Posted on 02/08/2018 6:16:47 AM PST by Voption
A survey of computer security experts confirms that they generally consider Linux superior to either the Windows or Apple operating systems when it comes to security....And if you want to try out Linux, all you really need is a spare laptop or desktop, one or two years old, that you aren’t using any more, and to then follow the instructions provided here on Behind the Black by reader James Stephens for Getting and Installing Linux."
(Excerpt) Read more at behindtheblack.com ...
I have never understood why protecting a computer from harmful programs is so complicated. A computer just needs to disallow input of executable code from the internet. The operating system knows when executable code is input and made available for execution.
Hacking by the hacker getting passwords is a human thing. No operating system can protect from that.
Of course there’s no excuse for weak passwords.
“all you really need is a spare laptop or desktop, one or two years old”
Sorry, I use mine for over a decade...
Like Apple, Linux has such a small market share that hackers, who want to spread as much destruction as possible, tend to ignore it for bigger fish. Strength in obscurity...
Sadly for Linux users, most of the programs that users need or want to run, are not available for the Linux platform. A properly maintained and configured Windows machine is secure and vastly more versatile.
If you’re a Pervert and surf in strange places no OS is Secure ,LOL
I was getting my red page virus alerts from Yahoo!. That is not only my homepage but my email provider. I stripped off M$ 10 and put on a Linux distro and no more problems.
Sadly, for some FR posters, they have no idea what they are talking about and should refrain from opining on subjects of which they know nothing.
It is ONLY because the money is in the myriad MS and Apple users. What a silly premise.
Wrong.
Going after MS is merely easier--that's why there's so many Windows attacks.
It like the difference between robbing people on the street or robbing a bank. You get more money robbing the bank (Linux), but it's a heck of a lot more secure.
Well for most Windows users, turning their computer off and letting it gather dust would be about the same. Linux is not used much at home for a reason.
Yeah--but the reason is not what you think it is.
Thanks to ShadowAce for the ping!
Ping for your list?
See Post #7
Not sure why this is even up for discussion. Linux is secure thanks to the nature of the operating environment as a ‘deny all’ solution. It’s only when you starting enabling functionality (LAMP stack anyone?) that you introduce issues.
Windows desktops, on the other hand, try to pack as much into the user experience as possible and subsequently break any notion of security through the constant barrage of useless crap. (I’m looking at you Duolingo!)
Windows server, by comparison, is very secure out of the box with notable exceptions in SMB and NTLM, but with proper group policy configurations in the enterprise or simply running PowerShell commands to harden the OS, I’d put OOB Windows up against OOB Linux any day.
Each brand has different vulnerabilities, but they’re not natively unsafe until you start adding third-party stuff.
Sorry, Michael, but the security by obscurity canard has been blown up, shot down and skewered so many times it is really been proved not true. Just one example will prove the point. A decade or so ago, the Windows Witty Worm was released into the wild six months after the security hole it exploited was already patched in the Black Ice Fire Wall it targeted. All but approximately 18,000 Windows Computers around the world using the Black Ice software Firewall had been brought up to the latest version that was not vulnerable to the Witty Worm. Within 35 minutes of the Witty Worm being released into the wild, ALL ~18,000 Windows computers, no matter where they were in the world, were infected with the Witty Worm, and were now reporting back to the Worm's creator's server to download more malware.
Malware has been written to exploit devices that were running obscure Operating Systems with as few as 75 units.
The Mac OS has over 100,000,000 computers in its installed base, yet no one has ever successfully written a computer virus, worm, or self-installing, self-propagating, or self-transmitting computer virus of any kind for Apple OS X, or its current successor macOS. Any malware for the Apple OS requires the participation of the user who KNOWS the Administrator NAME and PASSWORD to download it, install it, and to even run it for the first time, and that name and password MUST be entered at each of those steps, it is NOT just click OK and continue on one's merry way to infection.
It requires INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH STUPIDITY plus knowledge of those administrator passwords to infect a Mac. While not, perhaps as anally protective as the Mac OS, the same holds true with Linux machines. Both systems are based on operating systems that were built from the ground up with security in mind. Apple is UNIX™, while Linux is a clean room work alike clone of UNIX without the trademark. Windows has had to back its way into security.
I would actually suggest that the a fully up-to-date Mac may be a little bit MORE secure than Linux at this stage. Apple's distribution comes with the SuperUser inactive by default and there is one higher stage user than even the SuperUser now on all new Macs that requires a SYSTEM password to make any changes to Firmware and certain SYSTEM LEVEL software that is missing on Linux. That alone increases the level of security of the Mac.
Yup, you were here first. . . good to see you healthy and posting.
An 8 character PASSWORD for Windows is weak!
In Unix systems it is a little better because of the hash that is used but not enough in my opinion.
A Windows NTLM 8 character password can be cracked in UNDER 6 HOURS!!! This was demonstrated on a cluster of computers with GPU graphics cards .... in 2012. The same capability can be built for less than $15,000 today. Heck, you can even RENT the system from a cloud provider. Many customers still use and support NTLM for backwards compatibility.
I recommend that everyone adopt a pass PHRASE. For example, "I love Denver!" is 14 characters and complex. If you really want to tighten things up, go with multi-factor authentication.
Remember, the login screen and password is the LAST line of defense. If that is compromised, there is very little left in terms of what can be done to protect the enterprise.
/soapbox
Disagree. The number of users and potential financial gain from the millions of MS and Apple users who may not be updated, if that even helps due to holes in the s/w, opens the door for far more opportunities than the small number of Linux users. Turn the tables, if Linux was the dominant OS, hacking would be far more prevalent in linux users than the smaller number of MS and Apple users due to the larger number of apps written for the big gorilla. More apps = more avenues for hacking.
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