Study finds Windows more secure than Linux

The Seattle Time ^ | 2/17/05 | Brier Dudley

[rit]

SAN FRANCISCO — Believe it or not, a Windows Web server is more secure than a similarly set-up Linux server, according to a study presented yesterday by two Florida researchers.

The researchers, appearing at the RSA Conference of computer-security professionals, discussed the findings in an event, "Security Showdown: Windows vs. Linux." One of them, a Linux fan, runs an open-source server at home; the other is a Microsoft enthusiast. They wanted to cut through the near-religious arguments about which system is better from a security standpoint.

"I actually was wrong. The results are very surprising, and there are going to be some people who are skeptical," said Richard Ford, a computer-science professor at the Florida Institute of Technology who favors Linux.

[KwasiOwusu]

"He was doing what was necessary to keep that grant money coming in from Microsoft"

I refer you to posts 196, 197, 198 and demand the same thing he is demanding: PROOF!

[Bush2000]

Microsoft knows this.. and have thus avoided really cracking down on this practice except to push a point. But now that revenues are flat, Longhorn has been indefinitely postponed and things are not looking as rosy as they once did, M$ is having to do something, anything for revenue growth.

Awwww, poor Microsoft. They take in over $40B in revenues and $25B of profit per year. With that kind of sorry financial performance, it won't be long before creditors padlock the front door in Redmond... /SARCASM

[Knitebane]

Dr. Ford has been called out on this before and denied it.

But finding the tip of the iceburg is fairly easy.

Dr. Ford works at the Florida Institute of Technology's Center for Information Assurance

(He's one of them non-teaching teachers, by the way.)

And the Center for Information Assurance recieves it's grant money from Surprise!

None other than Microsoft.

They also got some money from IBMs PC division for anti-virus research, but that's gone now.

[dalight]

yea.. but this is just a small fraction of the Linux servers built. Its nice that these companies are eager to report their Linux sales, this is all about people at Fortune 500 companies buying Linux .. something that was seriously considered even 2 or 3 years ago.

But, its just lame, to think that linux users have focused their attention on the few Linux distributions that you can actually buy pre-installed. I have never bought a system with Linux preinstalled in almost 10 years of working with Linux. This is like counting the number of bicycles with training wheels and saying that is the number of all bicycles in the world. Its getting more realistic today than anytime before to buy Linux preinstalled. So, going forward, the Linux server numbers actually sold will probably continue to swell.

But as far as I am concerned.. I just about don't care, because I because I enjoy working OS X more than either of them. At least for now..

You know this sales numbers thing is just such an irrational thing to get all moved about. People buy Windows every day, and this is pure insanity, they suffer and suffer because they don't know better. I am sorry that they do, but its not my mission to change that. Folks who tell them this is the best it gets (Windows that is) make it hard for me to excuse them. Because it just isn't the best it gets. So every person who believes you just gets to suffer for their foolishness. And I am sorry that you have to continue suffering, but thats the way of things. No OS is perfect, thats an irrational hope. But, I am so happy not to be fending off spyware and viruses and just so many other things that make the Windows experience horrid for so many folks. You are welcome to all of that. I make my living off of helping people like you deal with this choice, so I shouldn't complain. But, ethics keeps me from rooting you on.

[Knitebane]

And I refer you to the fact that while you and your fellow shills were spamming the thread with your howls demanding proof, I was out getting it.

Not that it will matter to you and the rest of the Microsofties. You'll contort yourselves into all kinds of twists trying to deny it has any bearing on the "test."

[Bush2000]

Knitebane is an empty suit: All talk, all bloviation, all the time. He doesn't have a shred of proof to back up his phony allegations about Ford. He's just hoping that if he projectile-vomits his ridiculous FUD like some kind of demented exorcist child, that some of it will blind you.

[Knitebane]

Al Capone was quite profitable too.

That doesn't mean that he had acceptable business practices.

[Knitebane]

Knitebane is an empty suit: All talk, all bloviation, all the time. He doesn't have a shred of proof to back up his phony allegations about Ford.

You might want to read post 203 before you dig yourself any deeper.

[dalight]

Yep.. there is intelligent life on FR! Boo Yaa!!

