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It only took one (Morris) to know down most of the Unix boxes on the internet.

And it used to be that you could take down any Windows (95) box with a simple ping packet that was too large. If we include the Morris Worm then we get to say, "Every single Windows system can be shut down with a single ping!" and it would make just as fair of a comparison.

But we aren't judging operating systems by how bad they used to be. We're judging them by how bad they are now.

And Windows 7 just showed that Microsoft still won't fix their OS. It's their newest product yet 7 out of 10 randomly selected malware packages still work on it.

It’s not a pointless argument at all, it’s the TRUTH. MS bashers like to talk as if no OS made by anybody other than MS has ever had a virus.

I challenge you to point out where I said that. Ever. In my 10 years on Free Republic.

You said “other operating systems don’t seem to have this problem” and that statement flies in the face of reality.

Not at all. Other operating systems don't have THOUSANDS OF ACTIVE VIRUSES. Get it yet?

Other operating systems have a few. Most have never been outside of a lab. Microsoft has thousands and thousands of currently active viruses infecting tens and maybe hundreds of millions of PCs. That is a fundamental difference.

And now you’re changing to “resistant”, showing you know you’re original statement was silly.

Not at all. If Windows was anywhere close to being as resistant to infection as AIX, Solaris, Linux or MacOS, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

But it isn't. And as the original story of this post shows, it doesn't seem to be getting any better.

We have to include Morris because it shows that this problem HAS and DOES exist in OSes outside of Windows. Everybody is vulnerable, the only question is how vulnerable. Is Windows the most vulnerable? Yes. Is there an OS out there that is invulnerable? No.

It’s good to note your original reply was to the idea that AV is an application function not an OS function and stated that’s why Linux is better. Because as it turns out almost everybody that makes AV for Windows (including the company that wrote this article) also makes AV for Linux.

Now as for everything else: stop nuancing like Kerry. You said something silly, you said no other OS has this problem, now you’re trying to redefine “this problem”. This problem is malware and ALL OSes have this problem, some have MORE but they all have it. You can nuance until you have to buy a new keyboard and it won’t make your statement not silly.