Question Regarding Ubuntu Linux Security vis-a-vis other O.S.s

[Matt Burkhardt]

I think it's very interesting that both links in that posting are
invalid.  Microsoft often pays people to post in blogs promoting their
software - sometimes those people think misinformation is the same.

On Sat, 2009-08-29 at 17:00 -0400, Craig Younkins wrote:
> >
> > "The very first computer worm affected Unix exclusively, and Linux machines
> > are particularly easy to penetrate -- MUCH easier than Vista boxes -- when
> > you know how to do it - especially since its all open source code which
> > makes it easier to hack!"
> 
> 
> Short answer: No, you don't have much to worry about.
> 
> What type of attack?
> - Network based attack: Ubuntu ships with no open ports, unlike Windows. How
> do you attack a machine without any open ports?
> - Browser based attack: First, there must be an exploit in the browser, so
> it depends on the browser. Firefox is a lot more secure than IE. After
> exploitation of the browser, the attacker has privileges of the running
> user, bringing me to...
> - Any attack: To do something serious on a *nix machine, you need root
> access. To sudo, this requires the user's password. On XP, the default user
> is administrator, who can do serious damage to the system.
> 
> As for the "open source" comment - this guy seems to think that you can hack
> anything where the source code is known. Of course, this is completely
> false. The most secure systems are open so that many people can *try* and
> break it. Researchers analyze open security systems to find bugs and
> possible, even theoretical exploits. There are many many bugs in
> closed-source software.
> 
> Consider this - In closed-source software, there is very little
> incentive/motivation to close security holes. Who's gonna know?
> 
> --
> 
> Craig Younkins
> Mobile: (301) 520-0463
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> 
> 
> On Sat, Aug 29, 2009 at 4:26 PM, Nathan Bahn <nathan.bahn at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > Attention all--
> > In this forum<
> > http://voices.washingtonpost.com/securityfix/2009/08/snow_leopards_anti-malware_fea.html?hpid=news-col-blog
> > >a
> > user states that, "Linux machines are particularly easy to
> > penetrate...."
> > How concerned should I be about Linux malware?
> > --N.B.
> > --
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> >