<s>
Linux-libre	B-Application
is	O
a	O
modified	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
that	O
contains	O
no	O
binary	O
blobs	O
,	O
obfuscated	O
code	O
,	O
or	O
code	O
released	O
under	O
proprietary	B-Application
licenses	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
,	O
they	O
are	O
mostly	O
used	O
for	O
proprietary	B-Application
firmware	B-Application
images	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
GNU	I-Application
Project	I-Application
keeps	O
Linux-libre	B-Application
in	O
synchronization	O
with	O
the	O
mainline	B-Application
Linux	I-Application
kernel	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
started	O
to	O
include	O
binary	O
blobs	O
in	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
work	O
to	O
clear	O
out	O
the	O
binary	O
blobs	O
began	O
in	O
2006	O
with	O
gNewSense	O
's	O
find-firmware	O
and	O
gen-kernel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
work	O
was	O
taken	O
further	O
by	O
the	O
BLAG	O
Linux	B-Application
distribution	O
in	O
2007	O
when	O
deblob	O
and	O
Linux-libre	B-Application
was	O
born	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux-libre	B-Application
was	O
first	O
released	O
by	O
the	B-Operating_System
Free	I-Operating_System
Software	I-Operating_System
Foundation	I-Operating_System
Latin	O
America	O
(	O
FSFLA	B-Application
)	O
,	O
then	O
endorsed	O
by	O
the	B-Operating_System
Free	I-Operating_System
Software	I-Operating_System
Foundation	I-Operating_System
(	O
FSF	O
)	O
as	O
a	O
valuable	O
component	O
for	O
the	O
totally	O
free	O
Linux	B-Application
distributions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
removal	O
process	O
is	O
achieved	O
by	O
using	O
a	O
script	B-Language
called	O
deblob-main	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
script	B-Language
is	O
inspired	O
by	O
the	O
one	O
used	O
for	O
gNewSense	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Jeff	O
Moe	O
made	O
subsequent	O
modifications	O
to	O
meet	O
certain	O
requirements	O
for	O
its	O
use	O
with	O
the	O
BLAG	O
Linux	B-Application
and	O
GNU	O
distribution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
is	O
another	O
script	B-Language
called	O
deblob-check	O
,	O
which	O
is	O
used	O
to	O
check	O
if	O
a	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
source	O
file	O
,	O
a	O
patch	O
or	O
a	O
compressed	O
sources	O
file	O
still	O
contains	O
software	O
which	O
is	O
suspected	O
of	O
being	O
proprietary	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Aside	O
from	O
the	O
primary	O
intended	O
effect	O
of	O
running	O
a	O
system	O
with	O
only	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
the	O
practical	O
consequences	O
of	O
removing	O
device	O
firmware	B-Application
that	O
a	O
user	O
is	O
not	O
allowed	O
to	O
study	O
or	O
modify	O
has	O
both	O
positive	O
and	O
negative	O
effects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Removal	O
of	O
device	O
firmware	B-Application
can	O
be	O
considered	O
an	O
advantage	O
for	O
security	O
and	O
stability	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
firmware	B-Application
cannot	O
be	O
audited	O
for	O
bugs	O
,	O
for	O
security	O
problems	O
,	O
and	O
for	O
malicious	O
operations	O
such	O
as	O
backdoors	O
,	O
or	O
when	O
the	O
firmware	B-Application
cannot	O
be	O
fixed	O
by	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
maintainers	O
themselves	O
,	O
even	O
if	O
they	O
know	O
of	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
possible	O
for	O
the	O
entire	O
system	O
to	O
be	O
compromised	O
by	O
a	O
malicious	O
firmware	B-Application
,	O
and	O
without	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
perform	O
a	O
security	O
audit	O
on	O
manufacturer-provided	O
firmware	B-Application
,	O
even	O
an	O
innocent	O
bug	O
could	O
undermine	O
the	O
safety	O
of	O
the	O
running	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Removing	O
proprietary	B-Application
firmware	B-Application
from	O
the	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
will	O
cause	O
loss	O
of	O
functionality	O
of	O
certain	O
hardware	O
that	O
does	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
replacement	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
affects	O
certain	O
sound	B-Device
,	O
video	B-Device
,	O
TV	B-Device
tuner	I-Device
,	O
and	O
network	B-Protocol
cards	I-Protocol
,	O
especially	O
in	O
the	O
case	O
of	O
recent	O
Intel	O
Wi-Fi	O
cards	O
and	O
recent	O
nVidia	O
graphics	B-Device
cards	I-Device
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
some	O
other	O
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
possible	O
,	O
free	B-Application
software	I-Application
replacement	O
firmware	B-Application
is	O
provided	O
as	O
a	O
substitute	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
openfwwf	O
for	O
b43	O
,	O
carl9170	O
and	O
ath9k_htc	O
wireless	B-Device
card	I-Device
drivers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reviewer	O
Ramces	O
Red	O
summarized	O
the	O
issue	O
with	O
Linux-Libre	B-Application
,	O
writing	O
,	O
"	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
always	O
have	O
the	O
best	O
hardware	O
support.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Linux-libre	B-Application
does	O
not	O
suggest	O
the	O
user	O
install	O
CPU	O
microcode	B-Device
update	O
bundles	O
,	O
since	O
the	O
code	O
is	O
proprietary	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microcode	B-Device
update	O
bundles	O
have	O
been	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
version	O
,	O
among	O
other	O
things	O
,	O
to	O
mitigate	O
hardware	O
vulnerabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
source	O
code	O
and	O
precompiled	B-Language
packages	O
of	O
the	O
deblobbed	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
are	O
available	O
directly	O
from	O
the	O
distributions	O
which	O
use	O
the	O
Linux-libre	B-Application
scripts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Freed-ora	O
is	O
a	O
subproject	O
which	O
prepares	O
and	O
maintains	O
RPM	B-Application
packages	I-Application
based	O
on	O
Fedora	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
also	O
precompiled	B-Language
packages	O
for	O
Debian	O
and	O
derived	O
distributions	O
such	O
as	O
Ubuntu	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
distros	O
do	O
not	O
use	O
the	O
packaged	O
Linux-libre	B-Application
but	O
instead	O
completely	O
remove	O
binary	O
blobs	O
from	O
the	O
mainline	B-Application
Linux	I-Application
kernel	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
source	O
is	O
then	O
compiled	B-Language
and	O
the	O
resulting	O
free	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
is	O
used	O
by	O
default	O
in	O
these	O
systems	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Trisquel	B-Application
(	O
The	O
Linux-libre	B-Application
deblob	O
script	B-Language
is	O
used	O
during	O
its	O
development	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Distributions	O
in	O
which	O
Linux	B-Application
is	O
the	O
default	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
used	O
and	O
which	O
propose	O
Linux-libre	B-Application
as	O
an	O
alternative	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
:	O
</s>
