li> <li id="cite_note-f-aacraid-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-f-aacraid_13-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-f-aacraid_13-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFAchim_Leubner2013" class="citation web cs1">Achim Leubner (2013). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://bxr.su/f/share/man/man4/aacraid.4">"aacraid(4) — Adaptec AACRAID Controller driver"</a>. <i>BSD Cross Reference</i>. <a href="/wiki/FreeBSD" title="FreeBSD">FreeBSD</a>. <q>If the kernel is compiled with the COMPAT_LINUX option, or the aacraid_linux.ko and linux.ko modules are loaded...</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=BSD+Cross+Reference&rft.atitle=aacraid%284%29+%E2%80%94+Adaptec+AACRAID+Controller+driver&rft.date=2013&rft.au=Achim+Leubner&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fbxr.su%2Ff%2Fshare%2Fman%2Fman4%2Faacraid.4&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation book cs1">"aacraid -- Adaptec AACRAID Controller driver". <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://mdoc.su/f/aacraid.4"><i>FreeBSD Manual Pages</i></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=aacraid+--+Adaptec+AACRAID+Controller+driver&rft.btitle=FreeBSD+Manual+Pages&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fmdoc.su%2Ff%2Faacraid.4&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> </span></li> <li id="cite_note-bsdinterview-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-bsdinterview_14-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMatzan2005" class="citation web cs1">Matzan, Jem (15 June 2005). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060323022626/http://os.newsforge.com/os/05/06/09/2132233.shtml?tid=8&tid=2">"BSD cognoscenti on Linux"</a>. NewsForge. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://os.newsforge.com/os/05/06/09/2132233.shtml?tid=8&tid=2">the original</a> on 23 March 2006<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2006-07-07</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=BSD+cognoscenti+on+Linux&rft.pub=NewsForge&rft.date=2005-06-15&rft.aulast=Matzan&rft.aufirst=Jem&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fos.newsforge.com%2Fos%2F05%2F06%2F09%2F2132233.shtml%3Ftid%3D8%26tid%3D2&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span> See Christos Zoulas's response to "Is sharing between Free/Open/NetBSD and the Linux kernel a common occurrence? And if so, does it go both ways?"</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-f-sourceless-ucode-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-f-sourceless-ucode_15-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://bxr.su/f/tools/build/options/WITHOUT_SOURCELESS_UCODE">"build/options/WITHOUT_SOURCELESS_UCODE"</a>. <i>BSD Cross Reference</i>. <a href="/wiki/FreeBSD" title="FreeBSD">FreeBSD</a>. 2012-02-04.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=BSD+Cross+Reference&rft.atitle=build%2Foptions%2FWITHOUT_SOURCELESS_UCODE&rft.date=2012-02-04&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fbxr.su%2Ff%2Ftools%2Fbuild%2Foptions%2FWITHOUT_SOURCELESS_UCODE&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-lyrics-38-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-lyrics-38_16-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-lyrics-38_16-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.openbsd.org/lyrics.html#38">"3.8: "Hackers of the Lost RAID"<span class="cs1-kern-right"></span>"</a>. <i>OpenBSD Release Songs</i>. <a href="/wiki/OpenBSD" title="OpenBSD">OpenBSD</a>. 2005-11-01.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=OpenBSD+Release+Songs&rft.atitle=3.8%3A+%22Hackers+of+the+Lost+RAID%22&rft.date=2005-11-01&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.openbsd.org%2Flyrics.html%2338&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-deraadt_interview_200605-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-deraadt_interview_200605_17-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-deraadt_interview_200605_17-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFAndrews2006" class="citation cs2">Andrews, Jeremy (2006-05-02), <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060603230017/http://kerneltrap.org/node/6550">"Interview: Theo de Raadt"</a>, <i><a href="/wiki/KernelTrap" title="KernelTrap">KernelTrap</a></i>, Jeremy Andrews, archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://kerneltrap.org/node/6550">the original</a> on 2006-06-03</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=KernelTrap&rft.atitle=Interview%3A+Theo+de+Raadt&rft.date=2006-05-02&rft.aulast=Andrews&rft.aufirst=Jeremy&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fkerneltrap.org%2Fnode%2F6550&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.fsf.org/blogs/community/rms-ati-protest.html">"Protest against ATI nearly led to the arrest of RMS"</a>. Free Software Foundation. 27 April 2006<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-22">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGreg_Kroah-Hartman2008" class="citation web cs1"><a href="/wiki/Greg_Kroah-Hartman" title="Greg Kroah-Hartman">Greg Kroah-Hartman</a> (June 2008). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://lwn.net/Articles/287056/">"A position statement on Linux Kernel Modules"</a>. <a href="/wiki/The_Linux_Foundation" class="mw-redirect" title="The Linux Foundation">The Linux Foundation</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=A+position+statement+on+Linux+Kernel+Modules&rft.pub=The+Linux+Foundation&rft.date=2008-06&rft.au=Greg+Kroah-Hartman&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Flwn.net%2FArticles%2F287056%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-23">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGreg_Kroah-Hartman2006" class="citation web cs1"><a href="/wiki/Greg_Kroah-Hartman" title="Greg Kroah-Hartman">Greg Kroah-Hartman</a> (2006). