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July 3, 2008 7:06 AM PDT

Google opens-up Ratproxy code

by Matt Asay

Perhaps Viacom should have just asked nicely for Google's YouTube code.

This week, a federal judge denied Viacom's demand that Google turn over its YouTube source code, arguing that "YouTube and Google should not be made to place this vital asset in hazard merely to allay speculation."

Ironically, on that same day, Google freely open-sourced Ratproxy, a passive Web application security audit tool developed for Google's internal use and now made generally available.

Google's Michael Zalewski writes:

We decided to make this tool freely available as open source because we feel it will be a valuable contribution to the information security community, helping advance the community's understanding of security challenges associated with contemporary Web technologies. We believe that responsible security research brings a net overall benefit to the safety of the Web as a whole, and have released this tool explicitly to support that kind of research.

You just had to say "Pretty please," Viacom. Google has been increasingly open to open source. It just doesn't want to be sued into contributing its code.

Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to The Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. You can follow Matt on Twitter @mjasay.
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by h3h July 3, 2008 9:32 AM PDT
If the two subjects in this post were any more unrelated or if it were possible for you to be any more clueless, the universe would implode.

Do not write tech stories when you know nothing about tech. It's embarrassing for your organization.
Reply to this comment
by mvpcarl July 3, 2008 10:35 AM PDT
yah - he's a moron... most 2nd graders could write blogs that read better than his
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by Matt Asay July 3, 2008 12:04 PM PDT
Unfortunately, you don't appear to be one of them, but I loved your Monkeys video on YouTube. Very funny.
by gerrrg July 3, 2008 11:16 AM PDT
Flaming. It's what's for dinner.
Reply to this comment
by Matt Asay July 3, 2008 11:57 AM PDT
For those who missed the humor in my post...please try again. And for mvpcarl, can you point me to your blog? I'd like to ask my 2nd grader to read it.
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About The Open Road

Matt Asay brings a decade of in-the-trenches open-source business and legal experience to the Open Road, with an emphasis on emerging open-source business strategies and opportunities. Matt is general manager of the Americas division and vice president of business development at Alfresco, a company that develops open-source software for content management. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.

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