Mary Jo Cooper wrote:
Your web site was brought to my attention as I lost Microsoft Office when my
computer crashed. I use spread sheets and write letters. Some are attached to
e-mails.
How private is this? When I down load this, will you then be able to search through my computer? Do I have to be on a mailing list? Do I have to pay you back (besides 'spreading the word' about you if I am satisfied with your product)? Will I now be allowing pop-ups and spam? By using your product, what is my actual contract with you and do I have a choice of how to 'pay' you or 'pay' you at all? By downloading your product, will I have privacy for the work I do while using it?
Hi Mary Jo,
OpenOffice.org is free software. The only string attached to it is that
you cannot distribute in a less liberal way than you received it. This
means you can give it away or even sell it, but you can't prohibit your
customer from giving it away or selling it. You have complete privacy
while using the software. The software will work whether a connection to
the internet is present or not. No data is sent anywhere by the program
while you are using it. After the first installation there is a
possibility to register your copy. It's your choice whether you want to
do so or whether you want to skip that step. The software will work just
the same, either way.
You don't have to pay anyone at all, if you have a broadband internet
connection and you can download OOo by yourself. (You do have to pay
your internet provider of course...). There are distributors, who will
provide CD-ROMs for people who don't have broadband.
You will always be entitled to use OOo for any use whatsoever. Nobody
will be able to search through your computer, you don't HAVE TO be
subscribed to a mailing list, although it might help to solve problems
if you happen to have some. OOo doesn't come with pop up advertising nor
spam. If you happen to want to pay, you can either donate, translate the
program or documentation, create templates, review documentation
(OOoAuthors) but none of these things is required. Everybody is happy if
you are simply using the software. And if you like it, you can spread
the word, but even that is not a requirement.
Once you send your documents through email unencrypted, your documents
are on the loose of course. Email is not a medium that gives any
guarantees about privacy. To put an 'envelope' around your mails you
need to encrypt them. Check out PGP (Pretty good privacy).
If you are concerned about spyware, use Hitman Pro2 to have your PC
cleaned up. This program downloads and installs a bunch of Spyware
killers, updates them and has them scan your computer. At the end it
presents you with a report of what it found. Run it once a week and your
computer stays clean.
If you want less spam, use Mozilla Thunderbird, another free software
product that replaces Outlook Express. It allows you to mark spam mails
and have them sorted in a separate folder. The next time a mail comes in
with similar word usage, this will be sorted in the junk mail folder
automatically. It takes a good week of intensive training and from then
on some occasional training on the spam mails that slipped through.
Thunderbird can be combined with PGP if you want more privacy. Just like
OOo it's also available for Linux if you would want to migrate away from
the source of spyware and viruses (Windows) one day. So you won't have
to learn how to use new software if you are ready to make the big
leap... I'm just saying this to show that it's really a good idea to
start using OpenOffice.org and other free software. Especially if you
care about your privacy.
Those last two tips don't have anything to do with OpenOffice.org, but I
think it's interesting to know.
Kind regards,
Jo
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