[Bush2000]

"However, for the record, none of my research to date has been funded by Microsoft." -- Richard Ford

"Meanwhile, C.I.A. members are working on a number of other research projects funded by the U.S. Navy and Air Force as well as corporations such as Microsoft, IBM, Harris Corp., Texas Instruments, Northrop Grumman, Cisco and others."

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

Is that all you have?!? Dude, you're freakin' clueless. Nowhere can you proof that Ford himself takes grant money from Microsoft. You've vomited up this tripe in an attempt to slander the man...

[Knitebane]

The man runs a department that takes Microsoft grant money, true or false?

[usgator]

I'm going to try this ... always need to keep up on all technologies. Although I usually work in Windows, about 6 months ago I took on a short term project doing PHP & Perl on Linux using mySQL. Thanx!

[usgator]

Interesting info. You know your stuff. Thanks, dalight.

[Bush2000]

The man runs a department that takes Microsoft grant money, true or false?

False. Ford is listed as a "Research Professor". Nowhere does it indicate that he takes Microsoft grant money, personally. Here's a perfect example of one of Ford's projects:

"One of the projects Ford heads up, funded by a grant from the Office of Naval Research, is a proactive antivirus program with the ability to recognize malware (a virus, worm or Trojan) that it has never encountered before. Current antivirus software,"

You slandered the man and his research. It's that simple. You leaped to the false conclusion that because MS funded some research project at one time for a professor other than Ford, that he accepts MS grant money. Which is utterly FALSE and SLANDEROUS.

[dalight]

And exactly what does writing a language or winning a Nobel prize have to do with locking down a system from intruders? Except for avoiding C++ that is.. Mmmmm????

Jimmy Carter got a Nobel prize, so did Yassir Arafat. Golly. Lets see.. Fortran as a model for interapplication authentication token passing... nope.. can't see that either.

Of course we could talk about Kerberos...but, naw that isn't a language, actually it isn't all that secure for everything that just has to run around it.. oh.. and besides.. you have to deal with Microsoft attempting to bust it so it only works under Windows if you have a Windows box you want to add to the game.. I don't know.. hard to follow this line of argument

[KwasiOwusu]

"But, its just lame, to think that linux users have focused their attention on the few Linux distributions that you can actually buy pre-installed"

Nope.
Its the only way to measure it.
As someone has already pointed out, there are far more pirated copies of Windows desktops and servers installed out there than merely counting the windows units that leave the factory.
I know lots of people have have installed pirated Windows servers on one of their pc's at home, either to study for their MCSE's or just for a home network.
None of that is counted.
But it doesn't really matter,because those servers ae not running the businesses of America.
The severs that count, for the GE, GM's Fords, Dell,s and even small businesses buy their severs with the OS pre-installed.
I don't know many small businessmen running a shop for example,, who have time to go assemble their own server and put in their own lil Linux on it.
They buy it from a company that will service it for them and support the operating system, like Dell.

The IDC and Garner figures reflect the real market share figures, because even if you include uncounted severs, Windows Server still wins.

[Bush2000]

And exactly what does writing a language or winning a Nobel prize have to do with locking down a system from intruders? Except for avoiding C++ that is.. Mmmmm????

Simple. We're talking about research here. And, given a choice between research from a university CS professor and Joe-random IT guy, the vast majority of thinking adults are going with the CS professor.

[Havoc]

Well, Microsoft loses so many of them that they have to go out and buy a good word now and then. LOL.

[Knitebane]

Since you're slow, I'll use small words...

This guy decided to do a Windows vs. Linux test.

His department takes Microsoft's money. No matter how much you spin, you can't deny that fact.

Now, he could have avoided the appearance of impropriety by getting someone from the Unix department to do the Linux part of the test, but he didn't.

And he can't claim that it didn't occur to him that there might be an appearance of impropriety, since he's been publicly called on it (and responded to it) before.

Very simply, the test may or may not be accurate (we don't know because the only thing published thus far are the results, not the methodology or testing criteria) but it's tainted by his connection to Microsoft dollars.

The only reason to go ahead and run his test would be to make the grant givers at Microsoft sit up and take notice of him.

Well, that and to give you shills some another tainted report to crow about.

[Knitebane]

And, given a choice between research from a university CS professor, who's department is funded by Microsoft, and Joe-random IT guy, the vast majority of thinking adults are going with the CS MS professor.

There, full disclosure and all.