Re: Woohooo! Dell + Linux

On Fri, 2007-03-30 at 14:34 -0400, Jim Hyslop wrote:
John Hasler wrote:
Linux will not be commonplace on [desk|lap]tops until major hardware
vendors ship it (not that I care all that much).

Maybe you should care a little more :-)

The way I see it, making Linux more popular is a two-edged sword.
Currently, authors of various malware concentrate on MS Windows because
it's the best bang for the buck. If and when the balance shifts away
from Windows, we may see an upswing in the number of attacks against
Linux. Linux may be a much more robust and secure system than Windows,
but there are probably still security holes lurking that nobody (at
least, no honest person) has yet discovered and patched.

Let us look at the speed with which monolithic companies like Microsoft
and Apple respond to problems of these kinds. Then let us look at the
speed with which most of the "popular" alternative OSes respond to
similar problems.

Microsoft still has some exceptionally serious exploits open and not
fixed for 2 years, regarding the integration of ActiveX with the OS and
the Browser.

Apple, had to be bombed into reacting for some 6+ month problems that
lead to many issues on the users data and other files. Still not having
any real issues with the core of the OS though. The core OS problems
recently stomped on to get people to notice are issues Linux and most
other *NIX based OSes have.

Linux, since I really pay attention to Debian, I see since ~ October
2006, that most problems have been dealt with in a few-days to a couple
of weeks, mainly due to back-porting trouble for Sarge contributing to
the delay. With other distros not solely concerned about API and ABI
consistency (RedHat for one giant example) they were able to issue a
bump in the program days after a CVE was issued.

Most open source project/programs that are not stagnant or abandoned,
respond *VERY* quickly to proven exploits or overflows or logic flaws
leading to memory leaks and local or remote exploits. Sometimes within
minutes or hours of contact.

Even so, the balance may well have to shift significantly before malware
authors start taking an interest. But I believe the danger is there,
nonetheless.

Of course the danger is there. If you drive GM or Ford or Chyrsler, do
you stand a larger risk of having an accident, than say... you driving a
Daewoo or Hyundai or Saab?
--
greg, greg@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Novell's Directory Services is a competitive product to Microsoft's
Active Directory in much the same way that the Saturn V is a competitive
product to those dinky little model rockets that kids light off down at
the playfield. -- Thane Walkup


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