Ubuntu Boot Up Logo: re malware

[Iosif Chatzimichail]

Peter Garrett wrote:

>On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 14:03:35 +0300
>Iosif Chatzimichail <afonic at altecnet.gr> wrote:
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>>john levin wrote:
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>>I don't think you understand. If tomorrow ALL windows users started 
>>using Linux in 6 months Linux would be FULL of viruses, spyware and 
>>security problems. 
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>I think this is one of the more common misconceptions. It would be *much* more difficult to have Linux machines infested with the problems you cite, because Linux is designed intelligently for networking from the ground up. Windows effectively runs by default as root, unless configured specially by someone knowledgeable, and MS were late to the networking party - jumping on the internet bandwagon before the OS was even remotely ready. 
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>Linux and other *nix operating systems don't run by default as root. You might notice that Mac OS-X also is pretty much immune from most problems for similar reasons - it is built on a BSD base.
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>Writing effective malware for *nix is not trivial; writing it for Windows, by comparison, is much easier. Even "script kiddies" can do nasty things with it. This doesn't mean we should be smug - but the idea that it is only the size of the user base that stops Linux being infested is, simply, wrong.
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>Another example: though about two-thirds of the web servers on the net are Apache running on *nix, Microsoft IIS has a far worse record for security.
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>Peter
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Linux is also open-source and has many known bugs that wait days to be 
fixed. Don't get me wrong. Of course I know all the reasons Linux is 
superior as an OS and I have explained it to others many times. However 
I am realistic and I know that if this hypothetic scenario comes true, 
people will find ways to get software like these in our PCs. You see 
most problems are created by the end user. Easily someone can be fooled 
and install something he doesn't want in his PC. As easy as windows. 
What is not the same is programs that try to get in the system in the 
"background". People that like wasting their time writing viruses or 
spyware target windows because it's installed in 90% of the PC. If linux 
was there it would be targeted as well.
MacOSX is based on BSD but people found a way to full the user and 
display ads on the desktop using widgets. So you understand, you can do 
your homework, make a great OS, but still if the end user is not careful 
enough you'll still have trouble.

So generally I agree:
"the idea that it is only the size of the user base that stops Linux 
being infested is, simply, wrong."
Sure this idea is wrong. But the size of the user base, plays an 
important role, much more important that most Linux users want to agree.

So basically what I was trying to say is that Linux is more secure, but 
we have to keep it that way.

afonic