<html>
<head>
<style><!--
.hmmessage P
{
margin:0px;
padding:0px
}
body.hmmessage
{
font-size: 10pt;
font-family:Verdana
}
--></style>
</head>
<body class='hmmessage'>
One portion of this has so far been left out, it seems. To a large extent, the average linux user is not your "Average" computer user. That trend seems to be changing, and many what I would call "regular people" are starting to use linux. It really remains to be seen if these people can be duped into clicking and typing their way into infection. <br> In my experience with Windows users infected with really nasty stuff that is doing major damage have all infected themselves, and most times actually installed extra software masked as a codec to view a video etc.. I have seen users go to great lengths to unwittingly infect themselves by just having no real idea what risks they are taking.<br><br>Joseph Wennechuk<br>
________________<br><br><br><br><br>> Date: Sat, 9 Jan 2010 16:41:03 -0500<br>> From: unsolicited@swiz.ca<br>> To: kwlug-disc@kwlug.org<br>> Subject: Re: [kwlug-disc] given enough eyeballs, all bugs are shallow?<br>> <br>> <br>> <br>> john@netdirect.ca wrote, On 01/09/2010 10:08 AM:<br>> > -----kwlug-disc-bounces@kwlug.org wrote: -----<br>> > <br>> >> From: unsolicited <unsolicited@swiz.ca><br>> >> <br>> >> I get irritated when it is claimed Linux is more secure than<br>> >> Windows because it doesn't get viruses. When we cannot possibly<br>> >> know that.<br>> >> <br>> >> Particularly when the reality is, if Linux were as popular as <br>> >> Windows, it would be a much greater target than it is today, and<br>> >> get a correspondingly larger level of viruses (which are<br>> >> essentially bugs / security holes).<br>> > <br>> > Compare it to neighbourhoods. Despite houses being generally alike<br>> > in how they can be broken into, would you rather live in a<br>> > neighbourhood that has a high rate of break-ins or lower rate?<br>> <br>> You misunderstand me.<br>> <br>> I'm not saying Linux isn't better, I'm saying Linux has a patina on <br>> it that will eventually be rubbed off as more and more use it <br>> (eyeballs), and for people to claim that Linux will always be malware <br>> free is snake oil.<br>> <br>> And it's the snake oil that I get irritated at. Only. Full stop.<br>> <br>> To use your analogy - to blame more breakins in inner city houses than <br>> rural houses on the contractor, solely, is ludicrous. Inner city has <br>> more people around, some percentage of any population is nefarious, so <br>> there are more people around, some of whom are interested in breaking <br>> in, so more breakins will happen.<br>> <br>> I don't disagree that lots of factors make the Linux situation far <br>> better than Windows - but it's not zero. And it's those claiming that <br>> it's zero that bother me.<br>> <br>> In this thread of hard numbers and eyeballs.<br>> <br>> > I pick Linux. It has a lower rate of break-ins and I don't have to<br>> > do very much to keep it that way.<br>> <br>> Today. But you will in time have to do some things, probably in some <br>> correlated proportion to the number of eyeballs beating on it. I think <br>> it unreasonable to claim otherwise. And, granted, always less than <br>> what Windows puts you through. Aside from being less vulnerable, the <br>> community will also respond with less onerous protection mechanisms.<br>> <br>> But a bad open office writer download will take out your documents <br>> just as fast as a bad Word download with macros in it.<br>> <br>> Obscurity is not a viable defense.<br>> <br>> To claim otherwise is snake oil. Please note - I am not saying anybody <br>> here is making this claim. I'm saying, to Lori's point, it's urban <br>> legend not backed up by anything. And can't be until there are as many <br>> Linux desktops as Windows desktops. [Further complicated that by the <br>> time we get there, better strategies will be put in place to better <br>> mitigate impacts.]<br>> <br>> _______________________________________________<br>> kwlug-disc_kwlug.org mailing list<br>> kwlug-disc_kwlug.org@kwlug.org<br>> http://astoria.ccjclearline.com/mailman/listinfo/kwlug-disc_kwlug.org<br> </body>
</html>