14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has become the top donor of the year for the OpenBSD Foundation, after it contributed to the OpenSSH project with an undisclosed amount of money, thus becoming a Gold level contributor.
Although neither the OpenBSD Foundation nor Microsoft has revealed how much money was donated, to become a gold-level contributor, companies must give away between $25,000 and $50,000, while those donating more money can achieve the Platinum rank. The Iridium level, which is the ultimate achievement you can achieve with a donation to the OpenBSD Foundation, requires at least $100,000.
Microsoft is one of the main supporters of the OpenSSH project, which is developed by the OpenBSD community and was adopted for Windows PowerShell earlier this year.
Many believe that, despite its contribution and efforts to offer OpenSSH support natively in Windows 10, the company is still behind its rivals, who are offering better implementations, including Unix-based operating systems.
Many have until now relied on PuTTY for this functionality in Windows, but Microsoft tries to make Windows 10 the better choice for remote access and administration without the need for third-party software applications.
Top 2015 donor
And obviously, giving away around $50,000 is not such a big deal for Microsoft, despite the difficult times that the company is going through these days.
“The OpenBSD Foundation is happy to announce that Microsoft has made a significant financial donation to the Foundation. This donation is in recognition of the role of the Foundation in supporting the OpenSSH project. This donation makes Microsoft the first Gold level contributor in the OpenBSD Foundation's 2015 fundraising campaign,” an announcement made by the OpenBSD Foundation reads.
Redmond is yet to provide us with a statement on its donation, so we’ve reached out to the company for more information and will update the article, should we receive an answer.