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.kroah.com/log/linux/ols_2006_keynote.html">"Myths, Lies, and Truths about the Linux kernel"</a>. <a href="/wiki/Linux_Symposium" title="Linux Symposium">Linux Symposium</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Myths%2C+Lies%2C+and+Truths+about+the+Linux+kernel&rft.pub=Linux+Symposium&rft.date=2006&rft.au=Greg+Kroah-Hartman&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kroah.com%2Flog%2Flinux%2Fols_2006_keynote.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-gnu/free-sys-d-g--nonfree-fw-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-gnu/free-sys-d-g--nonfree-fw_24-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.gnu.org/distros/free-system-distribution-guidelines.html#nonfree-firmware">"Nonfree Firmware"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/GNU_Project#Free_System_Distribution_Guidelines_(GNU_FSDG)" title="GNU Project">GNU Project § Free System Distribution Guidelines (GNU FSDG)</a></i>. <a href="/wiki/Free_Software_Foundation" title="Free Software Foundation">Free Software Foundation</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=GNU+Project+%C2%A7+Free+System+Distribution+Guidelines+%28GNU+FSDG%29&rft.atitle=Nonfree+Firmware&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gnu.org%2Fdistros%2Ffree-system-distribution-guidelines.html%23nonfree-firmware&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-25">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.fsfla.org/ikiwiki/anuncio/2010-03-Linux-2.6.33-libre.en">"::[FSFLA]:: Take your freedom back, with Linux-2.6.33-libre"</a>. <i>fsfla.org</i>.</cite><span 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Architecture and Implementation in OpenBSD</i></a>. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070109032258/http://www.opencon.org/program.php">OpenCON 2006, 2–3 December 2006</a>. Courtyard Venice Airport, Venice/Tessera, Italy<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2019-03-27</span></span>. <q>drivers designed for binary only Linux RAID management tools</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=conference&rft.atitle=Page+26%3A+Only+open+for+business%3A+FreeBSD&rft.btitle=Driver+Architecture+and+Implementation+in+OpenBSD&rft.place=Courtyard+Venice+Airport%2C+Venice%2FTessera%2C+Italy&rft.date=2006-12-02&rft.au=Jonathan+Gray&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.openbsd.org%2Fpapers%2Fopencon06-drivers%2Fmgp00026.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-theo-misc-38-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-theo-misc-38_27-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFTheo_de_Raadt2005" class="citation mailinglist cs1"><a href="/wiki/Theo_de_Raadt" title="Theo de Raadt">Theo de Raadt</a> (2005-09-09). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-misc&m=112630095818062">"RAID management support coming in OpenBSD 3.8"</a>. <i>misc@</i> (Mailing list). <a href="/wiki/OpenBSD" title="OpenBSD">OpenBSD</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=RAID+management+support+coming+in+OpenBSD+3.8&rft.pub=OpenBSD&rft.date=2005-09-09&rft.au=Theo+de+Raadt&rft_id=%2F%2Fmarc.info%2F%3Fl%3Dopenbsd-misc%26m%3D112630095818062&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-kerneltrap/4118-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-kerneltrap/4118_28-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-kerneltrap/4118_28-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060620051155/http://kerneltrap.org/node/4118">"OpenBSD Works To Open Wireless Chipsets"</a>. KernelTrap. November 2, 2004. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://kerneltrap.org/node/4118">the original</a> on 2006-06-20<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2006-06-23</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=OpenBSD+Works+To+Open+Wireless+Chipsets&rft.pub=KernelTrap&rft.date=2004-11-02&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fkerneltrap.org%2Fnode%2F4118&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-29">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://openbsd.su/src/sys/dev/microcode/">"/sys/dev/microcode/"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/OpenBSD" title="OpenBSD">OpenBSD</a></i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=OpenBSD&rft.atitle=%2Fsys%2Fdev%2Fmicrocode%2F&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fopenbsd.su%2Fsrc%2Fsys%2Fdev%2Fmicrocode%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-o-ports-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-o-ports_30-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://openbsd.su/ports/sysutils/firmware">"sysutils/firmware"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/OpenBSD_ports" class="mw-redirect" title="OpenBSD ports">OpenBSD ports</a></i>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=OpenBSD+ports&rft.atitle=sysutils%2Ffirmware&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fopenbsd.su%2Fports%2Fsysutils%2Ffirmware&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Apress-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Apress_31-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Apress_31-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFVincent_ZimmerJiming_SunMarc_JonesStefan_Reinauer2015" class="citation book cs1">Vincent Zimmer; Jiming Sun; Marc Jones; Stefan Reinauer (2015). <i>Embedded Firmware Solutions: Development Best Practices for the Internet of Things</i>. Apress. p. 121. