Hello,
Overall, this is a very good article. However, there is one gaping
flaw: "If more people used Linux and/or Mac OS X, more attackers
would exploit the vulnerabilities of these systems."
While I can't speak for Apple, I *can* categorically state that it
will be a cold day in hell before someone running Linux/*BSD/Unix
is hit by an email virus.
Why?
Those who write email programs for *ix know better than to make
their apps run the class of scripts that cause so many problems in
Windows. (Why do they know better? If for no other reason than
they see the havoc caused by Outlook/OE/Exchange viruses.)
Even if a *ix virus *were* to escape into the wild, the amount of
harm it could do (even if it tried to delete all files, or infect
other files) would be minimized, because only brain-dead *ix users
run as root/superuser/administrator, and file protections limit
the harm to files owned by the user who runs the infected program.
On the other hand, it's almost impossible to survive as a home user
of Windows without granting yourself Administrator privileges. That,
of course, opens you up to all sorts of C:\WINNT infections.
No, I am not saying that *ix is perfect. Worms and warm bodies can
and do attack buggy *ix "services". But then, they do that on
Windows also.
Bottom line: *ix is more secure because there are fewer vectors of
attack available to The Bad Guys than there are in Windows.
Sincerely,
Ron
-- ----------------------------------------------------------------- Ron Johnson, Jr. ron.l.johnson@cox.net Jefferson, LA USA Some former UNSCOM officials are alarmed, however. Terry Taylor, a British senior UNSCOM inspector from 1993 to 1997, says the figure of 95 percent disarmament is "complete nonsense because inspectors never learned what 100 percent was. UNSCOM found a great deal and destroyed a great deal, but we knew [Iraq's] work was continuing while we were there, and I'm sure it continues," says Mr. Taylor, now head of the Washington http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0829/p01s03-wosc.html ___________________ Nolug mailing list nolug@nolug.orgReceived on 09/08/03
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