[antiRepublicrat]

Arguing that one is more "inferior" to another is a ridiculous enterprise because they were never intended to provide uncrackable security under the scenario that you've laid out; namely, that the server's physical security has been compromised.

Again, why did all the *NIX vendors dump Crypt() if password security isn't important? Simple, poor password hashing leaves one layer of your security vulnerable, and you want all layers as strong as you can get them. There still remains the basic fact that you ignore, no matter what extra protections you come up with, that almost all Windows boxes in the world as they are right now can be easily password-cracked, while few *NIX boxes are so easy.

[Bush2000]

Again, why did all the *NIX vendors dump Crypt() if password security isn't important?

Read for comprehension. I didn't say that password security wasn't important. I said that not having physical custody over your machine essentially renders password protections moot.

There still remains the basic fact that you ignore, no matter what extra protections you come up with, that almost all Windows boxes in the world as they are right now can be easily password-cracked, while few *NIX boxes are so easy.

You have to get to the password hashes first. If you've lost root access on a 'nix box, your box is compromised and password protections aren't going to save you.