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781484200704" title="Special:BookSources/9781484200704"><bdi>9781484200704</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Embedded+Firmware+Solutions%3A+Development+Best+Practices+for+the+Internet+of+Things&rft.pages=121&rft.pub=Apress&rft.date=2015&rft.isbn=9781484200704&rft.au=Vincent+Zimmer&rft.au=Jiming+Sun&rft.au=Marc+Jones&rft.au=Stefan+Reinauer&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-32">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFVincent_ZimmerJiming_SunMarc_JonesStefan_Reinauer2015" class="citation book cs1">Vincent Zimmer; Jiming Sun; Marc Jones; Stefan Reinauer (2015). <i>Embedded Firmware Solutions: Development Best Practices for the Internet of Things</i>. Apress. p. 61. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781484200704" title="Special:BookSources/9781484200704"><bdi>9781484200704</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Embedded+Firmware+Solutions%3A+Development+Best+Practices+for+the+Internet+of+Things&rft.pages=61&rft.pub=Apress&rft.date=2015&rft.isbn=9781484200704&rft.au=Vincent+Zimmer&rft.au=Jiming+Sun&rft.au=Marc+Jones&rft.au=Stefan+Reinauer&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-33">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFVincent_ZimmerJiming_SunMarc_JonesStefan_Reinauer2015" class="citation book cs1">Vincent Zimmer; Jiming Sun; Marc Jones; Stefan Reinauer (2015). <i>Embedded Firmware Solutions: Development Best Practices for the Internet of Things</i>. Apress. p. 65. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781484200704" title="Special:BookSources/9781484200704"><bdi>9781484200704</bdi></a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Embedded+Firmware+Solutions%3A+Development+Best+Practices+for+the+Internet+of+Things&rft.pages=65&rft.pub=Apress&rft.date=2015&rft.isbn=9781484200704&rft.au=Vincent+Zimmer&rft.au=Jiming+Sun&rft.au=Marc+Jones&rft.au=Stefan+Reinauer&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-34">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.fsf.org/campaigns/free-bios.html">"Campaign for Free BIOS"</a>. Free Software Foundation. 2006-11-29<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2007-01-02</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Campaign+for+Free+BIOS&rft.pub=Free+Software+Foundation&rft.date=2006-11-29&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fsf.org%2Fcampaigns%2Ffree-bios.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Binary_blob&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1235681985">.mw-parser-output .side-box{margin:4px 0;box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #aaa;font-size:88%;line-height:1.25em;background-color:var(--background-color-interactive-subtle,#f8f9fa);display:flow-root}.mw-parser-output .side-box-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{padding:0.25em 0.9em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-image{padding:2px 0 2px 0.9em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-imageright{padding:2px 0.9em 2px 0;text-align:center}@media(min-width:500px){.mw-parser-output .side-box-flex{display:flex;align-items:center}.mw-parser-output .side-box-text{flex:1;min-width:0}}@media(min-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .side-box{width:238px}.mw-parser-output .side-box-right{clear:right;float:right;margin-left:1em}.mw-parser-output .side-box-left{margin-right:1em}}</style><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1237033735">@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox{display:none!important}}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sistersitebox img[src*="Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg"]{background-color:white}}</style><div class="side-box side-box-right plainlinks sistersitebox"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style> <div class="side-box-flex"> <div class="side-box-image"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/40px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png" decoding="async" width="40" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/60px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg/80px-Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="512" /></span></span></div> <div class="side-box-text plainlist">Look up <i><b><a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/blob" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:blob">blob</a></b></i> in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.</div></div> </div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMcMillan2006" class="citation web cs1">McMillan, Robert (June 21, 2006). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060702163150/http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/06/21/79536_HNwifibreach_1.html">"Researchers hack Wi-Fi driver to breach laptop"</a>. InfoWorld. