[kwlug-disc] Linux viruses [was: Linus viruses]

Khalid Baheyeldin kb at 2bits.com
Tue Jul 27 21:07:41 EDT 2010


On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 8:13 PM, Kyle Spaans <3lucid at gmail.com> wrote:

> No and no are my answers. But from my perspective inside of the
> security industry right now I can tell you that Linux is protected
> only by economics. If Linux had more market share, I'm *sure* more Joe
> User desktops would be getting compromised for botnets or credit card
> numbers/banking passwords. And in Windows' defense, even on the
> Microsoft platform you can operate without needing a virus scanner: as
> long as you are patched and careful.
>

Evidence from the field counteracts this claim.

For example, Apache has been the web server with the most market share
for many years.

When Microsoft introduced IIS, it became a target for more successful
attacks
(in the form of worms that still plague the net today, e.g. Code Red, Nimda,
...).

Both are web server that speak HTTP on port 80. Why is one less secure than
the other?

There is no human factor of social engineering here.
-- 
Khalid M. Baheyeldin
2bits.com, Inc.
http://2bits.com
Drupal optimization, development, customization and consulting.
Simplicity is prerequisite for reliability. --  Edsger W.Dijkstra
Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. --   Leonardo da Vinci
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