Advantages and disadvantages of Open Source Software

Discover the main advantages and disadvantages of free software is any software whose source code can be freely studied, modified and used for any purpose. It can also be freely copied and redistributed with or without changes.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Free Software

Advantages and Disadvantages of Free Software

The founder of the concept of free software was Richard Stallman, in the mid-1980s, since then different types of open source programs and applications have been developed.

They are becoming more and more widely used as it allows to use this type of programs for any work without having to communicate it to the developer. In the following article we are going to show a series of advantages and disadvantages of this type of software.

Advantages of free software:

  • Community work. Being free allows different users to apply improvements to the program.
  • Independence. Both with the supplier and market conditions.
  • Easy access by the public and private sector. Appears in the first entries of any search engine. It is usually adapted for different operating systems.
  • More security and privacy in the data. Decreases the risk of leakage, increases the impossibility of access and manipulation of data. Hackers do not usually attack free programs.
  • Customizable. It has many customization options for the user to tailor the system or program to his or her liking.

Disadvantages of free software:

  • Difficult use. The user who has only worked with Windows may find it confusing. In addition, installation and configuration tend to cost more time.
  • Previous programming skills Programming skills are usually required to customize or modify free software.
  • No emergency technical service. In case of a sudden crash of a free operating system the user will have to wait for the problem to be solved by other more experienced users. This point generates a lot of distrust among companies.
  • Few innovations. These are programs used by few users, in addition there is not a great variety, therefore updates and improvements tend to take longer.