[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
On Tuesday 31 July 2007 15:36:48 Harold Fuchs wrote:
It is moot as to whether the reason for this is because
Mac/Linux are more secure or because Windows is more common and
therefore more likely to yield the results an attacker wants.
Both theories probably carry weight.
This is totally wrong. Any Unix based operating system is by default
out of the box more secure than the most hardened install of
Microsoft.
Microsoft is like your house; only the exterior points of entry are
secured but once someone enters the house they have access to the
entire house. This is because most people run Windows in an
administrator mode because it is more convenient and a pita to get
to the admin mode if you are not already there.
Any Unix OS runs in a secure non-admin mode. Your house would need
to have all points of entry including the interior secured so, even
if someone got in, they would still have to go through the same
process to get to the next part of the house or system. For the
authorized person; moving into admin mode while in user mode is
very easy to do in a Unix OS.
The argument about Windows being more widely used is just
Microsoft's way of trying to down play the superior security of a
Unix OS. Linux and MAC OSs are a Unix based OS. Also the Unix
platform is the most dominate platform used for servers and those
servers do not have a problem with viruses or worms. Unauthorized
entry into a Unix OS is not nearly as easy as it is with a
Microsoft OS. Be careful not to spread Microsoft FUD.
To add to this, in Linux you can also add security tools on top of those
in the base OS. SELINUX and other hardening tools to make it even
impossible for someone that has physical access to your machine to
change things. I have no fear about letting kids play with my Linux
machine because I know they cannot screw it up, even when they try.
To use the above example, it would be like putting fingerprint readers
on all the door, drawers and cupboards before you can open them. And
then have a way of making sure that they are authorized to move stuff in
those locations.
Basic security in Linux is higher than basic security in Vista according
to our IT people that I have talked to.
Copy to OP.
--
Due to the move to Exchange Server,
anything that is a priority, please phone.
Robin Laing
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