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.infoworld.com/article/06/06/21/79536_HNwifibreach_1.html">the original</a> on July 2, 2006<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">2006-06-23</span></span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Researchers+hack+Wi-Fi+driver+to+breach+laptop&rft.pub=InfoWorld&rft.date=2006-06-21&rft.aulast=McMillan&rft.aufirst=Robert&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.infoworld.com%2Farticle%2F06%2F06%2F21%2F79536_HNwifibreach_1.html&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ABinary+blob" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060603230511/http://kerneltrap.org/node/6650">KernelTrap article</a> on Damien Bergamini's wpi(4) driver, a blobless ipw3945 alternative for OpenBSD</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20071211025952/http://kerneltrap.org/node/6497">KernelTrap interview</a> with Jonathan Gray and Damien Bergamini regarding binary blobs</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120305050514/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2006/08/the_macbook_wireless_exploit_i.html">The Black Hat Wireless Exploit Interview, Verbatim</a> by Brian Krebs on the Washington Post's website, archived on May 5, 2012</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://lwn.net/Articles/275638/">A creative example of the value of free drivers</a>, LWN.net</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output 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facilities</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Free_software" title="Free software">Free software</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_free_software_project_directories" title="List of free software project directories">Free software project directories</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gratis_versus_libre" title="Gratis versus libre">Gratis versus libre</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Long-term_support" title="Long-term support">Long-term support</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Open-source_software" title="Open-source software">Open-source software</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Open-source_software_development" title="Open-source software development">Open-source software development</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_free_software" title="Outline of free software">Outline</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_free_and_open-source_software" title="Timeline of free and open-source software">Timeline</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_free_and_open-source_software_packages" title="List of free and open-source software packages">Software<br />packages</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Comparison_of_free_software_for_audio" title="Comparison of free software for audio">Audio</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_open-source_bioinformatics_software" title="List of open-source bioinformatics software">Bioinformatics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_open-source_codecs" title="List of open-source codecs">Codecs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Comparison_of_open-source_configuration_management_software" title="Comparison of open-source configuration management software">Configuration management</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Device_driver" title="Device driver">Drivers</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Free_and_open-source_graphics_device_driver" title="Free and open-source graphics device driver">Graphics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Comparison_of_open-source_wireless_drivers" title="Comparison of open-source wireless drivers">Wireless</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_open-source_health_software" title="List of open-source health software">Health</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_open-source_software_for_mathematics" title="List of open-source software for mathematics">Mathematics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_office_suites" title="List of office suites">Office suites</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Comparison_of_open-source_operating_systems" title="Comparison of open-source operating systems">Operating systems</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_open-source_routing_platforms" title="List of open-source routing platforms">Routing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_free_television_software" title="List of free television software">Television</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_open-source_video_games" title="List of open-source video games">Video games</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_free_and_open-source_web_applications" title="List of free and open-source web applications">Web applications</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Comparison_of_shopping_cart_software" title="Comparison of shopping cart software">E-commerce</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_free_and_open-source_Android_applications" title="List of free and open-source Android applications">Android apps</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_free_and_open-source_iOS_applications" title="List of free and open-source iOS applications">iOS apps</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_commercial_open-source_applications_and_services" title="List of commercial open-source applications and services">Commercial</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_formerly_proprietary_software" title="List of formerly proprietary software">Formerly proprietary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_formerly_free_and_open-source_software" class="mw-redirect" title="List of formerly free and open-source software">Formerly open-source</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Community_of_practice" title="Community of practice">Community</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Free_software_movement" title="Free software movement">Free software movement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_free_and_open-source_software" title="History of free and open-source