John Francis wrote:
Thats right, viruses and spyware are different, but are both examples of the substandard quality evident in the Windows OS, which is where my contribution to this thread began.
Antonio
Do you think we could take the mindless Microsoft bashing somewhere else, please?
The main reasons why viruses and spyware are more prevalent on Windows is not because of any underlying inferiority of the OS (the NT-based OSes are at least as secure as Linux or OS-X in that regard): rather, it's because most of the virus and adware writers target the Windows platform because it is where most of the payback can be found. It's not worth attacking the small Mac part of the marketplace, nor Linux.
The main weakness come with the applications. And that's because the inherent design of the protocols underlying the web, email, etc. were crafted in the days before trusting your neighbour became impossible. Viruses, spyware, etc. propagate in such an environment, just as spam does. Why? Because it's not easy to set up a secure system. And as the marketplace seems to value connectivity and flashy graphics more than security, that's where the development effort is going.
It's just as hard to run a secure Linux box as it is to run a secure Windows box (possibly even harder; there are less tools available). In fact many of the compromised email servers on the net are Linux systems; sendmail buffer overrun attacks aren't aimed at Windows.
The biggest weakness in the whole setup is the stupidity of users. That wouldn't change, even if everybody switched to Linux overnight. People would *still* download Trojan Horse programs disguised as pornography, and they'd still click on virus-laden email links.
Amen to that.
/Henri
