Whats to stop M$ from stealing code from the Linux community's open source material and re-engineering it, putting it into their products, encrypting it, under their closed-source copyright protection? I mean at the same time M$ can't sue a Linux body for infrignment, Linux has no one to sue M$ for the same violations, right?

I mean either M$ does not use Linux code, or they would have made their improvements to it public. Which I don't think has evr happened. Yet I see so many things in Windows XP for example that seem very much rip offs of Linux.

Can anyone help clarify?

GPL might be free, but it is still a very powerful legal document. There is always someone who would take a stand.

and of course this has absolutely nothing to do with security at all. please choose your forums more carefully next time.

I don't know for sure, but considering all the allegations that m$ has done just what you say, with proprietary *closed* technology, it seems rather possible (probable?) that they would do at least as much with open software.

maybe there are grounds, using the GPL and the source distribution requirements - problem is you'd need legal action to get ahold of the code, and then examine it - and who has the $$ to fight m$ lawyers? nobody connected with the GPL, for sure. the government has the resources, but m$ has gotten a free pass from the bush admin.