Google Ditches Microsoft's Windows Over Security Issues, Report Claims

PC World ^ | 6/1/2010 | Tom Spring

[markomalley]

Google employees are slamming Microsoft's Windows operating system, claiming security vulnerabilities in the OS left the company open to Chinese hackers in January 2010, a new report says. According to the Financial Times, Google will ditch the internal use of Windows in exchange for alternative operating systems including the Mac OS, Linux, and Google's own forthcoming Chrome OS operating system.

The May 31 Financial Times article quotes only anonymous Google sources, identifying them as several of Google's 10,000 employees. FT reporters David Gelles and Richard Waters write: "Employees wanting to stay on Windows required clearance from 'quite senior levels', one employee said. 'Getting a new Windows machine now requires CIO approval,' said another employee."

Google officials have not tacitly denied the Windows ban on work computers, issuing the following statement to the Reuters news agency: "We're always working to improve the efficiency of our business, but we do not comment on specific operational matters."

The FT calls Google's anti-Windows policy "semi-formal" and said that some laptops of "new hires" were still being outfitted with Windows, but all internal desktop PCs for these employees would run non-Windows based operating systems.

[martin_fierro]

!

[C19fan]

Question for computer geeks:

Is it Windows security sucks compared to other OS or hackers just like attacking Windows because of more “bang for the buck”?

[Kozak]

Yes.

[desertfreedom765]

Both.

[microgood]

Hopefully they will hire someone else to do the Google Toolbar for IE, that thing sucks.

[driftdiver]

Well Google is a direct competitor of Microsoft so this makes sense.

[benjibrowder]

Both.

[B Knotts]

Yes, and yes.

The other thing is that Windows is a PITA to administer.

[zeebee]

hackers just like attacking Windows because of more “bang for the buck”?

Any hacker who would make the first real security issue for MacOS would be the most famous hacker on the planet.

There is a genuine reason for the security of MacOS and it is not because the hackers ignore Macs.

[Ingtar]

Hehe - I ditched Google for the same reason, as well as the liberal slant to their results.

[Ingtar]

At a Mac conference 2 years ago, someone took one of the challenges and hacked a Mac via a Firefox exploit in under an hour. I wouldn’t feel exactly safe on any platform attached to the internet.

[zeebee]

The reason Windows is such a security risk is that the system can be modified through the web browser.

Windows makes this possible because they feel the need to keep a lid on piracy, so there are all kinds of holes leading into the system.

Mac has none of this. You do not even need a serial number to install the OS, and nothing in any browser or in the cloud can access your system without your permission. And even your permission cannot change critical files.

[Ingtar]

Make that Safari, not Firefox. It’s almost a Monday.

A link:

http://www.macworld.com/article/132733/2008/03/hack.html

[truthandlife]

This strictly PR for Google to back Microsoft. Where there are crooks and robbers, they will find a way into any system.

[truthandlife]

This strictly PR for Google to bash Microsoft. Where there are crooks and robbers, they will find a way into any system.

[Be Free]

Windows just became safer. For the China-based hackers, the target was Google, not Windows. Windows was only the vehicle of attack. They’ll now turn their attention to Mac OS X and Linux exploits, while Microsoft will continue to fortify Windows via Windows7.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

"At a Mac conference 2 years ago, someone took one of the challenges and hacked a Mac via a Firefox exploit in under an hour."

The truth is, the guy (Charlie Something) arrived with a pre-arranged exploit he'd discovered months before and kept to himself. IIRC it required a compliant user, too. The first round of exploits, with the machines merely connected to the network, failed across all platforms.

The notion that the Mac was cracked "within minutes" was totally not the case. The hacker in question is an unethical attention whore. Oh, and if you looked at the photos of the guy in action, you'd note his personal machine of choice was... a Mac.

[RightOnTheLeftCoast]

"This strictly PR for Google to bash Microsoft."

Not really. Although Google can be faulted for running IE6 this late in the game... one might say they were asking for it. But there is no doubt, none at all, that Linux and OS X are safer operating systems in real-world usage. The virus statistics speak for themselves, both in desktop and server applications.

[CodeToad]

Bang for the buck. This story is a poser as Google is pushing their OS.