software">History</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Open-source-software_movement" title="Open-source-software movement">Open-source-software movement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_free-software_events" title="List of free-software events">Events</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Open-source_software_advocacy" title="Open-source software advocacy">Advocacy</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_free_and_open-source_software_organizations" title="List of free and open-source software organizations">Organisations</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Free_Software_Movement_of_India" title="Free Software Movement of India">Free Software Movement of India</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Free_Software_Foundation" title="Free Software Foundation">Free Software Foundation</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Free-software_license" title="Free-software license">Licenses</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Academic_Free_License" title="Academic Free License">AFL</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Apache_License" title="Apache License">Apache</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Apple_Public_Source_License" title="Apple Public Source License">APSL</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Artistic_License" title="Artistic License">Artistic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Beerware" title="Beerware">Beerware</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/BSD_licenses" title="BSD licenses">BSD</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Creative_Commons_license" title="Creative Commons license">Creative Commons</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Common_Development_and_Distribution_License" title="Common Development and Distribution License">CDDL</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Eclipse_Public_License" title="Eclipse Public License">EPL</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Free_Software_Foundation" title="Free Software Foundation">Free Software Foundation</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/GNU_General_Public_License" title="GNU General Public License">GNU GPL</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/GNU_Affero_General_Public_License" title="GNU Affero General Public License">GNU AGPL</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License" title="GNU Lesser General Public License">GNU LGPL</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/ISC_license" title="ISC license">ISC</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/MIT_License" title="MIT License">MIT</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mozilla_Public_License" title="Mozilla Public License">MPL</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Python_License" title="Python License">Python</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Python_Software_Foundation_License" title="Python Software Foundation License">Python Software Foundation License</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shared_Source_Initiative" title="Shared Source Initiative">Shared Source Initiative</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sleepycat_License" class="mw-redirect" title="Sleepycat License">Sleepycat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Unlicense" title="Unlicense">Unlicense</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/WTFPL" title="WTFPL">WTFPL</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zlib_License" title="Zlib License">zlib</a></li></ul> </div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th id="Types_and_standards" scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Types and<br /> standards</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Comparison_of_free_and_open-source_software_licenses" title="Comparison of free and open-source software licenses">Comparison of licenses</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Contributor_License_Agreement" title="Contributor License Agreement">Contributor License Agreement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Copyleft" title="Copyleft">Copyleft</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Debian_Free_Software_Guidelines" class="mw-redirect" title="Debian Free Software Guidelines">Debian Free Software Guidelines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Definition_of_Free_Cultural_Works" title="Definition of Free Cultural Works">Definition of Free Cultural Works</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Free_license" title="Free license">Free license</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Free_Software_Definition" title="The Free Software Definition">The Free Software Definition</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Open_Source_Definition" title="The Open Source Definition">The Open Source Definition</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Open-source_license" title="Open-source license">Open-source license</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Permissive_software_license" title="Permissive software license">Permissive software license</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Public_domain" title="Public domain">Public domain</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Challenges</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Digital_rights_management" title="Digital rights management">Digital rights management</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/License_proliferation" title="License proliferation">License 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