[OT] Browsing the internet... It is safer from Linux?

Peter Alcibiades palcibiades-first at yahoo.co.uk
Sun Oct 31 15:28:15 EDT 2010


Yes, it was the annual hackfests.  I only know two people with OSX, and
neither one has been compromised.  Whether the Unix underpinnings make OSX
more secure?  I think the hacks, but maybe others recall better, were due to
applications and privilege escalation.  

I am really not sure what to conclude about real world safety.  If you set
up all three systems the same way, with the same basic precautions, would
there be any significant differences in security?   Don't know.  I do know
that I have had two people recently, one with 7 and one with XP, ask me for
help with compromised systems.  I refuse to try to disinfect now, so one who
did not want to risk it again got Mandriva, with which he is very happy, in
fact, despite my efforts to explain, I suspect he may think its Windows 8 or
9, and the other got an OEM copy of 7, and we will be doing a reformat and
reinstall shortly. 

I do think there is a very different attitude on the part of developers. 
Linux, you see it in everything, is completely paranoid about security.  I
recall years ago when the kde dialer went to enormous lengths to take root
privileges for the shortest possible and most limited time.  Apple I think
is quite casual because of years of low risk.  Windows seems to have this
strange mixture of not taking the most basic precautions, and then layering
on all kinds of stuff to protect it.

I have never heard of a non-server compromised Linux install.
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