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Re: [News] NYT Security Tip - Choose Non-Microsoft Products

__/ [ [H]omer ] on Monday 08 January 2007 03:50 \__

> Even the New York times advises against Microsoft software:
> 
> ,----[ Quote ]
> | Tips for Protecting the Home Computer
> |
> | By JOHN MARKOFF
> | Published: January 7, 2007
> |
> | Botnet programs and other malicious software largely take aim at PCs
> | running the Microsoft Windows operating system, because Windows?
> | ubiquity makes it fertile ground for network-based attacks.
> |
> | Using a non-Windows-based PC may be one defense against these
> | ^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^
> | programs, known as malware
> |
> | [...]
> |
> | Like Windows, Microsoft?s Internet Explorer browser is also a
> | large, convenient target for code-writing vandals. Alternative
> | browsers, like Firefox and Opera, may insulate users.
> |                ^^^^^^^            ^^^ ^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^
> | [...]
> |
> | Adding software to your browser like Noscript, a plug-in utility,
> | can limit the ability of remote programs to run potentially damaging
> | programs on your PC.
> `----
> 
>   - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/technology/07tips.html
> 
> However, the author uses "ubiquity" as an excuse, rather than
> admitting the possibility of sloppy code.

Security due to obscurity in the context of Windows is a myth that was long
ago debunked.


Linux Security: A Big Edge Over Windows

,----[ Quote ]
| Linux is better at locking down a computer than Windows. The Linux OS
| uses configuration settings and user permissions to a much more
| efficient degree than the Windows administrator account. To do
| this, non-enterprise users should seek help from third-party
| security suites that serve as configuration managers, James
| Bottomley, chief technology officer of SteelEye Technology said.
`----

http://www.linuxinsider.com/rsstory/54742.html


Security Report: Windows vs Linux

,----[Executive summary ]
| Finally, we also include a brief overview of relevant conceptual
| differences between Windows and Linux, to offer an insight into why
| Windows tends to be more vulnerable to attacks at both server and desktop,
| and why Linux is inherently more secure
`----

http://www.theregister.co.uk/security/security_report_windows_vs_linux/


Microsoft Windows: Insecure by Design

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A34978-2003Aug23?language=printer


If Only We Knew Then What We Know Now About Windows XP

,----[ Quote ]
| You can think of Windows XP as a house with a second floor built of
| spackle, wood filler and duct tape.
`----

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/23/AR2006092300510.html?nav=rss_technology


Why Windows is a security nightmare.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/05/21/1085120110704.html


The Structural Failures of Windows

http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=15305


Among many more you could find... even Borg Gates was envious of the UNIX
structure and tried to imitate it.

NT influenced by Unix

,----[ Quote ]
| (Gates:) "And through Windows NT, you can see it throughout the design.
| In a weak sense, it is a form of Unix. There are so many of the
| design decisions that have been influenced by that environment. And
| that's no accident."
| 
| In light of the recent saber rattling about Linux and patents, the "There 
| are so many of the design decisions that have been influenced by that 
| environment" sentence is particularly interesting if these patent
| threats include things that are prior Unix art. "In a weak sense, it
| is a form of Unix" is also telling. I said before that I don't think
| that's the case; I think the patent stuff is talking about things like
| Samba and Mono, but even there the "influenced by that environment"
| could be important in the court of public opinion if not in actual
| law.
`----

http://aplawrence.com/Unixart/gates_quote.html


-- 
                        ~~ Best wishes for the new year!

Roy S. Schestowitz      | if ("if"=inv("fi")) print("foo/bar")
http://Schestowitz.com  | Free as in Free Beer ¦  PGP-Key: 0x74572E8E
Cpu(s):  21.6% user,   3.0% system,   1.0% nice,  74.3% idle
      http://iuron.com - semantic engine to gather information

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