ibi wrote:
> When Netscape is run under Linux is it subject to the same security
> issues cause by M$?
>
> Pj
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Short Answer: No
Longer Answer: MS applications (specifically designed by MS for their
operating system to which only they have the code) run "more
efficiently" (i. e. crash less and work faster) than competing products
because they take pathways to the core of the operating system (Yep,
some middleware APIs talk directly to the kernel. These are the
superhighways the exploits race along.)
The problem with Win9x probably cannot be fixed without a fresh start.
There are millions of lines of code which depend on bolt-on security and
set up exploit expressways. Win NT is about as secure as a very
immature Unix, but becomes less so when you add MS applications which
DEPEND on access to the kernel. As I mentioned before, 90% or so of the
NT servers running IIS are open to arbitrary break-ins which can be set
to leave no trace in the logs, or can be crashed by a few lines of Perl
code.
So the progression was
Single-User Op system (security nonexistent or afterthought) Generates
Proprietary Applications which have their own
APIs (Application programming interfaces) that depend on access to the
op system core
And the applications affect a second, multi-user system designed with
security a little more in mind (NT)
AS WELL AS OTHER SYSTEMS (there are a slew of exploits available for
Apache running FRONTPAGE extensions)
The result? If security is a real concern, stay away from windows9x and
stay away from Microsoft Applications.
Netscape does appear to work more slowly in linux than in Windows, and
part of that may be the walls between the application program and the
kernel, but I have also found that there is a method of making the
performance abvout equal (at least on dial-ups). For information on
that, go to
http://www.best.com/~cae/irqtune/
Is it really Microsoft sucks, linux rocks for security? It appears to
be. This is a sad situation for all the windows users. Stealing credit
card numbers from Cybercash, or gathering a list of names of people who
have bought sex toys from IIS seems to be laughably easy. Who knows
what uses will be made of such information? Let's hope it isn't
political.
Civileme
