free vs proprietary

Free software and transparency are not enough

Democracy relies on the trust of the voters and the transparency of the vote. It is hard to argue that closed source code provides any guarantees beyond the say-so of the manufacturers. The one thing we can know is that computer systems are fallible, and no system is fault proof.

Open Source Vs. Windows: Security Debate Rages

http://www.linuxworld.com.au –

The regularity with which Microsoft has taken to announcing vulnerabilities and consequent software fixes has left few cheering about its security. In contrast, high expectations endure for open source, with proponents arguing that it's inherently more secure because a much larger set of developers can read the code, vet it and correct problems.