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I've always used backtrack for security assessments, it's a great toolbox. The thing is since it's a toolbox to exploit things, have their been any reports of "bundled" spyware in standard backtrack installs? Have their been reports of backtrack phoning home?

I'm not looking for a debate, just facts.

Lucas Kauffman
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I have been using Backtrack for 2 years and I have heard no news of any spyware or 'phoning home'.

Also, have you seen the photos of the NSA using Backtrack?

Metasploit and w3af actively work with the curators of Backtrack, which shows some level of confidence in the distribution.

Also, with the number of people running packet sniffers attached to Backtrack as part of their penetration testing, any anomaly would show up immediately.

Because everything in Backtrack is open source, every package added to the distribution is verified before release. You can even check things out yourself.

Does this help?

schroeder
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  • The problem with Linus' Law is that very few have interest in taking advantage of that, and those that do usually aren't qualified to do so. – AviD Jan 02 '14 at 21:48
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    @AviD agreed, but in this case, it isn't simply bugs, but behavior. Compromising Backtrack at the source is like trying to scratch the lens of a microscope and hoping that the technicians don't notice. – schroeder Jan 04 '14 at 19:37