Sorry, but modern browsers don't really address that. The problem with the browser warnings is their definition of insecure. You only get warnings if there is something wrong with an encrypted https site like an invalid certificate. Using an unencrypted site is NOT seen as insecure as it would annoy users during most of their normal browsing sessions. The Blackhat presentation about sslstrip from Moxie explains very clearly what the problems are. You can view it at http://www.thoughtcrime.org/so...
Well, I live in Europe and have been to the US. And the waiters in Paris pale in comparison to some waiters in Florida
I don't think the primary motivation for massive surveillance and such things is fear. In my opinion it is about control and power. Being able to silence any opposition before it gets organized and knowing in advance which groups dissent is growing gives you the power to stay in control longer. Fear is only used to gain acceptance of the public: think of the terrorists etc.
But that depends on other parties with the will and capabilities to support the framework having an interest. Being open source definitely is an advantage but by no means a guarantee a project will survive. Sturgeon's law applies to open source software just the same as to proprietary software.
The request of the submitter for a fail-safe set of axioms can never be answered. With fail-safe systems tending to fail by failing to fail safe. But with common sense a few indicators of long term viability are easy to give:
1) Who controls the software ?
If it is a single party chances are good it will be abandoned at some point in the not so distant future. Open Source can help with this point but as said earlier it is no guarantee. There are many open source projects which are for all practical purposes developed by a single company. These projects are just as likely to be abandoned as commercial software.
2) Who uses the software ?
The more people use the software the less likely it is it will be abandoned. For commercial proprietary software a big user base means income and companies are not in the habit of slaying the goose that lays the golden eggs. For open source software it means there is a bigger potential pool of contributors to continue development if a main developer exits the project.
3) How long has the software existed ?
New software is continuously written and released. Again according to Sturgeon's law 90% will be crap. It will take a little while before the writers realizes their software belongs to this majority and stop supporting it. The longer software has been actively developed the less likely it is to be crap and discontinued.
4) What was the motivation for creating the software ?
If the motivation is a specific goal other than meeting the needs of the users expect the software to be abandoned if it becomes clear that the goal is unrealistic. If the goal is met the software might be continued. Think about lock-in strategies and subverting standards in this regard.
The choice for Adobe Flex had issues in at least point 1, 2 and 3.
"If I do not want others to quote me, I do not speak." -- Phil Wayne