[Tech] Forse la 'fuga di codice' Microsoft si e' originata in casa Mainsoft

Quello di BetaNews potrebbe essere un autentico scoop, oppure solo la classica "bufala" fatta circolare ad arte.



Mainsoft è un partner di vecchia data dell'azienda di Bill Gates:

Prior to Microsoft's Shared Source Initiative launched in 2001, Mainsoft, which calls itself "the software porting company," was one of only two partners with access to the Windows source code under Microsoft's Windows Interface Source Environment (WISE) program.



The goal of WISE is to enable developers to write applications using Windows APIs and deploy them on Unix operating systems such as Linux.



Mainsoft extended its WISE agreement with Microsoft in March 2000 to include access to the Windows 2000 source. Microsoft subsequently employed Mainsoft to port Windows Media Player 6.3 and Internet Explorer to Unix.

Secondo BetaNews il codice "leaked" dai computer della Mainsoft è contenuto in 30.915 file, apparentemente tutti relativi a Windows 2000 (Service Pack 1), e risalenti al luglio del 2000.

Analysis indicates files within the leaked archive are only a subset of the Windows source code, which was licensed to Mainsoft for use in the company's MainWin product. MainWin utilizes the source to create native Unix versions of Windows applications.



Mainsoft says it has incorporated millions of lines of untouched Windows code into MainWin.



Clues to the source code's origin lie in a "core dump" file, which is left by the Linux operating system to record the memory a program is using when it crashes. Further investigation by BetaNews revealed the machine was likely used by Mainsoft's Director of Technology, Eyal Alaluf.



References to MainWin can also be found throughout the leaked source files, which do not compile into a usable form of Windows.

La conclusione di BetaNews è relativamente ottimistica:

Although the leak poses a serious threat to Microsoft's intellectual property, its limited scope is sure to help the company alleviate fears of potential disaster. Microsoft has opened an investigation with the FBI and says its internal security in Redmond was not affected.



Because Mainsoft used only select portions of the Windows source for MainWin, Microsoft may find itself more worried about the egg on its face than possible exposure of its flagship operating system; Windows 2000 served as the foundation for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003.

Non è ancora dato sapere se lo scoop di BetaNews sia veramente tale: finora non sono circolate infatti conferme di terze parti, possibilmente non strettamente coinvolte con Microsoft.



Fonte: BetaNews.